Determinants of consumer intention to purchase food with safety certifications in emerging markets : evidence from Vietnam

Purpose: Research on the determinants of consumer behavior toward food with safety certifications in Vietnam remains little. The primary objective of this study is to identify the factors affecting Vietnamese consumer intention to purchase safely certified vegetables (safe vegetables) based on an extended theory of planned behavior (TPB). Design/methodology/approach: Using a sample of 361 urban consumers in Hanoi city based on a stratified sampling technique, we applied structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the model. Findings: The results revealed that the extended TPB succeeded to predict 62% of the variance of intention to purchase safe vegetables. Attitude played the most important role in consumer intention. Notably, the attitude of consumers was the most largely influenced by subjective norms (social effects). Also, subjective norms had a direct effect on intention. Furthermore, consumer trust motivated a favorable attitude to increase purchase intention. The effects of past behavior on intention were verified as direct and indirect through subjective norm and trust combined with attitude. Few socio-demographic variables (e.g. age and education) were found to affect intention indirectly through attitude and subjective norm. Research limitations/implications: Further research on the relationship between intention and the actual purchase of safe food is needed. Originality/value: This extends the application of the TPB to predict consumer intention to purchase safely certified food in a developing country like Vietnam by examining both direct and indirect effects of socio-demographic variables, trust and past behavior on intention.