Moderating role of perceived consumer effectiveness and consumer involvement on the effect of message-framing on intention to purchase organic seafood products

Although the organic food industry has experienced tremendous growth in recent years, its growth has been limited to a few product categories. Organic seafood is a potential new area for growth which grocery retailers can take advantage of to meet consumer demands. However, problems may arise concerning how to effectively market these new products to encourage purchase. The present study utilizes the message framing framework as developed within Kahneman and Tversky's (1981) prospect theory. The purpose of this research is to determine the effect of different persuasive messages framed positively and negatively on consumers' intention to purchase organic seafood as well as the influence of two individual difference moderators: (1) consumer purchase-decision involvement in organic products, as well as (2) perceived consumer effectiveness (PCE). Data were collected from 1,698 consumers of a supermarket chain in the northeast using an online survey. Hierarchical moderated regression was utilized to test the proposed hypotheses. As hypothesized, results found that positively framed messages resulted in greater purchase intention compared to negatively framed messages. Additionally, both individual difference variables significantly moderated the relationship between message frame condition and purchase intention. This study was the first attempt to explore the message framing framework as proposed by Kahneman and Tversky (1979) in the context of organic seafood. Findings from this study provide insight to marketers in identifying the types of messages that are most persuasive in promoting the consumption of organic seafood to different types of consumers. Future research should further explore issues related to moderating influences of individual difference variables on the effect of message framing as suggested by this study.