Exploring Influential Factors Including COVID-19 on Green Food Purchase Intentions and the Intention–Behaviour Gap: A Qualitative Study among Consumers in a Chinese Context

Xin Qi, Huaming Yu and Angelika Ploeger
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Xin Qi: Specialized Partnerships in Sustainable Food Systems and Food Sovereignty, University of Kassel, 37213 Kassel, Germany
Huaming Yu: Sanya Oceanographic Institution, Ocean University of China, Sanya 572024, China
Angelika Ploeger: Specialized Partnerships in Sustainable Food Systems and Food Sovereignty, University of Kassel, 37213 Kassel, Germany

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 19, 1-22

Abstract: This study applied a qualitative approach to investigate the underlying influences on consumers’ green food consumption from the intention generation phase to intention execution phase in the perspectives of purchase intention and the intention–behaviour gap (IBG). Additionally, the impact of the “Coronavirus Disease 2019” (COVID-19) pandemic on consumers’ green food purchases was explored. Research data were derived from semi-structured in-depth interviews with 28 consumers and analyzed using grounded theory. The findings identified factors that influenced intentions and the IBG in the process of consumers’ green food purchases. Specifically, these findings reported that health consciousness, perceived attributes, environmental consciousness, social influence, family structure, and enjoyable shopping experiences were identified as major drivers for generating consumers’ green food purchase intentions. High prices of green food, unavailability issues, mistrust issues, and limited knowledge were factors triggering the gap between green food purchase intentions and behaviours. In addition, the results revealed that the COVID-19 crisis increased consumers’ green food purchase intentions, whereas the IBG widens as a result of issues of unavailability, price, and panic. These findings will help stakeholders build future policy and suitable strategies to better promote green food consumption in the Chinese context.

Keywords: green food consumption; purchase intention; intention–behaviour gap; COVID-19; qualitative method; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (12)

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