Consumption Preferences for Truffles and Truffle-Based Products: An Application of the PLS-SEM Model

Valentina Rosa Laganà (), Fabio Lombardi, Donatella Di Gregorio and Agata Nicolosi
Additional contact information
Valentina Rosa Laganà: Department of Agraria, Mediterranean University of Reggio Calabria, Feo di Vito, 89122 Reggio Calabria, Italy
Fabio Lombardi: Department of Agraria, Mediterranean University of Reggio Calabria, Feo di Vito, 89122 Reggio Calabria, Italy
Donatella Di Gregorio: Department of Agraria, Mediterranean University of Reggio Calabria, Feo di Vito, 89122 Reggio Calabria, Italy
Agata Nicolosi: Department of Agraria, Mediterranean University of Reggio Calabria, Feo di Vito, 89122 Reggio Calabria, Italy

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 12, 1-24

Abstract: The truffle is a niche, valuable and ecological product exported and consumed all over the world. However, little is known about consumers’ preferences for truffles and truffle products. This study empirically explores the factors influencing their consumption in Italy. A PLS-SEM model was implemented and validated using an extended version of the theory of planned behavior, including consumers’ food-specific curiosity as an additional construct to basic constructs such as attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control. The analysis allowed us to examine and verify the significance of the relationships between the factors and what impact they have on intentions to consume fresh and truffle-based products. The processing concerns of consumers were reached through face-to-face consultation with a semi-structured questionnaire. The results obtained suggested that consumers’ intentions in using truffles involve several factors, such as consumers’ personal experiences, organoleptic characteristics (aroma and taste), food safety, trust in the seller/brand, traceability information, the aspect of green products and, more generally, the protection of the environment and forests. The findings provided novel insights for researchers to understand the aspects of truffle consumption, and also represent a guideline for marketers to develop appropriate marketing tactics to grow the truffle business.

Keywords: truffles; consumption intentions; semi-structured questionnaire; Italy; PLS-SEM (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/12/5002/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/12/5002/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:12:p:5002-:d:1413154

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().