Investigating Antecedents of Intention to Use Green Agri-Food Delivery Apps: Merging TPB with Trust and Electronic Word of Mouth

Kamel Mouloudj, Maria Carmela Aprile (), Ahmed Chemseddine Bouarar, Anuli Njoku, Marian A. Evans, Le Vu Lan Oanh, Dachel Martínez Asanza and Smail Mouloudj
Additional contact information
Kamel Mouloudj: College of Economic, University Yahia Fares of Medea, Medea 26000, Algeria
Maria Carmela Aprile: Department of Economic and Legal Studies, University of Naples Parthenope, Via Generale Parisi 13, 80132 Napoli, Italy
Ahmed Chemseddine Bouarar: College of Economic, University Yahia Fares of Medea, Medea 26000, Algeria
Anuli Njoku: Department of Public Health, College of Health and Human Services, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, CT 06515, USA
Marian A. Evans: Department of Public Health, College of Health and Human Services, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, CT 06515, USA
Le Vu Lan Oanh: Marketing Department, Faculty of Commerce, Van Lang University, Ho Chi Minh City 70000, Vietnam
Dachel Martínez Asanza: Department of Scientific-Technical Results Management, National School of Public Health (ENSAP), Havana Medical Sciences University, Havana 10800, Cuba
Smail Mouloudj: College of Economic, University Yahia Fares of Medea, Medea 26000, Algeria

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 8, 1-23

Abstract: The rapid expansion of digital platforms has significantly influenced consumer purchasing behaviors, particularly in the agri-food sector. Therefore, this paper investigates the key factors driving customers’ intention to use green agri-food delivery apps (GAFDAs) by integrating trust and electronic word of mouth (eWOM) into the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) framework. Additionally, this study examines gender as a moderating variable, assessing whether its influence alters the relationships between key determinants and behavioral intention. Data were collected from 252 Algerian consumers, and the proposed model was tested using SmartPLS 4 and SPSS 26.0. The results confirm that attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control (PBC), trust, and eWOM positively and significantly influence the intention to use GAFDAs, with PBC emerging as the strongest predictor. Moreover, gender moderates the effect of trust on behavioral intention, with trust significantly influencing men’s adoption decisions but not those of females. In contrast, subjective norms and PBC are stronger predictors for female consumers. These findings highlight the importance of gender-specific marketing strategies to enhance GAFDA adoption. This study contributes to the literature by extending TPB with trust, eWOM, and gender moderation, offering valuable insights for marketers, policymakers, and app developers promoting sustainable food consumption.

Keywords: green food delivery apps; sustainable marketing; Theory of Planned Behavior; digital customer; electronic WOM; gender differences; North Africa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/8/3717/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/8/3717/ (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:17:y:2025:i:8:p:3717-:d:1638421

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 ().