From Attachment to Action: Consumer Identification and the Sustainable Buying of Rural Brand Products Like “Pită de Pecica”

Anca Mihaela Dicu, Dana Rad (), Florentina Barbu, Lavinia Denisia Cuc, Andrea Feher, Daniela Roman, Luminița Mazuru, Grigorie Sanda and Luminița Pîrvulescu
Additional contact information
Anca Mihaela Dicu: Faculty of Food Engineering, Tourism and Environmental Protection, Aurel Vlaicu University of Arad, 310025 Arad, Romania
Dana Rad: Centre of Research Development and Innovation in Psychology, Faculty of Educational Sciences, Aurel Vlaicu University of Arad, 310032 Arad, Romania
Florentina Barbu: Centre for Economic Research and Consultancy, Faculty of Economics, Aurel Vlaicu University of Arad, 310032 Arad, Romania
Lavinia Denisia Cuc: Centre for Economic Research and Consultancy, Faculty of Economics, Aurel Vlaicu University of Arad, 310032 Arad, Romania
Andrea Feher: Department of Economy and Firm Financing, University of Life Sciences “King Mihai I” from Timisoara, 300645 Timisoara, Romania
Daniela Roman: Department of Psychology, Faculty of Socio-Humanistic Sciences, University of Oradea, 410087 Oradea, Romania
Luminița Mazuru: Centre for Economic Research and Consultancy, Faculty of Economics, Aurel Vlaicu University of Arad, 310032 Arad, Romania
Grigorie Sanda: Centre for Economic Research and Consultancy, Faculty of Economics, Aurel Vlaicu University of Arad, 310032 Arad, Romania
Luminița Pîrvulescu: Faculty of Management and Rural Tourism, Banat’s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine “King Michael I of Romania” from Timisoara, Calea Aradului No. 119, 300645 Timisoara, Romania

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 9, 1-19

Abstract: The current research examines the psychological and perceptual predictors of sustainable consumption behavior in a rural Romanian context, with specific reference to the traditional product Pită de Pecica. A sample of 485 consumers (n = 485) who were familiar with Pită de Pecica completed validated instruments measuring brand identification and brand attributes perceived. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was applied to find two dimensions on each scale—brand-based self-definition (α = 0.92) and emotional brand attachment (α = 0.86); and sensory-affective brand association (α = 0.87) and product functional-symbolic value (α = 0.84). Emotional brand attachment (EBA) refers to the emotional bond a consumer forms with a brand; sensory-affective brand association (SABA) captures affective and sensory connections; and decision tree regression is a machine learning technique that identifies non-linear predictors. In this study, sustainability is operationalized across cultural, economic, and environmental dimensions, reflecting both traditional product preservation and support for regional food systems. A decision tree regression model was then applied to predict the frequency of sustainable consumption behavior. Emotional brand attachment was the strongest predictor (relative importance = 26.13%), sensory-affective brand association was second most important (16.91%) and brand-based self-definition was third (13.99%). Demographic variables (e.g., income, age) were weak predictors. The model explained 43% of the behavior variance (R 2 = 0.43) despite considerable behavioral unpredictability (MAPE = 236.85%). Findings show that emotional and identity-driven brand connections are central to leveraging sustainable consumption in rural contexts, which has important implications for future branding initiatives, agri-food policies, and local economic revitalization initiatives that promote sustainable development. Findings support adopting cultural, psychological, and economic dimensions of sustainable development across development paradigms.

Keywords: sustainable consumption; emotional brand attachment; rural branding; brand identification; local food systems; consumer psychology (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/2071-1050/17/9/4133/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/9/4133/ (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:9:p:4133-:d:1648520

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 ().