The behavioural intentions of specialty coffee consumers in South Africa

More than 1.6 billion cups of coffee are consumed worldwide on a daily basis. South Africa is rapidly adapting to worldwide trends with speciality coffee consumption on the rise, with South Africa recently having been recognised as a key player in the speciality coffee industry. Emerging market trends in speciality coffee consumption have resulted in a number of changes in consumption patterns, preferences and consumer behaviour. The purpose of this study was to determine the behavioural intention of speciality coffee consumers in South Africa, using the Theory of Planned Behaviour. The data were gathered from a non‐probability sample of 327 respondents, who were selected through a self‐completion online questionnaire. The results indicate that males consume more speciality coffee than females. The majority of respondents consume speciality coffee more than once a day, and foam cappuccinos are consumed most regularly. The results of the stepwise multiple regression analysis demonstrate the utility of the Theory of Planned Behaviour as a conceptual framework for predicting the behavioural intention of speciality coffee consumers. The findings indicate that attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control are important predictors of behavioural intention. Furthermore, perceived behavioural control is the most important factor influencing speciality coffee consumption, and the most influential of the direct measures of the Theory of Planned Behaviour. With the current rise in speciality coffee consumption among South Africans, the Theory of Planned Behaviour framework contributes to understanding those factors which influence regular speciality coffee consumption. It is recommended that marketers and practitioners adapt their offerings to appeal to the specific needs of the growing speciality coffee market in South Africa.     

Ethical consumer behaviour in Germany: The attitude‐behaviour gap in the green apparel industry

In today's society, the trend of ethical consumerism is undeniable. Yet, even though consumers are ethically concerned, they rarely transform their intentions into a green purchasing behaviour—and this phenomenon is also evident in the sustainable fashion industry. This study aims to understand the prevailing attitude‐behaviour gap and explores the barriers that constrain consumers in purchasing green apparel. A total of 13 in‐depth interviews were conducted and analysed to the principles of grounded theory. The analysis reveals that the following barriers impede consumption of sustainable fashion: price, availability, knowledge, transparency, image, inertia and consumption habits. The impact of each dimension on consumers' purchase decisions might be of interest to apparel manufacturers and retailers who should implement strategies to encourage eco‐conscious apparel acquisition and focus on diminishing these barriers. Accordingly, three major recommendations are made: (a) to concentrate on specific product attributes; (b) to adopt an efficient digital communication strategy; and (c) to make a greater effort on making green apparel attainable. This study contributes to the overall understanding of consumer behaviour in the ethical fashion industry and examines in‐depth the purchasing criteria for sustainable fashion for consumers.     

Exploring consumers’ purchase intention towards green products in an emerging market: The role of consumers’ perceived readiness

Consumers’ awareness of green products has increased in the last few years, but studies show that the demand for green products has been stagnant. The purpose of this study is to explore the roles of consumers’ perceived readiness to be green and subsequently, how readiness to be green affects consumers’ purchase intention towards green products in an emerging market, Indonesia. A total of 916 survey responses were collected in three universities, two major shopping malls and several housing areas in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The findings reveal that consumers’ attitude (ATT), subjective norm, perceived behavioural control (PBC), pro‐environmental self‐identity (PEI), ethical obligation and consumers’ readiness to be green are the determinants of intention to purchase green products. Consumers’ readiness to be green mediates the effects of ATT, PBC, PEI and perceived sense of responsibility on purchase intention. The study provides further insights into the discrepancy between professed positive attitudes towards the environment and the slow uptake of green behaviour in an emerging market.     

Internal determinants of recycling behaviour by university students: a cross‐country comparative analysis

University students are a key group for research since they will be the consumers and the intellectual vanguard of the future and, therefore, a reference group for other consumers. Accordingly, data obtained from university students in Spain (n = 640) and the US (n = 597) were analysed to identify the main internal factors which lead them to participate in recycling activities. Given that morality‐based theories, and more specifically the Value–Belief–Norm (VBN) Theory, might be very useful in explaining pro‐environmental behaviour which requires personal sacrifices and whose benefits are mainly for the environment itself, that is the theoretical approach that we take for the selection and analysis of factors. Our findings support our thesis that environmental knowledge is a factor that should be (but is not currently) considered in the framework of VBN theory for predicting recycling behaviour. Although university students from Spain and the US have very different recycling rates, the internal factors that explain their recycling behaviour are very similar (motivations, perceived consumer effectiveness (PCE), environmental knowledge and gender). The elasticity of recycling behaviour to changes in internal factors is estimated with a view to making predictions, and altruistic motivations and PCE are found to be the factors that have the greatest effect in terms of improving recycling behaviour, followed by environmental knowledge. These predictions could help university policy makers take better decisions about the factors on which they need to act to increase recycling activities. Some guidelines for consideration in future intervention strategies to encourage this group to recycle are also provided.     

Internal and external barriers to eco‐conscious apparel acquisition

Apparel consumption is a contributing cause of environmental change, and environmental integrity requires the encouragement of eco‐conscious apparel acquisition. Unfortunately, among consumers, there is limited engagement in this behaviour. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to expand the knowledge base of eco‐conscious apparel consumption and question the limited participation by identifying barriers that constrain consumers. This study used a qualitative approach to collect and analyse data from 26 eco‐conscious consumers. Data collection for the study occurred through semi‐structured interviews. Results indicate that consumers find it difficult to engage in eco‐conscious apparel acquisition on a consistent basis because a number of barriers stand in the way. These barriers include knowledge and attitudes about environmentally preferable apparel, availability of environmentally preferable apparel, economic resources, retail environments and societal norms. Consequently, the implication is that strategies intending to encourage eco‐conscious apparel acquisition should include a focus on diminishing these barriers.     

Labelling wool products for animal welfare and environmental impact

The notable growth of the market in recent years indicates apparel consumers' interest in organic fibre products. Yet less is understood about how apparel consumers would respond to labelling for other credence attributes associated with animal‐fibre products, such as animal welfare or eco‐friendliness. An online survey of 507 US consumers was used to compare consumers' reactions with a variety of labelling schemes for wool product attributes, including animal‐friendly, organic and environmentally friendly production. Consumer segments were created based on frequency of label choice, and analysis of variance and multinomial logit regression were used to identify and characterize the demographics and psychographics of the consumer segments that found labelling for animal welfare or environmental concerns appealing. The study identified a segment of consumers (19% of the sample) who were motivated to purchase apparel products labelled for animal welfare. These animal‐focused consumers could be identified with relatively high accuracy from the demographic and psychographic variables in the model. The model variables, which included familiarity with organic products and self‐perceived knowledge about environmental damage related to apparel production, were not effective in identifying the environment‐focused apparel consumers. The results also demonstrated the ability of a general belief in animal rights to motivate the apparel consumers in the sample, suggesting that acting on a concern for animals could be a more powerful motivation for consumer behaviour than acting on a concern for the environment.     

Consumers’ attitudes,knowledge, self‐reported and actual hand washing behaviour: a challenge for designers of intervention materials

Cross contamination by microbial pathogens in the kitchen environment may play an important role in many cases of food borne illnesses. Hand washing has been shown to be one of the most important factors in controlling the spread of microorganisms and in preventing the spread of disease. However, educational campaigns such as distribution of information leaflets, workshops, performance feedback and lectures have been, at best, associated with a transient improvement in compliance rates. In addition, the majority of research investigating UK consumers’ food safety behaviour has examined self‐reported as opposed to actual hand washing behaviour. This research utilises psychological theory in an attempt to understand how one might design a more effective hand washing campaign. Social cognition models were utilised to explore the relationship between consumers’ knowledge, attitudes, self‐reported and actual hand washing behaviour. The research was conducted in two stages. Firstly, salient beliefs of 100 consumers towards food safety were obtained using open‐ended questions. Secondly, the food handling practices of 40 consumers were observed and their food safety attitudes and knowledge determined using structured questionnaires. All the participants were knowledgeable about hand washing techniques, intended to wash their hands and generally had positive attitudes towards the importance of washing their hands. However, none of the participants adequately washed their hands on all appropriate occasions. The attitude statement results suggest measures of perceived behavioural control, perceived barriers and perceived risk may provide developers of food safety intervention materials with more useful information compared with measures of consumers’ knowledge or intention. Issues of habit and optimistic bias also need to be given consideration when designing intervention materials to change hand washing behaviour of consumers.     

Overcoming the psychological barriers to energy conservation behaviour: The influence of objective and subjective environmental knowledge

Energy conservation is a crucial aspect of responsible consumption which is the reflection of individual efforts for sustainability. However, especially young consumers are reluctant to reduce their energy consumption despite their pro‐environmental attitudes. Resistance to behavioural change can be attributed to various psychological barriers that help consumer to avoid engaging in pro‐environmental actions. In this context, the first aim of the study is to extend the theoretical and empirical evidence regarding impeding effects of psychological barriers on individual energy conservation behaviour. Secondly, the study investigates the alleviating role of environmental knowledge on those barriers that limit energy conservation. Proposed impeding effects of objective and subjective environmental knowledge on various denial mechanisms, which are in turn expected to hinder energy conservation, were tested using the survey data collected from young Turkish consumers. Results suggest that denial mechanisms hinder young consumers’ energy conservation behaviour indirectly through diminishing feelings of moral obligations. Moreover, it was found that objective environmental knowledge's effect can be used to break down the psychological barriers and to facilitate the change towards more sustainable energy consumption patterns. Implications of the findings and directions for future research are discussed.     

Factors affecting consumers’ purchase intention of eco‐friendly food in China: The evidence from respondents in Beijing

The purpose aims to examine the key factors influencing Chinese consumer’s purchasing behaviour of eco‐friendly food in China giving its context as an emerging economy and its rapidly rising importance in the world eco‐friendly food market. This paper adopts and extends the Responsible Environmental Behaviour (REB) theory by empirically testing key psychosocial factors influencing the purchase intention of eco‐friendly food and the moderating effects of consumers’ demographic characteristics on the relationship between the key psychosocial factors and the purchase intention. A number of hypotheses are proposed. A questionnaire was designed and distributed via online survey in Beijing, China. A total of 239 valid responses were received. The empirical data were used to test the research hypotheses using the hierarchical multiple regression analysis. The research finds that the personality factors in the REB model (i.e., pro‐environmental attitudes, the internal locus of control and personal responsibly) have significant positive effects on the consumers’ eco‐friendly food purchase intention. Such effect is stable across consumers with different income levels. On the other hand, the knowledge–skill factors in the REB model do not have significant effect on the purchase intention of consumers. This study contributes to a better understanding of factors affecting eco‐friendly food consumption intention in China and the behavioural characteristics of consumers in developing countries. Moreover, the findings also shed light on the applicability of the REB theory in emerging economies and a specific industrial context.     

Modelling household conservation behaviour among ethnic consumers: the path from values to behaviours

This article tests a model that explains household conservation behaviour among ethnic consumers. Increasing immigration into Western countries has raised serious questions about the extent to which emerging ethnic communities contribute to environmental degradation or sustainability in their host countries. Previous research focused mainly on measuring ethnic consumers' environmental attitudes, worldviews and concerns, assuming that these ultimately lead to pro‐environmental behaviours. However, these studies overlooked the reality in which pro‐environmental attitudes are not automatically being translated into corresponding behaviours. This study explores the relationship between a set of factors that drive pro‐environmental behaviour, proposing a hierarchical model that depicts a flow from values to household conservation behaviours (i.e. recycling, water, electricity and energy conservation) and the intervening cognitive, affective and psychological variables. Results from a sample of 410 American Hispanic students indicate that the cultural value of collectivism influences conservation behaviour through the more specific factors of environmental values, environmental concern, perceived consumer effectiveness (PCE) and concrete environmental knowledge. Interestingly, the influence of PCE was more apparent in routine, easy‐to‐perform behaviours such as water conservation and the behavioural aspect of electricity conservation. The influence of concrete environmental knowledge was more powerful in predicting recycling, the use of electricity‐efficient home appliances and energy conservation. Implications for the promotion of conservation behaviour and consumer education as well as directions for future research are discussed.     

Determining female consumers’ perceptions of garment fit,personal values and emotions when considering garment sizing

Female consumer's clothing shopping experience is primarily influenced by the appearance and fit of a garment that may be influenced by their personal values and is a process that involves emotions (Otieno et al., 2005; Lopatovska and Arapakis, 2011). Very little research focussing on the emotional impact and the role that personal values play in the female consumers’ shopping experience of ready‐to‐wear garment fit has been conducted in South Africa to date. The primary objective of this study was to explore the areas of concern of garment sizing to establish the emotional impact garment sizing and the resulting fit have on the female consumer purchasing behaviour when evaluated against their personal value system. This study applied the means‐end chain theory approach that allowed the researcher to explore female consumers’ personal values and the resulting emotions, through the application of the laddering interview techniques. Using open‐ended questions, this study aimed to discover the role of female consumers’ perceptions of garment sizing and the resulting emotional effects of garment fit on their purchasing decisions. The findings from the data collected from a purposeful and convenient sample of 62 female consumers from Gauteng, Johannesburg showed that the majority of the participants in this study failed to attain their personal values through the fit of a garment due to inconsistent, unreliable and inaccurate sizing, garment sizing which is unsuitable for various body shapes and the unavailability of certain clothing sizes in ready‐to‐wear garments. The study established that it is extremely important that South African clothing manufacturers and designers should strategize to satisfy the clothing need of the consumers who are currently having problems with garment sizing, by understanding female consumers’ garment sizing and fit needs through extended research of their target markets.     

The impact of creative media advertising on consumer responses: two field experiments

Abstract

Creative media (CM) advertising is an advertising strategy wherein a non-traditional medium is creatively used for advertising purposes. This novel advertising strategy is gaining marketers’ interest; however, little is known about its persuasive effects on consumers’ cognitive, affective and behavioural responses and the processes that underlie them. Therefore, to convey a genuine experience to consumers, two field experiments with a one-factor (advertising type: creative vs. traditional) between-subjects design were conducted within a supermarket context. Results showed that creative (vs. traditional) media ads not only improve consumers’ affective and behavioural responses but also consumers’ cognitive responses. Even though no mediations were found through perceived surprise or perceived persuasive intent, results do provide evidence for the notion that perceived humor and perceived value are the underlying mechanisms through which affective and behavioural responses to creative media advertising can be explained.     

Consumers' anger and coping strategies following appraisals of appliance failure

With the disconfirmation paradigm, Day and Landon's taxonomy of complaint behaviour, and the cognitive appraisal theory developed by Lazarus and colleagues as theoretical approach, this study explored and described consumers' anger and coping strategies following appraisals of appliance failure. In addition, consumers' reasons for engaging in particular complaint behavioural responses were investigated in terms of the cognitive and emotional types of reasoning underlying the different coping behaviours. A cross‐sectional survey was conducted among consumers who were dissatisfied with the performance of a major household appliance item and who resided in a major metropolitan area in South Africa. A self‐administered questionnaire was distributed by means of convenience sampling, which generated 216 usable responses. The results emphasize the importance of understanding consumers' reasoning behind their choice of a specific coping strategy. Respondents who took formal complaint action engaged in problem‐focused coping and those who took private action engaged in emotion‐focused coping and avoidance coping. Those who took no action experienced lower levels of anger.     

Consumer concern,knowledge and attitude towards counterfeit apparel products

The purpose of this paper was to explore the relationship of three variables (concern with apparel industry issues, knowledge about counterfeiting and attitude towards counterfeit apparel products) with consumer willingness towards paying a premium for non‐counterfeit goods. The intent of the research was to develop a theoretically based foundation from which educators and apparel industry leaders can develop policy regarding counterfeit goods. Will consumer concern and knowledge influence the behavioural intent of paying more for non‐counterfeit goods? We surveyed 244 undergraduate students within a fashion and apparel programme at a large Midwestern university. In this study, willingness to pay more for non‐counterfeit goods increased directly with greater concern, knowledge and attitude towards counterfeit apparel goods.     

Factors affecting consumers’ intention towards purchasing halal food in South Africa: a structural equation modelling

This research study highlighted the factors that influence the intention of consumers to buy halal food products. In this study, the researchers have chosen to address the gap in the literature pertaining to non-South African consumers’ purchase intention. Non-South Africans are foreign people who reside in South Africa including immigrants, workers, and students. Through utilising the theory of planned behaviour, this study aims to determine the attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behaviour control, and awareness of non-South African towards purchasing halal food products. This also attempts to identify the strongest factor that influences the purchasing intention of halal food by non-South African consumers. The sample of the study consisted of 230 non-South African consumers in Cape Town. Data were collected through self-administered questionnaires. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to identify the structural relationships among the constructs identified and to test the study hypotheses. The findings of this study indicate that there is a significant relationship between awareness and buying behaviour. Interestingly it found that only the attitude dimension of TPB had a significant relationship with purchase intention, whereas subjective norms and perceived behavioural control did not show a significant relationship with the consumer intention variable.     

The interrelationship between temporal and environmental orientation and pro‐environmental consumer behaviour

It is proposed that consumers fail to make environmentally conscious choices because they do not consider the long‐term impact of their actions. This research examines the role of consumers' temporal orientation (past and future) in regard to their environmental orientation and pro‐environmental consumer behaviour (PECB), using a representative sample of 2566 Australian respondents. The results identify that both future and past orientations are related to environmental orientation, with future orientation leading to increased levels of PECB and past orientation leading to reduced levels of PECB. Further, environmental orientation mediates the relationship between temporal orientation and PECB, suppressing the negative impact of high levels of past orientation.     

Influence of retail store environmental cues on consumer patronage behavior across different retail store formats: An empirical analysis of US Hispanic consumers

This study examined the influence of Hispanic consumers’ perceived importance of apparel retail store environmental cues and demographic characteristics (i.e., age and the number of years lived in the US) on their apparel store patronage behavior across various retail store formats. Three apparel retail store environmental cue dimensions were identified. Of the three dimensions, Customer Service appeared as a significant determinant in Hispanic consumers’ decision to shop at department stores, specialty stores, and mass merchant stores. Convenience was significantly, but negatively, related to the use of specialty stores. Physical Atmosphere appeared as significant determinants of Hispanic consumers’ use of Internet websites. The respondents’ shopping frequency at department stores, Internet websites, and catalogues was significantly different based on the respondents’ age and number of years lived in the US This study offers insights for apparel retailers in building effective retail store environments to attract Hispanic consumers.