A greater share of the stomach? Role of provenance and ethical standards on consumers’ food choices and purchasing intentions

Abstract

Purpose
Provenance and ethical standards reflect foods that traceable and are supportive of the environment, sustainability and justice in the food supply chain. The aim of this study was to understand higher education consumers’ food choices and to examine the predictors of purchasing intention of food with provenance and ethical standards.

Design/methodology/approach
An online questionnaire was completed by 296 students and staff members of University of Central Lancashire. The questionnaire collected information on sociodemographic profiles; food choices, provenance and ethical standards; ethical purchasing and sourcing requirements and purchasing intention of food products with provenance and ethical standards. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the frequency of distribution of all sociodemographic characteristics. Multiple regression was used to examine if attitude, perceived behavioural control and subjective norms of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) significantly predict the consumers’ purchasing intention (step 1). Exploratory factor analysis was conducted on the behavioural items using principal components estimation and varimax rotation. Multiple regression on the expanded TPB (step 2) using the obtained factor scores were conducted to determine if the factors were significant predictors of purchasing intention of food with provenance and ethical standards.

Findings
Multiple regression on the expanded TPB model revealed that only attitude and perceived behavioural control were significant predictors of purchasing intention of food with provenance and ethical standards. The regression model explained about 50% of the variance of the intent to purchase food with provenance and ethical standards where R2 = 0.50, (Adjusted R2 = 0.47). This was significantly different from zero F (5, 89) = 17.77, p < 0.001. The incorporation of ‘Preference for ethically sourced food and ‘Perceived knowledge and status of provenance standards’ did not increase the prediction of purchasing behaviour.

Originality/value
Two broad themes were identified from the factor analysis where the first factor prioritises ‘Preference for ethically sourced food’ and the second factor conceptualises ‘Perceived knowledge and status of provenance standards’. The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) was expanded to incorporate both factors but did not increase the prediction of purchasing intention. The authors recommend that other potential predictors e.g. moral concerns or perceived value of food with provenance and/or ethical standards to be tested using an extended TPB framework. The study is of value to higher and further education catering services to encourage more sustainable and local food consumption.