Appetite 69 (2013) 137144

Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect

Appetite
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/appet

Research report

The inuence of ethical values and food choice motivations on intentions

to purchase sustainably sourced foods
Kylie Dowd, Karena J. Burke
Central Queensland University, School of Human, Health and Social Sciences, Institute for Health and Social Science Research, Higher Education Division, Rockhampton, Qld
4701, Australia

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 13 June 2012
Received in revised form 17 May 2013
Accepted 21 May 2013
Available online 11 June 2013
Keywords:
Food choice
Food motivations
Australia
Theory of Planned Behaviour
Ethical values
Sustainable food

a b s t r a c t
This study examined a three-step adaptation of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) applied to the
intention of consumers to purchase sustainably sourced food. The sample consisted of 137 participants,
of which 109 were female, who were recruited through a farmers market and an organic produce outlet
in an Australian capital city. Participants completed an online questionnaire containing the TPB scales of
attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control and intention; measures of positive moral attitude and ethical self identity; and food choice motives. Hierarchical multiple regression was used to
examine the predictive utility of the TPB in isolation (step 1) and the TPB expanded to include the constructs of moral attitude and ethical self-identity (step 2). The results indicated the expansion of the TPB
to include these constructs added signicantly to the predictive model measuring intention to purchase
sustainably sourced food. The third step in the adaptation utilised this expanded TPB model and added a
measure of retail channel (where consumers reported buying fresh produce) and 9 food choice motives,
in order to assess the predictive utility of the inclusion of choice motivations in this context. Of the 8 food
choice motives examined, only health and ethical values signicantly predicted intention to purchase
sustainably sourced food. However, with the addition of food choice motives, ethical self-identity was
no longer a signicant predictor of intention to purchase sustainably sourced food. Overall the adapted
TPB model explained 76% of the variance in intention to purchase sustainably sourced food.
2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Introduction
Ethical consumerism has ourished in the last decade, both in
scope and in scale. What was once a focus on environmental/
green behaviour has expanded to cover issues of animal welfare,
human rights, country of origin, fair trade, health, anti-globalisation and many other related concerns (Auger & Devinney, 2007;
Carrington, Neville, & Whitwell, 2010). Similarly, ethical consumerism has shifted from being an issue on the periphery of society
to the mainstream (Carrington et al., 2010). Crane and Matten
(2004) dened ethical consumerism as: the conscious and deliberate choice to make certain consumption choices due to personal
and moral beliefs (p. 290). By doing so, the consumer seeks to
inuence corporate practices by buying or not buying certain products, or demonstrating a willingness to pay for ethically-produced
goods (Auger & Devinney, 2007).
Food production is one of the most commonly-discussed issues
in the ethical consumer literature. The increase in Fair Tradebranded products, such as chocolate and coffee, are invariably cited
as proof of growing mainstream consumer sentiment about ethical
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: k.j.burke@cqu.edu.au (K.J. Burke).
0195-6663/$ - see front matter 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2013.05.024

issues due to their increasing visibility and popularity (Auger &

Devinney, 2007; Carrington et al., 2010). Motivations for purchasing organic food have been widely researched in a number of different countries (Finch, 2006; Fotopoulos & Chryssochoidis, 2001;
Lockie, Lyons, Lawrence, & Grice, 2004), and while the organic market has generated a lot of research, there is evidence to suggest that
there is a considerable amount of consumer interest in issues not
necessarily captured by the organic label. For example, a study
by Zander and Hamm (2010), found that animal welfare, regional
production and fair prices for farmers were the most important
ethical attributes of organic food for consumers, and that consumers were willing to pay extra for those products. These attributes
loosely describe what might be thought of as food that has been
produced or sourced in a sustainable manner. Sustainably produced food has been neglected in the ethical consumerism literature, not least because it is an emerging concept. With that in
mind, and with popular interest in the nature of food production
growing (e.g., Lawrence, 2008; Pollan, 2006; Schlosser, 2002), it
is timely to examine moral and ethical concerns in the context of
food choice.
This study focuses on sustainably sourced food a term intended to encapsulate buyers of certied organic produce as well
as those concerned with other ethical dimensions of food choice,

138

K. Dowd, K.J. Burke / Appetite 69 (2013) 137144

such as animal welfare, buying local or supporting farmers. It

seeks to investigate whether measures of positive moral attitude
and ethical self identity contribute independently to attitudes
and intention to purchase in the domain of food choice through
application and extension of the Theory of Planned Behaviour.
The Theory of Planned Behaviour
The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB; Ajzen, 1991) is a popular
social psychological model developed to explain the antecedents of
behaviour. The TPB posits that behaviour is best predicted by
behavioural intention that is, that someone is most likely to perform a given behaviour if they have formed the intention to do so
beforehand (Ajzen, 1991). Behavioural intention is thought to be
determined by an individuals attitudes, and the perceived social
pressure to perform the behaviour (subjective norm; Ajzen &
Fishbein, 1980). The TPB also includes perceived behavioural control (PBC), a measure of an individuals perceived ability to perform
the behaviour in question (Ajzen, 1991). In the model, attitude and
subjective norm inuence behaviour indirectly via behavioural
intention, whereas PBC can have both an indirect effect, via intention, and a direct effect on behaviour.
Studies utilising the TPB have consistently found support for its
predictive power. In a meta-analysis of 185 studies, the model was
found to explain 27% and 39% of the variance in behaviour and
intention respectively (Armitage & Conner, 2001). The studies included in the meta-analysis covered a wide variety of behaviours,
including physical activity, smoking cessation, voting behaviour
and dieting. Inclusion of the PBC measure was supported by the
nding that it added 2% to the prediction of behaviour after controlling for intention, and 6% to the prediction of behavioural intention, after controlling for attitude and subjective norms across
these behaviour types (Armitage & Conner, 2001).
Many studies have successfully applied the TPB in predicting
food choice. For example, Kassem and Lee (2004) applied the TPB
to soft drink consumption among male teenagers and found attitude, subjective norm and PBC explained 61% of the variance in
intention to drink soft drinks. Murnaghan et al. (2010) focused
on three health behaviours smoking, fruit and vegetable consumption and physical activity in teens. They found that 50% of
the variance in intention to eat fruit and vegetables was explained
by attitude, subjective norm and PBC.
Moral considerations
One signicant criticism of the TPB model has been the lack of
inclusion of moral or ethical concerns (Arvola et al., 2008; Shaw,
Shiu, & Clarke, 2000). Indeed, Ajzens own assertion (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980) that the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA; the precursor
to the more widely used and accepted Theory of Planned Behaviour) need not be extended to include moral obligations was later
reconsidered by Ajzen himself upon nding that perceived moral
obligation added signicantly to the models predictive abilities
in certain contexts (Beck & Ajzen, 1991). Similarly, Manstead
(2000) suggested that while moral obligations were not relevant
in all domains of behaviour, they would be likely to have an independent effect in domains where individual or social goals conicted with personally held moral imperatives.
Since its original conceptualisation the TPB has been extended
to include measures of moral obligation in a number of studies
(Manstead, 2000), which have been shown to provide additional
predictive utility for a wide variety of behaviours, including cheating, stealing and lying (Beck & Ajzen, 1991), condom use (Godin
et al., 1996), committing driving violations (Parker, Manstead &

Stradling, 1995) and engaging in self-harm (OConner & Armitage,

2003).
Moral obligation has proved a fruitful addition to the TPB in the
context of food choice, and has been shown to have an independent effect when it comes to intention to purchase a range of products that are encapsulated by the umbrella term of sustainably
sourced food. These include fair trade grocery products (Shaw
et al., 2000), organic foods (Arvola et al., 2008), ready-to-eat meals
(Olsen, Sijtsema, & Hall, 2010) and ethically-branded meat
(McEachern, Schroder, Willock, Whitelock, & Mason, 2007). The
addition of moral obligation has also added predictive value in
the examination of attitudes regarding meat consumption (Sparks
& Shepherd, 2002), milk consumption (Raats, Shepherd, & Sparks,
1995) and toward genetic engineering (Sparks & Shepherd, 2002;
Sparks, Shepherd, & Frewer, 1995). Although morals have been
shown to have an effect in predicting intention, Arvola et al.
(2008) noted that in the majority of studies, perceived moral obligation is usually conceptualised in negative terms, either in the
sense of having an obligation to do something (Shaw et al., 2000;
Sparks et al., 1995) or in terms of guilt (Magnusson & Hursti,
2002; Olsen et al., 2010; Sparks & Shepherd, 2002).
While arguably distinct constructs, in many studies examining
determinants of food choice, the concepts of moral obligation, moral norm, and moral attitude have been used somewhat interchangeably. Moral obligation can perhaps best be considered as
being comprised of the two facets of norm and attitude which
act as opposite but related components of the overall construct.
The dening difference between the norm and attitude constructs
appears to be that proponents of the moral norm concept (e.g.
OConner & Armitage, 2003; Schwartz & Howard, 1984) tend to focus on negative feelings, such as guilt or a sense of obligation, that
are invoked when personal moral values are violated. In this way
moral norms are seen to act as motivators of behaviour in that
the individual wishes to avoid the negative consequence (Olsen
et al., 2010). In contrast, proponents of the moral attitude construct, or more specically, positive moral attitude, are focussed
on the possible positive consequences of fullling ones moral values. Arvola et al. (2008) for example argues that organic food purchases are driven more by anticipated positive feelings than by the
anticipation of negative moral or value laden consequences. Similarly, Olsen et al. (2010) conceptualised moral attitude as arising
when an individual is aware that their actions can inuence the
well-being of others, and that they feel a sense of responsibility
for both the action and its consequences. As such individuals seek
out opportunities to full this aspect of what they consider their
moral obligation (e.g. buying fair trade coffee), but are less likely
to experience negative consequences when the opportunity does
not arise because the act (or non-act) itself does not involve violation of a personal moral value.
Arvola et al. (2008) argued that because consumers do not typically see purchasing organic food as being a moral imperative, it is
more appropriate to measure anticipated positive feelings of
doing the right thing as opposed to negative feelings of guilt.
Arvola et al.s study examined intention to purchase organic pizza
and organic apples and measured positive moral attitude, which
was dened as making a positive contribution and feeling like
the morally right choice had been made. They found that inclusion
of moral attitude increased the TPBs explanatory power. Furthermore, it was found that intention to purchase organic pizza was
signicantly predicted by both positively- and negatively-worded
measures of moral attitude, but that for intention to purchase organic apples, only the positively-worded measure made a signicant predictive contribution (Dean, Raats, & Shepherd, 2008),
highlighting the differences in intentions attached to the context
of the behaviour or choice.

K. Dowd, K.J. Burke / Appetite 69 (2013) 137144

Self identity
Inclusion of a measure of self identity has also been shown to
enhance the TPBs predictive power (Armitage & Conner, 1999;
Armitage, Conner, & Norman, 1999; Shaw et al., 2000). Self identity
refers to an individuals role identication and the way they view
themselves within society; it is proposed that the stronger an individuals role identication, the more inuence self identity will
have on their behaviour (Armitage & Conner, 1999). Self identity
has been shown to contribute to behavioural intention independently of subjective norms, ethical obligation and other TPB variables (Armitage et al., 1999; Shaw et al., 2000; Sparks & Guthrie,
1998; Sparks & Shepherd, 1992). Notably, Shaw et al.s study,
which incorporated both ethical obligation and self identity, found
signicant independent effects for both measures, as well as a
strong effect for perceived behavioural control. The authors concluded that in certain contexts, the variables contained within
the traditional TRA model are not as central to the decision making
process as the additional measures of perceived behavioural control, ethical obligation and self-identity (Shaw et al., 2000, p.
889). The authors suggested that this is because the traditional
TPB model is more suited to self-interested behaviours than those
with an ethical dimension (Shaw et al., 2000). They argued that an
individuals concern about a variety of ethical issues led to a sense
of ethical self identity, which may be just as important in determining behaviour for some consumers as more self-interested motives, like price. The TPBs focus on rational self-interest
consequently neglected these consumers.

139

welfare and political values have been replicated (Chen, 2007;

Honkanen, Verplanken, & Olsen, 2006), a number of authors have
found no effect for religion (Honkanen et al., 2006; Lockie et al.,
2004). Lindeman and Vnnen (2000) suggested that while these
factors may be less important in general populations, they may
play a signicant role in food choice for some groups of people.
Accordingly, as the denition of sustainable food adopted in this
study encompassed a broad range of factors that have not previously been explored in combination, the broader conceptualisation
offered by Lindeman and Vnnen was considered most
appropriate.
Characteristics, such as income, gender and age, have also been
shown to affect food choice motives. Steptoe et al. (1995) noted
that high, moderate and low income groups differed signicantly
in their ratings of price, familiarity and sensory appeal. They later
conrmed and extended this result, nding that people with lower
educational attainment (their marker for socioeconomic status)
rated price, familiarity, mood and sensory appeal as signicantly
more important in determining their food choices than those
who were better educated (Steptoe & Wardle, 1999). The same
study found that women rated all factors, with the exception of
familiarity, as more important than men (Steptoe & Wardle,
1999). This nding was replicated by Lockie et al. (2004) who
found signicant differences between men and women for most
food choice factors when it came to purchasing organic food,
though only minor effects (r < .10) were observed for income and
age.
The current study

Motivational aspects of food choice

While this study is primarily concerned with the integration of
ethical issues of food choice into the TPB, it is appropriate to consider other motivational aspects of food purchase. Studies concerning the purchase and consumption of organic foods, for example,
tend to focus on specic attributes (such as lack of additives) and
barriers (such as price) of organic compared to conventional food
(Hamzaoui Essoussi & Zahaf, 2009; Michaelidou & Hassan, 2008;
Zepeda, 2009). Fewer studies have addressed ethical or environmental issues taking into account a broader variety of factors; a
notable exception is the study by Lockie et al. (2004), which took
a multidimensional approach in distinguishing organic from nonorganic purchasers. They found that, after naturalness of food,
which focused on the concern of consumers regarding additives,
pesticides and hormones as a motivator for purchasing organic
food, sensory and emotional appeal was the strongest motivator
for organic food purchases. These are the dimensions related to
taste, texture, enjoyment and familiarity of foods factors generally considered to be important in determining food choice
(Honkanen & Frewer, 2009; Pieniak, Verbeke, Vanhonacker, Guerrero, & Hersleth, 2009; Steptoe & Wardle, 1999). However, these
factors are not often included in studies of ethical food choices.
In order to address this issue, the second step in the TPB adaptation presented in the current study examined food choice motivations from the perspective of Steptoe, Pollard, and Wardle
(1995). This included Steptoe et als original food choice motivations conceptualised as health, weight control, sensory appeal,
price, convenience, familiarity, mood, and natural content. However, as understanding the contribution of ethics motivations was
a core aim of this study, Lindeman and Vnnens (2000) adaptation of Steptoe et als original conceptualisation was applied. This
adaptation expanded the single construct of ethical concern to
three individual constructs of ecological welfare, political values,
and religion, and allows for a deeper and more clearly dened
examination of the ethical motivations underlying intentions towards sustainable food choices. Although effects for ecological

A wealth of research has addressed peoples motivations for

purchasing organic food (e.g. Dean et al., 2008; Finch, 2006; Fotopoulos & Chryssochoidis, 2001; Honkanen et al., 2006; Lockie et al.,
2004; Sparks & Shepherd, 1992). However, a considerable number
of authors have noted a growing dissatisfaction with certied organic produce. One of the most commonly cited reasons is a lack
of trust in giant agribusinesses involved in the production of organic produce, with buyers concerned that the big businesses will
water down organic standards or that the inevitable large-scale
production and distribution methods largely negate the benets
of purchasing organic in the rst place (Chrzan, 2010; Hamzaoui
Essoussi & Zahaf, 2009; Lyons, 2006; Zepeda & Deal, 2009). These
authors note that consumers with these concerns have started to
privilege short-chain methods of food purchasing, with an emphasis on buying local or directly from the farmer. In these trustbased relationships, organic certication is less important.
This study aims to investigate ethical factors in food purchase
intentions, however to only consider purchasers of certied organic produce would exclude this segment of the market. In the current study, sustainably sourced food refers to: food purchased
directly from the grower (at a farmers market or through a home
delivery scheme, for example); or food which is organically produced (whether certied organic or not); or food which the purchaser believes to come from a local source (because they
purchased it from a local greengrocer or farmers market, for example). The focus is on food where the buyer has a connection with
the producer or some level of trust that the food has been grown
in a sustainable way. The term sustainably sourced food is intentionally broad to capture a range of ethical consumer concerns.
This includes food grown without pesticides or genetically modied organisms a method typically associated with certied organic produce (Lockie et al., 2004) and employing sustainable
production methods (such as crop rotation). It includes food grown
locally to capture consumers trying to support local farmers or
concerned with the environmental ramications of transporting
food long distances. It includes those concerned with animal

140

K. Dowd, K.J. Burke / Appetite 69 (2013) 137144

welfare and husbandry practices. Finally, it is intended to capture

trust-based relationships those who value organic certication
less than being able to trust and buy directly from the grower,
and those who are sceptical of big businesses getting involved with
organic produce.
This exploratory study applied the Theory of Planned Behaviour
in a three step process to examine intentions to purchase sustainably sourced foods. In the rst step, the predictive value of the TPB
constructs in isolation were examined. In step 2, the TPB was expanded to include positive moral attitude and ethical self-identity
as predictors of intention.
In the third step of this study, the expanded TPB model examined in Step 2 was further adapted through the inclusion of food
choice motivations and a measure of retail channel (where an individual typically purchased fresh produce, specically fruit and vegetables, and meat products). As food choice motivations have been
shown to inuence purchasing decisions (Lockie et al., 2004), it
was predicted that these contextual choice motives would make
a signicant contribution to the explanatory power in predicting
intention to purchase sustainably sourced food.
Accordingly, the following hypotheses were posed:
Step 1: Hypothesis 1. The Theory of Planned Behaviour (attitude,
PBC, subjective norms) will signicantly predict intention to
purchase sustainably sourced foods.
Step 2: Hypothesis 2. The TPB with the addition of positive
moral attitude and ethical self-identity will increase the explanatory power of the model in predicting intention to purchase
sustainably sourced foods.
Step 3: Hypothesis 3. The inclusion of food choice motivations
and retail channel, with the adapted TPB, will signicantly
increase the explanatory power of the model in predicting
intention to purchase sustainably sourced foods.
Method
Participants
Data were collected online using a convenience sample of Australian grocery buyers aged 18 and over. The sample consisted of
137 respondents, ranging in age from 19 to 80 years (M = 40.37;
SD = 13.56), of which 80% (n = 109) were female. The majority of
participants were university educated (73.0%, n = 100). Most participants were born in Australia (60.6%, n = 83), followed by the
United Kingdom (12.4%, n = 17). Nearly all respondents were employed, either full time (65.7%, n = 90) or part time up to 30 h a
week (14.6%, n = 20). Over a third of respondents (n = 49) had an
annual household income below $78,000. The majority of respondents (90.5%, n = 124) were the main or shared main grocery buyer
in their household.
When preferred retail channel was examined, half of the participants (50.1%, n = 71) reported buying their fruit and vegetables
from conventional retailers, such as supermarket chains. The
remainder purchased fruit and vegetables from specialty retailers,
such as farmers markets and local grocers. There was a similar
split between participants regarding meat purchases, with 54%
(n = 74) reporting they bought their meat from conventional retailers while the remainder bought from specialty retailers.
Materials
Theory of Planned Behaviour Constructs. The TPB constructs of
attitude, subjective norm, Perceived Behavioural Control (PBC) and
behavioural intention were measured consistent with Ajzens
(2006) instructions. All questions were measured on seven-point
scales. Table 1 provides examples of questions and response

options for each construct in the TPB, and the constructs added
to the TPB in the current study.
Positive moral attitude
Positive moral attitude was measured in accordance with Arvola et al. (2008). Questions began with the statement Buying this
kind of food would and contained three items. All were rated on
a seven-point scale from 1 = disagree to 7 = agree (Table 1).
Ethical self identity
Ethical self identity was measured with two items, in the format
suggested by Sparks and Shepherd (1992): I think of myself as someone who is concerned about ethical issues and I think of myself as an
ethical consumer, measured on a seven-point scale from 1 = disagree
to 7 = agree (Table 1).
Motivations for food purchases
This construct was measured using Steptoe et al.s (1995) Food
Choice Questionnaire (FCQ), incorporating revisions to the ethical
concerns scale as proposed by Lindeman and Vnnen (2000).
The revised scale consists of 42 items measuring eleven motivating
factors (Table 1). All questions began with the statement It is
important to me that the food I eat on a typical day. . ., and the responses took the form Is nutritious. All items were measured on
a seven-point scale, where 1 = unimportant and 7 = important.
Table 1 shows that all variables in this study had good reliability, with internal consistency (Cronbachs a) ranging from .76 to
.97.
Procedure
Participants were targeted through the organisers of a local
farmers market, and an organic food market in and around an Australian capital city. As these individuals may already have been
purchasing sustainably sourced foods, they were considered an
appropriate group to target in order to examine the intentions
underlying these food purchases. Snowballing was used with participants encouraged to pass the survey details onto family and
friends. Both market businesses listed the survey address on their
Facebook pages, as well as distributing it in a newsletter emailed to
subscribers. The survey remained open for seven weeks, and due to
the nature of the sample reminders were not sent. Ethical approval
was obtained from the Human Research Ethics Committee of an
Australian University.
Results
Factor structure of food choice motives
Following the instruction and suggestions Lindeman and
Vnnen (2000) and Lockie et al. (2004) prior to being examined
as predictor variables, the eleven scales of food choice motives
were subjected to principal components analysis (PCA). The results
of Monte Carlo PCA for parallel analysis suggested retaining eight
factors (45 variables  137 respondents), so PCA was rerun forcing
an eight factor solution, with a varimax rotation.
The eight factor solution was found to explain 70.5% of the variance and retained ve of the original FCQ scales mood, weight,
sensory appeal, price and religion as distinct constructs. The nal
three components merged six FCQ scales, but kept the items within
them intact, and each showed good internal consistency. The revised scales included an Ethical Values scale (a = .94), which
merged the ecological welfare and political values scales (10
items); a Health scale (a = .91) merged the Health and Natural Content scales (9 items); and a Convenience scale (a = .84) merged the

141

K. Dowd, K.J. Burke / Appetite 69 (2013) 137144

Table 1
Example items and Scale Reliability for the Theory of Planned Behaviour constructs and food choice motives scales.
Construct

Example item

Cronbach

a
Theory of Planned Behaviour
Behavioural intention (3 items)
Attitude (5 items)
Perceived behavioural control (3
items)
Subjective norm (1 item)

I intend to buy this kind of food the next time I buy groceries (1 = disagree, 7 = agree)
For me buying this kind of food is... (1 = bad, 7 = good; 1 = harmful; 7 = benecial)
If I want to, I can easily buy this food (1 = disagree; 7 = agree)

.97
.94
.82

Most people important to me think I should buy this food (1 = disagree; 7 agree)

.94

Ethical self-identity (2 items)

Buying this kind of food would... ...feel like I was making a personal contribution to something better
(1 = disagree, 7 = agree)
I think of myself as someone who is concerned about ethical issues (1 = disagree, 7 = agree)

Food choice motives (step 3 additions)

Health (6 items)
Mood (6 items)
Convenience (5 items)
Sensory appeal (4 items)
Natural content (3 items)
Price (3 items)
Weight (3 items)
Familiarity (3 items)
*
Ecological welfare (6 items)
*
Political values (4 items)
*
Religion (2 items)a

Contains a lot of vitamins and minerals

Helps me cope with stress
Can be cooked very simply
Smells nice
Contains no additives
Is not expensive
Is low in calories
Is like the food I ate when I was a child
Has been produced in a way that respects animals rights
Comes from a country in which human rights are not violated
Is in harmony with my religious views

.92
.90
.88
.83
.93
.76
.91
.79
.94
.89
.92
(r = .85)

Adapted TPB (step 2 additions)

Positive moral attitude (3 items)
a

.91
(r = .83)

Lindemann & Vaananens (2000) adaptations of Steptoe et als (1995) original scale.
Correlation coefcients also provided for scales with two items only.

Convenience and Familiarity scales (8 items). Factor scores were

created for each factor using the regression method.
Univariate analysis of variance was conducted to investigate the
impact of age, gender, household income and retail channel on
intention to purchase sustainably sourced food. The only signicant effect was for retail channel specically, where the respondent purchased their fruit and vegetables, F(1, 91) = 7.29, p = .01,
with people buying from specialty stores or farmers markets signicantly more likely (M = 5.30; SD = 1.45) to intend to purchase
sustainably sourced food than people buying from conventional
stores (M = 4.08; SD = 1.59).

Direct predictors of intention to purchase sustainably source food

Table 2 presents a correlation matrix for all variables being
examined. It indicates there are some weak, but signicant relationships between the food choice motives and intention; however, the stronger signicant relationships were between the
original TPB constructs (attitude, subjective norm, PBC and intention). Both ethical self-identity and moral attitude had signicant
relationships with intention.
In order to establish whether positive moral attitude and ethical
self-identity made a signicant contribution to the prediction of
intention to purchase sustainably source foods, hierarchical multiple regression was employed to examine the direct predictive value of the TPB variables (attitude, subjective norm and PBC), and
the added impact of positive moral attitude and ethical self identity. Attitudes, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control
were entered in Block 1, and were found to explain 61.6% of the
variance in intention to purchase sustainably sourced food
F(3, 128) = 68.36, p < .001. After self identity and moral attitude
were entered in Block 2, the total variance explained increased to
72.9%, F(5, 126) = 67.69, p < .001. Self identity and moral attitude
added 11.3% to the models explanatory power, R2 change = .11, F
change (2, 126) = 49.753, p = .002. All predictors were statistically
signicant, with moral attitude having the highest beta value
(b = .36, p < .001), followed by attitude (b = .25, p < .001), PBC

(b = .21, p < .001), ethical self identity (b = .18, p=.002) and subjective norm (b = .16, p=.005).
Retail channel and food choice motives were added at Block 3
and also made a small, but signicant contribution to the prediction of intention R2 change = .03, F change (3, 122) = 6.76, p = .02.
The model as a whole was signicant, F(8, 123) = 32.96, p < .001,
and explained 75.7% of the variance in intention to purchase sustainably sourced food an additional 14% to the TPB alone. In
the nal block, all TPB variables remained signicant (Table 3).
Moral attitude was signicant but ethical self identity was not
(b = .08, ns). Of the food motives variables, only ethical values
and health were signicant. The signicant Beta weights for the direct prediction of intention in the nal block are reected in
Table 3.

Discussion
The inclusion of ethical dimensions in the TPB
Consistent with other studies which have applied the Theory Of
Planned Behaviour in the context of food choice, and supporting
hypothesis 1, the original TPB model was found to be robust,
explaining 62% of the variance in intention to purchase sustainably
sourced food. This is considerably higher than the 39% average variance explained in Armitage and Conners meta-analysis (2001) and
to the 44.3% of the variance found by McEachan, Conner, Taylor, and
Lawton (2011) in a more recent and more stringent meta-analysis.
However, the explained variance is similar to other applications of
the TPB to food choice. For example, the TPB was found to explain:
61% of the variance in intention to drink soft drinks (Kassem & Lee,
2004); 50% of the variance in intention to eat fruit and vegetables
(Murnaghan et al., 2010); 61% of the variance in intention to eat a
low fat diet (Armitage & Conner, 1999); 55% of the variance in
intention to purchase organic apples and 36% of the variance in
intention to purchase organic pizza (Dean et al., 2008).
In step 2 both positive moral attitude and ethical self identity
were found to be signicant in predicting intention to purchase,

142

K. Dowd, K.J. Burke / Appetite 69 (2013) 137144

adding 11% to the TPBs explanatory power, supporting hypothesis

2. Moral attitude, in particular, had a profound effect. It made a unique contribution of 8% to the TPB model, and reduced the unique
contributions of attitude and PBC to 3% (from 18% and 7%, respectively), and subjective norm to 2% (from 5%). This is consistent with
Dean et al.s (2008) nding, that positive moral attitude added signicantly to the TPBs explanatory power.
Within the adapted TPB, ethical self identity was also signicant
in predicting intention, accounting for a unique contribution of 2%.
While this results supports the ndings of Shaw et al.s (2000), who
found a signicant effect for self identity alongside the TPB, their
assertion that in the domain of ethical consumption, PBC, ethical
obligation and self identity were more salient than the traditional
TPB variables (i.e. subjective norm and attitude) was not entirely
borne out. In this study, attitude remained a signicant and salient
predictor of intentions. Positive moral attitude, attitude and PBC
were the strongest predictors of intention, followed by self identity
and subjective norm. Despite this, the strong inuence of positive
moral attitude found in this study, combined with the reduction
of the importance of attitude and PBC (from 18% and 7% to 3%) once
moral attitude and self identity were included in the model, lends
support to the suggestion that the TPB alone is inadequate to explain intention in the domain of ethical consumption.
These ndings suggest that for food choice intentions, and indeed for any domain with an ethical dimension, moral attitude
and self identity are worthy inclusions to the TPB model. This is
particularly the case for positive moral attitude, which made the
greatest contribution to intention to purchase sustainably sourced
food. Furthermore, this result supports Dean et al.s (2008) conclusion that a positively-worded measure of moral attitude is an
appropriate inclusion in the domain of food choice.

Table 3
Signicant beta weights for variables directly predicting
intention to purchase sustainably sourced food in the
nal step of an hierarchical multiple regression.
Construct

Positive moral attitude

Ethical values (food choice motives)
Health (food choice motives)
Retail channel
Subjective norms (TPB)
Perceived behavioural control (TPB)
Attitude (TPB)

.35
.25
.16
.11
.15
.19
.21

Sjoden, 2003). Similarly, that ethical values proved signicant adds

strength to the argument that the TPB should include measures of
moral and ethical considerations, particularly in the domain of
food choice. While those food choice motives that were signicant
are consistent with the ndings of prior studies, the majority of the
food choice motivators were not signicant in predicting intention
to purchase sustainably sourced food.
Given the questionnaire primarily related to the purchase of
fruit and vegetables, meaning religion was largely irrelevant, this
nding was unsurprising. However, price and convenience have
been shown to have a negative impact on intention to purchase organic food (Chen, 2007; Hamzaoui Essoussi & Zahaf, 2009; Lockie
et al., 2004), and sensory appeal has been shown to be an important factor in food choice (Honkanen & Frewer, 2009; Lockie
et al., 2004; Pieniak et al., 2009; Steptoe & Wardle, 1999). It is suspected that the reason for this nding is a question of measurement. The term sustainably sourced food, though dened in the
questionnaire, is inherently vague. Studies of ethical food choices
have traditionally measured organic or FairTrade-branded produce
(e.g. Didier & Lucie, 2008; Finch, 2006; Michaelidou & Hassan,
2007; Shaw et al., 2000). Even if the details of how these foods
were sourced and produced were not well understood by consumers, the terms are likely to be readily recognised. These terms have
been discussed in the mainstream media for a considerable period
of time, meaning both positive (healthy, natural) and negative
(high price, low availability) schemas already exist in the public
domain. Sustainably sourced food, however, is an ambiguous term
meaning different things to different people. Are fruit and vegetables bought from a conventional farmer at a farmers market more
sustainably sourced than organic produce bought from a supermarket? It is possible that most respondents were not overly

The adapted TPB and inclusion of food choice motive and retail
channel preference
The third step of this study involved testing the signicance
of contextual variables food choice motives and retail channel
alongside the adapted TPB from step 1 given its increased explanatory power. Surprisingly, of the eight food choice motives examined, only ethical values and health directly predicted intention
to purchase sustainably sourced food. The nding that health predicted intention is consistent with prior ndings of health being a
strong predictor of the motivations underlying the purchase of organic food (Baker, Thompson, Engelken, & Huntley, 2004; Hamzaoui Essoussi & Zahaf, 2009; Magnusson, Arvola, Hursti, Aberg, &

Table 2
Correlations between TPB constructs, moral attitude, ethical self-identity and food choice motives (N = 137).

*
**

Construct

Health

Health
Convenience
Ethics
Mood
Sensory
Price
Weight
Religion
Ethical SI
Moral
attitude
Subj norm
PBC
Attitude
Intention

.10
.09
.27**
.04
.01
.01
.05
.25**
.15

p < .05,
p < .01.

.16
.17*
.15
.21*

Conven

Ethics

Mood

.17
.22**
.11
.07
.00
.30**
.25**

.32**
.13
.11
.02
.30**
.25**

Sensory

Price

Weight

Religion

.29**
.10
.07
.09

.06
.18*
.01

.11
.03

Ethical self
iden

Moral
attitude

.47**

Subject
norm

PBC

Attitude

Intention

.30**
.51**

.68**

.06
.03
.01
.01
.10
.03
.09
.14
.04
.11
.10
.11

.07
.16
.25**
.30**

.21
.29**
.15
.30**

.04
.03
.01
.18*
.12
.05
.16
.06
.16

.03
.16
.05
.10

.03
.09
.00
.02

.08
.10
.05
.08

**

.34
.38**
.51**
.61**

.46**
.32**
.60**
.73**

.30**
.44**
.55**

K. Dowd, K.J. Burke / Appetite 69 (2013) 137144

concerned with where their food came from; that they could not
reconcile the question about purchasing sustainably sourced food
with a recognisable goal or action; and that they gave middling
scores in response. If this were the case, none of the six food choice
motives mentioned would differentiate them, with the possible
exception of price.
It is also possible that there is a small percentage of people who
do care where their food comes from, and that their choice is predominantly a function of reasoning regarding ethics or health. For
these people, it would be natural to seek out sustainably sourced
food (in whatever form that might mean for them), and it would
be expected they would endorse strongly the questions relating
to intention to purchase. If this were the case, it would explain
the signicant results for just those two variables. Retail channel
was shown to have a direct effect on intention to purchase, suggesting that people shopping at farmers markets and specialty
stores were more likely to intend to purchase sustainably sourced
food than those shopping at supermarkets. This is consistent with
the assertions of Lockie et al. (2004) who suggested that about half
of organic food sold is to a niche group of committed organic
purchasers.
The modied TPB model in step 3 of this study remained a robust predictor of intention to purchase sustainably sourced food,
and although signicant, the increase in explained variance was
modest at best. That said, this step of the model adaptation produced some interesting results particularly regarding ethical motives underlying intention to purchase. All three TPB variables of
attitude, subjective norm and PBC were signicant, uniquely contributing up to 2% of the total variance each. Moral attitude was
highly signicant, uniquely accounting for 7% of the total variance.
These results were very similar to those found when testing the
step 2 TPB model in which moral attitude uniquely contributed
8% and the TPB variables uniquely contributed 23% of the total
variance. However, in the step 3 model, ethical self-identity was
not signicant in predicting intention to purchase. It was noted
that ethical self identity and ethical values were moderately correlated and, perhaps importantly, that the ethical values questions
were more specic in nature (e.g. Has been produced in a way
that respects animals rights) than the self identity questions
(e.g. I think of myself as an ethical consumer). Thus it is possible
that the specicity of the ethical values questions (as a food choice
motive) was responsible for the signicant result in the case of
intention to purchase in step 3, whereas the more abstract attitudinal questions for ethical self-identity were responsible for predicting intention to purchase when considered alone, but not
when these more specic questions had been asked.

143

A second methodological concern is that of the 1 item measure

of perceived behavioural control. While this study applied Azjens
original conceptualisation of the TPB, it is acknowledged that
response heterogeneity is difcult to assess when only one item
is provided. Accordingly, it is recommended that future studies
incorporate more than one item measuring this domain.
A common criticism of studies of this type is that intention does
not necessarily equate to action. Armitage and Conner (2001)
found in their meta-analysis that while the TPB predicted up to
39% of the variance in intention, it predicted 27% of the variance
in behaviour. This study was intended to be exploratory in nature,
to test the validity of combining a number of extra variables with
the TPB. This is a valid criticism, however, and future research
could test the modied TPB model in a domain of ethical food
choice, measuring both intention and behaviour and examining
the possible indirect relationships through attitude, subjective
norm and PBC. It would be worthwhile to ascertain the extent of
the gap between intention and behaviour, as this type of disparity
is not uncommon in the eld of ethical consumerism (Carrington
et al., 2010). While beyond the scope of the current exploratory
study, a more comprehensive assessment could be achieved
through the use of structural equation modelling to predict actual
behavioural outcomes, as this would allow testing of all of the possible relationships between the TPB variables and the additional
constructs this is particularly important to consider in future
studies given the signicant correlations found in the current study
between the TPB constructs of attitude, PBC and subjective norms;
with positive moral attitude and ethical self-identity.
The study did not consider the role potentially played by moral
norms in that the focus was on the potential positive consequences
reported by consumers in response to intention to purchase sustainably sourced foods. While not necessarily a limitation given
Arvolas et als. (2008) argument regarding the way in which consumers conceptualise food purchasing, nonetheless, examination
of possible negative consequence perceptions would have added
a further dimension to this study, and possibly added to the
robustness of the model.
Finally, the lack of representativeness of the sample mean the
conclusions drawn here are not necessarily applicable to other
samples. The sample was skewed heavily towards employed, female university graduates (perhaps as a function of recruitment).
As the study was exploratory, this was not a signicant concern,
however future studies may test the validity of the modied TPB
model proposed in this research with a more representative
sample.
Conclusions

Study limitations and suggestions for future research

A substantial limitation with the study was in the ambiguity of
the term sustainably sourced food. Although the denition was
deliberately kept broad, its vagueness may have been difcult for
respondents to conceptualise. The intention with the broad denition was to capture a variety of different ethical concerns buying
locally, sustainable production methods, fair trade or animal welfare in order to get an idea of the momentum of the ethical consumer market with regard to food choice. This is a worthwhile
goal, because the size of the ethical consumer market is unknown.
Sales gures of the organic market are usually cited as an estimation of market size, but these may wildly underestimate the number of consumers acting in deliberate ways on ethical grounds.
However, in retrospect, the umbrella term sustainably sourced
may have been too ambitious. Future research could perhaps be
conned to more easily dened market segments, specifying, for
example, whether consumers intended to buy food produced
locally.

Despite the limitations, the study identies the need to incorporate and acknowledge the role of ethical inuences in examinations of intentions, and by extension, behaviours that may
involve an underlying moral/ethical decision process. Both adaptations of the TPB models signicantly predicted intention to purchase sustainably sourced food. The step 2 TPB model, with ve
signicant predictor variables including ethics domains, explained
73% of the total variance in intention to purchase sustainably
sourced food. The step 3 model, with seven signicant predictor
variables including ethical and contextual constructs, explained
76%. In both models, positive moral attitude accounted for the
highest amount of unique variance. Ethical self identity was significant in predicting intention in the step 2 TPB model, whereas ethical values predicted intention in the step 3 TPB model. These
results suggest that measures of ethical concern make a useful
addition to the TPB framework when considering domains, such
as sustainable food choice, that involve moral/ethical judgements.
It is suggested that, in the domain of ethical food choices, future

144

K. Dowd, K.J. Burke / Appetite 69 (2013) 137144

examination of intention to purchase and, by extension, actual purchase of sustainably sourced foods should incorporate measures of
positive moral attitude, a measure of ethical concern, and a
measure of contextual inuences such as health concern or current
health status.

References
Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human
Decision
Processes,
50(2),
179211.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/07495978(91)90020-T.
Ajzen, I. (2006). Constructing a TpB questionnaire. Conceptual and methodological
considerations. <http://www.people.umass.edu/aizen/tpb.html>.
Ajzen, I., & Fishbein, M. (1980). Understanding attitudes and predicting social
behavior. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Armitage, C. J., & Conner, M. (1999). Predictive validity of the theory of planned
behaviour. The role of questionnaire format and social desirability. Journal of
Community & Applied Social Psychology, 9(4), 261272 (Retrieved from
EBSCOhost).
Armitage, C. J., & Conner, M. (2001). Efcacy of the theory of planned behaviour. A
meta-analytic review. British Journal of Social Psychology, 40(4), 471499
(Retrieved from EBSCOhost).
Armitage, C. J., Conner, M., & Norman, P. (1999). Differential effects of mood on
information processing. Evidence from the theories of reasoned action and
planned behaviour. European Journal of Social Psychology, 29, 419433
(Retrieved from EBSCOhost).
Arvola, A., Vassallo, M., Dean, M., Lampila, P., Saba, A., Lhteenmki, L., et al. (2008).
Predicting intentions to purchase organic food. The role of affective and moral
attitudes in the Theory of Planned Behaviour. Appetite, 50, 443454. http://
dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2007.09.010.
Auger, P., & Devinney, T. M. (2007). Do what consumers say matter? The
misalignment of preferences with unconstrained ethical intentions. Journal of
Business Ethics, 76, 361383. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10551-006-9287-y.
Baker, S., Thompson, K. E., Engelken, J., & Huntley, K. (2004). Mapping the values
driving organic food choice. Germany vs the UK. European Journal of Marketing,
38(8), 9951012. doi: 10.1108/03090560410539131.
Beck, L., & Ajzen, I. (1991). Predicting dishonest actions using the theory of planned
behaviour. Journal of Research in Personality, 25(3), 285301. http://dx.doi.org/
10.1016/0092-6566(91)90021-H.
Carrington, M. J., Neville, B. A., & Whitwell, G. J. (2010). Why ethical consumers
dont walk their talk. Towards a framework for understanding the gap between
the ethical purchase intentions and actual buying behaviour of ethically minded
consumers. Journal of Business Ethics, 97, 139158. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/
s10551-010-0501-6.
Chen, M. (2007). Consumer attitudes and purchase intentions in relation to organic
foods in Taiwan. Moderating effects of food-related personality traits. Food
Quality
and
Preference,
18,
10081021.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/
j.foodqual.2007.04.004.
Chrzan, J. (2010). The American omnivores dilemma. Who constructs organic
food? Food and Foodways, 18(1), 8195. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/
07409711003708561.
Crane, A., & Matten, D. (2004). Business Ethics. Oxford: OUP.
Dean, M., Raats, M. M., & Shepherd, R. (2008). Moral concerns and consumer choice
of fresh and processed organic foods. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 38(8),
20882107. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.2008.00382.
Didier, T., & Lucie, S. (2008). Measuring consumers willingness to pay for organic
and fair trade products. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 32, 479490.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1470-6431.2008.00714.x.
Finch, J. (2006). The impact of personal consumption values and beliefs on organic
food purchase behaviour. Journal of Food Products Marketing, 11(4), 6376.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J038v11n04_05.
Fotopoulos, C., & Chryssochoidis, G. (2001). Factors affecting the decision to
purchase organic food. Journal of Euromarketing, 9(3), 4566. http://dx.doi.org/
10.1300/J037v09n03_03.
Godin, G., Adrien, A., Willms, D., Maticka-Tyndale, E., Manson-Singer, S., & Cappon,
P. (1996). Cross-cultural testing of three social cognitive theories: An
application to condom use. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 26(17),
15561586. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.1996.tb00086.x.
Hamzaoui Essoussi, L., & Zahaf, M. (2009). Exploring the decision-making process of
Canadian organic food consumers. Qualitative Market Research. An International
Journal, 12(4), 443459. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/13522750910993347.
Honkanen, P., & Frewer, L. (2009). Russian consumers motives for food choice.
Appetite, 52, 363371. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2008.11.009.
Honkanen, P., Verplanken, B., & Olsen, S. O. (2006). Ethical values and motives
driving organic food choice. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 5, 420430. http://
dx.doi.org/10.1002/cb.190.
Kassem, N. O., & Lee, J. W. (2004). Understanding soft drink consumption among
male adolescents using the theory of planned behavior. Journal of Behavioral
Medicine, 27(3), 273296 (Retrieved from EBSCOhost).
Lawrence, F. (2008). Eat your heart out. London: Penguin.
Lindeman, M., & Vnnen, M. (2000). Measurement of ethical food choice motives.
Appetite, 34, 5559. http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/appe.1999.0293.

Lockie, S., Lyons, K., Lawrence, G., & Grice, J. (2004). Choosing organics. A path
analysis of factors underlying the selection of organic food among Australian
consumers.
Appetite,
43,
135146.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/
j.appet.2004.02.004.
Lyons, K. (2006). Environmental values and food choices. Views from Australian
organic food consumers. Journal of Australian Studies, 30(87), 155166. http://
dx.doi.org/10.1080/14443050609388058.
Magnusson, M., Arvola, A., Hursti, U. K., Aberg, L., & Sjoden, P. (2003). Choice of
organic foods is related to perceived consequences for human health and to
environmentally friendly behaviour. Appetite, 40, 109117. http://dx.doi.org/
10.1016/S0195-6663(03)00002-3.
Magnusson, M., & Hursti, U. (2002). Consumer attitudes towards genetically
modied foods. Appetite, 39, 924. http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/appe.2002.0486.
Manstead, A. S. R. (2000). The role of moral norm in the attitudebehavior
relationship. In D. J. Terry & M. A. Hogg (Eds.), Attitudes, behavior and social
context. The role of norms and group membership. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence
Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
McEachan, R., Conner, M., Taylor, J., & Lawton, R. (2011). Prospective prediction of
health-related behaviours with the theory of planned behaviour. A metaanalysis. Health Psychology Review, 5(2), 97144. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/
17437199.2010.521684.
McEachern, M., Schroder, M., Willock, J., Whitelock, J., & Mason, R. (2007). Exploring
ethical brand extensions and consumer buying behaviour. The RSPCA and the
Freedom Food brand. Journal of Product and Brand Management, 16(3),
168177. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/10610420710751546.
Michaelidou, N., & Hassan, L. (2008). The role of health consciousness, food safety
concern and ethical identity on attitudes and intentions towards organic food.
International Journal of Consumer Studies, 32, 163170. http://dx.doi.org/
10.1111/j.1470-6431.2007.00619.x.
Murnaghan, D., Blanchard, C., Rodgers, W., LaRosa, J., MacQuarrie, C., MacLellan, D.,
et al. (2010). Predictors of physical activity, healthy eating and being smokefree in teens. A theory of planned behaviour approach. Psychology and Health,
25(8), 925941. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08870440902866894.
OConner, R. C., & Armitage, C. J. (2003). Theory of planned behaviour and
parasuicide. An exploratory study. Current Psychology, 22, 196205.
Olsen, N. V., Sijtsema, S. J., & Hall, G. (2010). Predicting consumers intention to
consume ready-to-eat meals. The role of moral attitude. Appetite, 55, 534539.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2010.08.016.
Parker, D., Manstead, A. S. R., & Stradling, S. G. (1995). Extending the theory of
planned behaviour: The role of personal norm. British Journal of Social
Psychology, 34(2), 127137.
Pieniak, Z., Verbeke, W., Vanhonacker, F., Guerrero, L., & Hersleth, M. (2009).
Association between traditional food consumption and motives for food choice
in six European countries. Appetite, 53, 101108. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/
j.appet.2009.05.019.
Pollan, M. (2006). The Omnivores Dilemma. London: Bloomsbury.
Raats, M. M., Shepherd, R., & Sparks, P. (1995). Including moral dimensions of choice
within the structure of the theory of planned behavior. Journal of Applied Social
Psychology,
25(6),
484494.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.15591816.1995.tb01763.x.
Schlosser, E. (2002). Fast food nation. London: Penguin.
Schwartz, S. H., & Howard, A. (1984). Internalized values as motivators of altruism.
In Development and maintenance of prosocial behaviour. New York: Wiley.
Shaw, D., Shiu, E., & Clarke, I. (2000). The contribution of ethical obligation and selfidentity to the theory of planned behaviour. An exploration of ethical
consumers. Journal of Marketing Management, 16(8), 879894. http://
dx.doi.org/10.1362/026725700784683672.
Sparks, P., & Guthrie, C. A. (1998). Self-identity and the theory of planned behaviour.
A useful addition or an unhelpful artice? Journal of Applied Social Psychology,
28(15), 13931410. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.1998.tb01683.x.
Sparks, P., & Shepherd, R. (1992). Self-identity and the theory of planned behaviour.
Assessing the role of identication with green consumerism. Social Psychology
Quarterly, 55(4), 388399 (Retrieved from EBSCOhost).
Sparks, P., & Shepherd, R. (2002). The role of moral judgments within expectancy
value-based attitudebehaviour models. Ethics and Behavior, 12(4), 299321
(Retrieved from EBSCOhost).
Sparks, P., Shepherd, R., & Frewer, L. J. (1995). Assessing and structuring attitudes
toward the use of gene technology in food production. The role of perceived
ethical obligation. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 16(3), 267285 (Retrieved
from EBSCOhost).
Steptoe, A., Pollard, T. M., & Wardle, J. (1995). Development of a measure of the
motives underlying the selection of food. The food choice questionnaire.
Appetite, 25, 267284. http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/appe.1995.0061.
Steptoe, A., & Wardle, J. (1999). Motivational factors as mediators of socioeconomic
variations in dietary intake patterns. Psychology and Health, 14(3), 391402
(Retrieved from EBSCOhost).
Zander, K., & Hamm, U. (2010). Consumer preferences for additional ethical
attributes of organic food. Food Quality and Preference, 21, 495503. http://
dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2010.01.006.
Zepeda, L. (2009). Which little piggy goes to market? Characteristics of US farmers
market shoppers. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 33, 250257. http://
dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1470-6431.2009.00771.x.
Zepeda, L., & Deal, D. (2009). Organic and local food consumer behaviour. Alphabet
theory. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 33, 697705. http://dx.doi.org/
10.1111/j.1470-6431.2009.00814.