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The Mediated Influence of a Traceability Label on Consumer’s Willingness to Buy the Labelled Product

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  • Cosmina Bradu
  • Jacob Orquin
  • John Thøgersen

Abstract

This paper investigates the effectiveness of a new traceability label on consumer willingness to buy the labelled product and whether the effect is mediated by moral affective evaluations of the product. A between-subjects factorial design was used to test (a) the effect of a new traceability label on willingness to buy a chocolate bar, while controlling for different product features (health disclaimer, product quality) and (b) whether this effect was mediated through the consumer’s moral affective evaluations of the product. A broad sample of 1,064 ordinary Danish consumers was recruited for the study from the panel of an online sample provider (667 women, 397 men), age range 18–80 (M = 46.39, SD = 13.17). We found that the traceability label has a significant impact on consumer willingness to buy a chocolate bar. This impact is mediated by moral affective evaluations of the chocolate bar. Based on the dual process models of persuasion (HSM and ELM), we conclude that consumers mainly process the traceability label in a heuristic way, through a peripheral route, making a fast and frugal, affect-based judgment, rather than one based on elaborate reasoning. Being one of the first empirical studies on the impact of a traceability label on consumer willingness to buy a product, it provides valuable insights for businesses on the effects of a traceability label on consumer behaviour. In addition, it provides new insights on the process through which an ethical label influences consumer evaluations and purchase behaviour. This study is, to the best of our knowledge, the first to show that an ethical label influences consumer decision-making through activating a holistic moral affective evaluation of the offering, rather than through strengthening the consumer’s knowledge base for a more qualified reasoning process. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014

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  • Cosmina Bradu & Jacob Orquin & John Thøgersen, 2014. "The Mediated Influence of a Traceability Label on Consumer’s Willingness to Buy the Labelled Product," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 124(2), pages 283-295, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:124:y:2014:i:2:p:283-295
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-013-1872-2
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    4. Osburg, Victoria-Sophie & Akhtar, Pervaiz & Yoganathan, Vignesh & McLeay, Fraser, 2019. "The influence of contrasting values on consumer receptiveness to ethical information and ethical choices," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 366-379.
    5. Margherita Del Prete & Antonella Samoggia, 2020. "Chocolate Consumption and Purchasing Behaviour Review: Research Issues and Insights for Future Research," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-18, July.
    6. Victoria-Sophie Osburg & Vignesh Yoganathan & Boris Bartikowski & Hongfei Liu & Micha Strack, 2020. "Effects of Ethical Certification and Ethical eWoM on Talent Attraction," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 164(3), pages 535-548, July.
    7. Carla Rossi & Francesca Rivetti, 2020. "Assessing Young Consumers’ Responses to Sustainable Labels: Insights from a Factorial Experiment in Italy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-23, December.
    8. Yoganathan, Vignesh & Osburg, Victoria-Sophie & Akhtar, Pervaiz, 2019. "Sensory stimulation for sensible consumption: Multisensory marketing for e-tailing of ethical brands," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 386-396.
    9. Lee, Eung Jin & Bae, Joonheui & Kim, Kyung Hoon, 2020. "The effect of environmental cues on the purchase intention of sustainable products," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 425-433.
    10. Gabriele Torma & John Thøgersen, 2024. "Can a meta sustainability label facilitate more sustainable consumer choices?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(2), pages 283-306, February.
    11. Lea Marie Heidbreder & Julia Steinhorst & Manfred Schmitt, 2020. "Plastic-Free July: An Experimental Study of Limiting and Promoting Factors in Encouraging a Reduction of Single-Use Plastic Consumption," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-23, June.
    12. Chloé Guillot‐Soulez & Sylvie Saint‐Onge & Sébastien Soulez, 2022. "Green certification and organizational attractiveness: The moderating role of firm ownership," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(1), pages 189-199, January.
    13. Hammad Bin Azam Hashmi & Chengli Shu & Syed Waqar Haider & Adeel Khalid & Yasin Munir, 2021. "Bridging the Gap Between Product Design and Customer Engagement: Role of Self-Determined Needs Satisfaction," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(4), pages 21582440211, November.
    14. Liu, Chia-Yi & Chou, Tzu-Min, 2021. "A Systems Approach to Institutional Diffusion in Taiwan’s Food Traceability System," International Journal on Food System Dynamics, International Center for Management, Communication, and Research, vol. 12(02), June.
    15. Tarun Kumar Agrawal & Rudrajeet Pal, 2019. "Traceability in Textile and Clothing Supply Chains: Classifying Implementation Factors and Information Sets via Delphi Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-18, March.

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