Factors influencing the purchase intention of brazilian artisanal cheeses: a study based on consumer planned behavior and perceived risk

Abstract

Artisanal cheeses are local foods of growing interest from consumers. However, empirical knowledge of the factors that influence the purchase intention of local foods is still limited. Thus, this study aimed to analyze, through the lenses of the theory of perceived behavior and the theory of perceived risk, the factors determining the purchase intention of local consumers for these two important Brazilian artisanal cheeses. Additionally, we verified whether attitude is a mediating variable of the relationship between perceived risk and purchase intention. We collected data in person using a printed questionnaire from a sample of 343 consumers. The data were analyzed using simple correspondence analysis and structural equation modeling with least-squares estimation. The results show that attitude, social norms, perceived behavioral control, and perceived risk positively affect purchase intention, explaining 41% of the variance. Perceived risk positively influences attitude, and this operates as a viable partial mediator of the relationship between perceived risk and purchase intention. We identified that local consumers of both artisanal cheeses do not purchase the products due to a personal obligation to value the product or its producer but because they maintain close relationships with the producers, consisting of frequent direct purchases from the producers.