نوع مقاله : مقاله پژوهشی
نویسندگان
گروه اقتصاد کشاورزی، دانشکده کشاورزی، دانشگاه فردوسی مشهد، مشهد، ایران
چکیده
کلیدواژهها
موضوعات
Extended Abstract
Objectives
The agricultural sector, as one of the most important economic sectors in economic, political, domestic, and international development and stability, is one of the markets that uses new methods to buy and sell its products. Despite the capacities created in virtual space and the Internet, many customers prefer face-to-face shopping over online shopping due to insufficient trust. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to investigate the factors affecting the intention to purchase fresh agricultural products online. In this study, in addition to the three factors in the theory of planned behavior, the effect of product characteristics (price and perceived quality) on the intention to online purchase fresh agricultural products has been investigated. The following hypotheses were proposed based on the purposes of the paper:
H1: Price has a Negative and significant effect on the intention to online purchase fresh agricultural products.
H2: The perceived quality of the product has a positive and significant effect on the intention to online purchase fresh agricultural products.
H3: Subjective norms have a positive and significant effect on the intention to online purchase fresh agricultural products.
H4: Perceived behavioral control has a positive and significant effect on the intention to online purchase fresh agricultural products.
H5: Attitude has a positive and significant effect on the intention to online purchase fresh agricultural products.
Methods
The Theory of Planned Behavior is one of the most widely applied and accepted models of the belief attitude-behavior relationship, which states that three independent predictors, namely, perceived behavioral control, behavioral attitudes, and subjective norm, all together lead to the formation of a behavioral intention. The Theory of Planned Behavior is useful for understanding and predicting consumer intention and behavior in various fields. Various studies indicate that the components of the theory of planned behavior have a suitable model for predicting the intention of consumers' behavior in the field of consumer studies and behaviors. Relationships among the variables were analyzed using the multivariate analysis technique Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Firstly, the measurement model was utilized to test the validity and reliability of the model, and then the structural model was tested for the model fit and hypothesis testing. The research data was analyzed by the partial least squares method using Smart PLS software.
Results
Results show that given the factor loading values and model fitting indexes, the indicators (observed variables) have the necessary accuracy to measure latent variables. The findings of the structural model and hypothesis testing reveal that basic components of planning behavior theory have a positive and significant effect on the intention to purchase fresh agricultural products online. Therefore, the study's hypotheses 3, 4, and 5 were confirmed. Among the basic components, attitude is the most important factor affecting consumers' online purchases. If a person has a positive attitude towards online purchases, the grounds for forming online purchase intention can be created. As a result, hypothesis 5 is confirmed. Based on the results of the structural model, perceived quality has a positive effect on consumers' purchase intention. This means that the better the quality of fresh agricultural products, including fruits and vegetables, that e-commerce platforms provide, the stronger the desire of consumers to purchase online. Based on this, the second hypothesis of the study is confirmed. Also, the model fitting indexes and model values in the acceptable range demonstrate that the structural model fits the data well.
Discussion
- First, it is necessary to emphasize the attitude of the consumer. According to the confirmation of the fifth hypothesis regarding the positive effect of attitude on the intention to purchase fresh agricultural products online, publishing information about the benefits of purchasing fresh agricultural products online, as well as information about agricultural products being traded, allows the consumer to compare different products. It can be a way to cultivate the positive attitude of consumers. The more information provided about the product, the more knowledge the community has about the sold products, thus reducing their risk perception. Information can be provided through social media as the closest source of information in today's society. Companies can use marketing trends through influencers such as celebrities and bloggers to provide this information.
- Due to the positive effect of perceived quality on purchase intention and considering the characteristics of fresh agricultural products, it is necessary to fully control the entire process from production to consumption throughout the supply chain to ensure that consumers can purchase fresh and healthy products. Also, according to the characteristics of fresh agricultural products, including perishability, the use of appropriate packaging and timely delivery of fresh items can have a great effect on maintaining the quality of products.
- According to the confirmation of the third hypothesis regarding the positive effect of subjective norms on the intention to purchase fresh agricultural products online, the use of targeted and continuous advertisements of reference groups in the target markets regarding the benefits of online purchase of these products can positively influence consumers’ purchase intentions.
- According to the confirmation of the first hypothesis regarding the negative effect of price on the intention to purchase fresh agricultural products online, to adjust the impact of price on the online purchase of agricultural products, an option called Grades 1 and 2 can be presented to purchase options with different prices. By seeing the Grade 1 or premium option next to the product name, the consumer believes that if he pays more, he will get a better and fresher product, so he is convinced to pay a higher price.
Conceptualization, B.Zandi Darehgharibi and M.Rajabzadeh.; methodology, B.Zandi Darehgharibi.; software, B.Zandi Darehgharibi.; validation, B.Zandi Darehgharibi, A.Karbasi; formal analysis, B.Zandi Darehgharibi and M.Rajabzadeh; investigation, B.Zandi Darehgharibi and M.Rajabzadeh; resources, B.Zandi Darehgharibi and M.Rajabzadeh; data curation, M.Rajabzadeh; writing—original draft preparation, B.Zandi Darehgharibi ; writing—review and editing, B.Zandi Darehgharibi; visualization, B.Zandi Darehgharibi and M.Rajabzadeh; supervision, A.Karbasi.
Data available on request from the authors.
The authors would like to thank all participants of the present study.
The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the University of ABCD (Ethical code: IR.UT.RES.2024.500). The authors avoided data fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, and misconduct.
The author declares no conflict of interest
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