The influence of consumer ethnocentrism on purchase of domestic fruits and vegetables: application of the extended theory of planned behaviour

Purpose With the crescent globalisation together with economic and food crisis, consumers are increasingly confronted with food products from different origins and appeals to consume “national”. If many food products can be related to a specific region or country, many are sold as commodities with Portuguese origin indication. One factor influencing the purchase behaviour of domestic food products is the consumer ethnocentrism (CE) characteristic. The aim of this paper is to study consumers' purchase behaviour intention towards “produce in Portugal” fruits and vegetables applying a CE extended model of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire was presented to random sample of 700 individuals older than 18 and responsible for the household food purchase by computer-assisted telephone interview (CAT) system. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was conducted to examine direct and indirect effects of attitude (ATT), subjective norms (SuBNs), perceived behavioural controls (PBCNTRLs), intention and self-congruity on domestic fresh fruits and vegetables purchases. Findings Findings suggest that TPB model is applicable in determining the consumers' intention to buy domestic fruits and vegetables in Portugal. CE has been shown to successfully influence purchase intention. Research limitations/implications This study provides the food industry and retail with informative basis about which mechanisms underlie the consumers' intention to buy domestic food. Also, this study provides useful insight into how different food categories and label affect the consumers' intentions, which can serve for communication strategies in order to increase purchase of domestic products as fruits and vegetables. New food categories should be studied. Originality/value This study gives a new approach on Portuguese consumer ethnocentric tendencies and opens a discussion on consumer purchase intention on Portuguese low value food products. This gives a first insight on Portuguese consumer ethnocentric behaviour.