From concern to habit formation: generational pathways to organic food consumption among Millenials and Generation Z

Why do consumers move from merely caring about sustainability to habitually choosing organic food, and does this pathway differ across generations? Addressing this question, this study develops a novel “concern-to-habit formation” framework that explains how health concern, environmental concern, and green skepticism concern translate into organic food habit formation through cognitive, emotional, and trust-based mechanisms. Drawing on Cognitive – Affective – Behavioral (CAB) framework, the model integrates health-related self-efficacy, anticipated moral satisfaction, and perceived integrity as key mediators linking concern to behavioral decision and long-term habit formation. Survey data from 600 urban consumers in Vietnam were analyzed using structural equation modeling and multi-group analysis comparing Millenials and Generation Z. The findings reveal that perceived integrity is the strongest driver of organic food purchase decision, while enacted decision plays a pivotal role in forming sustainable consumption habits. Health-related self-efficacy and anticipated moral satisfaction further promote both decision and habit formation, whereas green skepticism concern significantly undermines perceived integrity. Importantly, the results uncover distinct generational pathways from concern to habit: Millenials follows a health-driven pathway anchored in self-efficacy, while Generation Z follows a moral-environmental pathway rooted in ethical and sustainability motivations. The findings offer actionable insights for fostering durable organic consumption habits and accelerating the transition toward sustainable food systems, particularly in emerging markets.