Resumo

Organic food production and consumption have grown in Brazil (Lima et al., 2020) and around the world (Liang, 2016). The search for this kind of food contributed to its popularization and market expansion around the globe (Ellison et al., 2016). Although organic certification incurs higher production costs, this might increase sales. Moreover, psychological factors, such as trust and coolness, might explain consumers' intention to purchase certified organic food.

This study proposes that trust seems to be an important element in the context of consumer behavior, especially regarding organic products purchasing. Moreover, coolness plays an important role in the consumer intention to purchase organic food with certification label once purchasing organic food might represent a high social status, and the certification label reinforces the product's differentiation. In this context, this paper aims to analyze the role of trust and coolness in the intention to purchase organic food with certification label.

The Theory of Planned Behavior [TPB] (Ajzen, 1985, 1991) postulates that intentions to perform different behaviors can be predicted by attitudes toward the behavior, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control [PBC], while the actual behavior is influenced by the intention and perceived behavioral control. In addition to the elements covered by the theory TPB (i.e., attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control), other constructs are explored in order to predict the consumer's behavioral intention, such as trust (Canova et al., 2020) and coolness (Sundar et al., 2014).

This is a descriptive study with a quantitative approach and carried out through a survey with 176 organic foods consumers. Data collection took place through the application of questionnaires. Confirmatory Factor Analysis [CFA] and Structural Equation Modeling [SEM] techniques were used for data analysis.

Attitude, subjective norm, and PBC had positive effect on the intention to purchase. Trust positively influenced attitude, subjective norm, and PBC. In turn, coolness was influenced by attitude and subjective norm and influenced intention to purchase. The study helps managers reflect on the need to incorporate organic certification into marketing strategies as a way of monetizing the cost of certification. By prioritizing elements such as trust and coolness, certified organic food producers might reach a differentiated niche of consumers who are more sensitive to these features.

This study contributes theoretically by highlighting the applicability of TPB in the context of organic food with certification label production and consumption. Furthermore, by incorporating constructs such as trust and coolness into TPB, this study extends the theory, broadens the theoretical perspective, and opens space for debate on the importance of considering other psychological elements when assessing the consumer's behavioral intention.

Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 179-211. Canova, L., Bobbio, A., & Manganelli, A. M. (2020). Buying organic food products: The role of trust in the Theory of Planned Behavior. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 575820. Sundar, S. S., Tamul, D. J., & Wu, M. (2014). Capturing “cool”: Measures for assessing coolness of technological products. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 72(2), 169-180.