Cosmopolitanism and ethical consumption: An extended theory of planned behavior and modeling for fair trade coffee consumers in South Korea

Abstract

To better understand consumers' fair trade purchasing intentions, this study proposed an extended model of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) in which a new determinant, cosmopolitanism, was added to reflect consumers' global orientation and perception of fair trade coffee in the context of globalization. In addition, this study employed the construct of "purchase implementation intention" to address the gap between stated intention and actual behavior. To test the study's hypotheses, a random survey was administered to 400 participants in Seoul, South Korea, a key emerging market for fair trade coffee consumption. The data were analyzed using a hierarchical regression method. Our findings suggest that (i) attitudes toward purchasing fair trade coffee, subjective norms, and cosmopolitanism were significant factors in predicting purchase implementation intentions with regard to fair trade coffee; (ii) perceived behavioral control was not statistically significant; and (iii) cosmopolitanism had a partial moderating effect on purchase implementation intentions. To confirm the utility of purchase implementation intention, a choice experiment involving 145 undergraduate and graduate students was administered. The data were analyzed using logistic regression. Purchase implementation intention was shown to reflect consumers' actual choice of fair trade coffee. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.