Assessing the effectiveness of eco-labels on consumer purchase intentions in the food and beverage industry: A PLS-SEM approach

The study investigates the impacts of eco-labels in influencing consumer purchase intentions in the food and beverage industry through the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) framework. Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) model, and the Value-Attitude-Behavior (VAB) model, the study focused on the role of eco-label awareness, eco-label credibility, environmental concern, and perceived product value in consumer behavior and the moderating role of attitudes toward eco-labeled products. The structural model shows empirical findings that eco-label awareness, eco-label credibility, environmental concern, and perceived product value have a significant positive influence on purchase intentions. The theoretical implications of the findings confirmed that emotional and attitudinal constructs improve the predictive validity of earlier classical theories of behavior, such as TPB, and justify the use of interaction terms in studies of sustainable behavior. In practice, this study highlights the paramount need for transparency, trust, and educating consumers to maximize the efficiency of eco-labels. This helps both in the knowledge base and viable marketing plans, stressing the revolutionary powers of the credible eco-labels in the concept of environmentally conscious consumption.