Product Quality, Nutrition Label, And Purchase Decision of Nutrition Bars: The Mediating Role of Healthy Lifestyle Within the Stimulus–Organism– Response Framework

This study examines how product quality and nutrition labels influence purchase decisions of nutrition bars, with healthy lifestyle orientation positioned as a mediating mechanism within the Stimulus–Organism–Response (S–O–R) framework. Using a quantitative approach, data were collected from 105 consumers of nutrition bar products in Surakarta and analyzed using Partial Least Squares–Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results indicate that product quality has a positive and significant direct effect on purchase decisions, while nutrition labels influence purchase decisions both directly and indirectly through healthy lifestyle orientation. Furthermore, healthy lifestyle orientation significantly mediates the relationship between nutrition labels and purchase decisions but does not mediate the effect of product quality, indicating a selective mediation mechanism. These findings suggest that functional product attributes operate through a utilitarian pathway, whereas informational cues such as nutrition labels shape consumer behavior through internalized health values. The study contributes to consumer behavior literature by extending the application of the S–O–R framework in the healthy Nutrition context and offers practical insights for Nutrition producers and policymakers on integrating product quality enhancement with effective nutritional communication to promote sustainable healthy consumption.