The Impact of Green Marketing Awareness on Organic Vegetable Purchase Intention: Evidence from Vietnamese Urban Consumers
Nguyen Huu Dung
PhD candidate, Business School, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China.
https://doi.org/10.47191/jefms/v7-i12-23ABSTRACT:
Recent food safety incidents in Vietnam's urban markets have heightened consumer interest in organic vegetables, yet research examining the effectiveness of green marketing initiatives in this context remains limited. This study investigates the impact of green marketing awareness on organic vegetable purchase intentions among Vietnamese urban consumers, differentiating between manufacturer and retailer marketing influences while examining the mediating roles of perceived value dimensions. The research employs a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative interviews (n=11) with quantitative survey data from 832 consumers across Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Structural equation modeling analyzes the relationships between green marketing awareness, consumer perceptions, and purchase intentions, while incorporating demographic variables as potential moderators. The findings demonstrate that manufacturer green marketing exerts stronger influence than retailer initiatives on consumer perceptions and purchase intentions, particularly through perceived quality (β = 0.787) and perceived risk (β = -0.641). The analysis reveals that perceived value strongly mediates the relationship between marketing awareness and purchase intention (β = 0.459), while demographic factors, especially income and education, significantly moderate these relationships. This study advances theoretical understanding of green marketing effectiveness in emerging markets by identifying differential impacts of manufacturer and retailer initiatives, while challenging traditional assumptions about price-value relationships in organic markets. The findings provide valuable guidance for practitioners in developing targeted marketing strategies and for policymakers in promoting sustainable consumption patterns in rapidly evolving market environments.
KEYWORDS:
Green marketing awareness; Organic vegetables; Purchase intention; Perceived value; Vietnam; Emerging markets
REFERENCES:
1) Alamsyah, D., Othman, N., Bakri, M., Udjaja, Y., & Aryanto, R. (2021). Green awareness through environmental knowledge and perceived quality. Management Science Letters, 11(1), 271-280.
2) Alex, S. P., & Mathew, A. (2018). Role of green marketing awareness on purchase intention of eco-friendly products. IPE Journal of Management, 8(1), 81-96.
3) Annunziata, A., Agovino, M., & Mariani, A. (2019). Measuring sustainable food consumption: A case study on organic food. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 17, 95-107.
4) Ariffin, S. K., Mohan, T., & Yen-Nee, G. (2018). Influence of consumers' perceived risk on consumers' online purchase intention. Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, 12(3), 309-327.
5) Baker, J., Parasuraman, A., Grewal, D., & Voss, G. B. (2002). The influence of multiple store environment cues on perceived merchandise value and patronage intentions. Journal of Marketing, 66(2), 120-141.
6) Belk, R. W. (2017). Qualitative research in advertising. Journal of Advertising, 46(1), 36-47.
7) Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2022). Thematic analysis: A practical guide. Sage Publications.
8) Brislin, R. W. (1970). Back-translation for cross-cultural research. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 1(3), 185-216.
9) Chang, T. Z., & Wildt, A. R. (1994). Price, product information, and purchase intention: An empirical study. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 22(1), 16-27.
10) Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (5th ed.). Sage Publications.
11) Dabija, D. C., Bejan, B. M., & Grant, D. B. (2018). The impact of consumer green behaviour on green loyalty among retail formats: A Romanian case study. Moravian Geographical Reports, 26(3), 173-185.
12) Dangelico, R. M., & Vocalelli, D. (2017). "Green marketing": An analysis of definitions, strategy steps, and tools through a systematic review of the literature. Journal of Cleaner Production, 165, 1263-1279.
13) De Toni, D., Eberle, L., Larentis, F., & Milan, G. S. (2018). Antecedents of perceived value and repurchase intention of organic food. Journal of Food Products Marketing, 24(4), 456-475.
14) Fitriani, L., Oktaviani, R., & Kristanti, N. E. (2021). The effect of green marketing mix on green consumer behavior and green purchasing decision. EAI Endorsed Transactions on Energy Web, 8(32), e4.
15) Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39-50.
16) Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2014). Multivariate data analysis (7th ed.). Pearson Education Limited.
17) Hidayat, W. G. P. A., & Annas, M. (2024). The critical of intention behavior in internet shopping, perceived trust, perceived value, perceived risk through satisfaction in Indonesia. Quality-Access to Success, 25(179), 212-220.
18) Iqbal, J., Yu, D., Zubair, M., Rasheed, M. I., Khizar, H. N., & Imran, M. (2021). Health consciousness, food safety concern, and consumer purchase intentions toward organic food: The role of consumer involvement and ecological motives. SAGE Open, 11(2), 1-15.
19) Jara, M., Cliquet, G., & Robert, I. (2017). A comparison between economic and organic store brands: Packaging as a key factor of store brand equity. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 45(12), 1298-1316.
20) Kim, K., Choi, H., & Hyun, S. S. (2020). Coffee house consumers' value perception and its consequences: Multi-dimensional approach. Sustainability, 12(4), 1663.
21) Liu, C., Yao, X., Yan, Z., Zhu, Y., & Cao, D. (2022). Organic foods purchase intention, food safety information, and information on organic foods: Value orientations as a mediator. Social Behavior and Personality, 50(4), 1-13.
22) Malhotra, N. K., Nunan, D., & Birks, D. F. (2022). Marketing research: An applied approach (6th ed.). Pearson.
23) Mammadova, V. Q., Hasanov, A. F., & Hasanova, A. A. (2023). Green marketing and factors affecting its development. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 1206(1), 012006.
24) Metcalf, D., Saliba, A. J., & Sugden, N. M. (2021). Evaluating the acceptance of hemp food in Australian adults using the theory of planned behavior and structural equation modelling. Foods, 10(9), 2071.
25) Moslehpour, M., Chaiyapruk, P., Faez, S., & Wong, W. K. (2021). Generation Y's sustainable purchasing intention of green personal care products. Sustainability, 13(1), 385.
26) Nguyen, M. H., Phan, T. T. H., Nguyen, L. T. M., Dang, T. K. T., & Nguyen, H. N. (2019). Antecedents of purchase intention toward organic food in an Asian emerging market: A study of urban Vietnamese consumers. Sustainability, 11(17), 4773.
27) Nunnally, J. C., & Bernstein, I. H. (1994). Psychometric theory (3rd ed.). McGraw-Hill.
28) Padel, S., & Foster, C. (2005). Exploring the gap between attitudes and behaviour: Understanding why consumers buy or do not buy organic food. British Food Journal, 107(8), 606-625.
29) Phan, T. A., & Pham, N. T. (2023). Young adults' anti-consumption tendencies toward organic foods in Vietnam: The mediating role of self-efficacy. SAGE Open, 13(1), 1-15.
30) Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J. Y., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(5), 879-903.
31) Rahmi, S., Ilyas, G. B., Tamsah, H., & Munir, A. R. (2021). Perceived risk and its role in the influence of brand awareness on purchase intention: Study of Shopee users. Jurnal Siasat Bisnis, 26(2), 97-109.
32) Spears, N., & Singh, S. N. (2004). Measuring attitude toward the brand and purchase intentions. Journal of Current Issues & Research in Advertising, 26(2), 53-66.
33) Syaekhoni, M. A., Alfian, G., & Kwon, Y. S. (2017). Customer purchasing behavior analysis as alternatives for supporting in-store green marketing decision-making. Sustainability, 9(11), 2008.
34) Tang, R., & Inoue, Y. (2021). Services on platform ecosystems in the smart home 2.0 era: Elements influencing consumers' value perception for smart home products. Sensors, 21(21), 7391.
35) Tashakkori, A., & Teddlie, C. (2021). Mixed methodology: Combining qualitative and quantitative approaches (2nd ed.). Sage Publications.
36) Woodall, T. (2003). Conceptualising 'value for the customer': An attributional, structural and dispositional analysis. Academy of Marketing Science Review, 12(1), 1-42.
37) Wu, S. I., & Chen, Y. J. (2014). The impact of green marketing and perceived innovation on purchase intention for green products. International Journal of Marketing Studies, 6(5), 81-100.
38) Zeithaml, V. A. (1988). Consumer perceptions of price, quality, and value: A means-end model and synthesis of evidence. Journal of Marketing, 52(3), 2-22.
39) Zheng, G., Akter, N., Siddik, A. B., & Masukujjaman, M. (2021). Organic foods purchase behavior among generation Y of Bangladesh: The moderation effect of trust and price consciousness. Foods, 10(10), 2278.
