The influence of social media usage and health consciousness on the purchasing intention of organic products: the mediating role of attitude

IROCAMM VOL. 6, N. 1 - Year 2023 Received: 25/02/2022 | Reviewed: 9/01/2023 | Accepted: 29/12/2022 | Published: 31/01/2023 DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.12795/IROCAMM.2023.v06.i01.06 Pp.: 88-103 e-ISSN: 2605-0447 88 The influence of social media usage and health consciousness on the purchasing intention of organic products: the mediating role of attitude La influencia del uso de las redes sociales y la conciencia de la salud en la intención de compra de productos orgánicos: el papel mediador de la actitu Manal Echchad [email protected] Universidad de Debrecen – Hungría 0000-0002-8792-9271 Abstract The purpose of this paper is to analyze the influence of health consciousness (HC) and social media usage (SM) on the attitude towards organic products (ATT) and the purchasing intention of organic products (PI) in the case of international students in Hungary. The paper has undertaken a quantitative approach using a sample of 204 international students residing and studying in Hungary. After validation of the measurement scales, the hypotheses were tested through partial least squares structural equation modeling. The model tests the relationships between health consciousness, social media usage, the attitude towards organic products and the purchasing intention oforganic products. The results showed that health consciousness does not influence the purchasing intention of organic products, compared with the usage of social media, which displayed a significant influence over the purchasing intention. Nevertheless, attitude towards organic products mediated the relationship between HC and PI and between SM and PI. This research provides new insights on how the usage of social media can impact the intention of consumers to purchase organic products. Furthermore, for health consciousness to be effective, the attitude of consumers towards organic products needs to be more favorable. https://dx.doi.org/10.12795/IROCAMM.2023.v06.i01.06 88 25/02/2022 9/01/2023 29/12/2022 Manal Echchad 89 IROCAMM VOL. 6, N. 1 - Year 2023 Received: 25/02/2022 | Reviewed: 9/01/2023 | Accepted: 29/12/2022 | Published: 31/01/2023 DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.12795/IROCAMM.2023.v06.i01.06 Pp.: 88-103 e-ISSN: 2605-0447 Keywords Attitude, Social media usage, Health consciousness, Consumer behavior, Organic products. Resumen El propósito de este artículo es analizar la influencia de la conciencia de la salud (HC) y el uso de las redes sociales (SM) en la actitud hacia los productos orgánicos (ATT) y la intención de compra de productos orgánicos (PI) en el caso de estudiantes internacionales en Hungría. . El documento ha llevado a cabo un enfoque cuantitativo utilizando una muestra de 204 estudiantes internacionales que residen y estudian en Hungría. Después de la validación de las escalas de medición, las hipótesis fueron probadas a través de modelos de ecuaciones estructurales de mínimos cuadrados parciales. El modelo prueba las relaciones entre la conciencia de la salud, el uso de las redes sociales, la actitud hacia los productos orgánicos y la intención de compra de productos orgánicos. Los resultados mostraron que la conciencia de la salud no influye en la intención de compra de productos orgánicos, en comparación con el uso de las redes sociales, que mostró una influencia significativa sobre la intención de compra. Sin embargo, la actitud hacia los productos orgánicos medió en la relación entre HC y PI y entre SM y PI. Esta investigación proporciona nuevos conocimientos sobre cómo el uso de las redes sociales puede afectar la intención de los consumidores de comprar productos orgánicos. Además, para que la conciencia sobre la salud sea efectiva, la actitud de los consumidores hacia los productos orgánicos debe ser más favorable. Palabras clave Actitud, Uso de redes sociales, Conciencia de salud, Comportamiento del consumidor, Productos orgánicos. 1. Introduction The development of the organic food market is considered a part of ecological consumption, and it reinforces the new paradigm entitled green marketing. Organizations started integrating green markeing operations to their activities, and they enhanced the proliferation of the organic agriculture and organic food (Dangi & Narula, 2021). Attitudes of consumers include their beliefs, values, and their inclination to act in an environmentally friendly manner, or portraying more proper behaviors (Eberleetal., 2022). Nevertheless, there is not enough evidence proving that organic products and nonorganic products do not share the same health benefits (Zaleckaetal., 2014). Households started paying more attention to having a healthier lifestyle. Consequently, the attitude of consumers towards organic products knew a significant shift, which also led to an increase in the number of studies aiming to study the attitudes of consumers towards organic products (Nagaraj, 2021b). The means by which consumers were informed about organic products changed throughout the years. In the past, consumers were informed about such products through newspapers, magazines, and TV advertisements, and the main motive for buying organic products is the health benefits such products provided (You et al., 2020). Different companies promote their products on multiple social media plateforms, enabling them to reach a large number of consumers. Thus, social media is considered as one of the factors that enhances the awareness of cuctainable consumption (Nekmahmud et al., 2022). Social media clarifies the production process of organic products, so that consumers can gain more insights on the ways such products are made available, and it gathers users belonging to the same background (You et al., 2020). Various studies examined the impact of health consciousness on the attitude towards organic products and the purchasing intention of such products (Teng & Lu, 2016, Kapuge, 2016, Asif et al., 2018, Liu et al., 2021, Yadav & Pathak, 2016), in addition to studying the influence of social media on the purchasing intention of consumers (Wang et al., 2012, Pop et al., 2020, Mangold & Faulds, 2009). The current literature examined these variables in a separate manner. Consequently, the main aim of our study is to combine these variables, and assess the influence of health consciousness, social media usage, and Manal Echchad 90 IROCAMM VOL. 6, N. 1 - Year 2023 Received: 25/02/2022 | Reviewed: 9/01/2023 | Accepted: 29/12/2022 | Published: 31/01/2023 DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.12795/IROCAMM.2023.v06.i01.06 Pp.: 88-103 e-ISSN: 2605-0447 the attitude towards organic products on the purchasing intention of international students, while also assessing the mediating role of attitude towards organic products. The contribution of this study resides in providing producers and marketing professionals with insights to help them draft their strategies, to strengthen their consumer base while taking into consideration the interactions between the different variables of the study. 2. Theoretical framework 2.1. Health consciousness The increasing attentiveness paid to self-care, wellness, and environmental sustainability led to the emergence of consumer groups that pay an increasing attention to their health (Su et al., 2022). Consumers demonstrate their environmental and health consciousness through many ways, including the consumption of organic products. The increasing interest in organic products lead to the proliferation of the industry, therefore, they became capable of expanding into different categories of products and services (Photcharoen et al., 2020). This trend is supported by different factors, including the concern for health, the concern for the environment, nutritional concerns, as well as the improved taste and flavor in organic products. Thus, health concern is considered a main reason why consumers opt for such products (Iqbal et al., 2021). In this study, we will consider health consciousness as a potential factors that influences the choice of consumers. Health consciousness can be defined as the tendency of individuals to opt for more healthy actions, and their preparedness to support more healthy choices (Shin & Mattila, 2019). It is also considered as the readiness of consumers to identify with and accept health actions (Hansen et al., 2018). In the context of this research, health consciousness will be defined as the concern consumers display about their health, and the process of motivating their health and quality of life with their engagement in healthy behaviors and being self-conscious about their health (Pahrudin et al., 2021). Health-conscious consumers can be identified by their lifestyles, instead of their demographic characteristics, as research has proved that such characteristics are not effective at the definition of health-conscious consumers (Parashar et al., 2022) . There is an increasing number of studies that aimed to study the relationship between health consciousness and the purchasing intention of sustainable products. For instance, (Asif et al., 2018) concluded that health consciousness supports the intention to purchase organic products. The same results were supported by (Teng & Lu, 2016), who found that healthconscious consumers demonstrate a strong intention to consume organic food, and they are oriented towards supporting health-related behaviors (Elías-Zambrano et al., 2021). The inclination towards purchasing organic products is encouraged by the health and environmental benefits they bring to consumers. Also, the increasing preference for such products is influenced by different factors, including the gender and size of the family, standard of living, and education (Singhal, 2017). ȿ H1: Health consciousness has a positive influence over the purchasing intention of organic products ȿ H2: Health consciousness has a positive influence on the attitude towards organic products Manal Echchad 91 IROCAMM VOL. 6, N. 1 - Year 2023 Received: 25/02/2022 | Reviewed: 9/01/2023 | Accepted: 29/12/2022 | Published: 31/01/2023 DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.12795/IROCAMM.2023.v06.i01.06 Pp.: 88-103 e-ISSN: 2605-0447 2.2. Attitude towards organic products Attitude refers to the learned predisposition, favourable or unfavourable, when it comes to a person, object or a problem (Cachero-Martínez, 2020). It also refers to the person’s favourable or unfavourable assessment of an object (Ajzen & Madden, 1986), and such evaluation appears due to beliefs, feelings and behvaioral inclinations towards a product (Bettiga et al., 2017).Thus, attitude towards green products represents the favourable or unfavourable evaluation of an organic product (Joshi et al., 2021). In fact, consumers tend to exhibit a positive attitude towards organic products (Radulescu et al., 2021). Various studies proved the positive relationship between attitude and purchasing intention (Ahmed et al., 2020; M. F. Chen, 2007; Grankvist & Biel, 2007). Nevertheless, few studies attempted to examine attitude as a variable that mediates the relationship between health consciousness and the purchasing intention of organic products. Thus, we can hypothesize that: ȿ H3: Attitudes positively influence the purchasing intention of organic food. ȿ H4: Attitude towards organic products mediates the relationship between health consciousness and the purchasing intention of organic products. 2.3. Social media usage Social media marketing has emerged as one of the most dominant areas of internet-based marketing, and it still continues in shaping the marketing trends and strategies. It also contributes in the dissemination of values and offers of different companies (Adila et al., 2020). Social media marketing is defined as the set of commercial events and processes that employ social media to positively influence the purchasing behavior of consumers (Jiménez-Marín & Checa, 2021; Chen & Lin, 2019). Social media refers to the set of online applications, and media dedicated to promote interactions, and content sharing, and it comes in different forms, such as Facebook, and Twitter. Social media provides consumers with a platform where they can communicate with individulals who have similar interests (Sun & Wang, 2020). It is also defined as the online applications that helps users to create and exchange content (Lal et al., 2020). Social media interactions were proven to be a direct influencer on purchasing decisions by aiding consumers to be like their peers (Wang et al., 2012). For instance, (Pop et al., 2020a) demonstrated that social media has a positive impact on the attitude towards green cosmetics, health concerns and the intention to purchase green cosmetic. The same results were emphasized, but for the case of online purchasing intention of wine, where (Pucci et al., 2019) found that the usage of social media had a positive influence over the intention to purchase wine online. Furthermore, social media influences attitudes, and purchasing decisions through the different stages of purchasing decisions (Hanaysha, 2022). ȿ H5: social media has a positive influence on the purchasing intention of organic products ȿ H6: social media positively influences the attitude towards organic products ȿ H7: Attitude towards organic products mediates the relationship between social media usage and the purchasing intention of organic products. Manal Echchad 92 IROCAMM VOL. 6, N. 1 - Year 2023 Received: 25/02/2022 | Reviewed: 9/01/2023 | Accepted: 29/12/2022 | Published: 31/01/2023 DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.12795/IROCAMM.2023.v06.i01.06 Pp.: 88-103 e-ISSN: 2605-0447 Figure 1. Conceptual model 3. Methodology To analyze our established extended theoretical model, structural equation modeling was employed. SEM is a deep-rooted method that has been employed in different research fields (Berki-Kiss & Menrad, 2022). Structural equation modeling (SEM) is a technique that helps in explaining interrelationships among multiple variables (Sahoo, 2019). SEM includes a variety of multivariate analysis techniques that enable the investigation of organized relationships between a set of multiple predictors and dependent variables (Monecke & Leisch, 2012). The application of this method can be done either through the covariance-based approach (CB-SEM) or the variance-based approach (PLS-SEM) (Hair, Sarstedt, et al., 2014). PLS-SEM is capable of handling complicated modeling issues that happen routinely, such as unusual data characteristics and highly complex models (Hair, Sarstedt, et al., 2014). The PLS-SEM was applied in this study, using SmartPLS 3 since the sample size is small (Hair, Sarstedt, et al., 2014). In order to test the hypothesized relationship, (Anderson & Gerbing, 1988) recommended using two-stage analytical procedures, that involve the evaluation of the measurement model and then the assessment of the structural model. To test the significance of the path coefficients, a bootstrapping method was used (Hair, Sarstedt, et al., 2014). 3.1. Participants The study was based on data collected online via a survey that was distributed from the 1st of November 2021 until the 1st of December 2021. The population of interest included international students in Hungary. The study sample consists of 204 international students living and studying currently in Hungary (n = 204). 3.2. Data collection techniques The data were collected online through a structured questionnaire, that was developed after a deep review of the available literature. The questionnaire involved the variables highlighted in the study model, including health consciousness, social media usage, attitude, and the purchasing intention of Manal Echchad 93 IROCAMM VOL. 6, N. 1 - Year 2023 Received: 25/02/2022 | Reviewed: 9/01/2023 | Accepted: 29/12/2022 | Published: 31/01/2023 DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.12795/IROCAMM.2023.v06.i01.06 Pp.: 88-103 e-ISSN: 2605-0447 organic products. Grounded on recommendations made by (Ajzen, 1985), scales including multiple items were developed to measure the variables emphasized by the study. A 7-point Likert scale to showcase the extent to which they agreed or disagreed with an ensemble of statements measuring the variables of our study (1= strongly disagree to 7= strongly agree). Statements from previous studies were used to measure the constructs of the current study. Table 1 shows the survey statements contained in the questionnaire. A pilot study of 50 participants was conducted to check the validity and reliability of the questionnaire. Furthermore, the Cronbach alpha demonstrated that reliability is good- to-excellent, ranging from 0.85 to 0.9 (Table 1). Table 1. Questionnaire statements Construct Cronbach alpha coefficient Statements Source Health consciousness 0.85 I reflect on my health a lot I am very self-conscious about my health I am alerted to changes in my health I take responsibility for the state of my health I am aware of the state of my health as I go through the day (Michaelidou & Hassan, 2008) (GOULD, 1988) Social media 0.878 I use social media to find and spread information I talk with my peers about organic products on social media I seek information from other consumers online I seek information from other consumers online because my peers seek out information electronically My engagement in social media influences my organic product purchase I use social media to search for information about organic products Contents about organic products on social media are trustworthy Contents about organic products on social media are believable (Chi, 2021) (Pop et al., 2020b) Attitude 0.815 For me, consuming organic products is healthy I like organic products I feel proud when I buy /consume organic products (Ajzen, 1991b) (Pop et al., 2020b) Purchasing intention 0.907 I want to purchase organic products within the next two weeks I intend to purchase organic products within the next two weeks (Ajzen, 1991b) 3.3. Operationalization of constructs The initial structural model includes one dependent variable (the purchasing intention of organic products) and three independent variables (attitude, health consciousness, and social media usage), also considered as latent constructs. Manal Echchad 94 IROCAMM VOL. 6, N. 1 - Year 2023 Received: 25/02/2022 | Reviewed: 9/01/2023 | Accepted: 29/12/2022 | Published: 31/01/2023 DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.12795/IROCAMM.2023.v06.i01.06 Pp.: 88-103 e-ISSN: 2605-0447 4. Results 4.1. Profileofrespondents Table 2 describes the sample used in this study. 63.2% of respondents were female, and 35.3% were male, while 1.5% preferred not to declare their gender. When it comes to the educational level, 50% of respondents are continuing their bachelor’s degree, 38.2% are pursuing their master’s degree, and 11.8% are currently pursuing their Ph.D. degree. Table 2. Demographic characteristics of respondents Sample characteristics Respondents (n=204) Frequency (%) Gender Female Male Prefer not to say 129 76 3 63.2 % 35.3 % 1.5 % Educational level Bachelor Master PhD 102 78 24 50 % 38.2 % 11.8 % 4.2. Assessment of the measurement model Table 3. Loadings, Reliability, and Validity Loadings Cronbach’s Alpha Composite reliability AVE ATT1 0.812 0.815 0.890 0.730 ATT2 0.877 ATT3 0.873 HC1 0.819 0.850 0.892 0.624 HC2 0.847 HC3 0.734 HC4 0.823 HC5 0.719 PI1 0.956 0.907 0.956 0.915 PI2 0.957 SM2 0.784 0.877 0.907 0.618 SM4 0.741 Manal Echchad 95 IROCAMM VOL. 6, N. 1 - Year 2023 Received: 25/02/2022 | Reviewed: 9/01/2023 | Accepted: 29/12/2022 | Published: 31/01/2023 DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.12795/IROCAMM.2023.v06.i01.06 Pp.: 88-103 e-ISSN: 2605-0447 Loadings Cronbach’s Alpha Composite reliability AVE SM5 0.842 SM6 0.820 SM7 0.773 SM8 0.754 While evaluating the measurement model, two items were removed (SM1 and SM3) from the analysis because of their low factor loadings (<0.600) (Gefen & Straub, 2005). To test the reliability of constructs, the study used Cronbach’s alpha and composite reliability (CR). All the CRs were found to be superior than the recommended value of 0.700 (Hair et al., 2014). Cronbach’s alpha of each construct surpassed the 0.700 thresholds. Convergent validity was retained because the average variance extracted (AVE) was over 0.500. The results for reliability and validity in addition to the factor loadings for the items are presented in Table 3. Discriminant validity was assessed by the Fornell-larker criterion. The table shows that the square root of AVE for the construct was greater than the inter-construct correlations (Table 4). Discriminant validity was also evaluated by the Heterotrait-monotrait ratio of correlations (Henseler et al., 2015), with values below the threshold of 0.90. Consequently, discriminant validity is accepted (see Table 5). Table 4. Fornell-Larker Criterion ATT HC PI SM ATT 0.854* HC 0.420 0.790* PI 0.638 0.346 0.956* SM 0.491 0.380 0.495 0.786* * Square-root of AVE. Table 5. HTMT ratio ATT HC PI SM ATT HC 0.497 PI 0.741 0.383 SM 0.563 0.444 0.549 Manal Echchad 96 IROCAMM VOL. 6, N. 1 - Year 2023 Received: 25/02/2022 | Reviewed: 9/01/2023 | Accepted: 29/12/2022 | Published: 31/01/2023 DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.12795/IROCAMM.2023.v06.i01.06 Pp.: 88-103 e-ISSN: 2605-0447 4.3. Assessment of the structural model The structural model indicates the paths hypothesized in the research framework. A structural model is assessed based on the R2, Q2, and significance of paths. 45.3% change in attitude can be attributed to health consciousness and social media usage. 24.1% change in purchasing intention of organic products is attributed to the health consciousness, social media usage, and the attitude towards organic products. Both of the R2 values are greater than 0.1 (Falk & Miller, 1992). Consequently, the predictive capability is established. Q2 for attitude towards organic products and the purchasing intention of organic products is higher than 0, which means that the model has predictive relevance. The value of SRMR was 0.068, which is below the required value of 0.20, indicating acceptable model fit (Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, 2017). Further assessment of the goodness of fit, hypotheses were tested to establish the significance of the relationship. H1 evaluates whether HC has a significant impact on the PI. The results revealed that HC does not have a significant impact on PI (β = .042, t = .712, p > .01). Hence, H1 was rejected. H2 assesses whether HC has a significant influence on ATT. The results showed that HC has a significant impact on ATT (β = .273, t = 4.135, p < .01). Consequently, H2 was accepted. H3 studies whether ATT has a significant influence on PI. The results showed that ATT has a significant influence on PI (β = .508, t = 7.134, p < .01). Therefore, H3 was accepted. H5 studies whether SM has a significant influence on the PI. The results demonstrated that SM has a positive influence on PI (β = .230, t = 3.353 p < .01). Therefore, H5 was accepted. H6 assesses whether SM has a significant impact on ATT. The results demonstrated SM has a positive influence on ATT (β = .387, t = 6.444, p < .01). Hence, H6 was accepted. The 5000 resamples of the study generated 95% confidence intervals as showcased in Table 5. A confidence interval different from zero indicates a significant relationship. Hypothesis testing results are summarized in Table 6. Table 6. Hypothesis testing results β STDEV T Statistics P Values 2.5% 97.5% SM -> ATT 0.387 0.060 6.444 0.000 0.260 0.497 HC -> ATT 0.273 0.066 4.135 0.000 0.157 0.401 HC -> PI 0.042 0.058 0.721 0.471 -0.084 0.147 SM -> PI 0.230 0.069 3.353 0.001 0.082 0.354 ATT -> PI 0.508 0.071 7.134 0.000 0.353 0.627 R² Q² ATT 0.304 0.209 PI 0.453 0.403 Manal Echchad 103 IROCAMM VOL. 6, N. 1 - Year 2023 Received: 25/02/2022 | Reviewed: 9/01/2023 | Accepted: 29/12/2022 | Published: 31/01/2023 DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.12795/IROCAMM.2023.v06.i01.06 Pp.: 88-103 e-ISSN: 2605-0447 Singhal, N. (2017). A Study of Consumer Behavior Towards Organic Food and the Moderating Effects of Health Consciousness A Study of Consumer Behavior Towards Organic Food and the Moderating Effects of Health Consciousness. IUP Journal of Marketing Management, 16(3), 45–79. Su, Y., Khaskheli, A., Raza, S. A., & Yousufi, S. Q. (2022). 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Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 94(13), 2600–2604. https://doi.org/10.1002/JSFA.6578 Citación:Echchad, M. (2023). The influence of social media usage and health consciousness on the purchasing intention of organic products: the mediating role of attitude. IROCAMM - International Review Of Communication And Marketing Mix, 6(1), 88-103. https://dx.doi.org/10.12795/IROCAMM.2023.v06.i01.06 4.0 © Editorial Universidad de Sevilla 2023 IROCAMM- International Review Of Communication And Marketing Mix | e-ISSN: 2605-0447