An Integrated Consumer Decision-Making Framework for Fortified Edible Oil Adoption
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.66635/84grqz84Keywords:
Fortified edible oils, Consumer decision-making, Health Belief Model, Theory of Planned Behaviour, Digital trustAbstract
Micronutrient deficiencies are still one of the biggest public health problems in the developing world, especially in India, where fortified edible oils have been brought forward as a major nutritional solution. However, even though the policy environment has been very supportive and supply-side availability has shown some signs of improvement, consumer adoption of fortified edible oils remains very erratic and heavily dependent on local context. Most theoretical frameworks address this problem only through single-theory perspectives, and the complex interactions among values, health beliefs, social influences, and modern digital factors remain largely unexplored. This paper puts forward an integrated conceptual framework aimed at understanding consumer decision-making in the adoption of fortified edible oils, based on a systematic theory-building approach. Using the Value-Attitude-Behaviour (VAB) model, the Health Belief Model (HBM), and the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) as the main sources, the framework is located within the Antecedents, Decisions, Outcomes, Theory, Context and Method (ADO-TCM) scheme. The framework presented in the paper sees health consciousness, cultural food beliefs, perceived benefits, and perceived barriers as the main antecedents that decide consumer attitudes toward fortified edible oils. Attitude, as well as subjective norms and perceived behavioural control, are expected to be the factors affecting purchase intention, which is the main behavioural outcome. Interestingly, the framework puts forward ambivalence and digital trust as moderator variables that determine how strong the attitude-intention linkage is, thereby not only coping with emotional dissonance but also recognising the increasing influence of online health information on consumer decision-making.
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