THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON GREEN FOOD PURCHASE INTENTIONS: EVIDENCE FROM HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62985/j.huit_ojs.vol26.no3E.552Keywords:
Social media marketing, green food, purchase intention, sustainable consumption.Abstract
This study investigates the impact of social media marketing on consumers’ purchase intention toward green food in Ho Chi Minh City. Drawing on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and prior studies on green consumption and digital marketing, the research proposes an extended model incorporating social media marketing, attitude, subjective norm, perceived value, green product knowledge, and environmental concern. Data were collected from 220 consumers and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS. The results indicate that social media marketing significantly influences consumers’ attitudes, subjective norms, perceived value, and green product knowledge. Among these factors, subjective norm, perceived value, and green product knowledge have significant positive effects on purchase intention, while environmental concern also plays an important role. However, attitude does not directly influence purchase intention, suggesting the dominant role of social and cognitive factors in shaping green consumption behavior in a collectivist context. Additionally, mediating effects are confirmed for subjective norm, perceived value, and green product knowledge, highlighting the indirect influence of social media on purchase intention. The model explains 54.3% of the variance in purchase intention, indicating a satisfactory explanatory power. The findings contribute to the literature by integrating social media into the TPB framework and provide practical implications for green food businesses and policymakers in promoting sustainable consumption through digital platforms.
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