Does Money for Grocery Expenditure Sway Italian Consumers’ Motivational Values in Predicting Attitude towards Eco- Sustainable Food Products?

This study attempts to explain how the motivational domains of Schwartz’s theory of basic human values influence Italian consumers ’ attitude towards buying eco-sustainable food products and the extent to which the average monthly amount of money available in households for grocery expenditure may modify this influence. A conceptual model of attitude with the high-order dimensions of the Schwartz’s taxonomy of human values and past experience as predictors has been hypothesized and performed on a representative sample (i.e., on regional basis and age categories) of Italian food consumers (n = 2760). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used as the methodology. Italian consumers ’ households with an average monthly amount of less than 400 Euros for grocery expenditures showed universal values and self-enhancement motivations in supporting their positive attitude towards eco-sustainable food products, but with a significant reduction of their openness to change and conservation in disfavor of these products. Consumers with more than 400 Euros showed attenuated universal and conservation values, but with less openness to change and self-enhancement motives. In conclusion, it has seemed that in Italy, where no legal requirements about sustainability have been established yet, being an ethical and universal food consumer still strongly depends on how much money one is able to spend rather than on how ethical or universal one wants to be