What drives purchase intention towards ethical products? : A study using modified theory of planned behaviour

Course/Level: 2FE21E Undergraduate Bachelor Thesis Authors: Anders Ly, Sarina Strahm and Yiling Zhou Tutor: Dan Halvarsson Examiner: Åsa Devine Title: What drives purchase intention towards ethical products? A study using modified Theory of Planned Behaviour Keywords: Consumer behaviour, theory of planned behaviour, moral obligation, self-identity, consumer attitude, attitude towards ethical products, perceived behavioural control, ethical products Background: In recent days, consumers have become incrementally attentive of environmental issues, whereas various researches have suggested that raised awareness and the significance in consuming ethical products are supposed to affect the purchase intention of consumers. To further understand the consumers, theory of planned behaviour served as the theoretical foundation of this study. Theory of planned behaviour is a theory of relationship between attitude and behaviour, which seeks to explain the human behaviour Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explain which factors drive purchase intention towards ethical products Methodology: This study incorporated a quantitative approach with an explanatory purpose. The data was collected t through the use of a self-completion questionnaire. The gathered data was analysed with the use of Cronbach’s alpha, correlation analysis and multilinear regression analysis. Findings: The current research provides empirical support that the components of attitude towards ethical product and self-identity have a positive influence on consumers purchase intention towards ethical products. The results from the multi-linear regression analysis suggested that Perceived behavioural control (PBC) and moral obligation failed to explain the relationship with purchase intention towards ethical products