Why Consumers Trust Sustainable Food: Psychological Mechanisms Underlying Sustainable Food Adoption in Emerging Markets
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.38035/gmbr.v3i1.855Keywords:
Sustainable food adoption, Consumer trust, Health consciousness, Perceived environmental value, Sustainable consumption, Emerging markets, Hydroponic vegetables, Consumer behaviorAbstract
Sustainable food consumption has attracted increasing scholarly attention in contemporary consumer behavior research, particularly in emerging markets characterized by growing environmental awareness alongside continuing sustainability skepticism and authenticity uncertainty. However, prior studies have predominantly emphasized environmental concern and functional product attributes while providing limited understanding regarding how sustainability-related perceptions become psychologically internalized into long-term lifestyle commitment. This study therefore examines the relationships among health consciousness, perceived environmental value, consumer trust, purchase intention, and sustainable food adoption behavior within the context of hydroponic vegetable consumption in Indonesia. Drawing upon symbolic consumption theory, trust theory, and the Theory of Planned Behavior, this study proposes an integrated psychological framework explaining how sustainability-related perceptions influence environmentally responsible consumption behavior through affective trust formation. Data were collected from 385 consumers purchasing hydroponic vegetables in urban retail markets in Indonesia and analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with LISREL. The findings demonstrate that health consciousness and perceived environmental value significantly strengthen consumer trust. Consumer trust further exerts the strongest influence on purchase intention and long-term sustainable food adoption behavior. The mediation analysis additionally reveals that consumer trust functions as an affective psychological conversion mechanism linking sustainability-related perceptions with behavioral commitment. The findings indicate that environmentally responsible food consumption is shaped not merely by rational product evaluation but also by emotional reassurance, perceived authenticity, ethical alignment, and identity-related lifestyle processes. This study contributes to sustainable consumption and consumer behavior literature by extending understanding regarding the affective mechanisms underlying environmentally responsible consumption behavior in emerging markets. The findings further enrich symbolic consumption literature by demonstrating that sustainable food adoption increasingly reflects psychologically and symbolically embedded lifestyle commitment rather than purely functional purchasing decisions.
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