The Impact of Responsible Food Packaging Perceptions on Naturalness and Healthiness Inferences, and Consumer Buying Intentions

The research presented in this article examines the relationship between consumer perceptions that a food package is responsible (sustainable) and consumers’ intention to purchase the product that it contains. On the basis of the relevant literature, a conceptual model is proposed where this relationship is hypothesized to be mediated by two variables: the product’s perceived naturalness and healthiness. A first study was conducted with the objective of developing a scale with good psychometric properties to measure the perceived naturalness of a food product. The objective of the second study was to test the validity of the two-mediator conceptual model. The results show that the extent to which a food product package is seen as responsible (i.e., recyclable, reusable, compostable) has a positive and statistically significant impact on consumers’ intention to buy it, and that it is through the sequential mediation of the product’s perceived naturalness and healthiness that this relationship unfolds

Music Piracy on the Web – How Effective are Anti-Piracy Arguments? Evidence from the Theory of Planned Behaviour

This article presents the results of an experiment in which three different types of anti-piracy arguments were tested among 139 young adult consumers susceptible to engage in swapping music over the Internet: (1) stressing the negative personal consequences of pirating music, (2) stressing the negative consequences for the artists, and (3) stressing the unethical nature of this behaviour. The psychological determinants of music piracy behaviour were modeled in part with (1991) Ajzen’s theory of planned behaviour. The results show that the intention to swap music on-line depended on one’s attitude toward music piracy, one’s perception that important others want that this behaviour be performed, and one’s perceived competency in doing so. In addition, having swapped music on-line in the past had a strong influence on one’s intention to do it again. Contrary to expectations, the anti-piracy arguments had no significant impact on the behavioural dynamics underlying on-line music piracy. Copyright Springer 2005