Legitimate or Not, Does It Really Matter? A Reading of the PDO Label’s Legitimacy through Consumers’ Perception
The proliferation of quality labels for the same food product questions the relevance of labeling schemes. Based on the theory of legitimacy and research on food-related consumer behavior, this study aims to examine the influence of the perceived legitimacy of a label (PDO) on consumers’ perceptions...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Foods |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/12/12/2365 |
| _version_ | 1797594772097990656 |
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| author | Maria Bouhaddane Rafia Halawany-Darson Corinne Rochette Corinne Amblard |
| author_facet | Maria Bouhaddane Rafia Halawany-Darson Corinne Rochette Corinne Amblard |
| author_sort | Maria Bouhaddane |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The proliferation of quality labels for the same food product questions the relevance of labeling schemes. Based on the theory of legitimacy and research on food-related consumer behavior, this study aims to examine the influence of the perceived legitimacy of a label (PDO) on consumers’ perceptions of the quality and purchase intentions of the labeled product. A conceptual model was, therefore, developed to estimate the influence of four dimensions of legitimacy on the perceived quality and purchase intention of PDO-labeled cheese, French cheeses being products whose quality is traditionally linked to their regional origin. Our model was tested on a sample of 600 consumers representative of the French population. Using Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling, results show that for surveyed consumers, the pragmatic, regulative, and moral legitimacy of the PDO label positively influences the perceived quality of PDO-labeled cheese. Furthermore, pragmatic legitimacy has a substantial and direct influence on purchase intention, whereas both regulative and moral legitimacy influence purchase intention only indirectly through perceived quality. Unexpectedly, our findings do not show a significant influence of cognitive legitimacy either on perceived quality or purchase intention. The output of this research contributes to a better understanding of the link between a label’s legitimacy, perceived quality, and purchase intention. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T02:28:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-03cc1c575f9d4c42a06775da81346aa0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2304-8158 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T02:28:16Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Foods |
| spelling | doaj.art-03cc1c575f9d4c42a06775da81346aa02023-11-18T10:24:42ZengMDPI AGFoods2304-81582023-06-011212236510.3390/foods12122365Legitimate or Not, Does It Really Matter? A Reading of the PDO Label’s Legitimacy through Consumers’ PerceptionMaria Bouhaddane0Rafia Halawany-Darson1Corinne Rochette2Corinne Amblard3CIRAD, UMR Innovation, Univ. Montpellier, CIRAD, INRAE, Institut Agro, F-34398 Montpellier, FranceUniversité Clermont Auvergne, INRAE, VetAgro Sup, UMR 545 Fromage, 63370 Lempdes, FranceClermont Research Management Center, Health and Territory Research Chair of University of Clermont Au-vergne, 63000 Clermont-Ferrand, FranceUniversité Clermont Auvergne, INRAE, VetAgro Sup, UMR 545 Fromage, 63370 Lempdes, FranceThe proliferation of quality labels for the same food product questions the relevance of labeling schemes. Based on the theory of legitimacy and research on food-related consumer behavior, this study aims to examine the influence of the perceived legitimacy of a label (PDO) on consumers’ perceptions of the quality and purchase intentions of the labeled product. A conceptual model was, therefore, developed to estimate the influence of four dimensions of legitimacy on the perceived quality and purchase intention of PDO-labeled cheese, French cheeses being products whose quality is traditionally linked to their regional origin. Our model was tested on a sample of 600 consumers representative of the French population. Using Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling, results show that for surveyed consumers, the pragmatic, regulative, and moral legitimacy of the PDO label positively influences the perceived quality of PDO-labeled cheese. Furthermore, pragmatic legitimacy has a substantial and direct influence on purchase intention, whereas both regulative and moral legitimacy influence purchase intention only indirectly through perceived quality. Unexpectedly, our findings do not show a significant influence of cognitive legitimacy either on perceived quality or purchase intention. The output of this research contributes to a better understanding of the link between a label’s legitimacy, perceived quality, and purchase intention.https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/12/12/2365legitimacyperceived qualitypurchase intentionfood consumption behaviorPDO labelPartial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) |
| spellingShingle | Maria Bouhaddane Rafia Halawany-Darson Corinne Rochette Corinne Amblard Legitimate or Not, Does It Really Matter? A Reading of the PDO Label’s Legitimacy through Consumers’ Perception Foods legitimacy perceived quality purchase intention food consumption behavior PDO label Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) |
| title | Legitimate or Not, Does It Really Matter? A Reading of the PDO Label’s Legitimacy through Consumers’ Perception |
| title_full | Legitimate or Not, Does It Really Matter? A Reading of the PDO Label’s Legitimacy through Consumers’ Perception |
| title_fullStr | Legitimate or Not, Does It Really Matter? A Reading of the PDO Label’s Legitimacy through Consumers’ Perception |
| title_full_unstemmed | Legitimate or Not, Does It Really Matter? A Reading of the PDO Label’s Legitimacy through Consumers’ Perception |
| title_short | Legitimate or Not, Does It Really Matter? A Reading of the PDO Label’s Legitimacy through Consumers’ Perception |
| title_sort | legitimate or not does it really matter a reading of the pdo label s legitimacy through consumers perception |
| topic | legitimacy perceived quality purchase intention food consumption behavior PDO label Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/12/12/2365 |
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