Refined olive oil (ROO) and extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) categories are different products with respect to their objective quality. Nevertheless, this quality gap is not reflected in the purchase behaviour of consumers in Spain, which is the main producer country worldwide. On the basis of economic theory, the price gap could be a part of the explanation; however, the objective price gap between EVOO and ROO has been on average around €0.40 kg-1 since the 2007/2008 crop year in Spain. Therefore, this paper contributes to a more in-depth understanding of those factors, besides price, affecting consumers' decision-making process in olive oil markets. We examine how consumers build their purchase preferences towards two products - namely EVOO and ROO-based on their evaluative judgements shaped by person-related and environmental factors. In doing so, a theoretical model is proposed and an empirical application in southern Spain is presented, using variance-based structural equation modelling (SEM) by means of partial least squares path modelling (PLS). The results show how attitude towards EVOO and ROO play a key role in explaining both EVOO and ROO consumption. In addition, taste preferences are shown to have an overriding moderator effect on the relationship between attitude towards ROO and consumption. Negative anticipated consequences regarding EVOO are core to shape consumers' attitude towards ROO and also influence attitude towards the own product. Meanwhile, healthy shopping habits affect mainly attitude towards EVOO and the perceived value of private brands influences attitude towards ROO.
Keywords: Consumer behaviour; Environmental factors; Moderator effects; Olive oils; Partial least squares path modelling; Person-related factors.
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