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Gender Differences in Intentions to Buy Fair-Trade Products: Extending the Theory of Planned Behaviour to include Moral Norms
This study examined the usefulness of including a measure of moral norms to improve the prediction of intentions of university students to buy fair-trade (FT) products over the basic theory of planned behaviour (TPB) predictors. We also examined gender differences in intentions to buy FT products through the lens of the TPB. Data were obtained from 782 students at the University of Luxemburg. Results of structural equation analysis indicated that the inclusion of moral norms increased the explained variance in behavioural intentions from 62% to 68%. Mediating and moderating analyses showed that, compared to men, women reported more favourable attitude, higher moral obligation, and stronger intentions toward buying FT products. Results also showed that the attitude–intentions relationship was stronger for men, whereas the perceived behavioural control–intentions relationship was stronger for women. The implications of the moderation analysis are that sustainability professionals seeking to encourage university students‟ intentions to buy FT products should develop gender-targeted interventions: for men, more emphasis should be placed on attitude toward buying FT products (i.e., the advantages of adopting this behaviour), and for women, more emphasis should be placed on perceived behavioural control (e.g.. factors that encourage regular buying of FT products).