A Study of Opinion Leaders in Green Consumption in Taiwan Using the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA)

Environmental and health concerns have prompted consumers to more carefully plan their food consumption. This can be evidenced by the increasing number of organic grocery stores in the past two decades. To date, consumer awareness in Western countries about environmentally friendly and healthy products is considerably high. However, in emerging economies, the concept of green/organic products and healthy lifestyles is still at early stages. Prior studies show that opinion leadership in many markets is the single strongest factor leading to the final purchase decision. In this research, the authors propose a conceptual framework using the well-known theory of reasoned action (TRA) to study consumers' green consumption attitude and behavior in Taiwan. The findings reveal that opinion leaders (OLs) play an important role in product awareness and information diffusion of green products in emerging markets. This paper contributes to the literature by applying the TRA using opinion leaders and validating the theory in the area of green consumption. We also discuss managerial implications of our findings.