Green Advertising, Social Media Content, and Ecolabels as Drivers of Environmental Attitudes and Organic Purchase Behavior

The growing demand for organic food has increased the need to understand how green communication strategies shape sustainable food consumption. Based on the Stimulus–Organism–Response (SOR) model, this study examines whether Green Advertising, Social Media Content, and Ecolabels function as external stimuli that influence Environmental Attitudes and how these attitudes affect Green Purchasing Behavior, while also assessing the moderating role of age. A cross-sectional quantitative design was implemented, using a structured questionnaire administered to organic consumers in Ecuador. Data were collected from a sample of 739 consumers between December 2025 and January 2026 using a structured online survey administered via Google Forms. This study employed partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to test the proposed hypotheses. The findings reveal that Green Advertising, Social Media Content, and Ecolabels positively influence Environmental Attitudes, which in turn significantly predicts Green Purchasing Behavior. However, age does not have a significant moderating effect on the proposed relationships. The findings suggest that green marketing strategies may be more effective when aligned with the development of pro-environmental attitudes. Thus, this study highlights the importance of incorporating attitudinal components into the design of marketing initiatives.