An Integrative Model of Responsible Consumption of Terroir Cosmetics : A TPB-Based Framework

Abstract

Abstract:

Responsible consumption of locally-rooted products represents a growing yet insufficiently understood phenomenon in emerging markets, where cultural heritage, sustainability concerns, and economic constraints intersect in ways that standard behavioral models struggle to capture. This paper proposes an integrative conceptual framework for understanding the determinants of responsible consumption intention toward terroir cosmetics in Morocco. Drawing on the Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1991), the Theory of Consumption Values (Sheth et al., 1991), and the Perceived Value framework (Zeithaml, 1988), the model articulates a layered explanatory structure in which personal value orientations — biospheric, altruistic, and egoistic — operate as distal antecedents of the TPB components, while four consumption value dimensions — functional, emotional, social, and epistemic — serve as antecedents of attitude specifically. Brand trust is integrated as a transversal construct reinforcing attitude formation, normative perceptions, and perceived behavioral control, with an additional direct effect on intention. Prior product experience is introduced as a moderating variable on the intention–behavior relationship. Fifteen research hypotheses are formulated and theoretically grounded, drawing on a prior qualitative study conducted among Moroccan consumers. The model contributes to the responsible consumption literature by combining two value traditions within a single TPB-based framework, by positioning consumption values as attitude antecedents rather than direct predictors of intention, and by applying this combined logic to a product category — terroir cosmetics — that sits at the intersection of sustainability, cultural identity, and local economic development. Implications for researchers, local producers, and policymakers are discussed.

Keywords: Responsible Consumption ; Theory Of Planned Behavior ; Consumption Values ; Brand Trust ; Terroir Cosmetics ; Morocco ; Conceptual Model