Drivers of consumer’s willingness to pay for fair trade food products: the role of positive and negative emotions

This paper proposes an explanatory model of the intention to pay for fair trade food products based on the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) theory. The research aims are to test the effects of general attitudes toward sustainable food products on the valuation of fair-trade food products, to study the effects of emotions on willingness to pay for fair trade food products and to analyse the mediating role of product evaluation and emotions. The proposed model was tested using an ordinary least squares estimation and an analysis combining the properties of parallel and serial mediation on a representative sample of 305 consumers in the Basque Country (Spain). Descriptive analyses indicate that respondents had a favourable attitude toward sustainable products and positively valued fair trade products. The willingness to pay was moderate. The results show the importance of emotions, especially pride, in transforming attitudes toward sustainable food products into a willingness to pay for fair trade food products. This study links the more general literature on sustainable products to that of fair-trade products, broadening the focus of the S-O-R theory. In addition, it helps fair trade organisations understand consumer behaviour influenced by positive emotions and attitudes towards sustainable products, including fair trade products.