Factors affecting consumers' purchasing behavior toward dairy products : The case of TH True Milk in Ho Chi Minh City

Abstract

TH True Milk is the pioneer in producing organic and clean dairy products following the European and American organic standards for human health. Currently, besides TH True Milk, there are a large number of dairy product options with both domestic and foreign brands in the market. Moreover, the recently signed EVFTA Agreement that lowers the import duties on dairy products from the EU is forecasted to explode the intense market competition in the dairy industry. To survive in such a fierce market, TH True Milk must have an effective strategy to attract and retain consumers. Therefore, this research is designed to explore the determinants of purchase behavior for dairy products by analyzing the effects of subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, knowledge, health consciousness, attitude, and intention to buy on purchasing behavior. The quantitative method is used to investigate 319 target participants living in Ho Chi Minh City. Then, the SPSS and Amos applications are employed to examine the model, test the hypotheses, and measure the relationships among variables. The results demonstrate that the behavior of purchasing dairy products is positively influenced by subjective norms and purchase intention. Furthermore, the intention to buy dairy products is positively impacted by consumer attitude and knowledge of products. In addition, findings reveal that subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and health consciousness directly influence consumer attitude toward dairy products. This study concludes with some practical implications for practitioners who seek to improve their market share and sales volume.