Eat green, be healthy: Gen-Z’s green food purchase intention – moderated by greenwash and fear of pandemic recurrence

Purpose The present study aims to investigate factors influencing Gen-Z consumers' “green food purchase intention” and “healthy lifestyle”. Guided by the attribution theory, “perceived usefulness of green food”, “food safety concerns” (internal attributes), “perceived threat of environmental problems” and “green peer influence” (external attributes) are considered the predictors of “attitude towards green food”, which eventually lead to a healthy lifestyle and green food purchase intention. Besides, “fear of pandemic recurrence” and “greenwash” are tested as moderators. Design/methodology/approach The Structural Equation Modelling-Partial Least Squares (PLS-SEM) technique was employed for the model testing. An online questionnaire survey was conducted among Gen-Z Chinese adults, which yielded 556 complete, valid responses. Findings The findings indicate that “consumers' attitudes towards green food” are positively influenced by “perceived threat of environmental problems”, “perceived usefulness of green food”, “concerns about food safety”, and the influence of “green peers”. In addition, results revealed that “attitude toward green food” exerts a positive effect on “healthy lifestyle” and “green food purchase intention”. The study supports the moderating role of “perceived greenwash” in the relationship between “attitude” and “intention to purchase green food”. However, there was no evidence to support the moderating effect of “fear of pandemic recurrence” in relation to a “healthy lifestyle”. Originality/value This study is a pioneer in utilizing the attribution theory to predict the drivers of a “healthy lifestyle” and the “intention to purchase green foods”. Furthermore, this study predicted the moderating influence of “fear of pandemic recurrence” on the relationship between attitude and “healthy lifestyle”, a link that has not been tested in previous research. Furthermore, it introduces a novel examination of the moderating effect of “perceived greenwash” on the relationship between “attitudes” and “purchase intentions”.