Health and environmental goals as drivers of Norwegian salmon consumption: A theory of reasoned goal pursuit approach

Amid growing public concern about farmed fish, this study examines the drivers influencing consumers' purchase of Norwegian salmon in three European countries (Italy, Poland, and France), focusing on how health and environmental goals affect the motivation to consume Norwegian salmon. We applied the recent Theory of Reasoned Goal Pursuit (TRGP) – an extension of the well-established Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) – to data collected via an online survey of 765 salmon consumers (France: n = 260; Italy: n = 252; Poland: n = 253). The TRGP predicted behavioural intentions significantly better than the TPB (an overall increase of 12.5 % in explained variance) while maintaining similar explanatory power for self-reported consumption. Consistent with both TPB and TRGP, intention emerged as the main predictor of consumption, and a significant motivation–intention–behaviour relationship was observed across all countries. These findings reinforce the importance of targeting the determinants of intention in interventions aimed at influencing behaviour. Notably, this study is the first to apply the TRGP in a food consumption context, highlighting how incorporating consumers' active goals (health and sustainability) can improve the prediction of intentions. Our results underline the value of a goal-oriented approach to understanding food choices and offer practical insights for promoting healthy and sustainable salmon consumption. • We applied the TRGP in understanding Norwegian salmon consumption. • The TRGP enhances the prediction of behavioural intentions over the TPB. • We could not find any improvement in the explanation of the (self-reported) behaviour. • We observed a significant motivation-intention-behaviour relationship across all countries. • Health-conscious and environmental goals influenced consumers' attitudes.