Utility and Emotion: A Combined Economic‐Psychological Approach to Understanding Consumer Preferences for Social Farming Products

ABSTRACT Social farming integrates agricultural activities with social and rehabilitative functions, offering significant benefits to communities. However, its economic sustainability depends, among other factors, on consumer acceptance and willingness to pay a premium for its products. This study adopts a combined approach to investigate the market potential of social farming products by integrating economic and psychological perspectives. We conducted a discrete choice experiment with a quota‐matched sample of 851 Italian consumers to estimate their willingness to pay for the social farming attribute in comparison to organic certification and Italian origin. Subsequently, we explored the cognitive and emotional drivers of consumer preferences. The results indicate that consumers are willing to pay a significant premium for social farming products, though this valuation is lower than for organic certification and Italian origin. Notably, this willingness to pay is highly conditional on consumers' prior familiarity with the concept of social farming. The psychological model further indicates that the influence of egalitarian orientation and cognitive benefits on consumer preference is fully transmitted through positive emotions. While these estimates reflect stated preferences under hypothetical conditions, the findings suggest that social farming can achieve economic viability through a dual strategy: establishing market recognition through clear certification and developing communication strategies that build consumer awareness and forge positive emotional connections. This highlights the need for stakeholders to move beyond rational appeals and engage the affective drivers that can shape pro‐social purchasing decisions.