The Antecedents Of Brand Love Toward Natural Products: An Approach of S.O.R Theory

Purpose: Natural products are becoming gradually popular because of their health - related benefits and consumers’ environmental awareness. However, research in this field remains limited, the present study attempts to address this research gap by measuring the influencing levels of the antecedents on natural product brand love. Research design, data and methodology: The study employs S-O-R (Stimulus - Organism - Response) framework together with Innovation Resistance Theory and Dual-Factor Theory to propose the research model, in which health and environmental stimuli influence both of facilitators and inhibitors of internal states or organism, and then shape purchase intention and brand love as consumers’ responses. The mixed research method is designed with the application of structural equation model (SEM) to analyze 530 consumers collected by convenience sampling. Results: The results revealed that two chosen stimuli, including health awareness and environmental concern were positively related to both facilitators (natural content and regional products) and inhibitors (image barrier and usage barrier) and these four factors were significantly associated to purchase intention and brand love. Furthermore, purchase intention played the mediating role on the relationship between the four organisms and brand love. Conclusions: The originality of this paper is extend S-O-R theory into natural product context with mediating effects in an emerging economy. The findings make theoretical contribution on consumer behavior and managerial implication.