What Promotes Intention? Factors Influencing Consumers’ Intention to Purchase Animal-Welfare Friendly Beef in Japan

Food industries are required to face both increasing demand from a growing population with social development and enhancement of its sustainability. Farm animal welfare has become an important aspect of sustainable business development, but is still an unfamiliar concept for consumers in Japan, although Japanese society is under pressure to catch up with global trends. Researchers have been working around the world to explore consumer behavior concerning animal welfare in markets, but few such studies have been performed in Japan. In this study, we explored factors influencing consumers’ intention to purchase animal welfare friendly beef products (AWFBP) in Japan, by considering them as food products purchased involving ethical decision-making and empathy for beef cattle and farmers. An online questionnaire was used to identify consumer characteristics and perceived attributes of AWFBP among 620 consumers in the three largest cities in Japan. Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior, we found that perception of attributes perceived behavioral controls, and empathy for beef cattle were likely to influence consumers’ intention to purchase AWFBP.