Title: A study on the consumer's intention to purchase a social enterprise's product

Authors: Yi-Hsin Lin; Feng-Jyh Lin; Kuo-Hsiung Wang; Chang-Hua Tsai

Addresses: Department of Business Administration, National Taichung University of Science and Technology, Taichung City, Taiwan ' Department of Marketing, Feng Chia University, Taichung City, Taiwan ' Come True Coffee, Rm. 4, 14F., No. 161, Gongyi Rd., West Dist., Taichung City 403, Taiwan ' Department of Leisure and Recreation Management, Asia University, Taichung City, Taiwan

Abstract: A social mission is usually a particularly hot issue as it can deliver unique functional and emotional elements to build a strong relationship between a social enterprise and its customers. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between a social mission, product competitiveness and purchase intentions in a social enterprise. Data were collected from 151 customers of Come True Coffee through the company's Facebook in January and February 2017. Multiple regression analysis was used to examine the relationships among the research variables and identify the final model. The results show that good product competitiveness and a social mission will improve the intention to purchase. Moreover, the social mission of a social enterprise is an important issue in terms of encouraging consumers to feel concern. Finally, product competitiveness is a mediating factor for a social mission in regard to the purchase intention. The outcomes of this study could help managers better understand the relationships among social mission, product competitiveness and purchase intentions.

Keywords: social enterprise; social mission; coffee; product competitiveness; purchase intention.

DOI: 10.1504/EJIM.2021.116705

European Journal of International Management, 2021 Vol.16 No.1, pp.166 - 182

Received: 25 Apr 2018
Accepted: 04 Aug 2018
Published online: 30 Jul 2021 *

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