Bridging Awareness, Acceptance, and Purchase Behavior in Eco-Friendly Packaging Choices for Agri-Food Products
Article information
Abstract
Background and objective
Plastic packaging waste has emerged as one of the most pressing environmental challenges worldwide. While plastic packaging provides significant functional benefits such as product protection, convenience, and preservation of quality its extensive use raises serious concerns regarding long-term environmental sustainability. Consequently, promoting the adoption of eco-friendly packaging has become a critical objective in the agri-food sector. To effectively encourage this transition, it is essential to understand the psychological factors that shape consumer decision-making. This study aims to identify the key determinants of consumers’ purchase intentions for agri-food products with eco-friendly packaging, focusing on cognitive, affective, and conative psychological dimensions.
Methods
Cheonan was selected as the study area due to its mixed urban-rural characteristics, which provide a diverse socioeconomic context for analyzing consumer behavior. Data were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to identify underlying psychological dimensions related to eco-friendly packaging. Three factors, identified as Awareness, Acceptance, and Behavior, were extracted. These factors were subsequently incorporated into multiple regression and ordered logit models to examine their relative influence on consumers’ purchase intentions.
Results
The analysis identified three distinct psychological factors: Awareness (cognitive dimension), Acceptance (affective dimension), and Behavior (conative dimension). Empirical results from both multiple regression and ordered logit models consistently showed that Acceptance and Behavior exert significantly stronger effects on purchase intentions than Awareness. This indicates that affective and conative components play a more substantial role in shaping consumer decisions regarding eco-friendly packaging than purely cognitive considerations.
Conclusion
The findings suggest that consumer adoption of eco-friendly packaging in the agri-food sector is driven more by emotional acceptance and behavioral tendencies than by awareness alone. By integrating cognitive, affective, and conative perspectives, this study provides practical implications for policymakers and industry stakeholders in designing targeted communication strategies, incentive programs, and policy interventions to accelerate the adoption of eco-friendly packaging.
Introduction
Global food systems generate significant environmental impacts through resource extraction, production, and waste disposal. Circular economy principles offer pathways to transform these systems through regenerative approaches that prioritize resource circulation and minimize waste. Plastic pollution from packaging systems contributes to ecosystem destruction, resource depletion, and greenhouse gas emissions globally. As food packaging is central to everyday consumption, transitioning to eco-friendly packaging has emerged as a critical strategy for addressing these challenges.
Eco-friendly packaging refers to materials and designs that minimize environmental impact while maintaining economic value and functional performance. This includes recyclable materials, biodegradable alternatives, reusable systems, and package-free distribution methods. Consumer acceptance represents a critical determinant of successful eco-friendly packaging adoption. Despite growing environmental awareness and expanding product availability, significant gaps persist between consumer attitudes and actual purchasing decisions. This attitude-behavior gap highlights the need to examine the specific psychological mechanisms influencing purchase intentions for eco-friendly packaged products.
The European Union has mandated packaging reduction and improved recycling rates through the Circular Economy Action Plan and Single-Use Plastics Directive. The United States and Canada are expanding Extended Producer Responsibility systems and eco-friendly packaging standards. In Asia, policies such as Japan’s Plastic Resource Circulation Act and China’s Plastic Ban Roadmap are rapidly expanding. Despite these international movements, consumer awareness and acceptance levels of eco-friendly packaging vary across countries depending on socioeconomic structures, culture, and policy environments.
South Korea has declared carbon neutrality by 2050 as a national goal and elevated resource circulation transformation to a national agenda through the Framework Act on Carbon Neutrality and Green Growth and K-Circular Economy Strategy. This legislative framework has strengthened eco-friendly packaging policies, including mandatory labeling systems for recyclable packaging, regulations on single-use items, carbon point systems, and emission reduction incentive programs. However, a research gap persists between policy implementation and consumer behavioral change. Despite policy emphasis on sustainable packaging, empirical research on consumer purchase intentions for eco-friendly packaged agricultural products remains scarce, particularly regarding the psychological mechanisms that drive actual purchasing decisions.
Understanding consumer acceptance is essential for the successful transition toward sustainable packaging. Awareness, acceptance, and behavioral intention are widely recognized as core factors explaining sustainable consumption behavior. According to Ajzen’s (1991) Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), attitude and perceived behavioral control directly predict behavioral intention, a relationship consistently supported in studies on eco-friendly consumption. Previous research demonstrates that attitudinal acceptance and behavioral intention exhibit explanatory power in eco-friendly purchasing decisions (Kim and Lee, 2023; Tavitiyaman et al., 2024; García-Salirrosas et al., 2024; Huang et al., 2025). These findings indicate that emotional acceptance, lifestyle compatibility, and functional trust constitute important factors in converting environmental concern into actual behavior.
Despite this theoretical foundation, existing studies have largely examined these psychological dimensions separately. Many studies focus on environmental awareness or knowledge as primary drivers of green purchasing behavior, while others emphasize attitudinal factors or behavioral intentions separately (Young et al., 2010; Ali et al., 2015; Baltaci et al., 2024; García-Salirrosas et al., 2024). This fragmented approach limits comprehensive understanding of how cognitive, affective, and behavioral dimensions interact and differ in their relative influence on consumer choices. Moreover, research specifically addressing eco-efficient packaging for agri-food products remains relatively sparse. Most existing studies concentrate on general green products or non-food categories, which may not fully reflect the specific characteristics of food packaging decisions where consumer engagement is frequent and choices are routinely made. In the South Korean context, while interest in biodegradable, recyclable, and bio-based packaging materials has increased, empirical research examining the combined influence of cognitive, attitudinal, and behavioral factors on purchase intentions for eco-efficiently packaged agricultural products remains underdeveloped. Furthermore, systematic comparison of the relative strength of these psychological dimensions across different contexts has received limited attention in the literature.
Specifically, this study addresses the following questions. How do cognitive, emotional, and behavioral factors influence consumers’ purchase intentions for eco-friendly packaged agricultural products? Which psychological dimensions strongly predict purchase intentions?
This study is to identify the psychological and behavioral factors influencing consumers’ intentions to purchase agricultural products packaged in eco-friendly materials. Exploratory factor analysis followed by multiple regression and ordered logit analyses are applied to compare and validate factor influences. The findings offer empirical evidence for policymakers and industry stakeholders in designing interventions to facilitate eco-friendly packaging adoption in the agri-food sector.
Research Methods
Study area
This study was conducted in Cheonan City, Chungcheongnam-do, South Korea, as shown in Fig. 1. As the most populous city in the province, Cheonan represents a medium-sized urban center with mixed urban-rural characteristics that generate diverse consumption patterns spanning metropolitan and rural contexts. The city serves as a regional economic and administrative hub with extensive transportation connections to Seoul. Cheonan’s retail infrastructure includes large-scale supermarkets, local food stores, and direct marketing outlets, providing multiple channels for accessing eco-friendly agricultural products. As a participating municipality in Chungcheongnam-do’s Plastic-Free and Carbon-Neutral Province Initiative, Cheonan has implemented progressive environmental and resource-circulation policies, making it an appropriate setting for investigating consumer behavior toward sustainable agricultural packaging.
Location of Cheonan in ChungNam Province.
Data collection
Prior to the main online survey, a pilot test was conducted to ensure clarity and face validity. Minor wording modifications were made to enhance comprehension. The target population comprised adult consumers with prior experience purchasing agricultural products. Data were collected from 200 valid respondents in March 2024. A sample size of 200 corresponds to an estimated margin of error of approximately ± 7%, based on Cochran’s formula (Cochran, 1977). This study was exempted from Institutional Review Board (IRB) review. Data were collected through voluntary anonymous online surveys with adult residents of Cheonan City. Participants were informed of the research purpose before participation, and no personally identifiable information was collected.
A structured survey was developed to collect diverse information on respondents’ perceptions, behaviors, and background characteristics. The questionnaire consisted of five main sections. The first section addressed environmental awareness, the second examined acceptance of eco-efficient packaging, the third focused on behavioral intentions toward eco-friendly small-packaged agricultural products, the fourth assessed purchase intentions for eco-efficient packaged agri-food products (PIP), and the fifth collected respondents’ socio-economic information.
Specifically, this questionnaire included items on gender, age, education level, monthly household income, and household size, which served as control variables. Environmental attitudes and awareness were assessed through multiple measures. General environmental concern was measured using a five-point Likert scale ranging from “not concerned at all” to “very concerned.” Plastic pollution awareness was assessed on a five-point Likert scale. Carbon neutrality awareness was measured with a binary yes/no question asking whether the respondent had heard of the term “carbon neutrality.” Additionally, the perceived environmental impact of plastic use was analyzed across education levels to have potential distributional differences in awareness. Behavioral experiences related to environmental practices were captured through binary questions asking whether respondents had previously made efforts to reduce plastic use, practiced carbon neutrality-related actions in daily life, or participated in zero waste activities such as plogging. These items were designed to link prior pro-environmental behaviors with stated willingness to adopt sustainable packaging alternatives.
Research design and analysis
Factor analysis was first conducted to represent these three dimensions from survey data. Subsequently, multiple regression analysis was performed to examine the linear influence of each factor on purchase intention and ordered logit analysis was applied to test the robustness of these effects. This study assumed that Awareness (cognitive perception), Acceptance (attitudinal openness), and Behavior (intention to act) jointly influence purchase intention. Three conceptual domains were established in Table 1.
Constructs and measurement items
All variables were drawn from a structured questionnaire using 5-point Likert scales (1 = “strongly disagree” to 5 = “strongly agree”). Awareness items assessed respondents’ perceptions of environmental issues, carbon neutrality, and plastic-free policies. Acceptance items evaluated attitudes toward eco-packaging and willingness to pay extra costs for recyclable or paper-based packaging. Behavior items measured behavioral intention and purchase commitment. WTP was measured as a dependent variable reflecting respondents’ stated PIP even if it requires paying an additional cost.
Principal component analysis was applied using SPSS 27. The Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin measure was 0.8, indicating sampling adequacy. Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity was significant, confirming suitability for factor analysis. Three components were extracted based on eigenvalues > 1, explaining 66.4% of total variance. All factor loadings exceeded 0.4. The internal consistency of each factor was assessed using Cronbach’s α, with values ranging from 0.592 to 0.857, indicating acceptable reliability. Mean scores and standard deviations suggested moderate awareness but higher levels of acceptance and behavioral intention.
The Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was conducted to examine whether there were statistically significant differences in consumers’ awareness, acceptance, and behavioral intention toward eco-friendly recyclable packaging across different demographic groups. To test the predictive power of the extracted factors on purchase intention, a multiple regression model was estimated to examine the impact of the three latent factors on consumers’ purchase intention toward eco-friendly small packaging in agri-foods.
This study employed both ordinary least squares (OLS) multiple regression and ordered logit models to provide robust estimates of the relationships between cognitive, acceptance, and behavioral dimensions and purchase intention for eco-friendly packaged agricultural products. The dependent variable, purchase intention, was measured on a five-point Likert scale representing ordered categorical responses ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree. OLS regression was used to provide standardized effect sizes and to assess the relative importance of cognitive, acceptance, and behavioral dimensions. Ordered logit regression accounts for the ordinal nature of purchase intention by preserving rank-order information across response categories. This method estimates how each predictor influences the probability of respondents expressing higher levels of purchase intention. The model provides marginal effects that quantify how changes in cognitive, acceptance, and behavioral dimensions affect the likelihood of stronger purchase intentions.
Prior to estimation, assumptions of normality, linearity, homoscedasticity, and multicollinearity were tested for the OLS regression model. For the ordered logit model, model fit was evaluated using −2 log-likelihood, likelihood ratio chi-square, and pseudo R2 indices. Marginal effects were calculated to interpret predicted probabilities across response categories. The convergence of findings across both analytical approaches confirms the robustness of results and ensures that key predictors maintain their significance across alternative model specifications.
Results and Discussion
Table 2 presents the socio-economic characteristics of the survey respondents. The sample is nearly gender-balanced, with a slight majority of males. The age distribution is relatively even, with the largest group in their 40s and a quarter aged 60 or older. Over half of respondents have completed college or higher, indicating a relatively high level of educational attainment. The most common household size is four, followed by three. The distribution of household income is representative of the national average, with over one-third of respondents reporting annual household incomes between KRW 31 and 50 million.
Descriptive statistics of respondents’ characteristics
Table 3 shows the awareness of plastic pollution by demographic characteristics. Gender differences are minimal, with 89.4% of males and 87.6% of females indicating that plastic pollution affects or strongly affects the environment. However, age displays the proportion selecting “strongly affects” which rises steadily from 35.3% among those in their twenties to 57.4% among respondents aged 60 and above. Educational level shows some variation in environmental concern. Recognition of the environmental impact of plastic pollution differed by education level, with rates of 57.1%, 41.7%, and 47.7% among respondents with less than high school, high school, and college education, respectively. Household size shows differences in environmental perception. Single-person households had the lowest proportion (68.8%) reporting that plastic pollution affects or strongly affects the environment, while households with 2 to 4 members demonstrated consistently high awareness (approximately 88–94%). Five-member households showed 85.7% in the combined ‘affects’ or ‘strongly affects’ categories, with a higher proportion (64.3%) selecting ‘affects’ rather than ‘strongly affects’ compared to other household sizes. Income level shows variation in environmental concern regarding plastic pollution. The lowest income group (< KRW 10 million) displayed a distinct pattern, with 60% reporting neutral responses and only 40% acknowledging environmental effects, markedly lower than other income brackets. Middle to high-income groups (10–90 million KRW) demonstrated consistently strong environmental awareness, with 89–94% indicating that plastic pollution affects or strongly affects the environment. The highest income group (> KRW 91 million) showed 100% in the ‘affects’ or ‘strongly affects’ categories, though with a relatively balanced distribution between the two response levels (54.6% and 45.5%, respectively).
Plastic pollution awareness by socio-economic background
The factor analysis conducted on the awareness-related items yielded a KMO value of 0.771 and a significant Bartlett’s test (p < .001), confirming that the data were suitable for factor extraction. Communalities for the awareness items were consistently lower than those observed in the attitude and behavioral intention factors. This pattern indicates that cognitive awareness is relatively heterogeneous and less amenable to convergence into a well-structured latent factor compared to attitudinal or behavioral dimensions.
In addition, the Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin (KMO) and Bartlett’s tests were used to assess the suitability of the data for factor analysis. The KMO measure of sampling adequacy was 0.8, indicating that the sample size was sufficient for conducting factor analysis. Bartlett’s test of sphericity produced a chi-square value of 1,262.5, confirming the appropriateness of the correlations among variables. Furthermore, the internal consistency of the overall measurement was examined using Cronbach’s alpha, which was 0.9, demonstrating an acceptable level of reliability. Table 4 shows the results of total variance explained. The cumulative variance explained by the three extracted components (66.4%) meets the recommended threshold for satisfactory explanatory power in exploratory factor analysis. A total variance explained of at least 50% is generally considered acceptable, while values exceeding 60% indicate a well-defined factor structure.
Total variance explained
Table 5 presents the communalities of the measurement items before and after factor extraction. After extraction, communalities ranged from 0.301 to 0.910. Items related to behavioral intention demonstrated the highest communalities (0.577~0.910), indicating strong representation by the extracted factors. In contrast, general environmental awareness items showed comparatively lower communalities (0.301~0.383), suggesting these variables contributed less to the overall factor structure. These findings are consistent with results reported in previous studies (Ogiemwonyi et al., 2023; Kim and Lee, 2023; Paul et al., 2016; Yadav and Pathak, 2016) and meta-analytic evidence emphasizing attitude’s central role in green purchase intentions (Zhuang et al., 2021), showing that environmental awareness by itself is insufficient to generate purchase intentions.
Communalities of Measurement Items
Table 6 presents the results of the exploratory factor analysis conducted using the principal component extraction method. Three components with eigenvalues greater than 1 were extracted and provisionally labeled as Behavior, Acceptance, and Awareness. These three components explained 66.4% of the total variance, which can be regarded as an acceptable level of explanatory power for the data.
Results of factor analysis
For the exploratory factor analysis, the factors labeled as Behavior, Acceptance, and Awareness accounted for different dimensions representing positive attitudes toward eco-friendly packaging, and awareness of environmental issues, consumers’ purchasing intentions respectively. Factor 1 (Behavior) comprised items reflecting consumers’ behavioral intentions and commitment to purchasing eco-friendly small-packaged agri-foods. Factor 2 (Acceptance) included items related to consumers’ positive attitudes toward reducing plastic packaging and their willingness to pay additional costs for recyclable or paper-based eco-packaging. Factor 3 (Awareness) contained items describing individuals’ cognitive understanding of environmental issues, carbon neutrality, and plastic-free policies. The findings are consistent with the results meaning that attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control serve as key determinants of behavioral intention (Palomino Rivera and Barcellos-Paula, 2024; Nazish et al., 2025; Onurluba, 2018). While all three factors significantly affect the willingness to pay, the results imply that acceptance and behavioral intention play more decisive roles in translating environmental consciousness into actual purchasing behavior (Khaola et al., 2014; Hartmann and Apaolaza-Ibáñez, 2012; Gugkang et al., 2013; Tang et al., 2014).
Table 7 shows the reliability and descriptive statistics for the three factors identified in the exploratory factor analysis. The mean scores for the three factors ranged from 2.9 to 3.7, with standard deviations between 0.6 and 0.9, indicating moderate variability. The Cronbach’s alpha values were 0.6 for Awareness, 0.8 for Acceptance, and 0.9 for Behavior. The Behavior and Acceptance factors have acceptable levels of internal consistency, whereas the Awareness factor showed a relatively lower alpha value. However, the reliability results indicate that the measurement scales were generally consistent and appropriate for subsequent analyses.
Reliability and descriptive statistics of factors
Table 8 presents the results of the multiple regression analysis examining the effects of the three extracted factors. The result shows that all three predictors had statistically significant and positive effects on consumers’ PIP. The factors of Acceptance and Behavior had statistically significance at the 1 % level whereas the factor of Awareness had statistical significance at the 5 % level. The study indicates that awareness functions as a cognitive factor in the attitudinal and behavioral factors.
Multiple regression analysis results
These findings are consistent with previous studies emphasizing that attitudinal and behavioral components are key predictors of pro-environmental purchasing (Rusyani et al., 2021; Mostafa, 2007; Mohd, 2016). Esmaeilpour and Bahmiary (2017) found that perceived environmental responsibility and favorable attitudes toward eco-friendly products significantly increased consumers’ purchase intentions. Similarly, Ogiemwonyi et al. (2023) found that behavioral commitment to sustainable consumption serves as a mediating mechanism linking environmental awareness to purchasing behavior.
The ANOVA results presented in Table 9 indicate that the overall regression model was statistically significant (F = 141.2, p < .001). This demonstrates that the three predictors, when considered together, explained a significant proportion of the variance in consumers’ purchase intention. The substantial difference between the regression sum of squares (SS = 102.8) and the residual sum of squares (SS = 47.5) suggests that a large share of the variability in consumers’ PIP is accounted for by the three predictors.
ANOVA results
Table 10 presents the results of the ordered logistic regression analysis conducted to identify the factors influencing the level of PIP. In line with the multiple regression results, the ordered logit analysis showed that the two key predictors significantly increased the probability of being classified into higher PIP categories, reinforcing the robustness of the estimated relationships. The model exhibited an acceptable overall fit, as indicated by the log-likelihood value and a statistically significant likelihood-ratio test. In addition, the model’s classification accuracy reached 72.5%, demonstrating a satisfactory level of predictive reliability.
Results of ordered logit
The results indicated that all three predictors had statistically significant positive effects on purchase intention. Behavior was statistically significant at the 1% level, indicating that stronger behavioral commitment toward eco-friendly consumption practices positively influences consumers’ PIP. Acceptance was statistically significant at the 1% level, demonstrating that higher acceptance of eco-friendly packaging substantially increases the likelihood of belonging to higher PIP categories. Meanwhile, Awareness was significant at the 5% level, indicating a statistically significant but less substantial influence on PIP.
The dominance of the Acceptance factor supports prior research emphasizing that emotional attachment, perceived behavioral control, and compatibility between consumers’ lifestyles and eco-friendly product attributes play critical roles in green purchasing decisions (Prakash et al., 2024; Palomino Rivera and Barcellos-Paula, 2024). These findings are further consistent with studies identifying perceived usability and functional trust as dominant drivers of purchase decisions (Naalchi Kashi, 2020; Noor et al., 2012; Hipólito et al., 2025; Hasan and Sohail, 2021).
In addition to attitudinal factors, the significant effect of the Behavior dimension reveals that policy-linked incentives play a crucial role in behavioral commitment (Li et al., 2024). While prior studies focused primarily on consumer trust in eco-labels (Wojnarowska et al., 2021; Taufique et al., 2017; Atkinson and Rosenthal, 2014; Wu and Long, 2024), the current results emphasize the importance of institutional mechanisms providing economic rewards for eco-friendly behavior. This suggests that while attitudinal openness and perceived compatibility are critical determinants, these psychological factors require policy support to effectively translate into actual behavior (Carrington et al., 2010; Xing et al., 2022).
Table 11 reports the marginal effects for each response category of PIP. Each value represents the marginal change in the predicted probability of being in a specific PIP category given a one-unit increase in the corresponding predictor. The results show that increases in all three predictors are associated with a decreased probability of belonging to the lower willingness categories (very low ~ neutral) and an increased probability of belonging to the higher willingness categories (high ~ very high). Acceptance had the largest magnitude of marginal change which was consistent with the multiple regression result.
Marginal effects by response category
These findings are consistent with results showing that pro-environmental behavior is influenced by dynamic interactions among cognitive, affective, and contextual factors (Mi et al., 2024; Ertz and Sarigöllü, 2019; Coelho et al., 2017; Pronello et al., 2018). The results are in line with previous studies emphasizing the role of attitudinal and affective acceptance in promoting sustainable purchasing behavior (Wesley et al., 2012; Zhang and Cao, 2025; Chang et al., 2024; Mohd Suki, 2016).
Conclusion
This study empirically investigated factors influencing consumers’ willingness to purchase agri-food products packaged in eco-efficient alternatives to conventional plastic packaging. Through exploratory factor analysis, three key dimensions were identified as Awareness, Acceptance and Behavior. Multiple regression analysis and ordered logit analysis examined the influence of these dimensions on purchase intentions for eco-efficiently packaged agri-food products. The results indicated that acceptance and behavior demonstrated strong and statistically significant effects on purchase intentions, whereas awareness showed a weaker but positive influence. Acceptance showed the largest impact and marginal effects. This implies that visualizing environmental benefits of recyclable packaging and expanding consumer support for plastic reduction policies are critical for driving purchase conversion. Behavior showed the highest reliability and strong linkage with actual purchasing patterns. This suggests that marketing strategies designed to induce continuous and repeated purchases are effective. Additionally, while awareness showed limited direct effects, specific policy information regarding carbon neutrality and plastic-free initiatives was confirmed to play a meaningful role in enhancing purchase intention.
The findings suggest that establishing a structured progression through cognitive, affective, and behavioral stages is essential for understanding and facilitating pro-environmental consumer behavior in the agri-food sector. The findings offer several practical and policy implications. Policymakers should design differentiated communication strategies based on demographic segments. For younger consumers with higher education levels, digital campaigns emphasizing innovation and environmental leadership through social media platforms and mobile applications can be effective. These campaigns should highlight technological advances in biodegradable materials and circular economy principles. For middle-aged and older consumers, traditional media channels such as television and print materials should communicate practical benefits including food safety, freshness preservation, and cost savings from reduced packaging waste. Education programs targeting lower-income groups should emphasize financial incentives available through carbon point systems and eco-labeling discount programs to reduce economic barriers to sustainable consumption.
Moreover, retailers and distributors should adopt differentiated merchandising strategies based on consumer segments. Higher-income, better-educated consumers can have greater acceptance of price premiums for eco-packaged products accompanied by credible environmental certifications. While premium segments respond to detailed certifications, price-conscious consumers need affordable options and simplified environmental messaging. In addition, visual packaging designs should incorporate clear icons indicating recyclability, biodegradability, and carbon footprint reduction. Packaging innovations should maintain quality standards while minimizing plastic use and addressing consumer concerns about food safety and freshness. To effectively target environmentally conscious consumers, producers should base product development on comprehensive sustainability standards. Furthermore, coordinated policy interventions should address systemic barriers in agri-food packaging transitions. Financial incentive mechanisms including tax benefits for eco-packaged agricultural products, subsidies for sustainable packaging infrastructure, and expanded carbon point rewards can reduce psychological and economic barriers to adoption. Regulatory measures should establish phased packaging reduction targets for agricultural products to enable industry transition while sustaining policy progress. Multi-stakeholder collaboration among government agencies, agricultural cooperatives, and industry associations should develop standardized sustainability guidelines to prevent green-washing and enhance consumer confidence.
This study has several limitations. This study collected data from respondents in a single South Korean province using an online survey. This geographic limitation may restrict generalizability to other regions and the broader national population. Future research should address this limitation by conducting multi-regional and cross-country comparative studies to enhance external validity and capture contextual variation. Although this study employed factor analysis and regression models, structural equation modeling could further clarify mediating relationships among awareness, acceptance, and behavioral intention. Future research should extend this framework by examining mediating roles of policy trust, environmental efficacy, and perceived consumer effectiveness and testing interaction effects between incentives and social norms. Expanding explanatory variables to include psychological constructs, social dynamics, and market-related factors can deepen understanding of purchase intention. Focus group interviews can provide consumer segments and identify attitudes that lead to purchasing behavior. Behavioral experiments and choice modeling can examine actual behavior by incorporating incentive structures. Future studies can investigate how supply-side factors such as packaging innovations, cost structures, and distribution constraints influence consumer acceptance of eco-efficient packaging.