Understanding Consumer Resistance to the Consumption of Environmentally-Friendly Agricultural Products: A Case of Bio-Concentrated Liquid Fertilizer Product

Methane fermentation digested sludge is a sustainable resource that is used as a liquid fertilizer. An innovative liquid fertilizer called Bio-Concentrated Liquid Fertilizer (Bio-CLF) was developed to solve the problems such as high transportation cost associated with current liquid fertilizer. As an innovation product, Bio-CLF inevitably creates remarkable resistance from consumers. Hence, we used the Innovation Resistance Theory (IRT) to determine the reasons for consumer resistance to Bio-CLF products. A total of 2,000 samples from three major cities, including Tokyo, were extracted via the Internet, and 703 samples were finally selected for analysis. Perceived risk, complexity, and attitude toward existing products were found to have a positive and direct impact on consumer resistance to Bio-CLF products, while motivation and purchase intention were found to have a negative and direct impact on consumer resistance to Bio-CLF products. Notably, Relative Advantage and Compatibility had a positive impact on motivation and indirectly influenced consumer resistance to Bio-CLF products, the results of which are inconsistent with IRT, as those characteristics could have a direct influence on resistance. Additionally, we opted to provide some advice that for market managers: (1) allocate a specialized corner for the Bio-CLF product and (2) place the Bio-CLF product alongside other green products. For producers: (1) disclosure of production information; (2) design of an attractive and clear label sheet; (3) proving the advantage of Bio-CLF and that the Bio-CLF product is a green product.