Mediation and moderation in food-choice models: a study on the effects of consumer trust in logo on choice

• Mediation and moderation analysis is applied for the first time in a discrete choice setting.
• We use random parameter estimation (mixed logit) to model the influence of mediating and moderating variables on willingness-to-pay.
• The presented model also allows to test mediated moderation.
• Food choice data are used to illustrate the use of the model.

The paper introduces a way to analyse the influence of mediating and moderating variables on willingness to pay in a simple way. Using data on 427 Italian consumers regarding different organic logos, mediation and moderation analysis is applied for the first time in a discrete choice setting. We tested the hypothesis that trust in logo mediates the relationship between the logo and consumer choice for organic labelled food products. Results do not allow rejecting the hypothesis that trust in logo totally mediates the effect of the logo. Therefore, the willingness for organic products could be interpreted as “cost for trust”: the higher the trust the higher the perceived value-for-money. The mediation effect of trust in logo does not vary across points-of-purchase or regions. Our novel approach is susceptible of various applications when analysing choice data and can be extended further.