Consumption Poverty Alleviation: The Role of Poverty Attribution and Attitude in Poverty Alleviation Product Purchase

Abstract

One approach to alleviate poverty is to identify and allow consumers to purchase poverty alleviation products (PAPs) from low‐income agricultural producers in rural areas. We explore whether consumers' attribution of the cause of poverty affects their purchase intentions for PAPs. We differentiate consumer attribution into situational and dispositional and find that situational attribution does not affect purchase intentions, whereas dispositional attribution negatively does. Furthermore, we find that consumer attitudes toward the government's consumption poverty alleviation (CPA) policies may mediate the direct impact of poverty attribution on PAP purchase intention. Consumers generally value CPA policies consistent with their attribution and the mediation effect strengthens the direct effects. This study offers insights into consumer purchase of products designed to fight poverty and provides policy recommendations that can mobilize poverty reduction through product development and consumer endorsement.