The Moderator Role of Self-Efficacy in the Intention-Behavior Gap

Social psychologists and marketing researchers have found great success in using Ajzen’s (1991) behavioral intention model. However, few studies have found significant support for the moderator role of self-efficacy (Bandura, 1977) in the intention-behavior gap (fishbein and Ajzen, 2010). In this study the moderator effect is supported. We apply Latent Moderated Structural Equations (LMS) in a sample of 500 fish’s consumers to show how for consumers with lower intentions higher levels of self-efficacy favor the apparition of higher levels of real consumption. In consequence, self-efficacy appears as a key factor for fish consumption and those interested in develop this behavior must drive their efforts not only to the creation of an intention, but also giving consumers the necessaries tools to perceive that they are able to evaluate the quality of the fish.