A Longitudinal Study of Factors Explaining Attitude of Organic Foods

Abstract

NOTE: THIS ARTICLE WAS PUBLISHED WITH THE INFORMING SCIENCE INSTITUTE. Aim/Purpose................................................................................................................................................................................................. The objective of this study is, for a given set demographics, to investigate the effect of knowledge, awareness and perception of consumers on the attitude/preferences of consumers for organic product in Kelantan. Background................................................................................................................................................................................................. Organic foods are food products which are free from any chemicals and are safe to be consumed by consumers. The consumers are getting more health conscious and the awareness about the harmful effects of chemical is incrassating. However, the trend towards purchasing organic food is now growing among Malaysians. This leads to the decline of market growth and therefore there is a need to study consumer attitude towards organic food. Methodology................................................................................................................................................................................................. This study predicts consumer attitude based on their awareness, knowledge and perception. Data was collected through a self-administered questionnaire where 144 consumers where randomly selected in the supermarkets. The data were analyzed by using descriptive analysis and regression analysis to test the hypotheses. Contribution................................................................................................................................................................................................. This paper studies the effect of demographic factor, knowledge, perception, awareness on the attitude of consumers with respect to organic foods in Kelantan. This research demonstrates the critical role of knowledge and education in shaping the attitude towards organic food.This research is useful to fill the gaps in the Malaysian literature regarding the importance of the knowledge and its relationship with the attitude. Findings....................................................................................................................................................................................................... The findings suggested the significant and positive relationship between knowledge, education level, occupation sector and the respondents’ attitude towards organic food. Recommendations for Practitioners: The consumer knowledge about the benefits of organic foods in Malaysia should be promoted more through television and social media as this influences their attitude when purchasing organic foods at the market. The quantity and the availability of the organic foods should be based on the demand of the consumers. The government should promote the benefits of organic foods to consumers more often to change their perceptions about organic foods in Malaysia. Recommendation for Researchers............................................................................................................................................................... More studies can be done regarding the behavior and intention of consumers with respect to organic foods either in Kelantan or other states in Malaysia. Impact on Society.......................................................................................................................................................................................... The findings can help consumers in understanding the benefits and advantage of organic foods toward health. Hence, all parties, including the government, policy makers and manufacturers should encourage and grow consumer interest in organic food by making the food more accessible and available. Future Research.............................................................................................................................................................................................. This study focuses on Kelantan only and does not represent other states. Due to this, further research is required in order to generalize the findings of this study aimed at determining the effect of demographic factors on the behavior of consumers with respect to organic foods.