Abstract
Consumer behavior has been an important topic in academic studies as well as for companies’ strategies. According to the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), human behavior is grounded on three constructs: (i) behavioral beliefs, (ii) normative beliefs, and (iii) control beliefs. It is widely recognized that patterns of food consumption have undergone rapid change over the past few years as a result of concerns about environmental sustainability, development, nutritional aspects and also health issues. This study examines the motivations behind the consumer’s decision to purchase organic food, based on the Theory of Planned Behavior, testing a model in the Brazilian context. A survey with 446 consumers was carried out at supermarkets and farmers’ markets in Brazil and the Structural Equation Modeling technique was used to test the model, which is partially validated and presents good fit measures. The findings show that individual values and benefits are significant predictors of the consumer’s attitude toward organic food. However, subjective norms were not well accepted by the sample. Attitude and availability are significantly related to the intention to purchase organic food, but there still a gap between attitude and behavior. The results present features of consumers of organic food in Brazil and validate a TPB model. Key words: organic food, consumer behavior, Theory of Planned Behavior
Highlights
Os padrões de consumo de alimentos estão mudando rapidamente hoje em dia, como resultado de questões de desenvolvimento e sustentabilidade, considerações com relação ao seu aspecto nutricional e também questões relacionadas à saúde
The findings show that individual values and benefits are significant predictors of the consumer’s attitude toward organic food
Attitude and availability are significantly related to the intention to purchase organic food, but there still a gap between attitude and behavior
Summary
CONSUMER BEHAVIOR OF ORGANIC PRODUCTS: AN APPLICATION OF THE THEORY OF PLANNED BEHAVIOR. De acordo com a Teoria do Comportamento Planejado (TPB - Theory of Planned Behavior), o comportamento humano individual é uma função da intenção de comportamento. No entanto, depende de outros três quesitos: da combinação das atitudes e a influência que as crenças comportamentais exercem sobre elas, das normas subjetivas e da percepção individual sobre o comportamento percebido. Este estudo propõe como contribuição teórica a replicação do modelo da TPB no contexto brasileiro. Realizouse uma pesquisa tipo survey com 446 consumidores de tomates orgânicos em dois canais de distribuição de produtos orgânicos (supermercado e feira ecológica) na cidade de Porto Alegre. Os resultados revelaram características do comportamento do consumidor de produtos orgânicos e permitiram a validação do modelo no contexto do consumo de alimentos orgânicos no Brasil. Palavras-chave: alimentos orgânicos, comportamento do consumidor, Teoria do Comportamento Planejado
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