Abstract
Labeling products with organic certification logos is a means of indicating to consumers that those products are government certified. However, in Taiwan, organic certification is not required before a food product claims itself organic. Since previous research showed that the COVID-19 lockdown effected both Spanish and Romanian subjects’ intention to purchase more sustainable products, the aim of this study was to determine whether the perception of organic certification labeling makes a difference in how organic shoppers’ purchasing intentions toward organic produce were realized. Data from organic produce shoppers were used to identify organic certification labeling differences. One group of shoppers was asked about their purchase behaviors toward government-certified organic produce labeled with the certification logo (N = 468), while the other was asked about their purchase behaviors toward self-claimed organic produce without a government certification logo (N = 403). Multi-group structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques were employed as the main method of analysis in this study. The results indicated that the hypothesized model was validated. In addition, through this process, it was clarified that this government organic certification labeling significantly enhances the influence of organic produce shoppers’ behavioral beliefs regarding organic produce on their attitudes.
Highlights
Food shoppers search for specific information on the foods and beverages that they purchase in the hopes that further information will help them in making purchasing decisions [1]
Based on the above discussion, this study proposes the following hypotheses as a means of identifying whether this government organic certification labeling makes a difference in how consumers’ subjective knowledge, attitudes, and purchase intentions toward organic produce are realized
The fit indices indicated an adequate model–data fit (Table 6). These results indicated that the structural model was properly specified, that a proper solution was obtained, and that the solution fit the entire sample adequate.y The fit indices indicated good model fit (GFI > 0.8, comparative fit index (CFI) > 0.9, non-normalized fit index (NNFI) > 0.9, and root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) < 0.08) [50,51]
Summary
Food shoppers search for specific information on the foods and beverages that they purchase in the hopes that further information will help them in making purchasing decisions [1]. Hedonic judgments and sensory perceptions [1,2,3,4,5]. Among these attributes, aspects of food quality such as external appeal, taste, freshness, and safety have become crucial features that are valued by consumers [6,7]. Organic certification lends credence to the production means of organic produce [5]. Providing such information has been shown to generate a positive effect on consumer preferences [3,5,8,10]. Since distrust of the conventional food supply system influences consumer food choices [1], organic products are gaining popularity
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