Organic Food Purchase Research Articles

Factors Influencing Consumer Choices and Organic Food Production in Haryana: Insights from Farmers

The study examined consumer behaviour dynamics in Haryana related to organic food purchases and forecasted production, in 2023-2024. The research employed area sampling; representing four districts based on organic food store availability, and surveyed 300 consumers during 2024. Three key factors influencing purchasing decisions were identified: benefits of organic food, characteristics of organic food, and promotional tools. The Benefits of organic food, explaining 30.461 per cent of the variance, was the most significant, emphasizing health advantage, environmental protection, and trust in organic labels. Characteristics of organic food contributed 19.197 per cent of the variance, focusing on quality, affordability, and chemical-free production. Promotional tools; accounting for 14.172 per cent, highlighted discounts, taste, and online marketing. These factors collectively explained 63.830% of consumer decision-making, with health and environmental benefits emerging as primary motivators. The study forecasted organic food production in Haryana from 2011-12 to 2022-23 using polynomial regression analysis, with a moderate model fit (R² = 0.60). The findings revealed significant production fluctuations due to external factors, suggesting the need for continued research to improve forecast accuracy.

BGC Trust University Bangladesh, BGC Biddyanagar, Kanchan Nagar, Chandanaish, Chittagong, Bangladesh.

Organic foods are becoming more attractive to consumers than conventional foods globally, mainly driven by perceived positive impacts on consumer health, environment, and sustainable development. This research aims to uncover the factors influencing consumers' organic food purchasing decisions in Bangladesh, especially Chattogram. This study employs purposive sampling methods to collect 435 responses from people who buy organic foods from different urban and sub-urban areas in Chattogram, Bangladesh, from various green markets, raw markets, super stores, and departmental stores. A Sophisticated Statistical Technique, "Factor Analysis" (Principal Component Analysis, and Confirmatory Factor Analysis), is used to understand why consumers purchase organic foods. The result showed nine factors, where the first consideration is perceived value, followed by marketing strategy, health consciousness, availability, attitudes, trust, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. The factor analysis results revealed that nine factors account for 61.85% of the variance of consumers' organic food purchasing decisions. This study's findings suggest that all these nine factors influence consumers' organic purchasing decisions: perceived value, marketing strategy, health consciousness, availability, attitudes, Trust, environmental concern, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. These findings are crucial for producers and authorities responsible for ensuring nutritional value, health concerns, and ecological sustainability.

Factors Influencing Organic Food Purchase Intention and The Effect of Attitude towards Organic Food

The purpose of this study is to explore the influence of various factors on purchase intention of organic food in developing country, Indonesia. A conceptual model was developed on the basis of Theory of Planned Behavior considering the previous factors to examine the effects of different constructs on consumers' attitudes towards organic food and intention to buy organic food. The study was conducted using quantitative research methods. Data were collected from a sample consist of 161 respondents in various regions in Java, Bali and Sumatera Island, Indonesia through an online questionnaire. The data were analyzed using the SPSS statistical analysis program and hypotheses were tested using Regression analysis. The result of this study found that consumer knowledge, health consciousness, healthy lifestyle, and environmental attitude have significant effects on organic purchase intention. Moreover, attitude towards organic food has mediation effect on consumer knowledge and healthy lifestyle to purchase intention. The practical implication of this study should aim to increase consumers' knowledge of organic food as well as promote healthy lifestyle in order to improve their attitude towards organic food and their intention to buy organic food. Marketers can design the advertising campaigns to educate Indonesian consumers about the benefits of eating organic food, including on their health and the environment.

How personal and social-focused values shape the purchase intention for organic food: Cross-country comparison between Thailand and Germany

Organic food contributes to environmental sustainability and is becoming increasingly popular worldwide, although it is generally more expensive than conventionally produced food. Rather different sets of values and motivations are driving consumers' purchase intentions in mature compared with emerging organic food markets. To inquire about similarities and differences in consumers' motives our qualitative, comparative study employs a series of in-depth interviews with organic-food-store clients in Germany and Thailand from February to May 2021. The analysis applied means-end chain (MEC) theory to map the mental decision-making processes. Results were interpreted and compared referring to the Schwartz Theory of Basic Human Value (STV). The findings show a rather similar values base of both samples in terms of the relevance of ‘quality of personal life’ and ‘personal well-being’. Substantial differences emerged in the Germans high emphasis on the values ‘health of environment’ and ‘social responsibility’ which were absent in Thailand, while Thais put great importance on the ‘responsibility for family’. Focusing on the five most important values in each country, we conclude a more personal-focused value system in Thailand, respectively a rather social-focused one in Germany. This paper contributes to the literature as it is one of the few qualitative studies on organic food purchase intention using MEC and STV and the first one conducted in Thailand. The findings provide valuable insights for producers and marketers to better address German and Thai consumers' needs to influence their purchase intention towards organic food consumption.

The impact of voluntary sustainability adjustments on greenhouse gas emissions from food consumption – The case of Denmark

In this study we ask how a range of environmental sustainability adjustments that consumers find it easy to adopt affect the carbon footprint of their food consumption. The study is based on information about real purchases of food products and responses to a questionnaire about the various sustainability adjustments that the study participants apply and their concern about climate change. Based on principal component and regression analysis the results from the study indicate that sustainability adjustments such as organic consumption, buying domestically produced food and eating seasonal produce, as well as concern about climate change, are associated with a reduced carbon footprint from food consumption. The largest reductions were found for organic consumers. The results suggested that most committed organic consumers have a carbon footprint that is about one third smaller than that of consumers who seldom buy organic food products. The results also indicate that these voluntary sustainability adjustments are not sufficient to secure conformity with today’s goals for reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

Factors affecting consumers’ organic food purchase behavior: A systematic literature review and future research agenda

Consumers all over the world are constantly adjusting their dietary habits, and organic food has attracted consumers’ attention due to its health and safety characteristics, which makes the organic industry flourish. The factors that affect consumer decisions to purchase organic food are also of great interest to academia. However, there is a lack of systematic and thorough synthesis of the results of the existing study, which are somewhat broad and dispersed. This study aims to synthesize and analyze the existing research on the factors that influence consumers’ purchase decisions of organic food, with a focus on 51 papers extracted from the Web of Science database using the PRISMA method. First, the basic status of the selected papers was analyzed (including publication year, theory, method, and region), then three categories of significant factors were identified by comparative research of the literature as influencing customers’ organic buying behavior: customer-related, product-specific, and external factors. The result contributes to the growth of the organic food industry and aids academics in understanding the current state of consumers’ consumption behavior of organic foods. Finally, plausible gaps were explored in the existing literature and a tentative research agenda for future researchers was proposed.

Intention to Purchase Organic Food Among Indian Consumers: Application of Theory of Planned Behaviour

The primary aim of this research is to investigate the consumer’s intention to purchase organic food (OF) in India, using the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). This study used the values of security, conformity, and self-direction in addition to the TPB and tested its impact on the attitude and intention to purchase OF. Data were gathered from 400 OF customers approached using the mall intercept method. To evaluate the relationships between the key determinants, data were analysed using structural equation modelling. The research revealed that attitude, subjective norms (SN), and perceived behaviour control (PBC) have a positive and significant impact on the intention to purchase OF. Security, self-direction, and conformity have a significant impact on attitude. In addition, security has a significant impact on SN and PBC. PBC is found to have an impact on SN. These findings provide several useful implications for marketing managers. Environmental officials and the government might use the study’s findings to expand organic consumption. The study makes a conceptual contribution to the existing literature by establishing theoretical linkages between values and TPB-related constructs.

CONSUMER PREFERENCE ANALYSIS OF ORGANIC FOOD IN TERENGGANU

The organic food industry is expanding in Malaysia, as demand has risen as consumers become more knowledgeable about the advantages of eating organic food. However, the organic product in Malaysia is still limited in production, as most of the organic products are imported from other countries. This research is to study the factors that influence the consumer preference in buying the organic food in Terengganu. Therefore, this study aims to examine the effect of attitude, subjective norms, and health consciousness towards consumer intention to buy organic food. The study employed the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and SmartPLS 4.0: PLS-SEM to assess the 397 respondents gathered through an online questionnaire. The analysis revealed causal relationships among the proposed variables, highlighting the quantitative research focus of this study. This study revealed that three independent variables which are subjective norm were not physically affect the customer’s intention to purchase organic food, meanwhile attitude and health consciousness are significant influences towards customer’s intention to purchase. The study is expected to increase knowledge about organic food for future studies in the field of organic food to provide them with a better understanding of consumers' preferences in purchasing organic food. Besides, the findings are beneficial to improve consumer’s quality of life as well as to influence policymakers to execute effective programs to achieve a healthy lifestyle among adults in Malaysia by consuming organic food.

Understanding food pleasure in organic consumption: the moderating effects of trust within the theory of planned behavior

PurposeThis study aims to identify and describe the relationships among sensory-driven pleasure, cognition-driven pleasure, symbolic-driven pleasure and organic food purchase behavior considering the moderating effects of functionality trust and authenticity trust from the viewpoint of the theory of planned behavior (TPB).Design/methodology/approachData were collected using a structured questionnaire survey in first-tier cities in China. A total of 352 consumers of organic foods participated in the study. Structural equation modeling and hierarchical regression analysis were employed for data analysis.FindingsThe results indicated the significant association of perceived behavioral control, subjective norm, attitude, sensory-driven pleasure and cognition-driven pleasure with purchase intention. Perceived behavioral control and purchase intention had significantly positive effects on purchase behavior. Moreover, functionality trust had a positive moderating effect on purchase intention and purchase behavior.Practical implicationsThis study not only provides novel and original insights for understanding organic consumption but also provides a reference for organic producers, sellers and policymakers to develop effective strategies to guide organic consumption that are conducive to promoting sustainable consumption.Originality/valueFor the first time, this research introduces the construct of food pleasure into the TPB to explore the relationships between food pleasure and purchase behavior based on the TPB. It may expand the scope of the TPB and provide valuable insights regarding how to improve the existing intention–behavior gap in organic consumption.

Understanding the Intention to Purchase and Not to Purchase Organic Food among Students: Structural Equation Modeling

Objective: Organic food is purchased by consumers because they believe in the product's excellent quality. Sustainable farming appears to improve health and lower the likelihood of developing chronic diseases. This study attempts to investigate the primary elements that influence students' decision to buy and not buy organic food at King Faisal University (KFU). Method: This research uses the quantitative research method. A sample size of 182 students were chosen to complete this study. Data was collected through structured questionnaires. The questionnaires were sent through the formal students' emails from May 20th, 2023 to September 6th, 2023. We used SmartPLS 4 to assess the hypotheses of this study. Results: This study finds some evidence like a positive significant effect of Organic Food Awareness (OFA) on the Purchase of Organic Food (BIB) (H1= β=0.894; p< 0.1), and an insignificant effect of OFA on the Behavioral Intentions to Purchase Organic Food (BIB) (H2= β=0.157; p > 0.01). Conclusion: Universities should improve the Students' awareness of organic food. This leads to a decrease in their exposure to dangerous chemicals by eating organic food, potentially lowering their risk of health issues such as allergies, hormonal disruptions, and some malignancies. This study has social, economic, and academic implications. In addition, it comes in line with the sustainability initiative. Organic farming practices promote ecological balance and conserve biodiversity.

Associations between retail food environment and organic food purchases in French households

Abstract Background The aim of our study was to assess the associations between organic food purchases of French households and their exposure to food outlets that sell organic foods, including organic food stores (selling only organic products) and standard food outlets, independently from households’ characteristics. Methods This cross-sectional study included 462 households from a quota sampling survey conducted in France. Share of expenditures for organic foods over a one-month period was assessed using food supply diaries and grocery receipts. The objective retail food environment (RFE) was assessed around the home and in activity space (AS) (i.e. areas around places of main activity and commuting journeys) using geographic information systems. Associations between RFE indicators and organic food purchases were assessed using multinomial logistic regression models, adjusted for households’ characteristics. Results Households exposed to organic food outlets around their home (OR presence vs. absence [95% CI]=2.27 [1.33; 3.89]) had higher expenses in organic foods. Households exposed to organic food outlets in their AS were also more likely to have medium (OR ≥ 3 organic food outlets vs. absence [95% CI]=2.52 [1.34;4.76]) or high organic food purchases (OR [95% CI]=1.90 [1.04;3.47]). The models that included different types of organic food stores confirmed the first ones: households who were exposed to organic specialized food stores (greengrocers, bakeries and butcher's stores) around home and in their AS were more likely to have medium or high organic food purchases. In addition, the distance to the nearest organic grocery food store was inversely associated with high expenses in organic foods (OR [95% CI]=0.57 [0.41; 0.80]). Conclusions These results suggest exposure to organic food outlets and their use are related, providing knowledge for cities’ commercial planning with the aim of promoting spatial access to organic food for their inhabitants. Key messages • Exposure to organic food outlets and their use are related. • Food environment may influence consumers’ grocery shopping behaviors.

Sustainability of food purchases according to sociodemographic factors

Abstract While the nutritional quality and environmental impact of diets are widely assessed, different production modes (organic vs. conventional) remain understudied as for sustainability. The present study examines the associations between different dimensions of sustainability of food purchases and sociodemographic factors. Households (n = 462) were included in this cross-sectional study using quota sampling in Montpellier Metropolitan Area. Food items acquired over one month were registered in a food supply diary, and the expenditure share of each food group (including organic food) was estimated. Validated indexes estimated scores reflecting the nutritional quality and the environmental impact of food purchases according to these expenditure shares. Associations were tested for each sustainability dimension using linear and multinomial logistic regression models adjusted for sociodemographic factors (e.g. age, education, living area). The age of the household's reference person was consistently related to the sustainability dimensions of food purchases, albeit in different ways. While older age was associated with better nutritional quality (estimate for age >50 years vs. age between 30-50 [95%CI]=0.91[0.29;1.54]), it was associated with a higher environmental impact (estimate for age >50 years vs. age between 30-50 [95%CI]=1.84[0.95;2.73]). Households with a highly educated reference person (OR master's degree vs. lower education levels [95%CI]=1.59 [1.02;2.47] had a larger share of organic foods and those living around the city of Montpellier (OR vs. living in the city centre [95%CI]=0.44[0.24;0.81]) had a smaller share. Our findings highlight that sociodemographic factors relate to sustainability dimensions in different ways. In addition, we address organic food purchases, which provide insights into different aspects of sustainability. Taken together, the findings suggest that there are various levers for promoting healthy and sustainable diets at the consumer level. Key messages • Sustainability of food purchases relates to sociodemographic factors (i.e. age, education, and living location); different dimensions may be addressed. • Mode of food production (i.e., organic) may provide insights in the context of sustainable diets.

Examining How and When Knowledge and Motivation Contribute to Organic Food Purchase Intention among Individuals with Chronic Diseases: Testing a Moderated Mediation Model

Prior research underscores a need for applying theoretical frameworks to understand the factors influencing diverse populations’ organic food purchase intentions. The objectives of this study are threefold. First, we evaluate the applicability of the information–motivation–behavioral skills model for predicting organic food purchase intention in adults with chronic conditions. Second, we examine the indirect effects of organic food knowledge, attitudes toward organic food purchase, and subjective norms on purchase intention through self-efficacy. Third, we examine whether these indirect effects are moderated by gender and educational attainment. Data were collected from Indian adults with chronic conditions using a self-administered questionnaire. The results show significant indirect effects of organic food knowledge, attitude toward organic food purchase, and subjective norms on organic food purchase intention through self-efficacy. Moreover, the mediating effect of knowledge was moderated by gender and educational attainment, with the effect being stronger for females and among individuals with a lower level of education. Organic food marketers, social marketers, and public health agencies promoting organic food consumption to people with chronic conditions should aim to increase their confidence in comprehending organic food. This study contributes to the literature by assessing the applicability of the information–motivation–behavioral skills model in understanding behavioral intentions toward organic food.

Evaluating the purchasing behavior of organic food among Chinese consumers

Purpose This study aims to identify the key factors that influence the intention and behavior of Chinese consumers toward purchasing organic food. The extended theory of planned behavior (TPB) model is adopted as the underlying theory to explore the relationship between attitudes (ATT), subjective norms (SN) and perceived behavioral control (PBC) on consumers’ intention and behavior to buy organic food. Trust (TR) and the moderating role of short food supply chain preferences (SFSCPs) were integrated to address the research gap. Design/methodology/approach Three hundred three questionnaire responses were received from organic food buyers in China using a convenience sampling method. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data and to examine the relationship between the various constructs. Findings The results demonstrated that the purchase intention (PI) of Chinese consumers correlates positively with ATT, SN, PBC and TR. Additionally, the results show that consumers’ SFSCPs positively moderate the relationship between PI and purchase behavior (PB). Practical implications The findings of this study provide valuable insights for marketers to develop compelling messages that evoke positive ATT, establish consumer TR and integrate short food supply chains to drive PB. The study can also be useful to policymakers and other supply chain participants. Social implications An increased understanding of the factors influencing Chinese organic food consumption can contribute to promoting healthier food choices, supporting sustainable agriculture and fostering environmentally friendly consumption habits. Originality/value This research contributes to the existing pool of knowledge by incorporating TR into the conventional TPB. The study also introduces SFSCP as a moderating variable on the relationship between PI and PB.

Income Quality and Organic Food Purchase Intention: The Chain Mediating Role of Environmental Value, Perceived Consumer Effectiveness

Concerns about income inequality and environmental pollution have been important aspects of achieving sustainable development goals. Promotion and use of organic food is one important way to reduce resource consumption and waste. In this study, the structural equation model (SEM) was used to analyze 450 questionnaire data, and the environmental values and perceived consumer effectiveness were used as mediating variables to explore the influence mechanism of income quality on the organic food purchase intention. An extended Value—Attitude—Behavior (VAB) theory was used as the research framework, and the results showed that: (1) income quality had a significant positive effect on environmental values, perceived consumer effectiveness, and organic food purchase intention; (2) perceived consumer effectiveness had a significant positive effect on organic food purchase intention and played a partial mediating role; and (3) environmental values and perceived consumer effectiveness played a chain mediating role between income quality and organic food purchase intention.

Young Adults’ Anti-Consumption Tendencies toward Organic Foods in Vietnam: The Mediating Role of Self-Efficacy

This study aims to shed light on the determinants of organic food purchase intention in Vietnam. It provides novel insights by demonstrating that perceived value and perceived quality significantly influence purchase intention, while price does not. Moreover, the study unravels the critical mediating role of self-efficacy between price, perceived value, perceived quality, and purchase intention. These findings carry significant implications for marketers and advertising professionals as they offer insights into how promoting the perceived value and quality of organic food over price can drive purchase intention. Additionally, the research reveals how self-efficacy affects consumer behavior, highlighting the need to design effective interventions that improve self-efficacy to increase organic food consumption in Vietnam. Thus, this study has significant practical implications for marketers and policymakers who seek to reduce anti-consumption behavior toward organic food and promote its cultivation and marketing in Vietnam.

Factors Influence Organic Food Purchase Intention of Vietnamese Consumers

Factors Influence Organic Food Purchase Intention of Vietnamese Consumers

Effectiveness of organic food marketing

The principal aim of this study was to assess the economic results and marketing effectiveness of selected companies dealing with the production and distribution of organic food. The diagnostic survey method was applied in the study. It was conducted on popular social media in 2021 with 686 respondents. The study findings show that the marketing strategy has been ineffective so far. This means that there exists an informationally excluded area, which must be filled in. Therefore, effective product marketing should be developed based on personalised advertisements on social media and online trade. The study findings can contribute to the popularisation and broadening of knowledge regarding the behaviour of organic food buyers. Determining the factors affecting the buying process and motivations will aid stakeholders in building an effective marketing strategy for organic food. This may have a beneficial effect on the development and diversification of the organic food market, whose production may contribute to an improvement of the natural environment condition and the quality of life, as well as the promotion of local food producers.

The dark side of going green: Dark triad traits predict organic consumption through virtue signaling, status signaling, and praise from others

The current study sought to test whether the dark triad personality traits of narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy can be indirectly linked to organic food consumption through consumers’ levels of virtue signaling, status consumption, and praise from others. Based on a survey (N = 337) and structural equation modeling, we found consistent evidence for the notion that the links between each dark triad trait and (a) organic food purchase intentions, and (b) willingness to pay (WTP) for organic foods are mediated by status consumption and praise from others. Additionally, virtue signaling mediated this interplay for people who exhibit high (vs. low) degrees of narcissism and Machiavellianism, but not those who exhibit high (vs. low) degrees of psychopathy. Given that sustainability-related responses are typically portrayed as prosocial and positive, these results paint a more complex picture, with our findings linking organic consumption to a set of dark personality traits.

Exploring consumers' attitude and intent to purchase organic food in an emerging market context: a pre-/post COVID-19 pandemic analysis

PurposeFollowing the COVID-19 pandemic, the upward trend of organic food (OF) consumption is no longer restrained to western markets but has also extended to emerging markets in different parts of the world. Still, extent post-pandemic literature has devoted little attention to the factors shaping consumers' intent to purchase organic food in developing markets. The current research empirically investigates the antecedents of consumers' attitude and intent to purchase organic food in an emerging market context (i.e. Morocco). This research also explores the differences between OF consumers' manifest attitudes prior to and following the COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachTo achieve the study's objectives, data were collected from 1,060 Moroccan respondents using online self-administered questionnaires in two different eras: prior to the COVID-19 pandemic with a total of 441 valid responses and following the pandemic with 619 valid responses. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was employed to validate the data, and a partial least squares (PLS) estimation was used to test the hypotheses.FindingsFirst, attitude towards OF has a significant impact on consumers' purchase intention; at the same time, it is influenced by subjective norms, organic labeling, perceived behavioral control, health consciousness, and environmental concern. This study's findings also suggest subjective norms, organic labeling, perceived behavioral control, health consciousness, environmental concern, age, and income as the key determinants of consumers' intention to purchase OF. Second, the IPMA analysis suggests that while health consciousness, organic labeling and perceived behavioral control are the most important constructs influencing attitude towards OF, consumers' purchase intention is mostly influenced by health consciousness, attitude towards OF and age. Finally, the PLS-Multigroup Analysis conveyed few discrepancies in the results when comparing the two eras (i.e. subjective norms and age had more significant impacts on consumers' purchase intent following the COVID-19 pandemic).Practical implicationsThis study provides organic food retailers and practitioners with a deeper understanding of the key aspects shaping consumers' intent to purchase organic products in emerging markets. The comparative analysis will also provide important insights on how to shape consumers' attitudes and purchase intentions in a new-normal marked by the COVID-19 pandemic.Originality/valueThis study's findings contribute to the growing literature on consumers' behavior in the organic food industry, particularly in developing countries where research is still narrow. This study's study is the first of its kind to compare consumers' intention to purchase organic food before and following the COVID-19 pandemic.