Purchase Of Organic Products Research Articles

Customer Preference Towards Online Shopping of Organic Food Products In Coimbatore District

In today’s scenario, online shopping is playing an important role in the life of human because time is precious for every people. People have become very busy in their work and they are unable to make their shopping daily. In this article we are going to discuss regarding the preference of organic food products through online shopping (Basha, 2014). Awareness of organic products has been increasing steadily and Consumers are started to prefer organic food products because they are healthy, safety and environmental friendly (Brijesh Sivathanu, 2015). Consumer of organic food products are willing to purchase organic products through online shopping due to the time and travel constraints (Ramesh, 2015). In this paper the researcher has collected the sample size of 80 and tools used for the analysis are percentage analysis, chi- square analysis and Anova. The result of the study is found that the consumers are purchasing the organic food products through online shopping, especially for the health purpose.

Turkish consumers perception on organic food. An analysis for Turkish case.

Purpose- The purpose of this research is to perceive and determine the reasons for buying and deterrents for not buying organic products; and to see if modifications in deterrents can increase purchase of organic products making it a value added for the economy. Methodology- As the main aim of the research is to determine Turkish consumers’ perception on organic food and figure out whether the modifications on the deterrents can convince the consumers to buy and/or buy more often organic products. As organic food agriculture can be a powerful element of the economy, the feedbacks of non-organic product users were deemed to be a good indicator on the path leading to increased demand and increased production of organic products. A survey composed of 41 questions is sent and this study summarizes the outputs of 556 responses. Findings- The outputs highlight the distrust in certification process as the main deterrent for not buying organic food. The pricing unreliability is also another crucial factor that prevents consumers to consume more. Conclusion- The outputs conclude as a proper modification to be performed on organic product availability, price and reliability on certification can increase organic product purchase and make it an economic resource.

Predictors of organic tea purchase intentions by Chinese consumers

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the factors that influence Chinese consumers’ purchase of organic products, with a focus on organic tea.Design/methodology/approachA structured questionnaire was used to survey 202 shoppers in Guangdong Province, China. The data were analyzed using multivariate regression.FindingsThe study suggests two significant predictors of organic tea purchase intentions: perceiving organic tea as a healthier alternative to non-organic tea; perceiving the purchase of organic tea as a status symbol. Younger respondents and respondents with higher educational attainment reported greater organic tea purchase intentions. Non-significant predictors of organic tea purchase intentions were respondents’ knowledge of organic tea through media exposure, their gender and income.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings help further research on consumer preferences regarding organic foods providing key insights for researchers and marketers as they strive to make informed decisions in the emerging organic food retail environment. Specifically, Chinese consumers perceiving organic tea as a healthy option and as a status symbol are more likely to state organic tea purchase intentions. These results point to the need for extended research on key antecedents of Chinese consumers’ purchase intentions of organic products.Originality/valueLittle was known about the motivations of Chinese consumers for purchasing organic food products, as the psychological and demographic factors that are associated with organic food purchase behavior in China were not well researched. Specifically, there is still a notable gap in the understanding of how consumers in China make organic tea purchase decisions. With organic foods occupying a progressively larger portion of Chinese diets and budgets, this research fills in some of the knowledge gap by examining how the social norms of status symbols influence Chinese consumers’ purchase intentions of organic tea.

Relation among ecological affect, concern, and knowledge and purchase behavior: a study regarding Mexican consumers

The aim of the research was to analyze the sustainability and social development, in the search for the relationship between the constructs: Ecological Affection (EA), Ecological Awareness (EC), and Ecological Knowledge (EK), and green purchasing behavior (GPB) in consumers - as a single field of application, which should not be analyzed for companies, public persons, places, or brands. This is a quantitative descriptive study in a sample of 1,550 consumers - 96% of them valid - chosen according to convenience criteria - men and women between 21 and 55 years of age -, carried out during the first half of 2015 in Mexico, in the states of Puebla, Tlaxcala, Guanajuato, San Luis Potosí, Tabasco, and Querétaro, with the personal application of questionnaires using the Likert scale. Regarding the measurement of dependent and independent variables, we used various subscales that make up the revised environmental attitudes and knowledge scale (EAKS) from Maloney et al. (1975).As a result, it was found that the consumer in Mexico presents a positive attitude towards the purchase of organic products and is even willing to stop buying from those companies that contribute to pollution.

Consumer behavioural intention and perception towards organic foods in national capital of India

Organic food products are gaining popularity among consumers because of improved awareness about health, and protection of the environment. Though the organic food market is keen today but to broaden it further, one must understand consumers’ perception for organic products. In this study, consumers’ behavioural intention and perception was studied towards purchase of organic food. Structured questionnaires were formulated and 1047 respondents residing in the urban sectors of Delhi were approached. The reliability analysis of questionnaires carried out using the Cronbach's Alpha test indicated that for the tested variables i.e. Attitude, Subjective norms and Perceived Behaviour Control (PBC), the value calculated was approx. 0.90. Further, theory of planned behaviour (TPB) applied to the study showed 78% variance amongst the above stated three variables towards the behavioral intention of the consumers for organic food, and PBC was the most impactful variable to affect the overall intention of the consumers’ to purchase organic products. Price value, followed by the origin and freshness of the produce were some of the important factors contributing in decision making. Moreover, consumers prefer to purchase organic foods if they are not very expensive in comparison to the conventional ones. The results provided in-depth insight about the consumers’ behavioural intentions, knowledge, perception and factors contributing to the purchase behavior of organic food commodities by the Indian urban population.

PREDICTING THE INFLUENCE OF INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATION ON INTENTION TO BUY ORGANIC PRODUCT: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY

Purpose of Study: The aim of this research is to predict the effect of Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) tools (advertising, direct marketing, sales promotion, and personal selling) on consumers’ intention to purchase organic products in the specific supermarket in Indonesia.
 Methodology: The primary data was collected by using questionnaires that were given to consumers in a supermarket. Sample size involved 128 consumers. The data was assessed through reliability and validity analysis before hypothesis testing analysis.
 Result: The results showed only direct marketing have positive significant on intention to buy the organic product.
 Implications/Applications: Integrated Marketing Communication provides an information to the purchasing policy of organic product

Effectiveness of Integrated Pest Management by Farmers Field Schools (IPM/FFS) Approach: The case of Greenhouse Producers of Tehran and Alborz Provinces, Iran

This research investigated the effectiveness of IPM/FFS project from economic, technical, social-communicative, environmental and psychological aspects in a descriptive-correlational design based on the survey method. The research population consisted of 70 greenhouse producers that had implemented IPM/FFS project in Tehran and Alborz provinces, Iran. Using Krejcie and Morgan (1970)'s sample size table and stratified random sampling method, 55 greenhouse producers were selected as the research sample. A questionnaire was the main tool for data collection. The validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by a panel of agricultural extension and education experts and its reliability was confirmed by calculating Cronbach's alpha coefficients (0.77≤a≤0.86). The results showed that the IPM/FFS project has affected social-communicative, psychological, environmental, technical and economic factors, respectively. There were positive and significant relationships between effectiveness of the IPM/FFS project and education, the duration of IPM implementation, satisfaction with governmental support and the characteristics of IPM/FFS learning sites whilst the effectiveness of IPM/FFS project was negatively and significantly related to age and greenhouse area under IPM project. According to multiple regression analysis, the characteristics of IPM/FFS learning sites, education and satisfaction with governmental supports could account for 66 percent of variance of the effectiveness of IPM/FFS project. Finally, as implementation cost of integrated pest management is usually beyond greenhouse producers’ financial ability, it is suggested that the government provide greenhouse producers with more economic supports (e.g. granting loan and special facilities and guaranteed purchase of organic products).

Uticaj percepcije potrošača o nutritivnoj vrednosti organske hrane na spremnost da se plati viša cena

The growing interest in organic farming has fueled the emergence of numerous scientific research papers comparing different aspects of organic and conventionally produced food. More and more consumers in our country are willing to pay a higher price for organic products because they believe that, compared to conventional products, these products have more nutritional value and thus reduce health risks related to food consumption. The aim of the paper is to investigate whether the willingness of Serbian consumers to pay a higher price for the purchase of organic products depends on the consumer's assessment of the nutritional properties. In order to achieve the defined research goals, the research process in this paper includes the theoretical and empirical part. The research was conducted in 2017 on the territory of the Republic of Serbia. The statistical software package SPSS was used to analyze the data. Methods of statistical analysis used to test the research hypotheses were non-parametric analysis techniques and correlation analysis. The results of the analysis are statistically significant, so we have arguments to conclude that consumers who believe that organic products have more nutritional value are more willing to pay a higher price for organic products. This paper contributes to the scientific literature and yields original results regarding the factors that determine consumers' decision to purchase organic products.

Assessing Consumer and Producer Preferences for Animal Welfare Using a Common Elicitation Format

AbstractWe assess pig farmers’ willingness‐to‐accept (WTA) higher farm animal welfare (FAW) standards and consumers’ willingness‐to‐pay (WTP) for thus enhanced standards. The analysis is based on discrete choice experiments with nearly identical choice sets for both farmers (N=140) and consumers (N=554). Based on preference estimates from a random parameter logit (RPL) model, supply and demand curves for high‐welfare pork in Germany are estimated and market equilibria are derived for alternative levels of FAW. We find that estimates of consumer WTP are significantly positive for all FAW attributes: consumers value more surface space per pig, more bedding and manipulable material, less surgical interventions and shorter transportation times. In contrast, our model revealed significant producer WTA estimates only for surface area per pig and the amount of bedding material on offer, but not for the other FAW attributes. Farmers who expect to continue farming and engage in direct marketing are more likely to adopt higher FAW standards. Male consumers and those who find price more important than brand, origin or taste are less likely to buy high‐welfare pork, as are consumers who never purchase organic meat products. Market simulations for high‐welfare pork indicate increasing divergence between demand and supply with rising FAW standards. We estimate a market share of 44.6% for pork produced in compliance with an entry‐level FAW programme with standards only slightly above the legal minimum. Programmes with more demanding standards are estimated to gain much smaller market shares.

The Relationship between Organic Products Familiarity, Perceived Value, and Purchase Intention : An Empirical Study*

Product familiarity is vital to assess the purchase intention of consumers. In this study, a conceptual model was proposed to investigate the relationship among organic products familiarity, perceived value (measured by quality, emotional, price and social dimensions), and the purchase intention of students. The model was empirically tested using questionnaire survey data collected from 235 university students. The results reveal that organic products familiarity is positively associated with quality, emotional value, price value and social value. On the other hand, emotional value, price value and social value is also positively associated with purchase intention whereas quality shows insignificant relationship with purchase intention. Overall, the result shows students have positive outlook about their intention to purchase organic products.

Putting Words into Action: Marketing Organic Products with Existing Brand Associations

As consumer interest in organic products continues to grow, brands are increasingly adding organic variants to their product lines. However, consumer evaluations of these actions are not straightforward and differ for brands with various associations or within different product contexts. Previous research has shown that products with credence attributes, such as organic products, are often judged by brand name and consumers’ existing brand associations. The current study adds to previous work on brand equity and brand associations by explicitly considering the context and characteristics of these branded organic products. First, a pretest determined the existing brands’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate ability (CA) associations. Next, an online experiment tested consumers’ perceptions of brand equity, consumers’ trust in the brands and consumers’ purchase intentions, which were analyzed using a fully parallel, multiple-mediator process model with the experimental conditions as independent variables. The results show that brand equity increases most when a brand associated with both CA and CSR introduces an organic product. In addition, consumers trust this brand more compared to brands that are less strongly associated with CSR. Moreover, the intention to purchase organic products increases as brand equity increases, but the intention to purchase organic products does not increase as trust increases. Based on these results, we conclude that brands aiming to increase their value to positively affect consumers’ purchase intentions of their organic products benefit most when they are highly associated with both CSR and CA.

Good Taste Tastes Good. Cultural Capital as a Determinant of Organic Food Purchase by Italian Consumers: Evidence and Policy Implications

Policy actions in support of organic food chain productions have so far focused on the supply side, whereas poor attention has been paid to the demand side, despite the growing interest in consumers' attitudes toward organic food. With the prospect of a future slowing down of the demand for organic products, specific demand-side policy measures are called for. Building on interdisciplinary research on the determinants of organic food purchases, we argue that cultural capital is a relevant, so far overlooked driver of organic food purchase. We apply a Heckman two-step selection strategy approach to microdata from the latest sample annual survey by the Italian National Institute of Statistics. We find that participation in cultural activities has a positive impact on the inclination to purchase organic products, to an extent that depends on the social orientation of each cultural activity. Some policy implications are derived.

Determinants of citizen acceptance of environmental policy regulating consumption in public settings: Organic food in public institutions

Increasingly, providers of institutional catering consider moving to the procurement of organic food. Although ample research has investigated the determinants of consumption of organic foods in private households, such consumption in institutional settings raises questions of citizen support rather than consumer choice. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to analyse the determinants of citizen support with regard to increasing the share of organic produce in public catering. A model is proposed that explains attitude to the procurement of organic produce in public kitchens by life values, attitudes to the environment, personal and social norms, and the use of organic produce for private household consumption. Data were collected by an online survey representative of the overall population in terms of major demographics in Denmark (n = 978). Results indicate that personal norms regarding the use of organic food affect attitudes toward the use of organic produce in institutional settings, and that this effect is partly mediated by own purchase of organic products, indicating a spillover effect from private to public practices. Collectivistic values and, to a lesser extent, individualistic values affect personal and social norms on using organic produce, partly mediated by attitude to the environment. The authors add a new aspect to the discussion of spillover effects among different forms of pro-environmental behaviours and suggest that measures to promote sustainable behaviours in the public and private sector may reinforce each other.

Consumers attitudes on organic food in Serbia and Croatia: A comparative analysis

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between socio-demographic variable and attitudes of respondents from Serbia and Croatia towards organic food. Consumers around the world have a positive attitude towards organic food without particular differences between various socio-demographic variables. However, the level of organic food consumption is low - organic farming covers 1% of agricultural land. High price and low income of respondents represent the basic limiting factors. The economic factor is especially important for the markets of Serbia and Croatia. Also, a lack of information and trust in the organic production and organic certificates constitute part of the decision in purchase. Therefore, manufactures of organic products needs marketing activities to build a recognizable brand and develop trust among consumers. Also, consumers have shown a high degree of self-awareness in making decisions about the purchase of organic products, which makes brand communication at the point of sale very important.

An analysis of factors affecting growth of organic food

Purpose Food gives us essential nutrients to lead a healthy lifestyle but lately it has been found that many food products have become hazardous due to contamination and lead to many diseases. The rampant use of pesticides and chemical-based fertilizers in agriculture has, increased the productivity but at the same time they have created an alarming situation for the environment. The demand of the hour is to therefore to encourage organic farming and offer a better choice to consumers as well as save the environment. The purpose of this paper is to explore and understand the factors affecting perception of consumers on organic food products in Indian context. Design/methodology/approach The study used a structured survey of 150 respondents covering Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) of Ghaziabad, Noida and Faridabad (India). Exploratory research was used to know the variables from the literature that affect the perception of consumers regarding organic food. Descriptive research was used to understand the demographic profile of the organic food consumer’s. Conclusive research design was used to test the hypotheses based upon the motivating and inhibiting factor in the growth of organic food. Findings The data collected from the survey were analyzed using t-test, χ 2 test, factor analysis and multiple linear regression tests. Results indicated that the intention to purchase organic products was impacted by the consumer’s belief on the safety and health aspect of the product, trust and certification, information and availability and lifestyle and are hence drivers of growth. And certain impeding factors were identified like doubt in the professed quality of organic food, lack of awareness and price parity. Social implications There are enough evidences of fertile land being converted into wasteland because of use of agro- chemical-based fertilizers in farming. There are also enough incidents of polluted water (ground and surface) due to agrochemical-based farming. Heavy use of pesticides leads to adverse effect on the health of farmers also. There were many reports of farmers committing suicide because of debt due to heavy investment on pesticides and fertilizers. Organic farming is a win-win proposition for environment, farmers and consumer’s. Originality/value The study was an effort to understand awareness and perception of organic food consumers in urban India post-agriculture revolution. The result would help the organic food producing and marketing companies to understand the factors that influence the belief of consumers when they purchase organic food and henceforth they can formulate communication strategies and marketing policy based on consumer’s expectations.

Organic‐ and Animal Welfare‐labelled Eggs: Competing for the Same Consumers?

AbstractTo understand the market for sustainable foods, it is important to allow for heterogeneous preferences. However, most studies of consumer preferences for sustainable foods only investigate average consumer preferences. They do not take into account that some consumer segments attempt to purchase as much sustainable food as possible, others are almost indifferent to the notion of sustainable food, and still others consider sustainable food a complete hoax. The aim of this study is to explore the preferences for various types of premium eggs across three consumer segments. We conduct a choice experiment including 900 Norwegian consumers and perform a behavioural segmentation based on the frequency of organic food purchase. We find that the segment purchasing the most organic food is, as expected, willing to pay a significant premium for organic eggs over eggs displaying only enhanced animal welfare. However, most consumers, who only occasionally purchase organic products, are unwilling to pay more for organic eggs than for enhanced animal welfare eggs, suggesting diminishing marginal utility for additional attributes. We find that a third consumer segment attempts to avoid organic eggs, even when they cost the same as other eggs. Our findings suggest that organic products will be unsuccessful in acquiring a larger share of the market as long as most consumers are unwilling to pay a premium for organic products with all their cost increasing sustainable attributes over products that have only a single sustainable attribute, in our case enhanced animal welfare.

Perception and motivation to purchase organic products in Mediterranean countries

Purpose – This paper aims to study the determinants of consumer purchasing behaviour of organic product in the emergent countries. These variables are related to products such as perception, attitude, motivation (health and environmental concern), implication and purchasing intention. Design/methodology/approach – This paper is based on exploratory and confirmatory analysis that seeks to purify and to get a new scales structure. The study shows the effect of perception and motivation on the purchasing behaviour of the consumers who intend to buy an organic product. The authors used the structural equation modelling to confirm the different relationships. Findings – Purchasing intention, implication and motivation (health and environmental concerns) have a strong direct and positive effect on the purchasing behaviour of organic products. However, the relationship between the motivation and the attitude, on the one side, and between attitude/purchasing intention and attitude/purchasing behaviour, on the other side, are not significant. Research limitations/implications – The research and investigation were carried out in a limited geographical zone (Tunisian country), on a specific category of products and on a particular sampling procedure by convenience. Practical implications – The firm can adopt an efficient green strategy that allows it to ensure a good segmentation and a best positioning compared to conventional product. Tunisian marketers must focus on the factors influencing the behaviour of the Tunisian consumer. They should raise consumer awareness through a suitable communication. Originality/value – This paper is added to studies of consumer behaviour towards bio-products in emerging countries. The results could serve as a guideline for organizations for understanding the factors and green strategy adopted. This one need to ensure a good segmentation and positioning of biological products compared to conventional product.

Segmentation of Coffee Shop Customers based on Organic Coffee Choice Motives

This study investigated organic coffee choice motives from a coffee shop market segmentation perspective in order to understand the potential importance they may have upon attitudes and behavioral intentions to buy organic coffee. A factor-cluster segmentation approach was used for this study. An exploratory factor analysis identified five organic coffee choice motives: "Sensory", "Environment", "Trust", "Health" and "Price". Based upon these five choice motives, cluster analyses classified all respondents into three homogeneous subgroups: "Highly motivated", "Moderately motivated" and "Unmotivated". Analysis of variance tests indicated that attitudes and intentions to purchase organic coffee were significantly different among the three clusters. In particular, two cluster groups representing "Highly motivated" and "Moderately motivated" were found to offer the most utility for further organic coffee market segmentation research. Especially, due to perceptions about high price premium of organic coffee, the "Moderately motivated" group had higher positive attitudes, although, their intentions to buy organic coffee were not higher than those of the "Unmotivated" cluster. Findings support previous research propositions that high price could be the strongest barrier for people to purchase organic products including the organic coffee business context. This will assist to market and promote pricing strategies for cafes and restaurants to optimize organic coffee sales revenue. Implications for all cluster groups regarding unique socio-demographic characteristics and behavioral intentions are discussed. Organic coffee marketers can apply these findings towards the development of effective target market strategies.

Substitutes or Complements? Consumer Preference for Local and Organic Food Attributes

This research examines consumer preference and compares their willingness‐to‐pay for a host of value‐added attributes of processed blackberry jam, and focuses on various organic and local production location designations. Instead of being treated as a binary attribute, three levels of USDA organic are considered: 100% organic, at least 95% organic, and made with organic ingredients (at least 70% organic). For local production, three levels are also included in the analysis: cross‐state region (the Ohio Valley), state boundary (state‐proud logos), as well as sub‐state regions. Stated‐preference data collected from a choice experiment in a mail survey in Kentucky and Ohio are used. Results from the study confirm positive willingness‐to‐pay for both organic and local attributes. However, consumers were willing to pay comparatively more for jam produced locally in regions smaller than the border of a state compared to organic jam. Furthermore, substitution and complementary effects between food attributes were investigated. The study found strong substitution effects between organic and local production claims, an issue that has thus far received minimal treatment in the existing literature on organic and local food willingness‐to‐pay studies. The results indicate a large degree of overlapping values in the willingness‐to‐pay for these two food attributes. In addition, the “small farm” attribute considered in the study also appears to be a substitute for organic and local attributes, which confirms the previous belief that one of the many reasons consumers purchase organic or local products is to support small or family‐owned farms.

Consumer willingness to purchase organic products: Application of the theory of planned behavior

The organic industry continues to increase year on year, and organic apparel is the second largest organic market in terms of generating annual sales. More and more retailers, such as Nike, Gap and Wal-Mart, are beginning to offer their consumers organic apparel options. Despite this growth, there has been little research that studies consumer purchasing behavior toward organic apparel products: most of the literature about the organic industry focuses on the organic food market. This research applied the Theory of Planned Behavior to examine consumer purchasing intentions toward organic apparel products. Participants at a university in the southeastern United States were asked to complete a questionnaire. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. Attitude and subjective norm were found to have a direct influence on consumer purchasing intention. Perceived behavioral control and perceived expensiveness were found to indirectly influence intention through attitude. Awareness, an external variable, was found to indirectly influence intention and directly influence attitude and perceived behavioral controls. Implications for organic clothing retailers are discussed.