scholarly journals In search of a model explaining organic food purchase behavior

2016 ◽  
Vol 118 (12) ◽  
pp. 2911-2930 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khandoker Mahmudur Rahman ◽  
Nor Azila Mohd Noor

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the domain relevance of a comprehensive yet almost overlooked theoretical framework for studying organic food purchase behavior in a global context. This conceptual paper argues that there exists an apparently powerful model in health behavior domain that may readily be brought into organic food purchase behavior research. The paper argues for domain relevance and proposes that Montano and Kasprzyk’s integrated behavior model may readily be used in organic food behavior studies with some relevant modification. Design/methodology/approach The paper follows an exploratory approach and shows how variables used in the past may be aggregated to the model in question. The challenge is addressed by following both the inductive and the deductive reasoning. Deductive reasoning calls for investigating whether such behavior may be classified as health behavior. Inductive reasoning calls for proving relevance of all the variables in the aforesaid model to the organic food research context. Findings The paper concludes that the Montano and Kasprzyk’s model is theoretically relevant to the organic food behavior domain. However, it is observed that the domain-specific operationalization is necessary for further empirical studies. Research limitations/implications Since the model was rarely tested empirically in predicting organic food purchase intention, the variable-specific relevance may not warrant the relevance of the whole model with intertwined relationships at the same time. Practical implications The paper may pave a way toward further empirical research and may also explain the apparent intention-behavior gap as often reported in literature. Originality/value The paper may provide a useful direction in future organic food purchase behavior studies by showing the domain relevance of an apparently powerful model, along with addition of some newer variables that may enrich the existing model.

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 321-337 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shivendra Kumar Pandey ◽  
Arpita Khare

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand the effect of antecedents like environmental consciousness and cosmopolitanism (COS) on organic food purchase intention (OFPI) with the possible mediation of opinion seeking (OS) and opinion leadership (OL). Design/methodology/approach – A model drawn largely from environmental value–attitude–system model (Dembkowski and Hanmer-Lloyd, 1994) has been proposed and tested. Primary data from four cities across India were collected using a survey. Findings – COS was the primary factor determining purchase intention. A full mediation of OS behaviour was observed between environmental consciousness and OFPI. No effect of OL on OFPI could be established. Research limitations/implications – Because COS is positively affecting the organic food patronage and cosmopolitans are more likely to be socially responsible consumers, the organic food (OF) manufacturers should target brick and mortar stores in more cosmopolitan cities like Bangalore, Delhi, etc. The mediating role of OS has wider implications for marketers and advertisers both. In line with both theoretical underpinning (theory of planned behaviour), empirical studies (Chakrabarti and Baisya, 2009) and ours, it seems that the customer seeks credible information before purchasing organic food. The word-of-mouth and social media are recommended channels for similar reasons. The websites are a must for OF manufacturers because retailers may not provide adequate promotion/information of the products to the consumers. Practical implications – This study enables marketers in the field of OF domain to target the customers better. It also guides them to have a good integrated marketing communication to cater to the opinion-seeking phenomenon of consumers. Originality/value – The paper investigates the OFPI model better suited to urban cities in India. COS construct usage is a novelty of the paper as well as the mediation of opinion-seeking behaviour. Findings have value both for researchers and practitioners in the OF domain.


2017 ◽  
Vol 119 (2) ◽  
pp. 284-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheng-Hsiung Chang ◽  
Chin-Wen Chang

Purpose Set in an emerging economy context, the purpose of this paper is to examine the determinants of green consumers’ purchase behavior on organic food by analyzing the impact of word-of-mouth (WOM) effects (i.e. tie strength, sender’s green expertise, receiver’s green expertise), conformity behaviors (i.e. normative interpersonal influence and informational interpersonal influence) on green purchase intention, and the relationship between green purchase intention and green purchase behavior. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected by self-administered questionnaire completed by respondents who had purchase experience of organic food in the last six months. The specific context of this study is green consumption for organic food in Taiwan. Data collection was implemented in a convenience sampling method. Among the 578 consumers who had filled the questionnaire, 147 did not have any purchase history of organic food, resulting in a final usable sample of 431 (response rate 74.57 percent) in Taiwan. The data were collected during a five-week period in late 2015. Findings Through structural equation modeling analysis, data were analyzed and the empirical results indicate that tie strength, sender’s green expertise, and receiver’s green expertise have a positive influence on green consumer’s susceptibility to informational interpersonal influences and normative interpersonal influences, separately. In addition, informational interpersonal influences and normative interpersonal influences both have a positive relationship on green purchase intention, which will further positively influence the green purchase behavior. Originality/value This study reminds marketers of the impact of WOM effects as well as interpersonal influences on consumers. It examines the impact of tie strength, senders’ green expertise, and receivers’ green expertise on green purchase intention and green purchase behavior. This study also explores the mediation effects of green consumers’ susceptibility to interpersonal influences. Consumers’ susceptibility to interpersonal influence is discussed in the marketing literature. However, few prior studies have explored its effect in the green setting. Last, few attempts have discussed the relationship between green purchase intention and green purchase behavior. This study contributes to the literature by examine the relationship between green purchase intentions and green purchase behavior.


2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 902-916 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morteza Maleki Minbashrazgah ◽  
Fatemeh Maleki ◽  
Maedeh Torabi

Purpose Developing green consumption, organic and green meat and poultry consumption have been increased recently. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of food’s sensory characteristics (e.g. organic food beliefs) and non-food factors (e.g. price transparency) on consumers’ green purchase behavior. So, according to the moderating role of price transparency, affecting factors on green chicken purchase intention and behavior are examined. Design/methodology/approach Evaluating the model, the authors used measures from previous research. The authors distributed questionnaire in four chain stores in four different geographical regions in Tehran. The structural model and relations were examined by using Smart PLS 2.0 software to simultaneously estimate the measurement and structural models. Findings Structural equation analysis revealed that level of trust, consumer’s organic food beliefs and perceived environmental responsibility have positive impact on green purchase intention. Also price transparency moderator role confirmed that moderators can affect consumers’ actual behavior. Research limitations/implications As our sample was just from Tehran, the research results may lack generalizability to all people in Iran. Therefore, future researchers are encouraged to retest the proposed model in other cities and also in other countries with different level of economic development. Practical implications This paper includes suggestions for managers and producers to develop green food products consumption especially green chicken. Also it has implications for spreading out green consumption among people with high environmental involvement. Originality/value Despite conducted research, the moderating role of price transparency has been used only rarely to investigate consumers’ green purchase behavior.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Austin Rong-Da Liang ◽  
Wai-Mun Lim

PurposeOrganic food consumption is a complex process that makes it difficult for organic food businesses to develop appropriate marketing strategies. This study thus adopted the stimuli–organism–response (S–O–R) model to create a comprehensive framework to understand consumers' organic food purchase decisions.Design/methodology/approachThis study collected 592 valid samples in organic food chain stores and markets by random sampling method. Meanwhile, structural equation modelling was adopted to test hypotheses.FindingsThe research findings indicate that consumer preference for natural food was the most important factor for enhancing purchase intention, followed by health consciousness, health risk, attitude towards organic food and trust in labelling. Perceptions of nutritional value positively influenced attitudes towards organic food and trust in labelling, followed by perceptions of environmental effects; conversely, attitudes towards organic food labelling had the least effect on increasing trust in labelling. Attitudes towards organic food labelling was the most important factor influencing positive attitudes towards organic food, followed by consumer perception of environmental protection effects.Originality/valueThis study demonstrates the relative influence of different variables on organic food purchase intention. Compared with consumer attitude towards organic food and trust in labelling, consumers' individual health was the most important factor influencing their purchase intention. As health and naturalness are attractive factors for consumers, the organic food industry can emphasize health protection in their marketing strategies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 6023
Author(s):  
Kirubaharan Boobalan ◽  
Nishad Nawaz ◽  
R. M. Harindranath ◽  
Vijayakumar Gajenderan

Marketing campaigns of organic food emphasize utilitarian benefits and psychological benefits as well as consumer culture to enhance environmental sustainability. In order to study the purchase intention of organic food, the authors developed a model using antecedents like warm glow, subjective norm, attitude and perceived behavioral control. This study examines the model for the Indian and the USA samples and thus integrated using three theories: Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), Pro-Social Behavior (PSB) Theory with the interaction of Consumer Culture Theory. The model is estimated using the multi-group Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) technique using R software with samples from India (n = 692) and the USA (n = 640). Results differ for Indian and USA samples. The expectation of the “warm glow” resulted from an environmentally friendly purchase as having a higher influence on Indian samples than that of the USA. Further, the attitude towards organic food purchase intention is stronger for US samples than the Indian, and the group difference is significant, while all the relationships that take warm glow as an antecedent have higher β for Indian samples. Moreover, the study found that attitude towards organic food is a major element for US subsamples, whereas subjective norm plays a major role in Indian samples to adopt organic food. Managerially, the present study suggests that a firm marketing its organic food must concentrate more on “warm glow” for Indian consumers in order to improve their market share.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Chen

PurposeBoth foreign and local companies frequently name their brands in foreign language on the market of developing countries, and some of them choose to disclose the brands' country of origin to consumers. The purpose of this research is to investigate the joint effects between the practices of disclosing the actual country of origin of the brands and the language of the brand names on consumers' purchase intention for foreign brands and local brands in developing countries.Design/methodology/approachThe proposed hypotheses were tested in two studies, namely an experiment and a field experimental survey, with stimuli from two product categories.FindingsThe results of the two empirical studies with Chinese participants consistently demonstrate that revealing the actual country of origin of the brands undermines consumers' purchase intention for local brands that use foreign brand names, but does not impact consumers' purchase intention for foreign brands that use local brand names.Originality/valueThis research first investigates the effects of adapting the brand names into local language of developing countries for brands from developed countries on consumers' purchase intention, which provides new insight into the literature on foreign branding and country of origin effects as well as practical implications for brand managers.


Author(s):  
N. H. M. Azam ◽  
N. Othman ◽  
R. Musa ◽  
F. AbdulFatah ◽  
A. Awal

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 685-700
Author(s):  
Şirin Gizem KÖSE

Excessive consumption, deterioration of nature, and misusing the resources are problems of current humanity and future generations. Sustainability has started to become a priority for both practitioners and customers. In this respect, sustainable consumption and production practices stand out in almost all areas. Environmental sustainability concerns also affect food consumption habits. Sustainable agriculture and organic movement accelerated in recent times. In this context, the purpose of this study is to evaluate organic food in the framework of environmental sustainability by investigating literature and consumers' opinions. It is aimed to investigate organic food in terms of environmental sustainability with consumer perspective in this study. This study collected data through In-Depth interview method in line with this purpose. The results of the study signify that sustainable consumption and organic food purchase intention are interrelated. It's proposed that environmental sensitivity and environmental knowledge have positive roles, whereas scepticism has a negative role in organic food purchase intention.


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