scholarly journals Food for thought

2020 ◽  
Vol 122 (4) ◽  
pp. 1130-1155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boban Melović ◽  
Marina Dabić ◽  
Sunčica Rogić ◽  
Vladimir Đurišić ◽  
Vesna Prorok
Keyword(s):  
Food Production ◽  
Organic Food ◽  
Product Category ◽  
Organic Production ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Social Implication ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Perceptions And Attitudes ◽  
Organic Products ◽  
Young Consumers

PurposeThis paper seeks to identify the factors that influence the perceptions and attitudes of young people in Montenegro toward organic products.Design/methodology/approachThe results of the research, obtained using the multivariate factor analysis, showed that the vast majority of young consumers identify organic food as healthy and natural and that its higher price is a significant barrier inhibiting their likelihood of purchasing it, along with inaccessibility and the limited options offered.FindingsThe data obtained provides valuable information for managers and decision-makers working in organic food production and sales in Montenegro – a country with the potential to develop in this field.Research limitations/implicationsThe study was carried out in the CEE transition country of Montenegro, with 300 young consumers. Further research is needed to validate the results through longitudinal study.Practical implicationsThe data obtained represents a meaningful contribution to the field of organic food production and sale in Montenegro (which is a country with a lot of potential in this area) and will assist managers and decision-makers in the field.Social implicationUnlike most research that has previously examined issues concerning organic production – such as its standardization, financing, environmental impact, and even its promotion – this paper provides a better understanding of the behavior of young consumers toward organic products in Montenegro by outlining their perceptions and attitudes toward this product category.Originality/valueThis research represents the first academic study of customers' attitudes and perceptions in this area, alongside the main factors affecting the young consumer's choice to purchase organic food in Montenegro.

Growth of organic production faces key obstacles

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Food ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Organic Production ◽  
Product Labelling ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Agrarian Economy ◽  
Organic Products ◽  
Production Practices ◽  
Chemical Inputs ◽  
The Cost

Significance The organic production system is based on a set of cultivation and production practices that prioritise sustainability throughout the supply chain while guaranteeing fair working conditions. To ensure that organic food reaches the largest number of consumers and is financially attractive to industries, increased attention is being paid to certification of organic products. Impacts A decline in artificial and chemical inputs by the agrarian economy would help reduce the sector’s sizeable carbon footprint. Wealthier consumers will switch to organic foods as the COVID-19 pandemic increases their focus on health and immunity. Government subsidies for supporting the cost of certification are especially useful to small farmers. Digital technologies for agriculture such as product labelling will remove some of the barriers to increasing organic consumption.

Consumer perceptions and attitudes of organic food products in Eastern China

2015 ◽  
Vol 117 (3) ◽  
pp. 1105-1121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Biao Xie ◽  
Liyuan Wang ◽  
Hao Yang ◽  
Yanhua Wang ◽  
Mingli Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Eastern China ◽  
Organic Food ◽  
Food Products ◽  
Organic Production ◽  
Consumer Perceptions ◽  
High Price ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Perceptions And Attitudes ◽  
Organic Food Industry ◽  
Insight Into

Purpose – In response to food scares related to high levels of agro-chemical residues sometimes found on foods, consumers in China increasingly demand for organic foods. As little is known on consumer perceptions and attitudes toward organic food products, the purpose of this paper is to gain insight into the purchase of organic food products by consumers and to explore the main factors driving this process. Design/methodology/approach – Mixed (quantitative and qualitative) market survey approaches were used to provide a potentially deeper insight into consumer’s perspective and could help get a better picture of the complex factors involved. Findings – The main trigger for purchasing organic food products is that consumers expect them to be healthier and safer. The respondents who have bought organic food products tend to have a higher education level and disposable incomes, be families with children and be older than those who have not bought them. The main barriers to increasing the market share of organic food products are the consumers’ lack of knowledge, the relatively high price premium and the lack of availability of organic food products. Informing consumers about unique characteristics of organic production methods, the decline in the prices of and increasing the availability of organic food products to its customers might be a promising strategy to develop the market for organic food products. Originality/value – This paper provides a unique insight into buying behavior and attitudes of organic consumers in China. The results of the research could provide information for the organic food industry to expand its market and improve its profitability and reliability.

Consumer perceptions and demand for organic food in Australia: Focus group discussions

2005 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 155-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui-Shung Chang ◽  
Lydia Zepeda
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Organic Food ◽  
Organic Production ◽  
Farm Animals ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Focus Group Study ◽  
Organic Foods ◽  
Positive Outlook ◽  
Food Sales

AbstractIn Australia, the retail value of organic food production was estimated at A$250 million, with farm-gate value at around A$90 million and exports at around A$40 million, in 2002. The current share of organic sales in total food sales in Australia is about 1%. The growth rate in organic production was forecast to continue at 10–30% per annum. Despite the positive outlook, there are consumer concerns about product recognition and product integrity. To understand how demand for organic products is changing, it is important to investigate consumer attitudes and knowledge about these issues. The objective of this study was to identify issues that may hinder or promote demand. Given the qualitative nature of these issues, we used a focus group study to probe consumers. While focus group results are a qualitative approach and not intended to be generalizable, the results suggest directions for future research. The participants raised concerns about the use of chemicals, the treatment of farm animals and the environmental impact of food production. Organic food consumers were found to be more knowledgeable about organic foods, as well as being more tolerant of higher prices and inaccessibility. The results also suggest that increasing consumers' awareness of organic farming and certification, as well as the availability of organic foods, may be the most effective way of moving organic foods into mainstream.

scholarly journals Agroecologia: Perspectivas e Desafios para a Agricultura Familiar

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (5-esp.) ◽  
pp. 496-503
Author(s):  
Larisse Medeiros Gonçalves ◽  
Caroline Viganó ◽  
Chaiane Renata Grigolo ◽  
Pedro Henrique da Silva Monteiro ◽  
Thiago de Oliveira Vargas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Production ◽  
Organic Food ◽  
Technical Information ◽  
Organic Production ◽  
Marketing Strategies ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Sustainable Rural Development ◽  
Vast Number ◽  
Production Techniques ◽  
The Government

Embora a produção sustentável e a agroecologia tenham relevância e vasta quantidade de artigos, há insuficiência de materiais sistemáticos que auxiliem no emprego operativo das características sustentáveis na produção. Esse trabalho traz uma base conceitual que direciona para a sistematização pragmática, no que diz respeito à produção orgânica, por meio de uma revisão bibliográfica. A produção de alimentos em sistemas agroecológicos tem por princípios a adoção de práticas de uso saudável e consciente dos recursos naturais. A produção de orgânicos no Brasil vem apresentando crescimento significativo. Esse avanço está sendo possível devido ao modelo diversificado dos mecanismos de controle de qualidade para produtos de origem ecológica, uma vez que há maior acesso para o registro dos mesmos. Porém, o setor enfrenta várias dificuldades, como problemas de logística, processos burocráticos na certificação e déficit de insumos, além de carência de informações técnicas. Para que tais barreiras sejam superadas, investimentos em pesquisas científicas para aprimorar as técnicas de produção e estratégias de marketing para promoção dos alimentos orgânicos são recursos indispensáveis para o avanço do sistema. Além disso, o governo deve desenvolver políticas para ampliação da produção, oferta e consumo de produtos orgânicos para fortalecer e incentivar tal modelo produtivo.   Palavras-chaves: Alimentos Orgânicos. Certificação. Sistemas Agroecológicos, Desenvolvimento Rural Sustentável.  Abstract Although sustainable production and agroecology have relevance and a vast number of articles, there is a lack of systematic materials that assist in the operational use of sustainable characteristics in production. This work provides a conceptual basis that leads to pragmatic systematization, regarding organic production, through a bibliographic review. The food production in agroecological systems is based on the adoption of healthy and conscious use of natural resources practices. Organic production in Brazil has been showing significant growth. This progress is being made possible due to the diversified model of quality control mechanisms for ecological origin products, since there is greater access to their registration. However, the sector faces several difficulties, such as logistical problems, bureaucratic processes in certification and deficit of inputs, in addition to a lack of technical information. For these barriers to be overcome, investments in scientific research to improve production techniques and marketing strategies for promoting organic food are indispensable resources for the system advancement. In addition, the government must develop policies to expand the production, supply and consumption of organic products to strengthen and encourage such a productive model.    Keywords: Organic Food. Certification. Agroecological Systems. Sustainable Rural Development.  

Attitudes and behaviour towards organic products: an exploratory study

2008 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 158-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Efthimia Tsakiridou ◽  
Christina Boutsouki ◽  
Yorgos Zotos ◽  
Kostantinos Mattas
Keyword(s):  
Organic Food ◽  
Food Products ◽  
Local Economy ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Consumer Decision Making ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Actual Behaviour ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Organic Products

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to identify consumers' attitudes and behaviour towards organic products in Greece.Design/methodology/approachThis paper draws on a non‐probability quota sample of 660 respondents to explore the attitudes and behaviour of Greek consumers towards organic food products.FindingsGreek consumers seem to be informed about environmental and health issues. They seek information about the nutritional value of food and demand more products free from chemical residues. The results show that most consumers associate organic consumption mainly with fruit and vegetables. Although demographics seem to affect attitudes towards organics, their value in explaining actual behaviour is minimal.Research limitations/implicationsIt is recognized that the data gathered in this study focus on the metropolitan area of Thessaloniki, Greece. The specific area though, is considered to be representative of the total Greek population. The results confirm that health, concern for the environment, animal welfare and support of the local economy are drivers of organic consumption. However, there is an indication that the importance of motives and barriers may vary for different product categories and perhaps future research should focus on product segmentation.Practical implicationsAlthough certain similarities in consumers' attitudes towards organic food products have been identified, this paper records the variation in behaviour towards organics among the various consumer groups examined in Greece, and highlights the gap between attitudes and actual behaviour. Given the complexity of consumer decision making, future research should explore the other value trade‐offs that consumers make.Originality/valueThis paper attempts to provide evidence on the relatively under researched area of organics attitudes and behaviour in Greece.

Young consumers' purchase intention toward organic food: exploring the role of mindfulness

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alok Tewari ◽  
Smriti Srivastava ◽  
Divya Gangwar ◽  
Vimal Chandra Verma
Keyword(s):  
Purchase Intention ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Behavioral Control ◽  
Organic Food ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Perceived Behavioral Control ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Young Consumers ◽  
The Government

PurposeThe role of mindfulness in influencing green behaviors has been recognized in literature though it has not been explored sufficiently in the context of organic food. This study makes an attempt to explore the role of mindfulness in influencing young consumers' purchase intention (PI) toward organic food in India.Design/methodology/approachA total of 348 useable responses were collected through an intercept survey at organic food stores using a purposive sampling approach. Data analysis was carried out through structural equation modeling.FindingsMindfulness emerged as a significant predictor of behavioral intention. Further, the specific indirect effects of mindfulness through attitude, perceived behavioral control (PBC), drive for environmental responsibility (DER) and label reference willingness (LRW) were also significant.Originality/valueThis research is one of the initial efforts to link mindfulness with PI for organic food. The results could help the government and marketers tap onto the potential of mindfulness with regard to environment-friendly products and frame appropriate strategies for stimulating the demand for organic food in India

Perception of Romanian Consumers on Ecological Products

2016 ◽  
pp. 203-224
Author(s):  
Violeta Sima ◽  
Ileana Georgiana Gheorghe
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Organic Food ◽  
Food Products ◽  
Purchase Decision ◽  
Main Concern ◽  
Review Of The Literature ◽  
Consumption Behavior ◽  
Perceptions And Attitudes ◽  
Organic Products ◽  
Decision Making System

This chapter aimed to investigate perceptions and attitudes of Romanian consumers about organic products, in order to study the connection between knowledge and attitudes of consumers and their place in purchase decision-making system to understand their behavior toward organic food. In the first part, after a brief introduction, the authors tried to perform a review of the literature in the field, starting from the presentation of the concept of green or ecological consumption behavior and the notions related to it. A synthetic scheme of the drivers of the green market was proposed as a conclusion of this introductory part. The main concern is about consumption of the ecological products in Romania. The authors identified a number of 17 relevant studies performed in Romania in order to help them substantiate their work. They took into account two issues, namely, Ecological Non-Food Products and Ecological Food Products.

Variety perception and attitude toward digital assortments

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (12) ◽  
pp. 1353-1363 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yolande Piris ◽  
Nathalie Guibert
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Positive Attitude ◽  
Experimental Approach ◽  
Product Category ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Perceptions And Attitudes ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Real Product ◽  
The Way

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate consumers’ variety perception for online grocery assortments and, more generally, to better understand consumers’ attitude toward digital assortments. In particular, this research examines the influence of the organization of products that results from assortment structure and display. Design/methodology/approach Starting from the observation that previous work on traditional assortments is not sufficient to understand consumers’ perceptions and attitudes, the paper adopts a hypothetico-deductive approach and develops four hypotheses. These hypotheses are tested using an experimental approach. Findings This research enables us to see that both attitude and variety perception are affected by the way products are organized on a website. Furthermore, contrary to what the literature on traditional assortments allows one to assume, the assortment corresponding to a more positive attitude is not perceived as being the more varied. As a result, our findings reconsider the link between variety perception and consumer assortment evaluation for digital assortments. Research limitations/implications The work is based on data collected for only one product category. It would be interesting to explore other categories also, to determine if the structure of the assortment and variety perception have stable effects. Practical implications The results inform retailers that they must carefully design the display of their digital assortments. If a retailer wants to enhance variety perception, the authors recommend using an assortment organized by brand, or presenting all the products together. If, instead, the goal is to encourage a positive attitude, the retailer should opt for assortments sorted by attribute or that present all products together. Originality/value This research adopts a new orientation on assortment perception and evaluation, considering the specificities involved in digitizing assortments. In addition, this research studies a real product category and puts respondents in experimental conditions close to reality.

Differences between organic and conventional leafy green vegetables perceived by university students

2019 ◽  
Vol 121 (7) ◽  
pp. 1579-1591 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diogo Thimoteo Da Cunha ◽  
Adriane Elisabete Costa Antunes ◽  
Julia Gabriela Da Rocha ◽  
Talita Gaspar Dutra ◽  
Catarina Vezetiv Manfrinato ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Organic Food ◽  
Organic Production ◽  
Blind Test ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Students First ◽  
Likert Scale Response ◽  
Cross Sectional Design ◽  
Organic Food Consumption

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate perceived sensory differences of organic and conventional leafy green vegetables through three sensory tests – blind, informed and inverted and the willingness to buy (WTB) them, and associated factors of organic food consumption by these students. Design/methodology/approach The research had a cross-sectional design with university students. First, a questionnaire with 16 statements was presented to 233 consumers with a five-point Likert scale response. The assertions were categorized into five domains: trust in organic production; trust in conventional production; positive attitude to organic; affordable price; and perceived quality. Afterwards, a hedonic scaling was conducted with 150 consumers, 50 in each type of test with conventional and organic leafy green vegetables: lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.); kale (Brassica oleracea L.); common chicory (Cichorium intybus); and endive (Cichorium endivia). Visual aspect, taste, texture, bitterness and overall liking for all samples were evaluated on a nine-point hedonic scale. Findings In general, the participants did not perceive sensory differences during the blind test, but when the information about the vegetables was provided, higher scores were obtained by those products labelled as organic in the informed test and in the inverted test (conventional labelled as organic). This effect was higher for students with stronger attitudes towards organic food. These results indicated that the perceived differences between organic and conventional leafy green by university students tended to be attitudinal and, therefore, can be greatly influenced by the information provided with the product. Originality/value This research showed that university students were influenced by the organic label, revealing their sensory perception about vegetables. This study had multiple methodological approaches, including hedonic scaling and consumers’ WTB. This combination allowed identifying the students’ attitudinal tendency in relation to their sensory perceptions of organic green leafy green vegetables.

Factors driving indebtedness among small- and medium-sized dairy companies

2020 ◽  
Vol 123 (1) ◽  
pp. 159-175
Author(s):  
Alberto Mazzoleni ◽  
Enrica Pollonini
Keyword(s):  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Financial Structure ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Production Chain ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeWe developed a model to demonstrate how multiple interrelated aspects of a firm influence its recourse to third-party financing, which frequently depends on the characteristics of each food production chain.Design/methodology/approachWe conducted an empirical research on a relevant sample of small- and medium-sized Italian dairy firms. Our research methodology is inspired by the grounded theory (Glaser and Strauss, 1967).FindingsOur findings illustrated that firm indebtedness is the result of intertwined variables, linked to different firm dimensions, including growth, financial structure and economic dynamics.Research limitations/implicationsA portion of the analysed phenomenon is not explained using the sample and econometric tools.Practical implicationsThere are practical implications for the decision-makers in a firm (in particular, the managers and the shareholders) as the model allows to evaluate the influence of a set of mutually interdependent firm variables for the indebtedness level.Originality/valueFirst, we considered the recourse to third-party financing within the context of the systems theory (Millová and Blatný, 2015) and from the perspective of linked causes and mutually connected variables. Second, our research focussed on a well-defined food chain and on features of firms operating in this context. Last, our model considered the impact of the recent economic crisis, which motivated us to review the existing models.

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