Exploring member trust in German community-supported agriculture: a multiple regression analysis

Abstract

Opaque value chains as well as environmental, ethical and health issues and food scandals are decreasing consumer trust in conventional agriculture and the dominant food system. As a result, critical consumers are increasingly turning to community-supported agriculture (CSA) to reconnect with producers and food. CSA is often perceived as a more sustainable, localized mode of food production, providing transparent production or social interaction between consumers and producers. This enables consumers to observe where their food is coming from, which means CSA is considered suitable for building trust in food (production). However, it remains unclear how exactly members’ trust in ‘their’ farmers is built. To determine the factors that predict members’ trust in CSA and its farmers, and the importance of these factors when compared to each other, we conducted a quantitative study among CSA members in Germany and applied a multiple regression model (n = 790). The analysis revealed that trust in CSA and its farmers is influenced by “reputation”, “supply of information”, “direct social interaction” and the “duration of CSA membership”. Other factors such as the “certification status of the CSA farm” and “attitudes toward organic certification” did not significantly predict trust. We conclude that producers’ willingness to be transparent already signals trustworthiness to CSA members and is more important to members than formal signals. Other actors within the food system could learn from CSA principles and foster a transition toward a more regionalized value-based food system to help restore agriculture’s integrity.

Investigating consumers’ experiences with community supported agriculture: Convergent parallel design methods

“…The trust factor here refers to the combination of online and offline ways, which provides members with a condition that people can monitor the growing environment of food by themselves, they can control the source of food they buy, and enhance their trust in the farm. Therefore, trust in the farm is an important factor affecting member retention [ 27 , 104 ].…”

“…Five items of product satisfaction adapted from the study of Hvitsand and Galt, et al [ 40 , 102 ]. Following the research of Zoll et al, and Pole and Gary five items of interaction were chosen [ 21 , 104 ]. The study picked 5 items for trust from the studies of Zoll et al [ 104 ].…”

“…Following the research of Zoll et al, and Pole and Gary five items of interaction were chosen [ 21 , 104 ]. The study picked 5 items for trust from the studies of Zoll et al [ 104 ]. The four items of environmental motivation were adapted from the study of Shelton, Hvitsand [ 28 , 102 ], while the five items of convenience were extracted from the study of Chen, et al, Shi, et al, Baudouin [ 23 , 122 , 123 ].…”

“…The interview questions were based on previous research (e.g., Shelton D., 2012; Christine Hvitsand, 2016; Felix Zoll, et al, 2022) [ 28 , 102 , 104 ]. Participants were first asked to describe in detail the CSA experience they shared on their social platform (e.g., how would you rate the CSA farm event you attended?).…”

“…According to the shared understanding, trust is a psychological state that involves a willingness to be vulnerable based on positive expectations about the intentions or actions of others and is strengthened when the expected behavior is indeed demonstrated [ 103 ]. Providing consumers with easily accessible, understandable, and food-related information is essential to foster trust in the food system and promote sustainable consumption choices [ 104 ]. Peterson’s research shows that trust attributes have a more significant impact on the preferences of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) consumers than other characteristics affecting consumers [ 27 ].…”