Influences on the intention to buy organic food in an emerging market

Abstract

Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between personal values and attitudes in an emerging market. And the authors verified whether the attitude plays a mediating role between personal values and the intention to purchase these products in the same market. Design/methodology/approach-Two surveys were conducted with consumers of organic food in Brazil. The first study was conducted at two organic products fairs and obtained 385 responses. The second study was conducted on the internet and obtained 270 responses. The Portrait Values Questionnaire 21, plus attitude scales and purchase intent regarding organic food, was used. Data were analysed using structural equation modelling. Findings-Significant relationships were found between personal values, such as openness to change (positive influence), conservation (positive), self-promotion (positive) and self-transcendence (negative). Significant relationships were also found between three personal values and the purchase intention of organic food (conservationpositive, self-promotionpositive and self-transcendencenegative), with all of them being mediated by attitude. The effect of openness to change on purchase intention was indirect, being mediated by attitude. Originality/value-The authors noticed two theoretical gaps. The first involves the need to explore the attitude as a mediator in the relationship between the human values proposed by Schwartz (1992, 1994) and the intention to purchase organic food. Another perceived gap was pointed out by Steenkamp et al. (1999), Burgess and Steenkamp (2006) and Sheth (2011). These authors argue that consumption is different in emerging markets to that in more mature markets. This limits the ability to generalise consumer studies conducted in developed countries. This reasoning also applies to organic food.

Understanding consumer resistance to the consumption of organic food. A study of ethical consumption, purchasing, and choice behaviour

“…Prior extended literature in the last decade has examined different issues in regard to organic food and consumers. This includes profiling of organic buyers (Chen, Lobo, & Rajendran, 2014;Hansen et al, 2018;Nandi, Bokelmann, Gowdru, & Dias, 2016;Petrescu, Petrescu-Mag, Burny, & Azadi, 2017), motivations for buying organic food (Hansen et al, 2018;Hasselbach & Roosen, 2015a;Hwang, 2016;Petrescu et al, 2017;Pham, Nguyen, Phan, & Nguyen, 2018a;Scalvedi & Saba, 2018;Sobhanifard, 2018), purchase intentions toward organic food (e.g., Asif, Xuhui, Nasiri, & Ayyub, 2018;Çabuk, Tanrikulu, & Gelibolu, 2014;Ham, Pap, & Stanic, 2018;Hsu & Chen, 2014;Lee & Yun, 2015;Mainardes, de Araujo, Lasso, & Andrade, 2017;Pham et al, 2018;Prakash, Singh, & Yadav, 2018), willingness to pay (Hasselbach & Roosen, 2015a;Lim, Yong, & Suryadi, 2014) and consumer attitude toward consumption (Çabuk et al, 2014;Chekima et al, 2017;Janssen, 2018;Mainardes et al, 2017;Singh & Verma, 2017;Teng & Wang, 2015;Thøgersen, de Barcellos, Perin, & Zhou, 2015b).…”

Mediating Influences of Attitude on Internal and External Factors Influencing Consumers’ Intention to Purchase Organic Foods in China

“…Environmental awareness plays an important role regarding the intention to purchase organic foods [5]. Environmental awareness relates to individuals' emotional viewpoint of the environment, such as their dislike of others' not placing emphasis on the environment [15].…”

“…This study used closed-ended questions that were prepared by adopting products from related literature. The questions used to measure environmental awareness were adapted from Mainardes, et al [5], with minor modifications. Questions that were employed to evaluate health consciousness were adapted from Petrescu, Oncioiu & Petrescu [8], with minor modifications.…”

“…Most consumers are convinced that organic products have more value (e.g., humanism, environmentalism, hedonism, universalism, and benevolence) than non-organic products [5]. In a consumer research survey on Chinese organic consumers in Shanghai and Beijing, 71% of consumers accepted paying a premium of 20% to 50% for organic foods [6].…”

The Role of Ethics on the Green Behaviour of Organic Food in Indonesia: A Case of North Sumatera

“…There is an observational difference between those in developing countries and those in mature countries; consumers in developing countries care less about the environment compared to mature markets (e.g. Mainardes, Araujo, & Lasso, 2017).…”