The role of consciousness in sustainable food consumption: a cultural comparison

Abstract

Purpose The advent of COVID-19 was followed by an increased demand for organic products along with newfound customer interest in healthy consumption habits. This study aims to explore the impact of multidimensional consciousness on consumers’ attitudes and purchasing intentions toward organic food brands. Design/methodology/approach Given the importance of culture on customers’ decision-making, data were collected from the USA and India to examine the potential cultural differences with respect to organic products. A conceptual model is derived and tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling. Findings The results indicate that organic consciousness (e.g. for organic standards) is the most important predictor of attitudes, whereas environmental consciousness appears to be the prime motive in the formation of purchase intentions. Multidimensional (i.e. organic, environment, health and social) consciousness can predict attitude and intention. However, organic standards and social consciousness fail to directly influence customers’ purchasing intention. The impact of each dimension of consciousness varies between USA and Indian customers. Originality/value This study provides an understanding of customers’ sustainable consumption behavior by clarifying the relative impact of multidimensional perceived values. Also, because of the growth of organic food market globally, the findings of this study offer valuable insights by identifying the cultural difference between Western and Eastern customers’ behavior.

Sustainable purchase intentions towards organic food during Covid-19 pandemic: an exploratory study on Indian consumers

“…In the case of how Covid-19 affected consumers' environmental concerns, the empirical result of the study shows that Covid-19 significantly enhanced consumers' environmental concerns, which is in line with recent studies (Xie et al , 2020; Ben Hassen et al , 2020). Since Covid-19, people have been acting more sustainably and showing an increased interest in environmentally friendly food products (Ahn and Shamim, 2022). People are paying close attention to sustainable brands during the lockdown because Covid-19 has reignited enthusiasm for sustainability that has already grown in previous years (Alexa et al , 2021).…”

“…Environmental concern is a critical driver of consumers' organic food purchase intention (Raj et al, 2020;Ahn and Shamim, 2022) and their actual purchase behaviour (Mohd Suki et al, 2022). The more concerned and involved someone is with the environment, the more likely they will purchase sustainable foods (Raj, 2018;Ben Hassen et al, 2020).…”

“…Organic food is grown and processed without synthetic fertilisers or conventional pesticides. It contains fewer potentially harmful components and is higher in nutrients than conventionally produced meals (Ahn and Shamim, 2022). The demand for organic food has lately surged as a healthier and more environment friendly alternative (Raj et al , 2022).…”

“…Therefore, it is crucial to measure the impact of Covid-19 on consumers' intentions to purchase organic foods while also looking at how Covid-19 may modify some of the critical elements that influence those intentions. Extant organic literature found that environmental concern (Mohd Suki et al , 2022; Jacob-John et al , 2022); health consciousness (Ahn and Shamim, 2022); availability (Raj et al , 2022); and price consciousness (Nath and Agrawal, 2022) are some of the crucial factors that play a significant role in consumer’s organic food purchase intention. Thus, this study proposes a comprehensive theoretical framework by integrating the factors that extant literature found to be essential in influencing consumers’ organic food purchase intention and Covid-19 to understand the association among the variables.…”

“…Covid-19 has enhanced consumers’ awareness of food nutrition and health, resulting in evolved habits leading to more sustainable consumption patterns (Qi and Ploeger, 2021a, 2021b; Raj et al , 2022). Due to this increased awareness globally, organic food sales have witnessed significant growth during Covid-19 (Ahn and Shamim, 2022), as they are considered more nutritious than conventional options, safer to eat and act as an immune booster (Rintyarna, 2021). It has been observed that consumers are purchasing more organic food than pre-pandemic levels (Attwood and Hajat, 2020).…”