Choosing organics: a path analysis of factors underlying the selection of organic food among Australian consumers

USA millennial and non-millennial beef consumers perception of beef, pork, and chicken

Millennials have been shown to have distinctly different behaviors; however, factors affecting their liking of beef, pork and chicken has not been fully elucidated. As millennials are current and future animal protein consumers, the question of if they have different drivers of liking for beef, pork, and chicken has not been answered. Top loin steaks cooked to 58.3 or 80 °C; and pork loin chops and chicken breasts cooked to 62.7 or 80 °C were cooked on a flat grill. Beef bottom round roasts cooked to 58.3 or 80°; and pork inside ham roasts and chicken thighs were cooked to 62.7 or 80 °C in a Crock-pot®. A descriptive flavor and texture attribute panel and a consumer central location test in four cities were used to evaluated flavor and texture attributes. Consumers were either millennials or non-millennials, and light or heavy beef-eaters. Meat descriptive flavor and texture attributes differed by cooking method, cut, and internal temperature (P < 0.05). Consumers preferred grilled meat more than meat cooked in the Crock-pot® (P > 0.05). Consumers rated grill flavor, juiciness, and tenderness (P ≥ 0.05) higher in grilled meat. Light beef-eaters, those who ate beef 2 to 4 times per month, rated overall, flavor, and species flavor lower (P < 0.05) than heavy beef-eaters, but consumers liked beef regardless of generational segment or their consumption of beef; however, millennials rated overall, overall flavor, and tenderness liking slightly lower than non-millennials. These results indicate that millennials have similar drivers of liking as non-millennials across beef, pork, and chicken protein sources.

Factors affecting purchase intention of organic food products: Evidence from a developing nation context

The organic food industry has experienced rapid growth in recent decades. The industry is relatively new to developing countries compared to developed countries. Since Iran has the potential to produce organic products, it is essential to study factors that influence consumers' intention to buy them. The present study was designed and implemented for this purpose. In this cross-sectional study, 520 adults were selected using multistage sampling. Path analysis was employed to test a hypothesized model of predictors of consumer purchase intention for organic food. Attitude, environmental concern, and sensory characteristics directly impacted the intention to purchase organic food (p < .01). Knowledge, perceived price, and household size indirectly affected purchase intention through attitude (p < .01). Age indirectly affected purchase intention through health consciousness, environmental concern, perceived price, and sensory characteristics (p < .01). Subjective norms, health consciousness, and the perceived convenience of purchase had a positive and significant effect on purchase intention, directly and indirectly, through the mediating influence of attitude (p = .000). The educational level also affects purchase intention directly and indirectly through knowledge, health consciousness, environmental concern, and subjective norm (p = .000). The most potent total effects belonged to health consciousness, subjective norms, and education, respectively. Overall, the model could explain 47% of the intention variance and 45% of the variance in attitude. Various factors influence Iranian consumers' decision to buy organic food. This information can help professionals make well-informed decisions in policymaking, production, marketing, tourism, and retailing.

Altruism and anti-anthropocentrism shape individual choice intentions for pro-environmental and ethical meat credence attributes

Food consumption patterns are changing as consumers are becoming more aware and interested in sustainable and ethical food production practices. The growing disconnect between primary (livestock) agriculture and society reinforces the importance of research examining the motivations behind consumer purchase behaviors. However, evidence that links latent consumer psychometric factors and observed heterogeneity in concerns for agriculture to individual food purchase intentions remains scarce. We employ large-scale survey data and an advanced Structural Equation Modelling approach to identify and estimate the direct and indirect effects of latent fundamental values and observed consumer characteristics on individuals' attitudes and purchase intentions for certified humane (CH), organic, and non-hormone added labeled meat products. Our findings suggest that human values, including self-transcendence and openness to change, drive farm animal welfare concerns and individuals' choices of certified meat products. Information and engagement in social media positively affect individuals' perceptions and concerns for farm animal welfare. Individuals guided by altruistic and anti-anthropocentric norms are more oriented towards sustainable and ethical food shopping behaviors.

Food values: How they relate to legality

Introduction

A value is an implicit principle that arises from judgments about everything around people, whereas a value system is a set of values ordered according to personal preferences. In this context, values can be seen as the adherence to an implicit or explicit set of rules, many of which are related to legality. In this study, legality is understood as the willingness of citizens to abide by the existing set of formal laws. A value system can guide consumers' food choices and provide information on their preferences. In this way, the citizens' food value system can influence the decisions of producers and policymakers.

Methods

The present study investigates the food value system of a sample of young adults using the Best-Worst Scale method.

Results

Values such as environmental impact rank high in their value system, indicating that adherence to a set of implicit rules and regulations concerning the environment are very important values when choosing food.

Discussion

Although adherence to a legal system that protects a public good (the environment) is considered an essential value, legality per se is not. This might suggest, on the one hand, a lack of awareness of legality issues in the Italian food system and, on the other hand, a strong interest in issues perceived as more urgent.

Determining food tourism consumption of wild mushrooms in Yunnan Provence, China: A projection-pursuit approach

As the first of the six elements of tourism, food is an important part of tourism activities. As an important driving force for the economic development of tourist destinations, food tourism plays an increasingly important role in tourism and has gradually become an important hub connecting tourists, local residents, and tourist destinations. This study takes Yunnan wild mushrooms as a case, obtained data through a questionnaire survey and applied a projection pursuit model (PPM) to explore the driving factors affecting food tourism consumption. Research shows that the quality and abundance of gourmet resources are the most important factors affecting tourist consumption of gourmet foods, and the needs and experiences of tourists also promote their consumption, to a certain extent. This provides a guide for Yunnan Province to expand the source market. Second, we compared PPM with structural equation modeling (SEM) and demonstrated that the former requires less data than the latter and is immune to nonlinearities, interaction effects, and the researchers' excessive prior knowledge. This makes PPM more robust, anti-interference, accurate, and objective than SEM when dealing with problems. Finally, we put forward reasonable suggestions from four aspects of government, enterprises, local residents, and tourists, which provide an effective way for Yunnan Province to develop food tourism. In addition, PPM's advantages in data selection, data processing, and result stability fill the gaps in data processing in the tourism field.

Analysis of the impacts of social class and lifestyle on consumption of organic foods in South Korea

The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of social class and lifestyle on the consumption of organic foods in South Korea. Consumer behavior regarding organic foods is influenced by lifestyle, as well as income-level and education. This study provides a new perspective on the socio-economic structure of organic food consumption patterns in urban areas by extracting information from big data. The organic food consumption patterns are then analyzed through visualization of the geographical distribution of organic food stores. In addition, this study estimates the effects of social class and lifestyle variables on the consumption of organic foods based on survey data. This study finds that social class characteristics are factors that influence the consumption of organic foods. However, individual lifestyle plays a more important role in actual buying behavior.

Consumers’ Purchase Intention of Suboptimal Food Using Behavioral Reasoning Theory: A Food Waste Reduction Strategy

Food waste has attained considerable attention globally during the last decade, owing to its environmental and social impacts. Consumers’ low preference to purchase edible fruits and vegetables with unusual appearance, discoloration, etc., technically referred to as suboptimal food, significantly contributes to food waste. Consumers are more likely to reject suboptimal food while purchasing food, resulting in unnecessary food waste. However, consumers’ perceptions of whether or not to purchase suboptimal food are still unidentified. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to explore the factors influencing as motivators (reason for) and barriers (reason against) in explaining the consumers’ purchase intention toward suboptimal food using Behavioral Reasoning Theory (BRT). This study conducts a questionnaire survey from 650 consumers using a purposive sampling method. The Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) is used to analyze the data. The findings support the proposed theoretical framework and confirm its robustness in exploring the factors influencing the consumers’ purchase intention of suboptimal food. The findings suggest that the factors including values, reason for (environmental concern and price consciousness), reason against (quality inferior and unappealing appearance), and attitude have direct and indirect influence on consumers’ purchase intention of suboptimal food. Based on the results, the study highlights several insights for policymakers, marketers, business professionals, and practitioners to promote suboptimal food in order to reduce food waste.

Organic Food Consumption During the Complementary Feeding Period and Respiratory or Allergic Diseases Up to Age 5.5 Years in the ELFE Cohort

Objectives: To assess (1) whether a history of allergy is associated with feeding with organic foods (OFs) during the complementary feeding period and (2) whether OF consumption in infancy is related to the incidence of respiratory and allergic diseases up to age 5.5 years.

Study Design: Analyses involved more than 8,000 children from the nationwide Étude Longitudinale Française depuis l'Enfance (ELFE) birth cohort. Associations between family or infant history of allergy and frequency of OF consumption during the complementary feeding period were assessed with multinomial logistic regression. Associations between OF consumption in infancy and respiratory or allergic diseases between age 1 and 5.5 years were assessed with logistic regression.

Results: A family history of allergy or cow's milk protein allergy at age 2 months was strongly and positively related to feeding with OF during the complementary feeding period. Feeding with OF during the complementary feeding period was not related to respiratory diseases or eczema up to age 5.5 years. Compared to infrequent consumption of both organic and commercial complementary foods, frequent OF consumption without commercial complementary foods was associated with a higher risk of food allergy, whereas frequent commercial complementary food consumption without OF use was associated with a lower risk of food allergy.

Conclusions: This study suggests that a history of allergy strongly affects feeding with OF during the complementary feeding period. However, OF consumption was not associated with reduced odds of food allergy later in childhood but could be associated with increased odds, which should be examined more deeply.

Similarity Effect and Purchase Behavior of Organic Food Under the Mediating Role of Perceived Values in the Context of COVID-19

Due to the influence of COVID-19, people pay more attention to the balance between human and nature and pursue more healthy, environmental and nutritional sustainable products (such as organic food). However, the mainstream consumption of organic food is far less, especially in developing countries like China. Therefore, it is urgent to take effective measures to promote the development of China's organic food market. This current study investigated the relationships between consumers' similarity (i.e., information anxiety, uncertainty, and sustainable consumption attitude), perceived values (i.e., functional value, health value, and environmental value) and organic purchasing behavior based on the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) theoretical model and information similarity effect. And considering gender differences in consumers' similarity, perceived values and organic purchasing behavior. Meanwhile, the mediating effects of perceived values on the relationship between consumers' similarity and purchasing behavior were also discussed, considering the background of COVID-19. Data were collected using structured questionnaire survey in first-tier cities in China. A total of 344 consumers of organic foods participated in the study. Structural equation modeling was employed for data analysis. The results indicated the significant association of information anxiety, uncertainty and sustainable consumption attitude with perceived values. And perceived values and sustainable consumption attitude had a positively significant influence on purchase behavior. In addition, environmental value played mediating effects in the relationships between organic purchasing behavior and information anxiety, uncertainty and sustainable consumption attitude. And the impact of sustainable consumption attitude and environmental value on organic purchasing behavior differed in gender. The research not only provides novel insights for understanding organic consumption, but also provides reference for organic sellers to develop sales strategies and policy makers to formulate policies to guide organic consumption, which are conducive to promoting China's organic food industry.

Characteristics associated with feeding organic foods during complementary feeding: the nationwide Étude Longitudinale Française depuis l'Enfance (ELFE) birth cohort

Organic food consumption and its effects on health remain understudied in adults and in children. The aim of this study was to describe family characteristics associated with feeding infants organic foods during the complementary feeding period. The analysis included 9764 children from the French Étude Longitudinale Française depuis l'Enfance (ELFE) birth cohort. In addition to telephone interviews conducted at 2, 12 and 24 months, a monthly questionnaire about milk feeding and complementary foods (including organic foods) was completed by parents between 3 and 10 months. Associations between family characteristics and feeding with organic foods during complementary feeding were analysed by multivariable multinomial logistic regression. Overall, 51 % of infants never consumed organic food during the complementary feeding period (up to 10 months), 24 % sometimes, 15 % often and 9 % always or almost always. As compared with infants never fed organic foods, those 'often' or 'always' fed organic foods were born to older mothers, with higher education level or family income, and lower pre-pregnancy BMI. As compared with never-smoking women, women who had stopped smoking before pregnancy were more likely to feed their infant organic foods. Feeding with organic foods was also related to long breast-feeding duration and later introduction to complementary foods. To conclude, associations between feeding with organic foods and family socio-economic position as well as infant feeding practices need to be considered when studying the impact of organic foods on children's health and development.

What motivates consumers to buy organic foods? Results of an empirical study in the United States

Consumers perceive organic foods as more nutritious, natural, and environmentally friendly than non-organic or conventional foods. Since organic foods developed, studies on consumer behavior and organic foods have contributed significantly to its development. The presesent study aims to identify the factors affecting consumer buying behaviour toward organic foods in the United States. Survey data are collected from 770 consumers in the Midwest, United States. ANOVA, multiple linear regression, factor analysis, independent t-tests, and hierarchical multiple regression analysis are used to analyze the collected primary data. This research confirms health consciousness, consumer knowledge, perceived or subjective norms, and perception of price influence consumers’ attitudes toward buying organic foods. Availability is another factor that affected the purchase intentions of consumers. Age, education, and income are demographic factors that also impact consumers’ buying behavior. The findings help marketers of organic foods design strategies to succeed in the US’s fast-growing organic foods market.

Investigating Consumer Demand and Willingness to Pay for Fresh, Local, Organic, and “On-the-Stalk” Edamame

Introduction of locally adapted, commercially viable edamame varieties can allow it to be marketed as fresh, local, organic, or on the stalk. Here, we utilized a one-and-one-half bounded (OOHB) elicitation format to estimate mean willingness to pay (WTP) for these external attributes in relation to a vector of explanatory variables. Results showed 84-, 85-, and 28-cent premiums for fresh, local, and organic edamame (10 oz). Pro-environmental attitudes drove WTP for all three of these attributes, while shopping location significantly increased mean WTP for fresh and organic attributes. A 40-cent price discount was observed for the “on-the-stalk” attribute, suggesting that convenience also plays an important role in marketing edamame. The results suggest that more research regarding edamame demand is warranted.

Good Attitudes Are Not Good Enough: An Ethnographical Approach to Investigate Attitude-Behavior Inconsistencies in Sustainable Choice

This research explores reasons for the attitude-behavior gap of consumers involved with sustainable food choice. For this purpose, the Food Choice Process Model by was applied. The study follows a qualitative approach. Data were collected through ethnographical fieldwork. Over the course of nine months, researchers repeatedly accompanied six families. Each visit lasted several hours and included multiple in-depth discussions, food shopping observations and participation in everyday food behavior. Findings show that beliefs, positive attitudes, and behavioral intentions do play an important role for sustainable choice. Rooted in one's personal life course experiences and the socio-cultural conditions one grew up in, however, their determinacy is heavily impaired by household realities and by various personal and situational factors. Sustainability attributes, even if dominant on an abstract level, tend to be inferior for actual choice, especially when competing with the taste, price, and preferences of other household members. Product evaluation and food choice are seldomly a result of comprehensive information processing, but rather based on simplifications and strategies. Conflicts are aggravated by competing sustainability values and attributes. Confronted with diverse product-related, personal, external, and situational influences, sustainable choices come with conflicts, tensions, and ambivalences forcing participants to make compromises and remain flexible in their decisions. However, participants were aware of their inadequacies and accept personal inconsistencies, without showing much dissonance. This research extends current knowledge about the impact and the origin of attitudes towards and barriers for sustainable food choice behavior that help to understand the complexity of the phenomena in its natural setting. It points out practical implications for practitioners, updates the theoretical framework, and can widen researchers' perspective on sustainable food choice behavior.

Organic food consumption and gluten-free diet, is there a link? Results in French adults without coeliac disease

The rising popular belief that gluten is unhealthy has led to growth in gluten avoidance in people without coeliac disease. Little information is available on their dietary profiles and their dietary behaviours. Our aim was to compare the consumption of organic foods between gluten avoiders and non-avoiders, and their places of food purchase. We described their sociodemographic and dietary profiles. The study population included participants of the NutriNet-Santé cohort who completed both a food exclusion questionnaire and an organic semi-quantitative FFQ (n 23 468). Food intake and organic food consumption ratios were compared using multivariable adjusted ANCOVA models. Associations between gluten avoidance and organic food consumption as well as places of food purchase were investigated with multivariable logistic regression. Participants avoiding gluten were more likely to be women and had a healthier dietary profile. Organic food consumption was higher among gluten avoiders (48·50 % of total diet for total avoiders, 17·38 % for non-avoiders). After adjustments for confounders, organic food consumption and purchase in organic stores were positively associated with gluten avoidance: adjusted OR (aOR)Q5 v.Q1 organic food = 4·95; 95 % CI 3·70, 6·63 and aORorganic stores v.supermarkets = 1·82; 95 % CI 1·42, 2·33 for total avoiders. Our study highlights that individuals avoiding gluten are high organic consumers and frequently purchase their foods in organic stores which propose an extended offer of gluten-free food. Further research is needed to determine the underlying common motivations and the temporality of the dietary behaviours of healthy people avoiding gluten.

Antecedents of Consumers’ Purchase Intention towards Organic Food: Integration of Theory of Planned Behavior and Protection Motivation Theory

Before consequences of climate change continue to intensify and increasingly affect the entire planet, immediate action must be taken. For instance, adopt the pro-environmental behaviors such as purchase of organic food to minimize the harmful human-caused impacts to the environment. This paper aims to determine the factors that influence the purchase intention of organic food in Malaysia by applying the theory of planned behavior and the protection motivation theory. A total of 300 questionnaires were collected and PLS-SEM was employed to test the structural relationships. Consequences of climate change and health threats were not the primary concerns among Malaysians when deciding whether to purchase organic food. Results show that perceived vulnerability, response efficacy, self-efficacy, subjective norm, and attitude affect purchase intention towards organic food. Consumers were more likely to have positive attitude towards organic food when they have adequate information on vulnerability of a threat and its consequences. The findings provide insights on the antecedents and outcomes of purchase intention towards organic food particularly in Malaysia. Although predictive power of perceived factors such as perceived rewards and perceived efficacy have been extensively researched in the past, there are limited studies that integrate both theories that simultaneously investigate antecedents of consumers’ purchase intention towards organic food.

The motivations of visiting upscale restaurants during the COVID-19 pandemic: The role of risk perception and trust in government

Despite the massive impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on hospitality industry, only limited papers empirically examined consumer reactions to current pandemic in the context of restaurants. To fill this gap, the primary aim of this paper is to reveal how individuals' intentions to visiting upscale restaurants are affected by dining out motivations under the COVID-19 pandemic. The second aim is to investigate the moderating role of risk perceptions of COVID-19 and trust in government in building relationships. The research was conducted in Istanbul, a city deeply affected by the coronavirus. Data gathered from 681 people living Istanbul were analyzed via structural equation modeling and multi-group analysis. Findings indicated that two motivations-namely, sociability and affect regulation-have positive impacts on visit intention toward an upscale restaurant. Consumers' COVID-19 risk perception and their trust in government moderate the relationship between some motivational factors and visit intention. The study makes a significant contribution to the literature in terms of both managing the risk perceptions of consumers and building trust in government.

Organic consumption through ICT: A moderated mediation model of consumer attitude and perceived irritation

BACKGROUND: The proliferation of ICT has transformed customers’ buying patterns. The organic consumption patterns based on online consumers’ reviews were reviewed through moderated mediation model. This research paper examines the mediating role of consumer attitude in the relationship between online consumers’ reviews and organic consumption. It further examines, if perceived irritation moderates this effect. METHODS: Data were collected from 287 respondents who were experienced in online buying of organic products. Applied the PROCESS macros in IBM SPSS Statistics 23 to assess latent hypothesized relationships. IMPLICATIONS: These results have urged marketers to reconsider their strategies to treat modern consumers and scheming more artistic web pages braced with social feedback mechanism to stream organic consumption. CONCLUSIONS: The results supported that online consumers’ reviews positively influences organic consumption of Chinese. However, this effect is stronger when perceived irritation of webpages is low.

The Connections between Ecological Values and Organic Food: Bibliometric Analysis and Systematic Review at the Start of the 21st Century

This paper addresses the field of study relating to ecological values and the production, distribution, and consumption of organic food products, aiming to contribute to the consolidation of scientific knowledge in this area of study. This article refers to a bibliographic review in the Web of Science database. It also involves bibliometric analysis of the results of this bibliographic review using the NVivo program. The main results classify the number of articles published on the basis of the methodology used, the number of countries in the analysis units, the central themes of the study, and the type of organic food considered in the bibliography analyzed. It also classifies the articles with the greatest impact in relation to the number of bibliographic references, in addition to detailing the universities, institutions, and journals with the largest number of contributions in the field of study. The research concludes by identifying that most of the articles apply a quantitative methodology and address generic aspects of organic food. This study identifies a need for further research in relation to specific organic foods, and for articles that introduce comparative analysis at the international level.

The COVID-19 Lockdown Effect on the Intention to Purchase Sustainable Brands

After the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 pandemic on 11 March 2020, almost all European countries entered a lockdown. This context caused sudden changes at multiple levels, affecting the way people were working, buying, studying and even the way they were interacting. Moreover, during lockdown people showed a special attention to local and sustainable brands giving momentum to the interest on sustainability, that has been increasing in the last years. Therefore, this study aims to determine the intention of buying sustainable and local brands due to the COVID-19 lockdown. An online survey was conducted for two groups of young adults from Spain and Romania, between April and June 2020. The questionnaire respects the methodological recommendations of Azjen (1985) and related literature on how to construct a survey based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and it aims to gather information about the three main constructs that determine the individual’s behavioral intention: attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control. The results suggest that both Spanish and Romanian samples intended to buy more local and sustainable brands, despite the slightly different attitudes. Moreover, the data show that both subjective norms and perceived behavioral control influence attitudes toward sustainable and local brands, and hence, indirectly the intention to buy sustainable products. The outcomes are adding to the literature on sustainability, and understanding the effects of COVID-19 on consumer behavior. Additionally, the results can help better understand the importance of sustainability in Spain and Romania, and therefore, offering support to practitioners in building policies and programs that encourage a sustainable lifestyle.

Food Innovation Adoption and Organic Food Consumerism-A Cross National Study between Malaysia and Hungary

In order to meet the rising global demand for food and to ensure food security in line with the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goal 2, technological advances have been introduced in the food production industry. The organic food industry has benefitted from advances in food technology and innovation. However, there remains skepticism regarding organic foods on the part of consumers, specifically on consumers' acceptance of food innovation technologies used in the production of organic foods. This study measured factors that influence consumers' food innovation adoption and subsequently their intention to purchase organic foods. We compared the organic foods purchase behavior of Malaysian and Hungarian consumers to examine differences between Asian and European consumers. The findings show food innovation adoption as the most crucial predictor for the intention to purchase organic foods in Hungary, while social lifestyle factor was the most influential in Malaysia. Other factors such as environmental concerns and health consciousness were also examined in relation to food innovation adoption and organic food consumerism. This paper discusses differences between European and Asian organic foods consumers and provides recommendations for stakeholders.

Are trust and consumption values important for buyers of organic food? A comparison of regular buyers, occasional buyers, and non-buyers

Although many countries have promoted organic farming for its benefits, organic food remains a niche market. This study investigates the drivers of purchasing organic food by examining if and how consumers' consumption values influence the food choices of regular buyers, occasional buyers, and non-buyers of organic food. We use consumption values as a theoretical lens for classifying different motives for purchasing organic food. Data were collected using in-depth interviews with 27 Vietnamese participants who were comparable in terms of their awareness of, their ability to afford, and their access to, organic food. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the qualitative data. The study advances research in organic food consumption by showing that trust and distrust in the food system, a much wider concept than trust in food labelling, is a determinant of consumption values of organic food, and therefore a determinant of organic food choice. It also makes a valuable contribution to the organic consumption values literature by showing a clear difference in the importance of perceived consumption values across regular buyers, occasional buyers, and non-buyers of organic food. Furthermore, the study advances Sheth's (1991) theory of consumption values by providing a more nuanced understanding of how consumption values can be interrelated.

Consumer attitude towards organic food: determinants of healthy behaviour

The study's main purpose is to determine the factors affecting individuals’ attitudes towards organic products from the perspective of healthy behaviour. The population of the research is people purchasing organic products from sales points in Istanbul province. The data was gathered with a face-to-face questionnaire with 424 people shopping in organic product markets, one of the quantitative research patterns. The data were analysed and interpreted with SPSS and AMOS programs, frequency analysis, descriptive statistics, explanatory factor analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis techniques. The factors were determined by using explanatory factor analysis. The construct validity revealed by the explanatory factor analysis was also verified by the confirmatory factor analysis. Ensuring validity and reliability shows the existence of a structural relationship between the factors affecting the attitudes of consumers towards organic products. According to the explanatory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis results, the factors affecting consumers' attitudes towards organic products are gathered under 5 different dimensions. These dimensions are «consciousness», «price», «inaccessibility», «negative attitude» and «standardization». It is concluded that the Sisli Organic Market is the best-known point. Additionally, it was concluded that the most frequently used sources of information are friends’ advice, and the most preferred organic products are organic vegetables and fruits. Finally, the majority stated that they had paid attention to the organic certificates. With the increasing awareness of healthy life in recent years, individuals have attached great importance to organic products. The study tries to fill the gap in the literature in terms of Turkish consumers' attitudes towards organic product consumption and their sales point preferences. Another originality of the study is that field research has been conducted at the points where organic products are sold

A Profile of Organic Food Consumers—Serbia Case-Study

In this paper, the authors analyze products from the organic farming system from consumption and consumers. The research aimed to determine the characteristics of the Serbian organic market, discover attitudes, practices, and features of different organic food consumers and identify factors that influence organic products’ purchase. This was done following the theoretical framework of green marketing, which refers to the holistic management process responsible for identifying, anticipating, and satisfying customers and society’s needs for profitably and sustainability. The research for this study was conducted in Novi Sad and Belgrade in late 2015 and early 2016. The sample included 496 respondents over 18 years of age, varying levels of education, marital status, and other sociodemographic characteristics. The sample was divided into three internally homogeneous yet mutually heterogeneous clusters according to three criteria: factors that generally influence their food purchasing decisions, their opinions regarding characteristics of food products and their eating habits, and their sociodemographic characteristics. The analysis shows that organic consumers can be divided into three clusters with corresponding components related to aspects of products that are sold in the Serbian market. In Cluster 1, respondents who assign the least importance to whether they eat “healthy” products and to the number of calories in those products are presented. Cluster 2 respondents care most about what they consume, and in Cluster 3, respondents assign importance to eat “healthy” food. The findings of this study show that the decision whether to buy organic products or not is predominantly determined by the price and quality of products (which is also related to the socio-economic characteristics of consumers) so that eco-marketing should therefore be more directed towards those consumers who are already “more environmentally and health-conscious”, because in this way, the desired results of improving the domestic market of organic products will be achieved.

Factors Influencing Consumers’ Attitude Towards Biopreservatives

Biopreservatives have received considerable attention in recent years as natural alternatives to synthetic preservatives. This seems to be a response to an increased demand for natural and organic foods. This study investigates the potential market for products enriched with biopreservatives in Italy. Data were collected from a sample of Italian consumers (N = 479) using a web-based survey. The main results indicate that 64% of respondents declared themselves to be willing to consume biopreservatives only if they replaced synthetic preservatives. Principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to reduce the number of variables. The factorial scores of the components obtained from PCA were used for a Cluster Analysis related to consumers’ perceptions about biopreservatives. Moreover, the survey highlights that the respondents had positive opinions about biopreservatives, although they showed difficulty in perceiving the exact meaning of the term. The study could provide useful implications for food manufacturers and facilitate the design of marketing strategies for foods enriched with biopreservatives.

Characteristics and Motivations of Consumers of Direct Purchasing Channels and the Perceived Barriers to Alternative Food Purchase: A Cross-Sectional Study in the Ecuadorian Andes

Modern food systems generate social inequalities in the access to healthy food, but some families maintain behaviors that provide an alternative to these systems. Agroecological consumers (ACs) and non-agroecological direct market consumers (DMCs) are key actors in alternative food systems. We assessed the characteristics of ACs and DMCs using data from a representative sample of households in Ibarra, Quito and Riobamba (n = 2914). We also deepened the exploration of motivations for adopting these practices through mini-ethnographies with families who were identified as ACs or DMCs (n = 15). We found motivations related to personal health problems, food quality (e.g., taste, freshness), and safety (e.g., avoiding pesticides) to be key. Other motivations were price and community solidarity with farmers. Barriers included inconvenience, lack of awareness, and insecurity of market location. Using Chi-square tests, we found differences between ACs and DMCs on place of residence, education, employment, health, and diet. Controlling for socioeconomic and health variables using logistic regressions, we found DMC dietary habits to be similar to the remainder of the study population, except that they were less likely to eat processed foods less frequently (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 0.6, 95% confidence interval 0.4–0.9). In contrast, ACs were more likely than the remainder of the study population to control their salt intake (3.2, 1.9–5.2) and have greater knowledge of nutrition labels (2.8, 1.7–4.6). They were more likely to eat traditional foods frequently (1.9, 1.1–3.3), fruit and vegetables daily (1.6, 1.0–2.8), and processed foods less frequently (2.7, 1.5–4.8). Hence, these two types of alternative food provisioning practices (AC and DMC) were adopted by different types of consumers, with heterogenous motivations and food consumption practices. These findings have implications for public health initiatives aiming to scale up the nutrition and ecological potential of alternative food systems.

An ISM modeling for factors affecting the purchase of green products

Purpose

Dynamic changes in the marketing scenario lead to the changes in consumer purchase preferences and it is often observed that consumers get more inclinations for the purchase of green products. This paper aims to focus on the influence of factors affecting the purchase of green products.

Design/methodology/approach

This study has used two different research phases. The first phase includes identification of factors from the extensive review of the literature followed by the second phase entailing the interpretive structural modeling (ISM).

Findings

The identification phase led to 20 factors after the literature review and in consultation with 3 academicians and 2 industry experts. In the second phase, ISM is applied to establish a hierarchical paradigm for the factors affecting the purchase of green products and to develop the contextual relationships among those factors.

Research limitations/implications

This study can be used by researchers, academicians, marketing practitioners and environmentalists for filling the academic gap and to increase the usage of green products among consumers to a higher extent.

Originality/value

This study is based on the ISM providing significant insights related to factors affecting the purchase of green products. It provides valuable knowledge to marketing researchers and practitioners.

The Potential Influence of Organic Food Consumption and Intention-Behavior Gap on Consumers' Subjective Wellbeing

This paper applied a self-administered survey to investigate the impact of organic food behavior and the intention-behavior gap in organic food consumption (OIBG) on consumers’ subjective wellbeing including physical, emotional, social and intellectual dimensions. The survey was carried out with 385 consumers. Furthermore, the study conducted a food test to explore the different impacts of organic and conventional food samples on the mental and physical conditions of consumers’ wellbeing applying a psychological questionnaire. The food test took place in a sensory lab with a panel of 63 untrained German consumers. The research findings demonstrated a positive impact of the organic food consumption on consumers’ subjective wellbeing, while no negative impact of OIBG has been perceived. Moreover, during the food test, consumers distinguished no differences between the impact of organic and conventional stimuli on their mental and physical status. Understanding how consumers perceive the impact of organic food consumption on their wellbeing is one important aspect. However, in the interest of narrowing the OIBG, it is more important to understand how consumers perceive the impact of this gap on their daily-life wellbeing.

The Transition from Natural/Traditional Goods to Organic Products in an Emerging Market

The consumption of natural, green, organic products represents an increasingly important subject for contemporary society, organizations, consumers and researchers. Demographic and cultural factors, traditions and consumption habits, along with the individual desire to adopt a healthy lifestyle in accordance with principles of sustainability and environmental protection are relevant vectors in the search, choice and consumption of green products. Producers and retailers have identified the interest of modern consumers, introducing a varied range of green grocery and non-food products to match expectations and needs. Using the case study method, this paper highlights the transition of the organic market in an emerging European country: Romania. During the era of state economy, organic and natural products were interchangeable, but after liberalization of the market, the rise of the organic sector began with the establishment of inspection and certification bodies, establishment of procedures, and the appearance of specialized agricultural farms, processors and sellers. Consumers understood soon enough the advantages and benefits of organic products and a healthy lifestyle, and the market for organic products has been developing steadily. We show the current state of development and discuss its evolution, outlining the different market statistics, and making recommendations regarding future development possibilities.

The Analysis of Marketing Factors Influencing Consumers' Preferences and Acceptance of Organic Food Products-Recommendations for the Optimization of the Offer in a Developing Market

Considering the benefits of the organic production system, it is recognized as one of the main drivers of future economic development. However, the imbalance between demand and supply at the local market level represents one of the serious obstacles that prevents its future growth. Therefore, this article examines the key factors related to the main elements of the offer that have the strongest impact on consumer preferences and acceptance of organic food products. In that sense, organic product, price, distribution channel, and promotion are considered the main elements of the offer and are analyzed in this paper from the consumer preferences perspective. Further, this article provides insight into some of the sensory properties of the offer that are important to consumers. Finally, it gives recommendations for optimization of the offer on the organic food market based on the analysis of the influence of each of those elements (product, price, distribution, and promotion) on consumer acceptance of organic products and making purchasing decisions. The data were collected using a questionnaire, and analyzed using the structural equation model (SEM). The results revealed that price and promotion have the strongest impact on consumer acceptance and buying decisions. Further analysis revealed that attitudes towards organic food products, price/quality ratio, distribution barriers, and modern media as a promotion instrument are the factors that have the most significant impact on consumer perception and attitudes towards the available market offer. These findings can help producers and other decision makers to better understand what creates added value of the organic food products in consumers’ mind and therefore make an offer that is in line with their expectations and preferences, which is recognized as one of the main prerequisites for the acceptance and purchase of organic food products.

Sustainable Value Creation in the Food Chain: A Consumer Perspective

The growth of diet-related diseases is becoming an important societal concern and a challenge for a more sustainable society. This has developed important trends in food consumption, including the increasing demand for food with a natural attribute and with health claims (e.g., enriched food). Consumers tend to evaluate these two attributes as superior ones and tend to pay a premium price for them. Accordingly, the value added by producers also will upturn if they take into consideration the consumers’ preferences. However, to the best of our knowledge, consumer preference over the two types of products (natural and enriched) is not yet completely clear. The present study tries to contribute to reducing this gap by analyzing Hungarian consumer preferences for natural fruit juices over enriched ones and exploring the drivers which guide consumer choices for the two attributes. For this purpose, we analyze young consumers’ willingness-to-pay (WTP) for natural and enriched fruit juices using a seemingly unrelated regression (SUR) to derive the two value-added activities. Our results show that the fruit juice with the natural attribute is preferred over the enriched one, and that there is a common feature behind the perception of the two attributes, namely the healthiness. Based on the natural fruit juice characteristic, these results open space for local production in gardens or in small-medium sized farms. This could have beneficial effects, both for sustainable development of rural areas and for the promotion of healthy food systems towards sustainability in food consumption.

Our health, our planet: a cross-sectional analysis on the association between health consciousness and pro-environmental behavior among health professionals

One possible predictive factor that affects both pro-environmental behavior and health behavior is health consciousness (a psychological state where an individual is aware of and involved in his/her health condition). We examined the relationship between health consciousness and two pro-environmental behaviors (recycling and green purchasing) within health professionals in a Japanese large hospital. Multivariate linear regression analysis revealed a significant association between health consciousness and recycling behavior, while there was no association between health consciousness and green purchasing behavior. We assume that health consciousness can certainly be a factor promoting pro-environmental behavior, but that it may have been insufficient to cause green purchasing, because of the organizational norm of recycling in the Japanese context. Given that there is previous evidence about the relationship between health consciousness and health behavior, health consciousness might be a predictive factor that encourages both health behavior and pro-environmental behavior simultaneously.

Important Influencing and Decision Factors in Organic Food Purchasing in Hungary

Organic farming is one of the most developed and accepted production systems from the aspect of sustainability. In this study, the Hungarian organic market was segmented on the basis of attitude-relating motivations of organic food purchasing. A descriptive statistic was used for the whole sample, and factor and cluster analysis was applied to segment the organic consumers. A sample of 247 questionnaires was processed to investigate the behavior and characteristics of Hungarian organic food consumers. Our aim was to explore the Hungarian organic consumer market from the aspect of trust in labels, we would like to find answers to the questions “Which kind of information consumers check on the product?” and “What are the main influencing factors of purchase decisions?”. According to our research, the majority of organic food consumers say that color is not as important as taste or freshness, so they do not associate the color of the product with the freshness of the product. Based on the factor analysis, four clusters could be separated that show different shopping motives and differ in their attitude towards food shopping. We named these clusters: Health-conscious, Disappointed, Safe and free food eaters, and Quality-price comparators. Based on the recognized consumer segments, different information should be communicated to consumers so that they can use it in their consumer decisions. Our research suggests that branding or product labeling is not as important to organic food consumers as we previously thought.

The Defining Role of Environmental Self-Identity among Consumption Values and Behavioral Intention to Consume Organic Food

Consumption values and self-identity are the essential antecedents of consumer sustainable behavior. By integrating the theory of consumption values and self-identity approach, this research explores the relationship among consumption values (functional, social, conditional, epistemic and emotional), environmental self-identity and the behavioral intention to consume organic food. The data was collected from 406 organic food consumers through a structured questionnaire in Lahore (Pakistan). Using the PLS-SEM approach, we find that conditional value, emotional value, epistemic value, and functional value quality have a significant positive influence on consumers’ behavioral intention to consume organic food. We further find that environmental self-identity significantly mediates the structural relationship between consumption values and the behavioral intention to consume organic food. Our results imply that the interventions targeting environmental self-identity are a promising way to promote sustainable consumption behavior. Our findings also have important implications for the development of the organic food market based on consumption values and self-identities.

How does health consciousness influence attitudes of elderly people towards traceable agricultural products? Perspectives of the technology acceptance model

Recently, internet usage among elderly adults has been increasing and becoming more mainstream; with the ageing population in Taiwan, concerns over health are on the rise, and this is directly related to the products that people eat. The main objectives of this study were to develop an integrated extensibility model incorporating the technology acceptance model and to investigate the impact of health consciousness on elderly adults’ acceptance of technology in relation to traceability information websites in Taiwan. This study used structural equation modelling to analyse the data. The results revealed that elderly people with high health consciousness and high perceived usefulness had more positive attitudes towards products than those with low health consciousness and low perceived usefulness, and those with high health consciousness and high perceived ease of use had more positive attitudes than those with low health consciousness and low perceived ease of use in relation to the agricultural product traceability system.

Developing the Romanian Organic Market: A Producer’s Perspective

Romania’s organic market increasingly resembles its Western counterparts: a vegetarian diet, disease prevention through consumption of organic food produced according to specific standards, preferring quality over quantity—all relevant factors influencing purchasing behaviour. It is the task of consumerist organisations to educate consumers on the benefits of the above factors, a process influenced by social and cultural trends, experience, lifestyle, motivations and preferences. The market is attractive to domestic producers offering an increasing assortment of organic food types. This paper aims to highlight the most relevant features of the rapidly expanding Romanian organic market from the perspective of organic producers. To this effect, it reviews the literature dealing with the main factors influencing consumer behaviour and attitudes. The qualitative research among producers reveals strategic directions pursued in order to understand and adapt to market characteristics and dynamics. The results allow better understanding of organic consumers’ behaviour in the emerging markets and highlight strategies to increase market success. Healthy lifestyle, desire to protect the environment, product quality and attractive prices are all important factors determining consumption of organic products. Whilst aware of these factors, producers point to the lack of education for developing an organic mentality and identifying organic products, poor distribution of products and lack of financial support across the entire logistics chain.

Serbian Organic Food Consumer Research and Bioeconomy Development

The bioeconomy has been introduced as a potential answer to some of the issues that modern mankind is confronted with: Climate change, industrial restructuring, food security, health, and energy security. In its goal to establish sustainable green growth, the bioeconomy relies heavily on the agriculture and food sector, whereas a special place belongs to organic food. Increasing organic food consumption depends on understanding organic food consumers. Research of their profile, both worldwide and in Serbia, has failed to find their common characteristics. In this paper, results of research with the first application of a logit model in defining domestic organic food consumers are presented. The results showed they were urban, highly educated, and with higher income. The greatest obstacle for increasing their future consumption of organic food was its insufficient availability. The paper provides managerial implications as well.

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

As with environment and sustainable development, there has been a rapid rise in the worldwide consumption of organic foods over the last years, as well as the quickly growing potential of organic markets in China, and their direct influence on consumer health awareness and social opinion. This study provides insights into Chinese consumers’ attitudes toward organic foods and evaluates purchase intention’s impact as a mediator in the relationship between external and internal factors on purchase intention. This empirical study is based on an online questionnaire using a sample of 1421 Chinese consumers. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used as the main practical approach for data analysis, and six hypotheses were examined. The results show that a more positive attitude on the part of consumers toward organic foods will further reinforce their purchasing intentions, whereas, there was no significant impact of marketing price and communication on consumers’ attitudes toward organic foods. Furthermore, the results show that intention was a full or a whole mediator among the three exogenous constructs of environment awareness, health consciousness, and subjective norms. Based on the findings, marketing communication strategies should concentrate on offering more value to consumers regarding the features of nutritional value. Long-term environment friendliness, health benefits, and social status symbols should be assumed to enhance consumers’ purchase intention in the organic foods industry.

Food Sustainability as a Strategic Value Driver in the Hotel Industry

This paper aims at exploring the impact of green food on consumers’ purchase attitudes toward a hotel stay and on consumers’ behavioral intentions (i.e., intention to visit the hotel, intention to offer positive recommendations to others and willingness to pay a premium price), focusing on an Italian perspective where the food is a worldwide famous cultural element. This research employed a survey sent out by email to a database of contacts provided by an Italian company that operates in tourism. Data collection was completed in four weeks and the initial dataset counted 3586 of target respondents. A total of 302 surveys were completed and the data were analyzed through structural equation modeling (SEM). Firstly, an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed, followed by a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) that leads to the estimation of the structural model. The results show that personal beliefs toward green food are positively associated with respondents’ purchase attitudes toward green food. Moreover, stronger purchase attitudes toward green food lead to more favorable purchase attitudes toward hotels that offer green food, further substantiating the investigation about whether or not consumers’ attitudes employ similar concerns on sustainability for their daily purchases as well as for vacation products and services. In turn, the latter purchase attitudes are positively associated with individual behavioral intentions toward hotels that offer green food.

New Market Opportunities and Consumer Heterogeneity in the U.S. Organic Food Market

This paper investigates what factors and characteristics of organic consumers affect annual organic food expenditure by using Nielsen’s consumer panel dataset from 2010 to 2014. To be specific, this paper explores new marketing opportunities by investigating organic consumer heterogeneity in different household income levels by utilizing the multilevel model. Findings in this study will contribute to the previous and existing literature in three-folds. First, we find that the organic consumers are more heterogeneous in the high-level of income groups (approximately above $60,000), as well as the low-income households between $35,000 and $45,000. This finding demonstrates that the income levels above $60,000 and around $40,000 have potential market segmentation. Second, we find that that annual organic expenditure is positively associated with consumers who consecutively repurchase organic food products compared to irregular organic consumers, supporting a different level of satisfaction. Third, we find that USDA organic labeling has a positive effect on annual organic expenditure compared to the organic labeling certified by private companies, implying the importance of credibility for the organic labeling.

Sociodemographics and access to organic and local food: A case study of New Orleans, Louisiana

This study examined the association between physical accessibility to organic and local food, and sociodemographic factors in New Orleans, Louisiana. Spatial regression models were used to investigate how sociodemographic variables such as income, race/ethnicity, education, and age correlate with driving, bicycling, and walking distances to stores that sell organic or local food. The distances were calculated from GIS and real-time speed information from Google Maps. The results indicated that physical access to such stores is positively associated with population density, median housing value, education, non-Hispanic Blacks, and Hispanics, and is negatively associated with median housing age. We found no disparities in access to organic and local food on the basis of income and race.