Understanding the psychological benefits in organic consumerism: An empirical exploration

Quality and Nutritional Parameters of Food in Agri-Food Production Systems

Organic farming is a production system that avoids or largely excludes the use of synthetic agricultural inputs such as pesticides, growth regulators, highly soluble mineral fertilisers, supplements, preservatives, flavouring, aromatic substances and genetically modified organisms, and their products. This system aims to maintain and increase soil fertility and quality, and relies on systems such as crop rotation, polyculture, intercropping, ecosystem management, covering crops, legumes, organic and bio-fertilisers, mechanical cultivation and biological control methods. The present review summarises and evaluates research comparing the quality of traditionally, organically and conventionally produced foods. In some cases, although the results of the studies contradict each other, organically grown in vegetables, especially berries and fruits are slightly higher dry matter, minerals such as P, Ca, Mg, Fe and Zn, vitamin C, sugars, carotenoids, antioxidant activity, phenolic and flavonoid compounds. In addition, their sensory properties are more pleasant. The nutritional content, quality and safety of organic foods are acceptable if the recent trends are reviewed, tested and verified. Therefore, the aim of this review is to compile, describe and update scientific evidence and data on the quality, safety, bioactive compounds and nutritional and phytochemical quality of foods in traditional and organic fruit, vegetable and cereal production systems.

The effect of credence attributes on willingness to pay a premium for organic food: A moderated mediation model of attitudes and uncertainty

Objective

With consumers' concerns about food safety and the environment growing, the interest in organic food has increased. However, due to the late start of the organic food market in China, the market size of the Chinese organic food industry is still relatively small. This study aims to examine whether organic food credence attributes have an impact on consumers' attitudes and willingness to pay a premium (WTPP), in order to provide valuable information to facilitate the development of the organic food market in China.

Methods

A questionnaire survey was conducted with 647 respondents in China. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was utilized to verify the model and test the relationships among the constructs.

Results

SEM analyses showed that credence attributes stimulate consumers' attitudes and increase consumers' WTPP. Utilitarian attitudes and hedonistic attitudes play a partially mediating role in the relationship between credence attributes and WTPP. Uncertainty negatively moderates the role between utilitarian attitudes and WTPP, while it positively moderates the role between hedonistic attitudes and WTPP.

Discussion

The findings reveal the motivations and barriers for Chinese consumers to purchase organic food at a premium, providing a theoretical basis for companies to gain a deeper understanding of consumer groups and develop organic food marketing strategies.

Predicting sustainable food consumption across borders based on the theory of planned behavior: A meta-analytic structural equation model

Interest in sustainable food consumption has gradually increased over the previous third decades. Despite substantial studies addressing various topics connected to sustainable food consumption, little research systematically evaluates which factors influence consumers’ purchase of sustainable food. We aim to integrate preliminary findings, compare four original and extended models of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) in the context of sustainable food consumption, and identify measurement and situational moderators using a meta-analytic structural equation modeling approach. The results show that attitude (ATT), subjective norms (SN), and perceived behavioral control (PBC) were most strongly positively correlated with a purchase intention (PI) of sustainable food. Furthermore, the analysis of the moderating effects revealed significant differences in the relationship between PBC and purchase behavior (PB) and between SN and PI in developing and developed countries. In addition, by comparing four original and extended TPB models, this study proposes a theoretical framework to affect customers’ PI of sustainable food. The findings of this study can be used as a foundation for company marketing and government environmental protection promotion.

Effects of Psychological Benefits of Greenness on Airlines' Customer Experiential Satisfaction, Service Fairness, Alternative Attractiveness, and Switching Intention

In the context of climate change, this study uncovers the role of green airlines' social responsibility in conjunction with the consumers' switching behavior while considering the effects of latent variables, including green psychology, airline corporate image, green experimental behavior, green service fairness, green alternative attractiveness and switching intention, were examined in the study. In a highly competitive service environment, an organization needs to understand how passengers perceive its corporate image, satisfaction, fairness attractiveness, and behavior of switching intention. The predicted relationship was based on partial least squares structural equation modeling of a convenience sample of 615 valid datasets collected from individuals who used green airline services in China. The findings show that the psychological benefit of greenness, only warm glow, is the main driver of airline corporate image. Furthermore, airline corporate image, green service fairness, and green alternative attractiveness support passengers' green experiential satisfaction. The evidence demonstrates that green experiential satisfaction and green alternative attractiveness have significantly positive effects on switching intention. However, green service fairness has no significant effect on green switching intention. This study contributes to the literature by understanding airline customers' perception of the complex relationship in the green constructs. This finding can help marketers facilitate and develop their external communication and craft their image to retain their existing or potential customers.

The Effect of Fear of COVID-19 on Green Purchase Behavior in Pakistan: A Multi-Group Analysis Between Infected and Non-infected

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and its effects on an individual's life have altered the consumer behavior. In the context of purchase and consumption, a shift from conventional to green purchase has been noticed. Although the factors underlying this shift were relatively unexplored, the study aimed to identify the factors that influenced a significant role in the green purchases during the outbreak and the relationship of these factors with green purchase behavior (GPB). Subsequently, this study investigates and interprets the role of fear of COVID-19 (FCV), psychological distress (PD), and mortality salience (MS) in predicting consumer's GPB. This research adopted a quantitative methodology using data collected from 432 respondents in various cities across Pakistan. Smart-PLS 3 was used to evaluate the measurement model, structural model, and multi-group analysis (MGA). Despite having the negative psychological and physical impact of the pandemic, a significant proportion of customers have switched to healthier and sustainable products. This research revealed that the FCV, PD, and MS plays a substantial role in adopting GPB. All the direct relationships were positive and significant. In addition, MS and PD partially mediate the effect of FCV on GPB. Furthermore, the MGA revealed that the infected respondents were interested in purchasing green products than uninfected respondents due to their FCV; conversely, the PD and MS were higher in uninfected individuals than infected ones. However, there is a vast literature on GPB, but little has investigated the cumulative impact of FCV, PD, and MS on GPB.

Comparison of the Purchasing Behaviour of Polish and United Kingdom Consumers in the Organic Food Market during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The main objective of the study was to compare young consumer purchasing behaviour towards organic food in Poland (PL) and the United Kingdom (UK), countries with different levels of organic market maturity. The study was conducted by means of an online survey questionnaire during the COVID-19 pandemic between December 2020 and February 2021. The sample consisted of 862 PL and 161 UK consumers. 31% of PL respondents and 58.4% of UK respondents indicated they purchase organic products. Descriptive statistics, the Mann–Whitney U test and the two proportion Z test were used for statistical analyses. The results indicate that young consumers pay particular attention to the freshness and quality of consumed products. Concern for their own health and that of their loved ones, as well as the desire to eat better-quality products were the main motivations for the respondents to purchase organic products. Organic vegetables and fruits, eggs, dairy products, and meat and meat products, were among the most frequently purchased products in the studied cohorts. Experts (e.g., a dietitian, physician) were declared to be the first source of information concerning food products for young consumers. Next, family members were indicated. Social media content (PL respondents) and information from websites managed by institutions (UK respondents) were mentioned as the third source. UK consumers preferred short supply chains. The present study can be used by government bodies and companies to select the most effective communication channels for education and advertising and to develop effective commercial strategies aimed at young consumers.

Investigating the Effects of Intrinsic Motivation and Emotional Appeals Into the Link Between Organic Appeals Advertisement and Purchase Intention Toward Organic Milk

Consumers care about healthy food. Thus, several firms use organic appeals advertising to change consumer attitudes and persuade them to purchase organic food. Organic appeals advertisement often presents content that provides information and knowledge about organic elements of a food product (e.g., health, safety, a lack of chemicals, and rich nutrition). In contrast, non-organic appeals advertisement does not present information about organic elements of a food product. This study aims to clarify the effect of organic appeals advertisement on consumer motivations and behavior. It uses the stimuli-organism-response model and self-determination motivation theory to investigate the relationship between organic appeals advertisement and purchase intention toward organic milk considering the mediating role of intrinsic motivation and the moderating role of emotional appeals. Two experimental designs are used to test the hypotheses. Results show that consumers receiving organic appeals advertisement have a higher intention to purchase organic milk than those receiving non-organic appeals advertisement. Furthermore, intrinsic motivation is found to have a mediating role in the link between organic appeals advertisement and purchase intention. In other words, when consumers receive advertisements of an organic milk product, they have higher intrinsic motivation and hold higher intention to purchase organic milk products. Furthermore, emotional appeals have a moderating effect on the relationship between organic appeals advertisement and intrinsic motivation. The influence of organic appeals advertisement on intrinsic motivation is stronger when emotional appeals are positive and weaker when emotional appeals are negative.

Determinants That Influence Green Product Purchase Intention and Behavior: A Literature Review and Guiding Framework

Environmental deterioration brought about by consumers’ non-feasible utilization pattern is putting a pressure on the environment and is obstructing sustainable development. To hinder this impact and stimulate a more sustainable economic growth, one solution is to lessen or move utilization patterns from conventional products to eco-friendly products. The authors conducted a review study of green purchase behavioral research across the 6-year period from 2015 to 2021, identifying 108 studies that met our inclusion criteria. The current review distinguishes different pervasive facilitators, motives, and obstacles influencing consumers’ decision-making process towards environmentally friendly products, and it gives potential clarifications for contradictions found in green purchase behavior (GPB). The paper reveals the main determinants of consumer’s GPB, and as a result of the review, 212 variables that affect green purchase intention (GPI) were identified. Moreover, 135 determinants that influence GPB were recorded. In this way, besides contributing to the literature, it will assist policymakers in formulating and employing strategies to persuade eco-friendly purchasing, and it will give an opportunity for marketers to generate proper marketing strategies for drawing in clients and guaranteeing ideal sales.

Influence of Altruistic Motives on Organic Food Purchase: Theory of Planned Behavior

Marketing campaigns of organic food emphasize utilitarian benefits and psychological benefits as well as consumer culture to enhance environmental sustainability. In order to study the purchase intention of organic food, the authors developed a model using antecedents like warm glow, subjective norm, attitude and perceived behavioral control. This study examines the model for the Indian and the USA samples and thus integrated using three theories: Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), Pro-Social Behavior (PSB) Theory with the interaction of Consumer Culture Theory. The model is estimated using the multi-group Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) technique using R software with samples from India (n = 692) and the USA (n = 640). Results differ for Indian and USA samples. The expectation of the “warm glow” resulted from an environmentally friendly purchase as having a higher influence on Indian samples than that of the USA. Further, the attitude towards organic food purchase intention is stronger for US samples than the Indian, and the group difference is significant, while all the relationships that take warm glow as an antecedent have higher β for Indian samples. Moreover, the study found that attitude towards organic food is a major element for US subsamples, whereas subjective norm plays a major role in Indian samples to adopt organic food. Managerially, the present study suggests that a firm marketing its organic food must concentrate more on “warm glow” for Indian consumers in order to improve their market share.

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.