Purchasing Behavior of Organic Food among Chinese University Students

Analysis of green word-of-mouth advertising behavior of organic food consumers

The word-of-mouth (WOM) marketing process is one of the main means by which consumers obtain information. As a communication channel between consumers in economically developing countries, WOM may contribute to the development of the organic food market. The primary objective of this study is to segment organic saffron consumers in Mashhad, Iran, and determine how they engage in WOM marketing. Data were collected through questionnaires from 13 districts of Mashhad using a stratified sampling method. In this study, 400 organic saffron consumers were grouped using a self-organizing map (SOM) neural network based on consumer neobehavioristic theory, and then, using decision trees, consumer behavior rules were extracted for participating in the WOM for each group. According to the results, less than fifty percent of consumers in each of the four market segments are willing to participate in WOM advertising for organic saffron. A lack of awareness of the characteristics of organic saffron is also found to be the main reason for consumers' reluctance to recommend organic saffron to others. Mass-media advertising is an effective way to raise consumer awareness and influence opinion leaders, ultimately resulting in WOM recommendations.

The effect of customer satisfaction on floral product purchase behavior, evidence from Shanghai, China

China's flower industry is developing rapidly, and the size of the retail market is increasing year by year. Studying the factors influencing residents' flower purchasing behavior and understanding their flower needs can help promote the sustainable development of the flower industry. Based on customer satisfaction theory, this paper uses 838 consumer research questionnaires from 15 districts in Shanghai to analyze the influence of customer satisfaction on residents' flower purchasing behavior by conducting a binary logit model and to investigate the moderating effect of flower purchasing purpose on the influence of satisfaction. The results show that price satisfaction and satisfaction with promotional methods have a significant negative effect on flower purchasing behavior, service satisfaction has a significant positive effect on purchasing behavior, and different customer purchase purposes lead to different intensities of the effect of satisfaction on purchasing behavior. According to the conclusion of the study, three countermeasures are proposed: to popularize the knowledge of flower culture, guide the concept of flower consumption, and promote the transformation of flower consumption to daily consumption; to conduct regular research on consumers by flower merchants to clarify consumers' needs and improve their satisfaction; to clarify consumers' purchase intention, increase the investment in the research and development and cultivation of flower products, and improve the supply level of flowers.

Organic Food Consumption and Perception among Polish Mothers of Children under 6 Years Old

Pro-environmental attitudes, including organic food consumption, can reduce negative impact on the environment. The consumption of organic food in Poland is rather low, but the ecological awareness of Poles is steadily increasing. The aim of the study was to assess the frequency and factors influencing the consumption of organic products and to analyze the perception of such food by mothers of children under 6 years of age (n = 667). The survey was conducted between March 2020 and May 2021 in three voivodships in Eastern Poland. The results of the survey indicate that the majority of respondents are occasional consumers of organic food (51%). The most commonly consumed organic products are eggs, vegetables and fruits, whereas the least consumed are alcoholic beverages, coffees and ready-to-eat meals. The responders' main characteristics of organic food are as follows: no genetic modification/GMO-free, no synthetic additives and having organic certification. Statistically significant correlations were found between the frequency of organic food consumption and education, financial situation as well as familiarity with the logo of the organic certificate and verifying that it is present on the packaging. The most common reasons for consuming organic food were health issues, while the high price was declared as the main barrier.

Employees buying organic food intention: An extension of the theory of planned behavior

A gradual increase in population and urbanization has increased the demand for global resources, which ultimately burdens the depletion of resources and challenges environmental sustainability worldwide. In recent decades, nature sustainability has been the biggest challenge encountered by humankind. In addition, the changing lifestyle and consumption patterns have enormously played a key role. However, the consumption pattern from the employee’s perspective suffers from the lack of research. Therefore, grounded on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), this research explores the antecedents and consequences of employees’ buying intentions in the world’s emerging market (China). Data were collected using a web-based link shared via WeChat and Q.Q.; resultants into 451 valid responses and partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) using SmartPLS 4 have been administered for the analysis. Besides the insignificant effect of descriptive norms on buying intention and environmental concerns on purchasing behavior, other factors significantly impact purchase intention and actual buying behavior. This research witnesses a significant mediating role of buying intention. This research suggests that practitioners (i.e., marketers, government, policymakers, and environmental focus companies) develop strategies for public advertisement and launch a general message and campaigns both in urban and rural areas to prevent environmental sustainability and increases awareness related to organic consumption.

Purchase Intention and Satisfaction of Online Shop Users in Developing Countries during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The aim of the research is to gain an understanding of consumer behavior in developing countries in the electronic environment. For this purpose, the four constructs of the PREVEINCOSA scale were analyzed: purchase intention as the dependent variable and trust, perceived value, and satisfaction as the determining variables of the former. For this purpose, by means of convenience sampling, an online questionnaire was shared with citizens in Mexico, Peru, and Colombia. A total of 330 questionnaires were collected from people who knew or had bought clothes in an online shop of the small company. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to validate the model and test the hypotheses. The results indicate that trust and satisfaction directly and positively influence value perception and online purchase intention and that value perception directly and positively influences online purchase intention of the small business consumer in Mexico, Peru, and Colombia. These results may be useful for the small fashion business sector in developing countries since it is observed that the online sales channel is not yet developed, which makes it necessary to develop strategies to reach customers in a more effective way. On the other hand, given the importance of this sector for the economy of developing countries, this study can be useful to governments who can establish public policies to provide training and technical assistance to benefit the development and competitiveness of this sector.

Investigating International Students’ Perception of Foodservice Attributes in Malaysian Research Universities

University foodservice is expected to satisfy students’ food needs and is one of the necessities at a university. However, serving a community of international students who are multicultural is not an easy task. Thus, it is necessary to recognize international students’ needs and wants in order to increase their satisfaction with the overall on-campus dining experience. This study conducted an importance–performance analysis to examine international students’ perceived importance and perceived performance of university foodservice attributes. Using a self-administered questionnaire, a total of 620 international students who were studying in Malaysian research universities comprised the sample of this study. The results showed that food price was the most satisfactory foodservice attribute as perceived by international students. Food quality was deemed unsatisfactory and represented the main weakness. Results from this study can assist in determining how international students perceive the quality of the key attributes of on-campus foodservices and identify fields in which improvements are required.