How stable is the value basis for organic food consumption in China?

Thøgersen, John; Zhou, Yanfeng; Huang, Guang

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.06.036

Cited by 89 publications

(91 citation statements)

References 72 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…However China is a large economy and calls have been made to understand the factors that motivate sustainable consumption in emerging markets (Thøgersen, Zhou and Huang, 2015). Our study found that green food seems to be favoured by wealthy, educated Chinese males who have a young child.…”

Section: Discussion and Contributions To The Literaturementioning

confidence: 70%

“…From a marketing perspective, it is critical to understand how Chinese consumers view innovations in the agro-food system and who adopts them. The number of studies conducted on Chinese consumers and organic food is growing (Roberts and Rundle-Thiele, 2007;Yin, Wu, Du and Chen, 2010;Sirieux et al, 2011;Bing et al, 2011;Lobo and Chen, 2012;Marchesini et al, 2012;Thøgersen and Zhou, 2012;Thøgersen et al, 2015;Yip and Janssen, 2015). The literature shows that gender, age, family size and average household income per year are the main socio-economic factors influencing willingness to pay for green food (Xia and Zeng, 2007;Xia and Zeng, 2008).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Demand for organic food is strongly linked to beliefs about its healthiness, taste and environmental friendliness. Chinese organic food consumers have similar values to Western consumers and early adoption of organic food in China is positively related to what Schwartz termed 'universalism values' (Thøgersen et al, 2015). The barriers to the purchase of certified food are high, notably high prices and lack of availability (Zhu, Li, Geng and Qi, 2013;Xie et al, 2015).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Innovations in the agro-food system

McCarthy

Liu

Chen

2016

British Food Journal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

ResearchOnline@JCU 1Innovations in the agro-food system: adoption of certified organic food and green food by Chinese consumers Abstract PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify the factors driving the adoption of 'green innovations' notably green food and certified organic food and to examine the attitudes of Chinese consumers towards genetically modified food. Design/methodology/approachA mixed methods approach was used. A total of 402 consumers responded to a structured questionnaire and 58 consumers responded to a survey designed to gather qualitative data. Data analysis involved content analysis, the probit model, frequency distributions and the t test for two unrelated means. FindingsThis study shows that affluent, middle class Chinese citizens are opting out of the conventional food market. There is a gender divide, with men showing a preference for green food and females showing a preference for certified organic food. Certified food purchase is associated with demographic variables, such as income, education, age, gender, presence of young children, household size, living in developed cities and overseas experience. A follow-up study shows that the absence of GMOs (genetically modified organisms) motivates the purchase of organic food. Overall, the results suggest that Chinese consumers are turning towards certified food for health reasons and are sceptical about GM food. Practical implicationsThis paper provides some insights into how Chinese consumers view innovations in the food sector. The study found that almost half of the sample is unaware that the concept of green food is different to that of organic food. The priority for the certified organic industry is to address this lack of knowledge and clearly explain what certified organic food is and how it differs from green food. Small-scale farmers could use consumer aversion to GMOs as a promotional tool. The ultimate goal of this paper is to help marketers better promote certified organic food, but inferences can be drawn in terms of Chinese sustainable consumption. Negative attitudes towards genetically modified foods exist due to human health concerns. Hence, Chinese policy makers need to confront these perceptions, real or perceived, if they wish to maintain public trust in biotechnology. OriginalityThe contribution of this research lies in examining what drives the adoption of 'green innovations', notably green food and certified organic food in China. This research is important given that little is known about what Chinese consumers think of, and how they react to, innovations in the agro-food value chain.Article classification: research paper 2

show abstract

Section: Discussion and Contributions To The Literaturementioning

confidence: 70%

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Innovations in the agro-food system

McCarthy

Liu

Chen

2016

British Food Journal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Favourable attitudes towards organic food are rooted in favourable beliefs about the benefits that organic food provides (Hughner et al, 2007, Pearson et al, 2011, Thøgersen, 2009 and in the consumer's basic value priorities (e.g., Honkanen et al, 2006, Thøgersen et al, 2016. According to the latter research, the most important values for buying organic food are what Schwartz (1994) calls 'universalism values', which suggests that consumers view buying organic food as an environment-friendly behaviour (e.g., Karp, 1996, Stern and Dietz, 1994, Thøgersen, 2011, Thøgersen and Ölander, 2002.…”

Section: Attitudes and Behaviour Towards Organic Foodmentioning

confidence: 99%

How important is country-of-origin for organic food consumers? A review of the literature and suggestions for future research

Thøgersen

Pedersen

Paternoga

et al. 2017

BFJ

Self Cite

124

111

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose: This paper reviews the literature on the country-of-origin (COO) effect in the context of organic food and develops suggestions for further research in this area. Research has investigated COO effects and consumer responses to organic food, but there is little research on the combination of the two.Design/methodology/approach: A narrative review of two research streams and their intersection, forming the basis for the development of a research agenda. Findings:There are few studies analysing the possible interaction between the effects of organic and COO on consumers' food preferences and choices. In general, COO seems to lose impact when other quality cues are salient. This suggests a lower impact of COO for organic than for conventional food products. However, there is still no research on the possible impact of organic labelling in categories where products from a foreign country are able to demand a premium, and little is known about consumer preferences for different import countries regarding organic food.Six potential future research directions are suggested. Research implications:There is a need for research that more systematically investigates the possible interactions between COO and organic labelling on consumers' food product preferences and choices. A research agenda is suggested as a starting point. Originality/value:This literature review highlights the lack of research on the interaction between COO effects and consumer responses to organic food. The literature review creates a basis for future research and a possible research agenda is suggested.3

show abstract

“…SN influences consumer's purchase decision in interactive societies whereby consumers tend to follow the reference groups (Basha, Mason, Shamsudin, Hussain, & Salem, ). For instance, consumer's organic food consumption in China has been found to be influenced by both attitude and SN (Thøgersen, Zhou, & Huang, ). Referring to the consumers' attitude toward food safety, Böcker and Hanf () point out that the potential hazard cannot be properly estimated before the actual consumption.…”

Section: Relevant Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Crisis management of food security scandals in China: Motivations and solutions towards purchase intention

Yu-feng

Phau

et al. 2017

J of Consumer Behaviour

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This research employs 2 studies to investigate the changes in consumers' purchase intention after food safety scandals. The first study investigates changes in consumer behavior directly after a food scandal. The second study takes a follow‐up investigation on consumer reactions to 6 hypothetical scenarios. The respondents were recruited from large universities and career training centers of Chinese corporations through a convenience sample. Six hundred forty‐nine valid responses were obtained. The data were analyzed using SPSS and structural equation modelling. Consumers' purchase intention declines rapidly in the short term after a food safety scandal. The decline in purchase intention mainly depends on consumer's individual attitude and subjective norm, which are largely affected by the perceived risk, negative emotion, trust in the enterprise, self‐esteem, present temporal orientation, and hedonic consumption with food. Furthermore, government regulation, corporate crisis management, and media coverage affect the consumers' purchase intention.

show abstract

How stable is the value basis for organic food consumption in China?

Cited by 89 publications

References 72 publications

Innovations in the agro-food system

Innovations in the agro-food system

How important is country-of-origin for organic food consumers? A review of the literature and suggestions for future research

Crisis management of food security scandals in China: Motivations and solutions towards purchase intention

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About