The Importance of Consumer Trust for the Emergence of a Market for Green Products: The Case of Organic Food

Abstract

Consumer trust is a key prerequisite for establishing a market for credence goods, such as ''green'' products, especially when they are premium priced. This article reports research on exactly how, and how much, trust influences consumer decisions to buy new green products. It identifies consumer trust as a distinct volition factor influencing the likelihood that consumers will act on green intentions and strongly emphasizes the needs to manage consumer trust as a prerequisite for the development of a market for green products. Specifically, based on a mixture of qualitative and quantitative methods, it is found that lack of consumer trust is a barrier for the development of a market for organic food in Thailand. Two focus groups and ten in-depth interviews revealed low knowledge about and low trust in organic food, certification, control, and labeling. Further, a mall-intercept survey (N = 177) revealed that lack of (especially) system trust reduces consumer expectations about benefits of buying organic food, and it makes them less likely to buy organic food. Mistrust in the control system and in the authenticity of food sold as organic has a significant negative impact on self-reported buying behavior. Implications for policy and future research are discussed.

Workplace foodservice; perception of quality and trust

“…Encompassing local or green ingredients in dishes is a way of restoring disembedded trust, as consumers feel closely related to food products that come from their local area and perceive these to be of a higher quality (Nuttavuthisit and Thøgersen 2015). Communicating the commitment to meet consumer demands through brand image is a way of reassuring customers that foodservice operators act in their best interest.…”

Can the “Euro-Leaf” Logo Affect Consumers’ Willingness-To-Buy and Willingness-To-Pay for Organic Food and Attract Consumers’ Preferences? An Empirical Study in Greece

“…A key role in enhancing consumers' trust in public institutions relies on effective communication, which accounts for spatial heterogeneity and local socio-economic conditions [72][73][74][75]. Since the adoption of voluntary organic logos, the EU has attempted to help consumers increase identification and awareness of organic food products that have benefited from quality registration [29].…”

Organic vs. Non-Organic Food Products: Credence and Price Competition

“…A large number of studies discuss consumers' attitude and preference regarding organic food [18][19][20][21][22][23]. However, the analysis about the influences of trust on consumer decision-making is very limited although consumer trust is a key prerequisite for establishing a market for organic products [7,24]. Pivato et al [9] study the impact of corporate social responsibility on consumer trust and the impact of that trust on consumers behaviors.…”

“…Some papers consider consumer trust in organic consumption without systematically controlling for other important determinants of consumer choices [25][26][27]. Nuttavuthisit and Thøgersen [7] first explicitly investigate the importance of consumer trust for the emergence of a market for organic products, and find that the lack of consumer trust is a barrier for the development of a market for organic food. On the measures of building customers trust, labeling is the most widely studied.…”

“…Second, if organic production is chosen, how much should producers invest in their own credence systems to respond to consumers' mistrust in organic producers and control systems? Organic food belongs to credence goods which means that customers cannot verify the organic attributes even after purchase and consumption [7]. Many customers fear being cheated while buying organic food even in the case where the products are labeled.…”