The influence of subjective and objective knowledge on attitude, motivations and consumption of organic food

Abstract

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.com Emerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services. Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. Abstract Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to understand how information revealed on organic food labels and perceived organic knowledge drive consumer trust and attitudes towards organic foods, which in turn together with subjective norm eventually influence subsequent purchase intentions. Design/methodology/approach-The questionnaire surveys were administered to customers at four urban large-scale supermarkets and three health food stores at three major cities in Taiwan. In total, 693 valid questionnaires were obtained, yielding a response rate of 81.5 per cent. Findings-Trust, serving as the antecedent of attitudes, significantly mediates the relationships between revealing information, perceived knowledge, and organic purchase intentions. Additionally, both attitudes towards organic foods and subjective norm significantly influence consumer organic food choices. However, the impact of perceived organic knowledge on consumer attitudes has been found to be insignificant, indicating that the increase in perceived knowledge cannot create positive attitudes towards organic foods. Thus, a focus on how to use knowledge to enhance consumer trust in organic foods is suggested as an effective marketing strategy for the organic food industry. Research limitations/implications-The research findings support that trust and attitudes play the mediating roles linking revealed information and perceived knowledge with organic food purchase intentions. This result is consistent with previous studies, indicating that better organic labeling information and related knowledge perceived by consumers have critical effects on consumer trust in organic foods, which in turn will influence their attitudes and intentions to purchase organic foods. However, this study also found that perceived knowledge can generate positive attitudes only when trust can be firmly built. This confirms the essential role of trust in the process of consumer organic buying intentions. Practical implications-First, providing credible labeling information by displaying how organic agricultural products are grown, processed, and handled, and the percentage of organic ingredients in a product is crucial to stimulate consumer tru...

An analysis of community perceptions of mosquito-borne disease control and prevention in Sint Eustatius, Caribbean Netherlands

“…Successful, long-term public health responses hinge on the behaviour of the local community [15–19]. After continuous communication, understanding the way the local population has come to conceptualize the vector, the viruses, and control and prevention activities may work to focus interventions.…”

Assessing Knowledge and Religiosity on Consumer Behavior towards Halal Food and Cosmetic Products

“…According to [12], several researchers have reported that greater awareness and additional knowledge concerning organic food has a positive influence on attitudes towards organic food and levels of consumption [13]- [17]. Hence, it is hypothesized that knowledge has a positive influence on attitude towards Halal cosmetic products.…”

How does consumer knowledge affect environmentally sustainable choices? Evidence from a cross-country latent class analysis of food labels

“…Also, for the "low knowledge" German segment, the subjective knowledge coefficient 552 30 was positive, suggesting that self-judged (i.e., subjective) knowledge alone is unlikely to be 553 sufficient to make environmentally friendly choices (see Table 7). previous work (Aertsens, et al, 2011;Ellen, 1994). In the "low knowledge" segments, a positive 574 coefficient for the subjective knowledge index could frequently be found, suggesting that both 575 31 types of knowledge need to be positively aligned to foster environmentally sustainable choices.…”