Trust factors for organic foods: consumer buying behavior

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess the relationship between trust factors and buying behavior among consumers in the organic food market in Taiwan. Design/methodology/approach The researchers developed a questionnaire using latent variables including the trust factors, utilitarian attitudes, hedonic attitudes, buying behavior and demographic information of consumers of organic foods. Confirmatory factor analysis and the structural equation modeling were conducted using LISREL 8.80 for Windows. Findings The empirical results indicated that health content, locally produced products, organic food labels and price premiums positively and significantly affected utilitarian and hedonic attitudes. Both utilitarian attitudes and hedonic attitudes positively and significantly affected respondents’ buying behavior. A series of theoretical implications were identified. Practical implications The researchers concluded that providing consumers with practical information related to organic food, establishing local production facilities, developing content, standardizing labeling procedures and promoting a new organic certification system for small-scale producers will encourage more consumers to purchase organic food. Originality/value This study first examines the food trust buying behavior of organic foods and related consumption behavior theory questions. It mainly takes the stimulus–organism–response model as the foundation of its approach. Simultaneously, it also conforms to utilitarian behavior theory, and the process by which consumers become better aware of organic foods’ quality.

Certification label and fresh organic produce category in an emerging country: an experimental study on consumer trust and purchase intention

“…Besides, our study refutes the research by Aitken et al (2020), Teng and Wang (2015) and Lee et al (2020) that showed a direct and positive relationship between certification and the intention to purchase organic food. Hamzaoui-Essoussi et al (2013), Liang et al (2016) and Teng and Wang (2015) founded that the presence of certification on organic food could increase the consumers' trust in that kind of food.…”

“…Although it did not analyze the label's presence on organic food, the research could indicate the relevance of certification to the consumers' purchase intention. Lee et al (2020) also demonstrated that organic labels impact consumer buying behavior and encourage more consumers to purchase organic food. Therefore, we present hypothesis:…”

“…Despite the early and expanding context of Brazil's organic food market, certification remains the core factor in enhancing and improving trust among consumers (Aitken et al, 2020;Janssen and Hamm, 2014;Liang, 2016). Moreover, the organic certification can affect consumer's attitude (Lee et al, 2020) and be a decisive determinant to purchase this kind of food, using factors such as certification to recognize and ensure the veracity of the information provided (Teng and Wang, 2015;Watanabe et al, 2020). Besides, the organic label can also impact consumers' perception about organic food (Nadricka et al, 2020).…”

Purchasing Behavior of Organic Food among Chinese University Students

“…Researchers presented various consumers' motives for buying organic food such as ecological sustainability [29], healthy lifestyles [13]. Extant literature focused on understanding various reasons to consume organic food [9,30,31], and the motives behind a consumer's behavior [32].…”

Packaging’s of the organic farming products in the context of circular economy

“…The production of organic foods is environmentally friendly; it does not utilize antibiotics, growth hormones, pesticides, chemical fertilizers or growth regulators. Organic foods are often regarded as more friendly to environmental agriculture and, ultimately, as healthier than conventional, non-organic foods [1].…”