What motivates Indian consumers’ to buy organic food in an emerging market?

Abstract

Purpose Indian consumers are showing an increased demand for organic food products; however, little is known about their intention to buy organic foods. The purpose of this paper is to understand how fear towards conventional food products motivates an individual to buy organic food products and whether trust and perceived price as contextual factors are able to enhance the buying intention. Design/methodology/approach A total of 275 valid responses were collected using a self-administrated structured questionnaire, representative of Indian consumers. An ordinary least square regression analysis was used to analyse the effect of trust and perceived price in influencing the relationship between consumers’ fear and intention to buy organic food products. Findings The moderating role of trust and perceived price in enhancing the direct relation between fear and intention was established. In addition, cluster analysis results revealed that married women with children are showing a greater interest in buying organic food products. Practical implications The findings of the study are of high importance to all stakeholders in organic food products, as selecting marketing practices which target consumers’ concern is an indispensable part of finding a niche for organic food products. Originality/value The findings suggest that even though consumers are fearful towards conventional food products, they displayed negative intention to buy organic food products when their trust towards the third party is low, thus confirming the importance of trust as a buffering agent.

What motivates consumers to purchase organic food in an emerging market? An empirical study from Saudi Arabia

“…However, the current study is the first to be conducted in an emerging market, linking purchase intention and actual purchasing behaviour toward organic food products, as prior research recommended (e.g. Jose et al , 2020). Thus, the current study filling the gap in the literature by demonstrating the significant relationship between customers' intention and their actual purchasing behaviour toward organic food products in an emerging market.…”

“…Furthermore, most previous studies focused on the factors that influence consumers' intention without linking the intention to customers' actual behaviour. Jose et al (2020) drew attention to the lack of studies testing the relationship between customers' intention and their actual purchasing behaviour toward organic food products.…”

Emotional or logical: reason for consumers to buy organic food products

“…Michaelidou and Hassan, 2008;Kriwy and Mecking, 2012;Paul and Rana, 2012;Denver and Christensen, 2015;Vukasovi c, 2016;Seegebarth et al, 2016;Golob et al, 2018;Le-Anh and Nguyen-To, 2020). Along with that majority of these organic consumer research were carried out in developed countries, and there exists a lack of understanding about the consumers in the emerging market (Asif et al, 2018;Nandi et al, 2016;Jose et al, 2020). However, a closer look at these factors helps us to classify them into practical or logical factors based on the value theory adapted by Mattsson in 1991. According to Mattsson (1991), practical factors are those which focused on the functional aspect of consumption like health, quality etc., and logical factors are those which focused on the rational aspect of consumption, such as environmental motives, animal welfare etc.…”

“…Michaelidou and Hassan, 2008; Kriwy and Mecking, 2012; Paul and Rana, 2012; Denver and Christensen, 2015; Vukasovič, 2016; Seegebarth et al , 2016; Golob et al , 2018; Le-Anh and Nguyen-To, 2020). Along with that majority of these organic consumer research were carried out in developed countries, and there exists a lack of understanding about the consumers in the emerging market (Asif et al , 2018; Nandi et al , 2016; Jose et al , 2020). However, a closer look at these factors helps us to classify them into practical or logical factors based on the value theory adapted by Mattsson in 1991.…”

“…Zaltman (2003) stated that 95% of consumers' decision-making is based on emotions. Further, Kotler et al (2010) argue that the “decision to buy and be loyal to a brand is greatly influenced by emotions.” An emotion such as fear towards conventional food products motivates an individual to buy organic food products (Jose et al , 2020); however, whether it can have a greater impact than practical and logical factor is yet to be researched. This lack of understanding regarding the role of emotions in organic consumer purchase behaviour creates difficulties for academicians and practitioners alike.…”