Drivers of organic food purchase: trust, price, and quality

Abstract

This paper applied the theory of planned behaviour to South Africa’s urban areas to determine the intentions behind the purchase of organic food. Trust (an external antecedent), perceived quality (an attitudinal determinant), and price sensitivity (a perceived behavioural control constraint) were found to be drivers of behavioural intention. Research on emerging markets with weak institutional and regulatory standards has not yet been conducted on these relationships; thus, this study provided insights into consumer behaviour in developing organic food markets. A questionnaire was distributed to urban South African consumers; only metropolitan cities were included in the survey: Pretoria, Johannesburg, eThekwini and Cape Town. The sample population consisted of people living in urban areas who were aware of organic foods and had intentions of buying or had bought organic food products. A total of 255 viable responses were used to analyse the results. Hypothesis 1 revealed that trust significantly predicted purchase intention (β = 0.39, R² = 33%), thus establishing trust as an important external factor. The results for hypothesis 2 indicated that perceived quality was the strongest predictor of purchase intentions (β = 0.50, R² = 46%). Meaning that perceptions of quality are more important than formal certification in emerging markets. Price sensitivity negatively impacted purchase intention (β = -0.19, R² = 9%). Trust did not moderate the relationship between price sensitivity and purchase intention (p = 0.178) in hypothesis 4. Understanding which drivers are more crucial in various contexts and their relationships would enable marketers a policymakers to grow the organic food markets.