Journal Press India^®

Author Details ( * ) denotes Corresponding author

There is phenomenal change in the behaviour of organic food consumers, especially in emerging markets, and hence it needs a thorough examination of factors affecting the intention to purchase. However, very little empirical work on these factors is available. So, to fill this gap, the current study develops a conceptual model including the purchase intention as a dependent variable and consumer involvement, attitude and self-direction as independent variables. The data was collected from 400 respondents who approached retail malls in north India through a survey method. Using structural equation modeling to analyse data, it was discovered that consumer involvement, self-direction and attitudes affect consumers’ intentions to purchase. It was discovered that consumer involvement and self-direction significantly influenced attitudes towards organic food. The results of the study will help marketers and producers improve their strategies toward consumers. By demonstrating theoretical connections between self-direction, consumer involvement, attitude and intention to purchase, the study adds to the body of knowledge conceptually.

Keywords

Organic Food; Structural Equation Modelling; Self-direction and Consumer Involvement

1. Aertesens, J., Verbeke, W., Mondelaers, K. &Huylenbroeck, G. V. (2009). Personal determinants of organic food consumption: A review. British Food Journal, 111(10), 1140-1167.
2. Ahmad, W., Kim, W. G., Anwer, Z., & Zhuang, W. (2020). Schwartz personal values, theory of planned behavior and environmental consciousness: How tourists’ visiting intentions towards eco-friendly destinations are shaped?. Journal of Business Research, 110(C), 228-236.
3. Aitken, R., Watkins, L., Williams, J., & Kean, A. (2020). The positive role of labelling on consumers’ perceived behavioural control and intention to purchase organic food. Journal of Cleaner Production, 255(10), 120334.  Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.120334  
4. Ajzen, I., (1991). The theory of planned behaviour. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 179-211.
5. Al-swidi, A. K., Mohammed, S., & Huque, R. (2014). The role of subjective norms in theory of planned behavior in the context of organic food consumption Article information. British Food Journal, 116(10), 1561-1580.
6. Arvola, A., Vassallo, M., Dean, M., Lampila, P., Saba, A., & La, L. (2008). Predicting intentions to purchase organic food : The role of affective and moral attitudes in the theory of planned behaviour. Appetite, 50(2-3), 443-454.
7. Asif, M., Xuhui, W., Nasiri, A., & Ayyub, S. (2018). Determinant factors influencing organic food purchase intention and the moderating role of awareness: A comparative analysis. Food Quality and Preference, 63, 144–150. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2017.08.006  
8. Azeem, M. A., & Hussain, S. (2018). Making sense in marketing: Sensory strategies for international quick service restaurants. MANTHAN: Journal of Commerce and Management, 5(2), 37-52.
9. Basha, M. B., & Lal, D. (2019). Indian consumers ‘attitudes towards purchasing organically produced foods : An empirical study. Journal of Cleaner Production, 215, 99–111. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.12.098
10. Boobalan, K., & Nachimuthu, G. S. (2020). Organic consumerism: A comparison between India and the USA. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 53, 101988. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2019.101988
11. Boobalan, K., Sivakumaran, B., & Susairaj, M. (2022). Organic food preferences: A comparison of American and Indian consumers. Food Quality and Preference, 101, 104627. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2022.104627
12. Chadha, K., & Ahuja, Y. (2020). Luxury fashion brands embracing the digital: An exploratory study to unfold the success strategy. MANTHAN: Journal of Commerce and Management, 7(1), 60-75.
13. Chao, C. W., Hung, Y. C., & Sun, L. (2022). Does consumer innovativeness matter in electrified vehicle? The moderation role of consumer involvement. Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 34(3), 298-311.
14. Chauhan, V., & Bhagat, R. (2018). Analysing green purchasing behaviour through subjective norms and perceived behaviour control. MANTHAN: Journal of Commerce and Management, 5(1), 46-55.
15. Chryssohoidis, G. M. & Krystallis, A. (2005). Organic consumers’ personal values research: Testing and validating the list of values (LOV) scale and implementing a value-based segmentation task. Food Quality and Preference, 16(7), 585-599.
16. Cieciuch, J., & Davidov, E. (2012). A comparison of the invariance properties of the PVQ-40 and the PVQ-21 to measure human values across German and Polish samples. Survey Research Methods, 6(1), 37-48.
17. Conner, M. & Armitage, C. J. (1998). Extending the theory of planned behavior: A review and avenues for further research. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 28(15), 1429-1464.
18. Dangi, N., Narula, S. A., & Gupta, S. K. (2020). Influences on purchase intentions of organic food consumers in an emerging economy. Journal of Asia Business Studies, 14(5), 599–620.
19. Gundala, R. R., Nawaz, N., Harindranath, R. M., Boobalan, K., & Gajenderan, V. K. (2022). Does gender moderate the purchase intention of organic foods? Theory of reasoned action. Heliyon, 8(9), e10478.
20. Hair, J. F., Gabriel, M., & Patel, V. (2014). AMOS covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM): Guidelines on its application as a marketing research tool. Brazilian Journal of Marketing, 13(2), 1-18.
21. Iqbal, J., Yu, D., Zubair, M., Rasheed, M. I., Khizar, H. M. U., & Imran, M. (2021). Health consciousness, food safety concern, and consumer purchase intentions toward organic food: The role of consumer involvement and ecological motives. Sage Open, 11(2), 1-14.
22. Kassarjian, H. H. (1981). Low Involvement:&Nbsp; a Second Look. In Kent B. Monroe, Ann Abor, NA-Advances in Consumer Research (pp 31-34). MI : Association for Consumer Research.
23. Klein, A., & Sharma, V. M. (2022). Consumer decision-making styles, involvement, and the intention to participate in online group buying. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 64(1), 1-39.
24. Kumar, S., Gupta, K., Kumar, A., Singh, A., & Singh, R. K. (2023). Applying the theory of reasoned action to examine consumers’ attitude and willingness to purchase organic foods. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 47(1), 118-135.
25. Liang, A. R. D. (2014). Enthusiastically consuming organic food: An analysis of the online organic food purchasing behaviors of consumers with different food-related lifestyles. Internet Research, 24(5), 587–607.
26. Ma, K. V., Le, N. T. T., Nguyen, P. V., & Tran, K. T. (2023). Predicting the determinants of investors’ intention to purchase tourism real estate property using TPB, government policy and perceived financial risk. Review of Integrative Business and Economics Research, 12(4), 102-117.
27. Matharu, G. K., Heidt, V. D. T., Sorwar, G., & Sivapalan, A. (2022). What motivates young Indian consumers to buy organic food?. Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 34(5), 497-516.
28. Mufeed, U. (2018). Impact of transformational leadership on employee engagement: An empirical study. MANTHAN: Journal of Commerce and Management, 5(1), 75-87.
29. Nautiyal, S., & Lal, C. (2022). Product knowledge as a facilitator of organic purchase intention in emerging markets: Empirical evidence from India. Journal of Cleaner Production, 372, 133782. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.133782
30. Pahari, S., Ghosal, I., Prasad, B., & Dildar, S. M. (2023). Which determinants impact consumer purchase behavior toward online purchasing of organic food products? Prabandhan: Indian Journal of Management, 16(1), 25-41.
31. Pandey, D., Kakkar, A., & Farhan, M. (2019). Factors influencing organic foods purchase intention of Indian customers. Organic Agriculture, 9(1), 357–364.
32. Pang, S. M., Tan, B. C., & Lau, T. C. (2021). Antecedents of consumers’ purchase intention towards organic food: Integration of theory of planned behavior and protection motivation theory. Sustainability (Switzerland), 13(9), 1-18.
33. Paramesh, V., Ravisankar, N., Behera, U., Arunachalam, V., Kumar, P., Solomon Rajkumar, R., Misra, S. D., Kumar, R. M., Prusty, A. K., Jacob, D, & Panwar, A. S. (2022). Integrated farming system approaches to achieve food and nutritional security for enhancing profitability, employment, and climate resilience in India. Food and Energy Security, 11(2), e321.
34. Parashar, S., Singh, S., & Sood, G. (2023). Examining the role of health consciousness, environmental awareness and intention on purchase of organic food: A moderated model of attitude. Journal of Cleaner Production, 386(5), 135553. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.135553
35. Parwez, M., Ansari, Z., & Mullick, N. H. (2023). Examining the antecedents of behavioral intention toward organic food in India. Sustainability and Climate Change, 15(6), 422-435.
36. Poier, S., Nikodemska‐Wołowik, A. M., & Suchanek, M. (2022). How higher‐order personal values affect the purchase of electricity storage—Evidence from the German photovoltaic market. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 21(4), 909-926.
37. Scalco, A., Noventa, S., Sartori, R., & Ceschi, A. (2017). Predicting organic food consumption: A meta-analytic structural equation model based on the theory of planned behavior. Appetite, 112, 235–248. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2017.02.007
38. Schwartz, S. H. (2012). An overview of the Schwartz theory of basic values. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture, 2(1). Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.9707/2307-0919.1116
39. Slama, M. E., & Tashchian, A. (1987). Validating the SOR paradigm for consumer involvement with a convenience good. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 15(1), 36-45.
40. Sudman, S. (1980). Improving the quality of shopping center sampling. Journal of Marketing Research, 17(4), 423–431.
41. Suryavanshi, A. K. S., Bhatt, P., & Singh, S. (2023). Predicting the buying intention of organic food with the association of theory of planned behaviour. Materials Today: Proceedings. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2023.03.359
42. Tandon, A., Dhir, A., Kaur, P., Kushwah, S., & Salo, J. (2020). Behavioral reasoning perspectives on organic food purchase. Appetite, 154(May), 104786. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2020.104786
43. Tavakol, M., & Dennick, R. (2011). Making sense of Cronbach’s alpha. International Journal of Medical Education, 2, 53-55.
44. Teng, C. C., & Lu, C. H. (2016). Organic food consumption in Taiwan: Motives, involvement, and purchase intention under the moderating role of uncertainty. Appetite, 105, 95-105. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2016.05.006
45. Thakur, B. K., Rout, H. S., & Chakraborty, T. (2014). Environmental degradation, sustainable development and human well-being: Evidence from India. MANTHAN: Journal of Commerce and Management, 1(1), 101-120.
46. Thanki, H., Shah, S., Oza, A., Vizureanu, P., & Burduhos-Nergis, D. D. (2022). Sustainable consumption: Will they buy it again? Factors influencing the intention to repurchase organic food grain. Foods, 11(19), 1-15.
47. Wang, Y. M. (2015). Decisional factors driving organic food consumption. British Food Journal, 117(3), 1066-1081.
48. Yadav, N., Verma, S., & Chikhalkar, R. D. (2022). eWOM, destination preference and consumer involvement–a stimulus-organism-response (SOR) lens. Tourism Review, 77(4), 1135-1152.
49. Yadav, R., & Pathak, G. S. (2016). Intention to purchase organic food among young consumers : Evidences from a developing nation. Appetite, 96, 122–128. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2015.09.017
50. Yazdanpanah, M., & Forouzani, M. (2015). Application of the theory of planned behaviour to predict Iranian students’ intention to purchase organic food. Journal of Cleaner Production, 107, 342-352.