Underlying Motivations of Organic Food Purchase Intentions

There has been a great deal of increase in the production and consumption of organic foods. As a result, many researchers have attempted to explain the motivations and marketing issues dealing with the topic. Many of the previous studies provide conflicting results. With this in mind, we attempt to perform a comprehensive study of organic food consumption by examining the roles of a variety of factors on intention to purchase organic foods through a survey of consumers in a large metropolitan area in Europe by utilizing the scales developed in earlier studies. The results indicate that socially responsible consumption, health orientation, utilitarian, and hedonic consumption patterns are significant predictors of intention to purchase organic foods and consumption while controlling for demographical variables. In addition, environmental responsibility acts as a moderating factor in the relationship between socially responsible consumption behavior and intention to purchase. [JEL classifications: M30, M31, M48, Q56, Q57]