Consumers perception, purchase intention and actual purchase behavior of organic food products

Abstract

The green concept and the developing of organic food are still in the infant stage in Malaysia. Therefore, there is a need to gain knowledge about the consumer’s behavior towards organic food products. Specifically, this study attempts to examine consumer’s perception, purchase intentions and actual purchase behavior and the interrelationship between them in the context of organic food products. Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior, the five steps of consumer decision making process and previous researches on organic foods , 18 items of four dimensions were constructed to measure the consumer’s perception towards organic food, 6 items were used to measure their purchase intention and six items were engaged to determine the actual purchase behavior of consumers. Data was collected in supermarkets and surrounding areas in the district of Kluang, Johor, Malaysia. A total of 288 completed questionnaires were gathered, representing 96% response rate, using convenient sampling method. The result indicated that intention to purchase organic food was significantly influenced by the consumer’s perception of safety, health, environmental factors and animal welfare of the products. Surprisingly, there was no significant effect of consumers’ perceived quality of organic food products on their intention to purchase the products. Actual purchase behavior of organic food products was significantly affected by the purchase intention of the products. Significant means differences were observed in the purchase intention of organic food products according to the respondents’ gender, age, income level, education level and residence area. Theoretically, this study supported the view of consumers’ perception towards organic food products will influence their behavioral intention and then lead to the actual purchase of the products. The findings proposed useful information to organic marketers to help them develop effective marketing strategies to convince organic-concerned segment to purchase the organic food products and to enhance the pro-environmental purchasing behavior in Malaysia.