British Food Journal

Predicting intentions to purchase organic food: the moderating effects of organic

food prices
Rong-Da Liang

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Predicting intentions to purchase

organic food: the moderating
effects of organic food prices
Downloaded by Panyapiwat Institute of Management, Mr Khoa Tran At 04:38 05 September 2016 (PT)

Rong-Da Liang
Department of Leisure and Recreation Management,
National Kaohsiung University of Hospitality and Tourism,
Kaohsiung city, Taiwan

Intentions to
purchase
organic food
183
Received 17 June 2015
Revised 26 September 2015
Accepted 27 September 2015

Abstract
Purpose Organic food represents the fastest growing sector in the food market, with outstanding
performance in both production and sales. However, existing studies on organic food have lacked a
strong theoretical foundation. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships among
purchase intention and the properties, certification mechanisms, retail channels, and prices of organic
food from multiple theoretical perspectives.
Design/methodology/approach Using a rigorous sampling design, 507 valid questionnaires
collected from consumers at four well-known organic food markets, and the hypotheses were tested
based on a linear structural equation model.
Findings The results of the structural equation model analysis showed the following: consumer
attitudes toward organic food labeling/certification institutions had a positive impact on the trust in
food labeling; channel dependence positively influenced the relational embeddedness in a channel; the
effect of the nutritional value of organic food on environmental protection also had a positive impact on
attitudes toward organic foods; attitudes toward trust in the organic label, relational embeddedness in
a channel, and attitudes toward organic foods had a positive impact on consumer purchase intentions;
and in relation to low-price scenarios, consumers required more confidence to purchase higher-priced
goods, meaning that the relational embeddedness in a channel exerted more influence on purchase
intentions. By contrast, compared to the high-price scenarios, consumers tended to choose lower priced
goods based on personal preferences, e.g., making the purchase decision based on trust in the organic
label and attitudes toward organic food.
Originality/value The contributions of this study include the following: the relationships among
the variables were investigated comprehensively from multiple theoretical perspectives; and the results
can help the government and the organic food industry to understand their respective responsibilities
in promoting organic food to reduce the waste of resources, in which the government can provide basic
information on organic food, e.g., a certification mechanism and related definitions, while the organic
food industry provides specific knowledge about organic foods, e.g., product features.
Keywords Purchase intention, Attitude towards organic food, Organic food price,
Organic-label trust, Relational embeddedness in a channel
Paper type Research paper

1. Introduction
Organic food is the fastest growing market in the food industry in many countries
(Dettmann and Dimitri, 2010), including in Europe and South Asia (Al-Swide et al.,
2014). Moreover, in the last decade or so its production area and sales volume have
achieved a compound annual growth rate of more than 10 percent (Willer and Kilcher,
2012). However, the rapid development of the organic food market has also exposed the
The author acknowledges the financial support of Agriculture and Food Agency, Council of
Agriculture, Executive Yuan and Ministry of Science and Technology (Taiwan) and the editing
service of Paul Steed and Julia Zhang.

British Food Journal

Vol. 118 No. 1, 2016
pp. 183-199
Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0007-070X
DOI 10.1108/BFJ-06-2015-0215

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184

fact that related studies, which have focussed on either exploratory understandings of
consumer decision-making processes (Essoussi and Zahaf, 2008) or describing the
nature of organic food and analyzing demographic variables (Dimitri and Oberholtzer,
2009; Lea and Worsley, 2005), have been unable to keep pace with developments in
practice. For example, Lee and Yun (2015) note that existing studies on organic food
lack a strong theoretical foundation.
In light of this, the author believes that it is necessary to better understand food
behavior to construct the mindset of consumers of organic products. Given that
peoples food choices represent the outcomes of a complex process that is affected by
multiple factors (Costell et al., 2010), examinations of this issue also need to consider
many factors, such as the food itself (taste) or certain non-food effects (e.g. cognitive
information) (Atkinson and Rosenthal, 2014; Gerrard et al., 2013). This study attempts
to use the perspectives of multiple theories that have been frequently applied in the
fields of retail and management (Pei et al., 2014; Sarkis et al., 2011) to integrate the
theory of planned behavior (TPB) (consumer attitudes toward organic food),
transaction cost theory (consumers and relational embeddedness in a channel), and
signaling theory (consumer attitudes toward organic labels and organic food prices) to
construct a comprehensive research framework. Using multiple theoretical
perspectives, this study aims to better understand the roles and functions of organic
food itself, organic food channels, and food labeling and certification systems, in
addition to the moderating effects of organic food prices on the relationships among the
above-mentioned variables.
2. Literature review
2.1 The relationships among attitudes toward organic labels, attitudes toward label
sources, and organic-label trust
Consumers overall assessment of whether they are willing to buy certain goods
originates from the combined effects of trust in the brand and the focal products
attributes (Fishbein, 1963), which are also the core issues in the organic product claim.
Moreover, when consumers are in a situation in which there is insufficient relevant
information and a high level of uncertainty, trust can reduce the perceived risk for all
the parties involved (Alaszewski, 2003). Wallace et al. (2005) also note that trust has a
positive impact on the possibility of buying animal food products. In short, trust is an
important factor that affects food purchase intentions ( Jiang and Chiu, 2014; Moussa
and Touzani, 2008).
When there is information asymmetry or inadequacy in a transaction, then
signaling theory holds that consumers choose one or two clues and signals that exist
externally in relation to the product (Darby and Karni, 1973; Spence, 1973), such as
advertising (Pei et al., 2014), product warranties and brand names (Rao et al., 1999), in
order to make their purchase decisions. In the organic food market, the certification seal
and place of origin functions as signals (Krystallis and Chryssohoidis, 2005; Padel and
Foster, 2005; Roe and Sheldon, 2007), acting as mechanisms assuring consumers that
products are natural and free of pesticides, and improving consumer attitudes toward
the focal items and the claims regarding their origins (Atkinson and Rosenthal, 2014).
Al-Swide et al. (2014) note that a positive attitude to product labeling establishes
consumer trust and confidence in relation to the product. Atkinson and Rosenthal
(2014) use an experimental design to explore consumer trust, and confirm that the
higher the consumer attitude toward ecological labeling, the greater the trust that

consumers place in the labeling, especially for those labels issued by a government
authority. Based on this, we propose the following hypotheses:
H1. The higher the consumer awareness of organic food certification labeling is, the
more significantly it enhances the sense of trust in organic food labeling.

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H2. The higher the consumer awareness of the organic food certification source is,
the more significantly it enhances the sense of trust in organic food labeling.
H3. The higher the consumer trust in organic food is, the more significantly it
enhances consumer purchase intentions.
2.2 The relationships among frequency, dependence, relational embeddedness in a
channel, and purchase intention
The limitations of environmental uncertainties and peoples limited rationality increase
the cost of the price mechanism in the operational process, i.e., the transaction cost, and
thus transaction cost theory has been applied to the food industry (e.g. Tesfom, 2008).
When an individual has a higher transaction frequency with another individual, who
also represents a high transaction cost, a more complicated management system tends
to develop (Claro and Oliveira, 2004). Therefore, the exchanging actors should minimize
costs by using specific governance structures, with repetitive dynamic market
transactions leading to the use of embedded ties ( Jones et al., 1997).
Frequency is concerned with how often specific parties interact with one another
(Williamson, 1999), and thus it can be used to examine the commercial relationships
that arise between organic food manufacturers and consumers. Given that a higher
frequency indicates higher transaction costs, the exchanging actors therefore minimize
costs through specific governance structures. Masters et al. (2004) claim that the
development of embedded ties by manufacturers is positively influenced by the trading
frequency. A greater number of repeated dynamic food market transactions leads to
the stronger embedded ties ( Jones et al., 1997; Tesfom, 2008), thus increasing the
efficiency, depth, and breadth of the knowledge exchanges that occur among
individuals (Lane and Lubatkin, 1998).
Dependence can be defined as the extent at which one individual must maintain the
trade relation to achieve a particular goal (Ganesan, 1994). When a particular resource
can bring benefits for channel partners or the benefits are not easily replaced, the
channel partners have dependence on the vendor or manufacturer (Emerson, 1962).
In addition, dependence also reflects the importance and scarcity of the source of supply;
when the supply party possesses a resource that the demand party wants or needs, and
the demand party must obtain the resource to achieve a specific goal, it has dependence
on the supply party (Tesfom, 2008). Dependency exists because the resources provided
by partners allow manufacturers to more effectively respond to critical events. When one
group is dependent on another, then this indicates that the former wants to maintain a
continued relationship (Ganesan, 1994). We thus propose H4-H6, as follows:
H4. The higher the interaction frequency between consumers and organic food
channels is, the closer the relational embeddedness between the two.
H5. The higher the interaction dependence between consumers and organic food
channels is, the closer the relational embeddedness between the two.
H6. The higher the relational embeddedness between consumers and organic food
channels is, the higher the purchase intentions of consumers.

Intentions to
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organic food
185

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186

2.3 The relationships among nutritional value, environmental effect, attitude toward
organic foods, and purchase intention
The TPB is a cognitive model of human behavior that is based on the constructs of
attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and behavioral intentions
(Ajzen, 1985), and it has been adopted in many studies of consumer organic food
behavior (Al-Swide et al., 2014; Liang, 2014). According to Ajzen (1985), behavioral
intentions refer to the strength of an individuals intention to perform a particular
behavior. Meanwhile, attitudes represent overall sets of beliefs and evaluations, both
positive and negative. Regarding personal behaviors, the more positive the consumer
attitudes toward the food are, the greater the possibility that consumers will buy it
(Al-Swide et al., 2014; Chryssohoidis and Krystallis, 2005; Hughner et al., 2007; Lee and
Yun, 2015; Prati et al., 2012; Spence and Townsend, 2006).
With regard to the attributes of organic food, researchers indicate that health and
wellness are central to todays mainstream consumers (Chen, 2007; Fotopoulos and
Krystallis, 2002; Miller and Cassady, 2012). This has also in the dramatic growth the
organic food market over the last decade, as such items are generally considered to
have higher nutritional content (Lea and Worsley, 2005; Kareklas et al., 2014), and
positive consumer attitudes typically derive from the cognition of such foods as being
healthier (Zakowska-Biemans, 2011). Moreover, the production of organic food does not
use any chemicals or pesticides (Fotopoulos and Krystallis, 2002; Hughner et al., 2007),
which thus enhances the positive organic food-related attitudes of consumers (Ahmad
et al., 2010; Kareklas et al., 2014; Magnusson et al., 2003). Although there is no evidence
to indicate that organic food is actually more nutritious than conventional food, organic
food products contain more primary vitamins and fewer additives and secondary
nutrients (Chen, 2007), and some research shows that consumers are familiar with these
attributes (Lea and Worsley, 2005). Therefore, the following hypotheses are proposed:
H7. The higher the consumer cognition regarding the nutritional value of organic
food is, the more it enhances positive consumer attitudes toward organic food.
H8. The higher the consumer cognition regarding the environmental effects of
organic food is, the more it enhances positive consumer attitudes toward
organic food.
H9. The higher the consumer attitude toward organic food is, the more it enhances
consumer purchase intentions.
2.4 The moderating effect: higher organic food price vs lower organic food price
The price of organic food is an important factor that consumers consider when making
their purchase decisions (Al-Swide et al., 2014; Padel and Foster, 2005), which also
reflects the search property of organic foods (Lee and Yun, 2015). However, consumers
are badly in need of other clues to increase their purchase intentions (Darby and Karni,
1973; Spence, 1973), especially in cases in which the organic food price is higher than
that of conventional food. More importantly, even for consumers with a high awareness
of environmental protection, the evaluation of eco-products (e.g. organic food) is very
easily affected by the price rather than by the environmentally friendly characteristics
of the focal item (Belk et al., 2005).
The question thus arises, how do consumers increase their consumption confidence
through clues? As indicated by Piqueras-Fiszman and Spence (2015), the components of
an individuals impression of a product include extrinsic and intrinsic clues. Intrinsic

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clues consist of the attributes of the product itself, such as volume and color, while
extrinsic clues are product features that are not directly affected by the product, such
as organic food labeling, price, packaging, and retail store type (Veale and Quester,
2009). Intrinsic clues are more trusted than extrinsic ones, and the latter are widely used
only when the former cannot be used to make a prediction or consumers are especially
lacking in confidence (Marian and Thgersen, 2013). We thus hypothesize that when
organic food has a higher price, even if consumers have purchase intentions on account
of concerns about personal health or the environment, they tend to lack confidence and
wish to obtain more extrinsic clues (such as reassurance and specific knowledge about
a product provided by the channels employees), and thus increase their consumption
confidence through extrinsic clues. By contrast, consumers are indifferent to the
lower cost of the transaction, and tend to assess organic food through intrinsic clues.
These ideas are restated in the following hypothesis:
H10. The organic food price regulates trust in organic food labeling, relational
embeddedness in a channel, and the relationship between the attitude toward
organic food and the purchase intention. The higher the price is, the more
consumers emphasize the provision of extrinsic clues, in addition to the
satisfaction with intrinsic clues, to increase the purchase intention. Conversely, the
lower the price is, the more consumers emphasize the provision of intrinsic clues,
in addition to the need for extrinsic clues, to increase their purchase intention.
3. Research method
3.1 Questionnaire design
The questionnaire was divided into three parts. In the first part, the first page asked the
respondent to describe the most frequently purchased organic food and the most
impressive organic food (including vegetables, rice, fruits, processed foods, and meat)
in the last three months, which was used as the classification basis for organic food
prices (item: the consumer was informed that, in the general situation of purchasing
organic food, the price of organic food was 200 percent higher than that of conventional
foods (Huang and Fang, 2001); when the respondents most frequently purchased
organic food and the most impressive organic food in the last purchase had a higher
price than this (more than 200 percent that of conventional food), the respondent would
choose the high-price scenario, otherwise, he or she would choose the low-price
scenario. In addition, the frequency of the purchase of organic food was also included in
the questionnaire. Respondents were asked whether they had purchased any organic
food in last six months; if the answer was no, then respondents were not required to
complete the questionnaire. In the second part, respondents were asked to answer eight
questions concerning demographic variables (e.g. gender, age, employment experience),
based on Liang (2014). In the third part, there were a total of two questions on the
purchase frequency at the channels, three questions each on channel dependence,
relational embeddedness in the channel, the nutritional value of organic food,
environmental protection effects (EPEs), attitudes toward organic food, and attitudes
toward organic food labeling, and four questions each on attitudes toward organic food
labeling institutions and the degree of trust in the labeling (as Table I).
3.2 Sampling design
The following three steps were used for the sampling procedures. First, a total of
600 self-evaluation questionnaires were issued to consumers. Second, with respect to

Intentions to
purchase
organic food
187

Level of trust in
the labeling (LT)

(continued )

Chang and Huang

(2007) and Rindfleisch and
Moorman (2001)

Chang and Huang (2007),

Ganesan (1994), and
Heide and John (1988)

Chang and Huang (2007) and

Heide and John (1988)

Atkinson and Rosenthal (2014)

and Moussa and Touzani (2008)

Kareklas et al. (2014) and

Degree of individuals
preference for organic food Atkinson and Rosenthal (2014)
labeling
Atkinson and Rosenthal (2014)
Degree of individuals
preference for
authentication institution

OLA1. Like/dislike
OLA2. Bad/good
OLA3. Negative/positive
EUA1. Good/bad
EUA2. Innovative/traditional
EUA3. High quality/low quality
EUA4. Care for environment/do not care for environment
EUA5. Pricy/cheap
LT1. The characteristics of the organic food labeling are trustworthy
LT2. The characteristics of the organic food labeling are rigorous in
production and inspection
LT3. The characteristics of the organic food labeling are honest
LT4. The characteristics of the organic food labeling are in
compliance with the law
CPF1. When purchasing organic food, I typically go to this organic
food store
CPF2. I often have business with this organic food store

Attitudes toward organic

food labeling
(OLA)
Attitudes toward
authentication institution
(EUA)

The level of eco-label

characteristics, such as
trustworthiness,
rigorousness in product
testing, honesty, and
legitimacy
The degree to which a
Channel purchase
particular exchange
frequency (CPF)
between two partners is
repeated
Channel dependence
CE1. This organic food store provides high-value foods that give me The extent to which a
partner provides valued
(CE)
vitality after eating them
CE2. This organic food store provides specialized knowledge that resources for which there
are few alternative sources
lets me more effectively understand organic food
CE3. It is very difficult for me to switch to another organic food store of supply
to buy food
Relational embeddedness CRE1. I have a long and close relationship with this organic food The degree of closeness
between partners
store
in a channel
CRE2. In my relationship with this organic food store, I frequently have
(CRE)
communications and interactions with the staff to gain more
information
CRE3. I have a deep social relationship with this organic food store

Operational definition

Table I.
Operational
definitions of the
variables

Items

188

Dimension

Source

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Items

OFV1. Organic food has more vitamins and minerals than

conventional food
OFV2. Organic food has higher nutritional value than conventional
food
OFV3. Organic food does not have any chemicals or hormonal
residues
Environmental
EFE1. Organic food can reduce the amount of chemicals flowing into
protection effects (EPE)
rivers and lakes
EFE2. Organic food can reduce pollution in the soil
EFE3. Organic food can reduce the agricultural use of herbicides and
pesticides
Attitudes toward organic OFA1. dislike/like
food (OFA)
OFA2. bad/good
OFA3. negative/positive
Purchase intentions (PI) PI1. The next time I shop for vegetables, I am very likely to choose
organic vegetables
PI2. The next time I shop for rice, I am very likely to choose organic
rice
PI3. The next time I shop for fruit, I am very likely to choose organic fruit
PI4. The next time I shop for meat, I am very likely to choose organic
meat
PI5. The next time I shop for processed food, I am very likely to
choose organic processed food

Nutritional value of
organic food (OFV)

Dimension

Source

The likelihood they would

buy organic food in the
next time

Kareklas et al. (2014) and

Ajzen (1985)

Degree of individuals
Kareklas et al. (2014)
preference for organic food

Kareklas et al. (2014) and

Degree to which organic
food reduces environmental Magnusson et al. (2003)
damage through not using
chemicals

Kareklas et al. (2014)

Degree to which organic
food is more nutritious than
conventional food

Operational definition

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Intentions to
purchase
organic food
189

Table I.

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190

the sampling location and time, it has been suggested that specific outlets from
different retail chains should be chosen, and consumers should be invited to complete
the questionnaires on-site after shopping (Krystallis and Chryssohoidis, 2005). The
present study thus used consumers who had a long history of purchasing organic food
as its subjects, and four organic food outlets in northern, central, and southern Taiwan
were randomly (e.g. Zakowska-Biemans, 2011) chosen as the sampling sites. This study
also aimed to avoid bias regarding the types of subjects by sampling at different sites
and times, and thus sampling was carried out in the morning (8:00 a.m.-13:00 p.m.) on
weekends during the period from October 1, 2014 to November 11, 2014. Two
investigators working in the rest areas and the entrances of the outlets, randomly
selected customers who had finished shopping to participate in the questionnaire
study, and these were presented with a small gift as a token of gratitude for their help.
4. Statistical results
4.1 Sample description
A total of 507 were obtained after excluding outliers and incomplete or invalid
responses. 173 were collected at Hopes Square in Taipei, 72 at the Zhongxing
University farmers market in Taizhong, 77 at the Chonggong University farmers
market in Tainan, and 185 at the Xiaobao farmers market in Kaohsiung. Female
respondents accounted for 68.1 percent of the total, and the samples were concentrated
in the age ranges of 36-45 (21.9 percent) and 46-55 (22.3 percent); those who had
obtained more than a college education accounted for 60.6 percent, and 52.4 percent of
the respondents were married with children. Those who had less than three years of
employment experience accounted for 24.5 percent of the total, while those who had
more than ten years of employment experience accounted for 55.3 percent. In total,
26.3 and 16.7 percent of the respondents worked in the services sector or as
homemakers, respectively, and almost 60 percent worked in other professions. Finally,
majority of respondents did not cook at home (48.0 percent).
4.2 Measurement model
Following the theory presented in Anderson and Gerbing (1988), a two-stage analytical
procedure was used to analyze the fit among the dimensions. The confirmatory factor
analysis showed that the modification index value of the EPE1 was greater than 10,
and thus the item was deleted (as seen in Table II). In addition, the standard load and
the error were subjected to the analysis, in which the composite reliability (CR) of each
dimension should be higher than 0.6 (CR 0.83~0.95) and the average variance
extracted (AVE) should be higher than 0.5 (AVE 0.62~0.85). The results indicated
that the CR and AVE of each dimension met the requirements.
The potential variables paired correlation confidence interval (CI) test proposed by
Anderson and Gerbing (1988) was adopted to examine the discriminant validity.
The exclusion of the value of 1 in the CI means that discriminant validity between the
potential variables exists, and the result indicate that the CIs of all dimensions did not
include 1, and thus there is discriminant validity between the dimensions. In addition,
as recommended by Hair et al. (1998), if the square root of the AVE of a potential
variable is larger than the correlation coefficient under other dimensions, then this
indicates that there is also discriminant validity between the dimensions. The results of
the two tests shown in Table III indicate that the items used in this work met the related
requirements.

Dimensions (CR, AVE)

Items

Standard loading (t)

Error

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OLA (0.95, 0.85)

OLA1
0.89 (25.43)
0.21
OLA2
0.93 (27.57)
0.13
OLA3
0.95 (28.53)
0.10
EUA (0.93, 0.73)
EUA1
0.88 (24.99)
0.23
EUA2
0.87 (24.57)
0.24
EUA3
0.95 (28.34)
0.10
EUA4
0.90 (25.97)
0.19
EUA5
0.62 (15.38)
0.61
LT (0.94, 0.79)
LT1
0.86 (23.85)
0.27
LT2
0.87 (24.28)
0.25
LT3
0.93 (27.18)
0.14
LT4
0.89 (25.50)
0.20
CPF (0.83, 0.71)
CPF1
0.78 (20.23)
0.39
CPF2
0.90 (24.83)
0.18
CE (0.83, 0.62)
CE1
0.84 (22.75)
0.29
CE2
0.83 (22.19)
0.31
CE3
0.67 (13.45)
0.55
CRE (0.90, 0.76)
CRE1
0.86 (23.76)
0.26
CRE2
0.90 (25.55)
0.19
CRE3
0.85 (23.23)
0.28
OFV (0.84, 0.64)
OFV1
0.89 (23.96)
0.22
OFV2
0.88 (23.54)
0.23
OFV3
0.60 (14.75)
0.65
EPE (0.88, 0.79)
EPE2
0.90 (22.87)
0.19
EPE3
0.87 (22.81)
0.24
OFA (0.94, 0.83)
OFA1
0.89 (24.13)
0.26
OFA2
0.95 (28.20)
0.11
OFA3
0.92 (26.67)
0.16
PI (0.91, 0.68)
PI1
0.93 (27.38)
0.14
PI2
0.92 (27.13)
0.15
PI3
0.79 (20.99)
0.38
PI4
0.61 (14.95)
0.63
PI5
0.82 (22.33)
0.33
Notes: 2/df(450) 4.63; RMSEA 0.08; NFI 0.95; NNFI 0.96; PNFI 0.81; CFI 0.96; IFI 0.96;
RFI 0.95; GFI 0.80; PGFI 0.64

4.3 Structural model

Regarding the overall fit assessment of the model, according to Bagozzi and Yi (1988),
it should be assessed in three aspects, i.e., the basic formula fit standard, the
preliminary fit criteria, and the overall model fit and the fit of the internal structure of
the model. Figure 1 shows that all fittings met the criteria described above, and that
overall they were within the acceptable ranges. The observed data of the overall model
fit criteria were /df (471) 5.95, GFI 0.75, PGFI 0.63, NFI NNFI 0.94,
CFI 0.95, IFI 0.95, RMSEA 0.09, and PNFI 0.84, indicating that the internal
structure of the model had a good fit.
4.4 Hypotheses testing
Figure 1 shows that consumer trust in the food labeling, relational embeddedness in the
channel, and the attitude toward organic food could explain 55 percent of the purchase
intention. Of these, consumer trust in the food labeling was the most important factor

Intentions to
purchase
organic food
191

Table II.
Confirmatory factor
analysis for all
dimensions

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192

Table III.
The correlation
analysis matrix

OFA

OLA

EUA

CPF

CE

CRE

OFV

EPE

LT

PI

0.02
0.03
0.04
0.04
0.04
0.04
0.04
0.04
0.04
OFA
0.91
OLA
0.84a
0.92c
0.03
0.04
0.04
0.04
0.04
0.04
0.04
0.04
EUA
0.55
0.56
0.85c
0.04
0.04
0.04
0.04
0.05
0.04
0.04
CPF
0.43
0.44
0.34
0.84c
0.02
0.03
0.03
0.04
0.04
0.03
c
CE
0.40
0.46
0.38
0.82
0.79
0.02
0.03
0.04
0.03
0.03
CRE
0.30
0.35
0.26
0.74
0.77
0.87 c
0.03
0.04
0.03
0.03
OFV
0.36
0.39
0.32
0.63
0.68
0.63
0.80c
0.04
0.04
0.03
EPE
0.34
0.32
0.22
0.56
0.49
0.38
0.50
0.89c
0.04
0.03
LT
0.25
0.45
0.34
0.49
0.60
0.41
0.50
0.50
0.89c
0.02
PI
0.40
0.41
0.27
0.75
0.68
0.55
0.64
0.68
0.68
0.82c
Notes: aNumbers below the diagonal represent correlations between pair of dimensions; bnumbers
above the diagonal represent standard deviation between pair of dimensions; citalic numbers on the
diagonal show the square root of AVE for each dimensions

( 41 0.52), followed by relational embeddedness in the channel ( 42 0.35), and

consumer attitudes toward organic food ( 43 0.18), indicating that organic food
labeling is indeed an important factor in the strategy of effectively creating a positive
image for organic food (Aertsens et al., 2009; Al-Swide et al., 2014). In addition, when the
organic food channel provided specialized knowledge and high-quality (42 0.90)
food, then this tended to promote the formation of a close relationship between
consumers and the retailer. The more consumers preferred the organic food labeling
(11 0.38) or the more they preferred the organic food labeling agencies (21 0.13),
the higher the consumer trust in the organic food labeling was. When consumers
believed that the organic food had nutritional value (53 0.28) and was able to help
protect the environment (63 0.22), they were more likely to have a positive attitude
toward the focal item.
When comparing the channel relationships under the different price scenarios, the
formula presented in Chin (2000) is used as the standard, with similar methods also
being widely applied in the management field (Kunz et al., 2011; Seo et al., 2015).
In analyzing the moderating role, it is suggested that, after the 2 test, if the two models
have a degree of freedom of 1 and 0.05, then the 2 difference of 3.84 indicates the
presence of a moderating effect (Bentler and Bonnet, 1980). The empirical results show
that, under the different price (high vs low) scenarios, the antecedent variables have
significant differences in influencing the purchase intention (as Table IV). Specifically,
regardless of the price scenario, consumer trust in the food labeling, relational
embeddedness in the channel, and the attitude toward organic food all significantly
enhance the purchase intention. However, in the low-price scenario, consumers pay
more attention to intrinsic clues, such as trust in the food labeling ( 41 0.58; t 26.78,
p o 0.001) and attitude toward organic food ( 43 0.19; t 4.95, p o 0.05); in the
high-price scenario, they place more emphasis on extrinsic clues, such as relational
embeddedness in the channel ( 42 0.32; t 22.28, p o 0.001).
5. Discussion
With respect to creating an effective organic food purchasing environment, attention
should be paid to strengthening positive consumer attitudes toward the food labeling and
certification institutions. For example, organic food labeling is a clue that is external to the
product (Darby and Karni, 1973; Janssen and Hamm, 2012), and which is used as a signal to

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0.21

OLA1

0.89(----)

0.27

0.26

0.13

0.20

0.13

OLA2

0.93(33.08)

LT1

LT2

LT3

LT4

0.10

OLA3

0.95(34.43)

0.85(----)

0.86(25.37)

0.93(29.24)

0.90(27.37)

0.23

EUA1

0.88(----)

0.24

EUA2

0.87(27.87)

0.10

EUA3

0.95(33.55)

0.19

EUA4

0.90(29.90)

0.26

0.09

0.18

0.61

EUA5

0.62(16.01)

OFA1

OFA2

OFA3

0.86(----)

0.95(30.64)

0.91(28.57)

0.38

CPF1

0.78(----)

0.19

CPF2

0.90(20.85)

0.30

CE1

0.84(----)

0.31

CE2

0.83(22.13)

0.56

CE3

0.66(13.21)

0.23

OFV1

0.88(----)

0.23

OFV2

0.88(22.97)

0.66

OFV3

0.69(14.90)

OLA

0.38(7.13)
EUA

Intentions to
purchase
organic food
0.52(13.66)

R = 22%
LT

0.13(2.45)

193

CPF

R 2 = 55%
PI

0.05(0.44)
2

R = 73%
OFA
0.35(9.28)
CE

0.92(----)

PI1

0.15

0.91(33.63)

PI2

0.16

0.78(23.52)

PI3

0.39

0.60(15.55)

PI4

0.64

0.80(24.79)

PI5

0.36

0.90(7.04)

0.26
OFA1

0.09
OFA2

0.18
OFA3

0.86(----)

0.95(30.64)

0.91(28.57)

OFV
0.28(5.13)
2

0.18

EPE2

0.90(----)

0.25

EPE3

0.87(18.24)

R = 19%
OFA

EPE

0.18(5.11)

0.22(4.00)

Standard Loading (t)

Path
H1. Attitudes toward organic food labeling
0.38(7.13)
(OLA)Level of trust in the labeling (LT)
H2. Attitudes toward authentication institution
0.13(2.45)
(EUA)Level of trust in the labeling (LT)
H4. Channel purchase frequency (CPF)Relational
0.05(0.44)
embeddedness in a channel (CRE)
H5. Channel dependence (CE)Relational
0.90(7.04)
embeddedness in a channel (CRE)
H7. Nutritional value of organic food
0.28(5.13)
(OFV)Attitudes toward organic food (OFA)
H8. Environmental protection effects (EPE) Attitudes
0.22(4.00)
toward organic food (OFA)
H3. Level of trust in the labeling (LT)Purchase
0.52(13.66)
intentions (PI)
H6. Relational embeddedness in a channel
0.35(9.28)
(CRE)Purchase intentions (PI)
H9. Attitudes toward organic food (OFA)Purchase
0.18(5.11)
intentions (PI)
Notes: 2/df
= 5.95; RMSEA = 0.08; NFI = 0.94; NNFI = 0.94;

(471)
IFI = 0.95; RFI = 0.93; GFI = 0.75; PGFI = 0.63

Hypothesis
Supported

R2
22%

Supported
Not Supported

73%

Supported
Supported

19%

Supported
Supported

55%

Supported
Supported

PNFI = 0.84; CFI = 0.95;

help consumers resolve the challenge of information asymmetry associated with organic
food. The procedure of the organic food authentication mechanisms and the expertise and
roles of the various related parties should all provide consumers with background
information to be used as assessment clues. In addition, the R2 value of 22 percent indicates
that there are still many origins of trust that are not included in the discussion. Among the
trust relationships noted by Jiang and Chiu (2014), the origins of trust can be divided into
interpersonal trust, organizational trust, and institutional trust. Parkinson (1975) claims
that different product information sources (e.g. friends, salespersons, and advertisements)
generate different preferences in consumers due to the different levels of professionalism
and impartiality of the sources.

Figure 1.
Structural model
figure

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Path analysis

OLALT
EUALT
CPFCRE
CECRE
194
OFVOFA
EPEOFA
LTPI
CREPI
OFAPI
n
Table IV.
2
Path relationships in -difference
p-Value
different scenarios

Total samples
path (t)

Low-price situation
path (SE) (t)

0.38 (7.13)
0.13 (2.45)
0.05 (0.44)
0.90 (7.04)
0.28 (5.13)
0.22 (4.00)
0.52 (13.66)
0.35 (9.28)
0.18 (5.11)
507

0.23 (0.06) (3.26)

0.27 (0.05) (3.86)
0.30 (0.18) (2.26)
0.48 (0.18) (3.48)
0.16 (0.08) (1.82)
0.11 (0.08) (1.25)
0.58 (0.05) (9.91)
0.23 (0.05) (4.28)
0.19 (0.05) (3.56)
243
705.0
o0.001

High-price situation
path (SE) (t)
0.47
0.12
0.47
0.49
0.24
0.26
0.46
0.32
0.17

(0.05) (7.57)
(0.04) (1.96)
(0.14) (4.07)
(0.13) (4.17)
(0.06) (3.54)
(0.07) (3.78)
(0.05) (8.12)
(0.04) (5.59)
(0.04) (3.13)
264
1,008.6
o 0.001

t-Value
48.66
37.13
11.82
0.72
12.69
22.33
26.78
22.28
4.95

With respect to the moderating role of organic food prices, similar to the claims made
by Marian and Thgersen (2013), when consumers lack trust, they actively seek
external clues to increase the willingness to buy. This phenomenon reflects two points:
first, creating a sense of trust should begin with the food labeling system and
certification institutions, e.g., by organizing competitions to increase the visibility of
organic food labeling or promoting the policies and implications of each of the steps in
the certification process on television programs at fixed time points and places; and
second, different promotion strategies should be adopted for high- and low-price
organic foods; e.g., in this study, the concepts of intrinsic and extrinsic clues are used to
explain the different influences of channels, food labeling, and organic food itself on
purchase intentions at different prices. For example, government agencies must
establish intrinsic clues for consumers (e.g. a preference for organic food) through
promotional modes in everyday life (e.g. activity programs and events at designated
times and locations); while extrinsic clues must be the focus in the high-price organic
food scenario, e.g., by delivering information through the service personnel of the
organic store to improve consumer awareness of organic food, and thus raise their
purchase intentions.
6. Conclusions and future work
6.1 Conclusions
Choosing food is a multidimensional and complex decision-making behavior (Costell
et al., 2010), especially in the case of organic food, which has the property of trust and
for which it is impossible for consumers to assess based on previous purchase
experiences (Moussa and Touzani, 2008). Therefore, we construct a complete organic
food purchase model based on multiple theoretical perspectives and seek to understand
the role of each of the variables in purchase intention by considering the organic food
itself, the organic retail channel, and the certification mechanisms. Meanwhile, the
overall theoretical model fitness meets the acceptable test criteria, indicating that
the theoretical model used in this study is valid, and demonstrating that interacting
relationships do indeed exist among the dimensions. More importantly, SEM is used to
test the model to explore the important implications of the relationships among the
variables, which can be used in developing the marketing strategy of the government
agencies in charge of both organic agriculture and the organic food industry.

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6.2 Theoretical and practical implications

In terms of the academic implications, we use theoretical perspectives in the present
study to construct an exploratory model of organic food purchase intentions,
something that has rarely been carried out in the literature. The majority of studies on
consumer organic food consumption behaviors still use experimental methods
(Atkinson and Rosenthal, 2014; Janssen and Hamm, 2012) or qualitative interviews
coupled with an experimental method (Gerrard et al., 2013), with only a few adopting
theoretical perspectives or a linear structural model to explore the causal relationships
among the variables (e.g. Lee and Yun, 2015). Therefore, this study follows the
suggestions of Kareklas et al. (2014) to construct a research framework based on
multiple theoretical perspectives and rigorous reasoning, and to address the gap in the
literature with regard to the factors that influence consumers purchase considerations.
In addition, from a social sciences perspective, the effects of the attributes of the
organic food itself, the organic food channels, and the certification system on purchase
intentions accounted for 55 percent of the total explanation, indicating the feasibility of
the proposed method to comprehensively and accurately determine the influential
factors, with similar methods having been used in the field of management (e.g. Bauer
et al., 2013; Sarkis et al., 2011).
With regard to the practical implications of this work, when developing a
marketing strategy for organic food, the organic food industry should add details of
the source of authentication, which can enhance consumer awareness of both organic
food and the related authentication mechanisms. Jiang and Chiu (2014) also note that
suppliers and venders of agricultural products should consider the issue of consumer
trust. In addition, both the organic food industry and government should assume
their respective duties: government agencies should focus on promoting basic details
of organic food (e.g. the authentication process and why this is very strict), while the
organic food industry should concentrate on the introduction of organic food
products (e.g. the provision of clear and accurate product information and
knowledge). Because it is impossible for the supervising government agencies in
Taiwan to transmit basic knowledge and expertise in the promotion of organic
agriculture and food, due to budgetary constraints, the results of this study make it
clear that both government and industry should each shoulder its own
responsibilities in efforts to expand this market.
6.3 Research limitations and future suggestions
With respect to the limitations of the present study and recommendations for future
research, the following issues must be addressed: first, the sampling range: the organic
food markets in Asia and Europe occupy an important position in the future
development of organic food (Kareklas et al., 2014). We agree with Bruns et al., (2004)
and suggest that future works should include cross-cultural studies (e.g. China and UK)
or investigations of foods in different Asian countries. In addition, various organic
retail channels, such as supermarkets and organic stores, can also be used as sampling
sites in the future works (Krystallis and Chryssohoidis, 2005). Second,
the research methods: SEM was used in this study to explore the relationships
among the variables. Although it can simultaneously consider the relationships among
the different variables and reduce the impact of statistical deviations, an experimental
method would be able to explore the causal relationships among the variables under
strict control of the conditions. Future studies should thus consider experiments under
controlled variables and environments (e.g. Janssen and Hamm, 2012), or they should

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be combined with qualitative and quantitative methods (Gerrard et al., 2013). Third, the
variables: the results of the path analysis show that the variables in the three
dimensions explain 55 percent of consumer purchase intentions, suggesting that there
are still other unaccounted variables. More variables should thus be included in future
studies to enrich our understanding of issues such as consumer preferences, e.g.,
acceptable price (Krystallis and Chryssohoidis, 2005), and the foods county of origin
(Yeh et al., 2010).
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About the author
Dr Rong-Da Liang is an Associate Professor in the Department of Leisure and Recreation
Management at the National Kaohsiung University of Hospitality and Tourism (Taiwan) and a
Fulbright Visiting Scholar at the College of Hospitality and Technology Leadership, University of
South Florida Sarasota Manate (USA). His main research interests focus on organic food
consumption behavior, hospitality marketing, electronic commerce, marketing research, and
tourism management. He has published in Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics,
Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, BMC Health Service Research, Computers in Human
Behavior, Current Issues in Tourism, Electronic Commerce Research & Applications,
Internet Research, Journal of Hospitality Marketing and Management, International Journal of
Hospitality and Tourism Administration, International Journal of Hospitality Management,
International Journal of Marketing Studies, Service Industrial Marketing, Tourism Management,
and regional journals. Dr Rong-Da Liang can be contacted at: austra@ms53.url.com.tw

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Intentions to
purchase
organic food
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