The Research Comment on Organic Food Consumer Behavior

Jin WANG，Pengcheng LIU

College of Economics and Management，Huazhong Agricultural University，Wuhan 430070，China

With the improvement of people's living standards，consumers are in greater and greater demand of high-quality food.The organic food in domestic China is still at the primary stage of development，and therefore is barely known to the general consumers.Thus，the domestic studies on the consumer behavior of organic food are mostly based on the relevant studies from foreign countries.The paper summarized several classic consumption theories，such as the theory of planned behavior，Nicosia mode，Howard－Sheth mode，etc.，and deduced the path of consumer behavior（Fig.1）.

Fig.1 Path of the organic food consumer behavior

1 Consumers' recognition of organic food

Recognition，which means that the consumers could have a comprehensive understanding of the concept，features，growing conditions and certification standards of organic food，is the basis of consumers' purchase behavior.That is why a majority of studies in this field focus on this point.Among all the studies conducted by foreign experts，Aarset（2004），in order to study the consumers' recognition of organic food，carried out an investigation on 196 consumers from five European countries including Britain and Germany，and made a case study of organic aquatic products.According to his research findings，most consumers were confused about the concept of＂organic＂and knew very little about the certification and labels of organic food［1］.Briz（2009）studied the Spanish consumers' recognition and its influencing factors based on the Logit model，and established the probability of different recognition levels，as well as made a ranking of different influencing factors according to their importance.The results indicated that the consumers' education is the major factor influencing their recognition of organic food，other factors，such as the consumers' age，sex and income，region，the size of market，could also influence the consumers' recognition［2］.

Among all domestic studies，Zhou Jiehong（2004）studied the recognition of consumers in the coastal cities of Zhejiang Province，and found out that only 47.8%of consumers heard about organic food，and the consumers who have seen the labels of organic food are only 12.3%［3］.Zhang Xiaoyong（2004）investigated the consumers' behavior of pollution-free food，green food，organic food and genetically modified food in Tianjin，and found out that less than 50%of them have heard about organic food［4］.Zheng Yimin（2009）carried out a questionnaire survey about the consumers' recognition of organic food，and discovered that about 76.5%heard about the organic food，and 40.4%of them had a little understanding about the difference between organic food and other food，which indicated that the consumers in China only had a superficial understanding of the organic food［5］.Xie Yumei（2013）analyzed the consumers' recognition of organic food from four aspects，including whether they heard about the organic food，their knowledge about the concept，laws and brands of organic food，and concluded that the consumers knew very little about the organic food［6］.

2 Consumers' attitude towards the organic food

Attitude，which refers to the consumers' evaluation of organic food，would affect the consumers' willingness to purchase and pay for the organic product.

According to a survey of 1 113 consumers in Denmark conducted by Thogersen（2007），the consumers' attitude towards the organic tomatoes and potatoes is determined by their past ideas and experience of the vegetable［7］.However，the study of Saba（2003）demonstrated a quite opposite result that the consumers' past ideas did not exert any influence on their attitude［8］.After a comparison the consumers' consumption of organic food in three countries of Croatia，Bosnia and Slovenia，Marija（2010）discovered that the consumers' in the three countries all hold positive attitude about the advantages of organic food，such as healthy，good taste，environmental-friendly，and other four aspects［9］.Hanna（2011）studied the consumers' attitude about organic food and traditional food by asking 31 questions from five aspects，and found out that the consumers showed distinctive preference to these two kinds of food，and claimed that those who equaled high price to high quality would be more likely to purchase the organic food［10］.Hjelmar（2011）also carried out a survey on the influence of several factors，such as social exchange，ecological labels，mass media，etc.，on the consumers' attitude about organic food in Denmark［11］.

Among all the domestic studies，there are very few which focus only on the consumers' attitude，and most of them include the attitude into one of the factors influencing the consumers' purchase.Chen（2007）studied Taiwan consumers' attitude towards organic food based on the Theory of Planned Behavior，and established a flexible regression model（MRA）model to study the factors influencing the consumers' attitude towards organic food.According to the findings，the attitude is affected by the six motivations of food consumption［12］.Wang Xia（2009）carried out a survey in Nanjing and discovered that over 80%of consumers were positive about the organic food［13］.Yang Yinong（2012）discovered that consumers in big cities like Beijing，Shanghai，however，were a little negative about the organic vegetables［14］.

3 Consumers' willingness to pay for the organic food

The willingness to pay means that the consumers are willing to pay higher price for the organic food.According to a study of consumers' willingness to pay for the organic wine in Spain conducted by Brugarolas（2005），the consumers' willingness to pay is affected by their lifestyle，their concern of environment and their knowledge about food［15］.In 2007，Batte further divided the organic food according to their components，and then discussed the consumers' willingness to pay for the organic food with different components.According to the findings，even if the organic component was less than 100%，the consumers were still willing to pay higher price for organic food［16］.Ellen（2011） studied the consumers' willingness to pay for the organic chicken in 2011 by the method of choice experiment，and discovered that it was affected by different certification standards，as well as the frequency consumers buying the chicken［17］.Haghjou（2013）discovered that 95%of Iran consumers were willing to pay extra price for organic food，but only 10%of them accept a more than 35%extra［18］.

Among all the domestic studies，Zhang Xiaoyong，in his study conducted in 2004，discovered that the percentage of consumers who are willing to pay extra price for organic food，was far below that of harmless and green food，but higher than that of GM（genetically modified）food［4］.DaiYingchun studied the consumers in Nanjing in 2006 by the Logit model，and found that the consumers' willingness to pay for the organic vegetable was affected by the consumers' age，sex，education，family and concern about environment［19］.Liu Jundi（2009）found that the consumers only accept an extra of organic pork within 30%［20］.Yu Jianbin conducted a survey of consumers in Guangdong in 2012，and demonstrated that a majority of consumers would only accept an extra of organic food below 30%.Besides，26%of consumers only accept less than 5%of price extra，and 32%are willing to pay for an extra of 5% －10%［21］.

4 Consumers' purchase behavior of organic food

Since the consumers' practical purchase behavior of organic food is closely related to their income and the development of organic food industry，there is a great difference in the consumers' purchase behavior in different regions.The market of organic food in China is still not mature，and there are very few studies related to this，while more relevant studies can be found in some developed countries.Wier（2008）made a comparison of the organic food consumers in British and Denmark，and found that only 10%of consumers in Denmark had never bought the organic food，while the figure was about50%in British［22］.In addition，the study also studied the factors determining the consumers' final purchase behavior of organic food.Lydia（2007）divided all the influencing factors into four phases and made a fitting by using the Probit and Ordered Probit models，and found out that whether the consumers bought the organic food was significantly affected by where they choose to buy the food，their attitude toward the food，as well as their education，age and religion［23］.Lockie（2004）studied the influence of the consumers' attitude and emotion on their purchase behavior of organic food by adopting the method of path analysis，and discovered that their purchase behavior was affected by the quality of organic food，as well as their emotional factors［24］.

5 Study of the influencing factors on the consumer behavior

Since there are lots of factors which would influence the consumers' consumption of organic food，Schwartz's theory of value and Ajzen's theory of planned behavior were adopted to summarize the influencing factors mentioned in both foreign and domestic studies.

（1）Demographic characteristics.The demographic characteristics are mainly reflected in two levels.The first level includes the age，sex，education and vocation of the consumers；and the second level covers the size，structure and income of a family.The relevant studies can be seen in Table 1［5，14，19，22，25，35］.The experts get different conclusions about these factors，thus it is still uncertain about the influence of demographic factors on the consumer behaviors of organic food.

（2）Recognition of organic food.According to the studies of Stobbelaar（2007）and Gracia（2007），the consumers' higher recognition of organic food could improve their willingness to purchase the food［25，36］；Barnes（2009）also concluded that the consumers' willingness to purchase organic food is positively correlated with their recognition of this food［37］；Zuzanna（2010）classified the recognition of organic food into subjective recognition and objective recognition，and respectively studied their influence on the attitude and purchase behaviors of consumers，discovering that the subjective recognition has more influence than objective recognition［38］.Among all the studies in China，Ma Ji（2009）discovered that the consumers with higher objective recognition of organic food tend to buy more［29］；Wang Xia（2009）found out that whether the consumers buy the organic food is positively correlated with their recognition of the food［13］；Liu Zengjin（2011）demonstrated that the recognition of organic food would directly influence the consumers' purchase［33］；Yang Yinong（2012）discovered that the current recognition level in China would exert positive influence on the consumers' purchase of organic food［14］.

Table 1 Relevant studies about the influence of demographic factors on the consumer behavior of organic food

The theory of reasoned action of Ajzen deemed that the consumers' attitude was the major factor influencing their consumption，which has been proven in lots of studies.According to the studies of Thøgersen（2007），Chen（2007）and Dean（2008），the consumers' willingness to pay for organic food is positively related to their attitude［7，12，39］；Gracia（2007）also discovered a positive relation between the consumers' practical purchase behavior and their attitude［36］.

（3）Value driving factors.Based on a review of the studies both at home and abroad，the value driving factors are mainly related to several aspects，including the awareness of food safety，the awareness of health，the awareness of environmental protection and the awareness of animal protection，etc.According to the studies of Honkanen（2006），Roitner－Schobesberger（2008）and Yin Shijiu（2008），the consumers concern very much about their health when purchasing the organic food［32，40－41］；Chen（2009）explained Taiwan consumers' purchase of organic food from their concern of health［42］.The studies of Zheng Yimin（2009）and Lu Yang（2010）also demonstrated the same results［5，31］，Zhou Yingheng（2004）demonstrated that the consumers' attitude towards food safety directly influence their attitude and their willingness to pay［43］，Dai Yingchun（2006）explained that Nanjing citizens' concern of vegetable safety is a major factor affecting their purchase of organic vegetables［19］.The studies of Zander（2009）maintained that the awareness to protect the environment and animals is another factor influencing the consumers' purchase of organic food［44］.

（4）Related factors about the theory of planned behavior.According to the theory of planned behavior，the factors affecting the consumers' purchase behavior mainly include three aspects：the attitude about purchase，subjective norms and perceived behavior control.The subjective norms refer to the attitude of people who are valued by the consumers，while the perceived behavior control refers to the consumers' control of their behavior to purchase organic food.The theory of planned behavior is often used to study the consumption behavior.Based on TPB，Dean（2008）studied the influencing factors on the consumers' willingness to purchase organic apples and pizzas，and discovered that the three factors all produced positive influence［39］.Marie（2009）found out that the three factors significantly affected the consumers' willingness to pay，but presented little influence on their practical purchase and total expenditure［45］.Chen（2007）verified the application of planned behavior theory in the consumption of organic food by using the data of Taiwan consumers，and demonstrated that the three factors all produced positive influence on their willingness to pay［12］.Luo Cheng（2011）focused on the study of the consumers' willingness to pay for the safe pork，and discovered that it was positively affected by the consumers' attitude［46］.Lao Kefu（2013）found out that the green consumption has no influence on the consumers' consumption intention［47］.

（5）Factor of consuming motivation.Consuming motivation refers to the factors the consumers consider when purchasing the food.According to a survey of358 consumers，Steptoe（1995）extracted nine motivation factors，including health motivation，mood motivation，convenience motivation，sensory appeal motivation，natural contents motivation，price motivation，weight controlling motivation，familiarity motivation and ethics concern motivation，and made a food choice questionnaire（FCQ）［48］.In the following studies，Lindeman（2000），based on the FCQ of Steptoe（1995），selected eight factors and then added three more factors，including the ecological welfare motivation，political value motivation and religion motivation［49］.Lockie（2004）made a new improved questionnaire covering the factors of green consumption motivation，willingness to pay premium motivation，convenience motivation，sensory and emotion motivation，nature motivation，political and ecological values，health motivation and acceptance of biotechnology［24］.Chen（2007）applied the econometric model to discuss the influence of these factors on the consumers' consumption of organic food［12］，and discovered that the consumer behaviors are affected by the factors of mood，nature，animal protection，environmental protection，political value and religious belief.

6 Summary

It is easy to discover certain rules from all the related studies on the consumption of organic food.Firstly，the foreign studies，especially in European countries，are ahead of the domestic studies both in quality and quantity.Secondly，the study findings are gradually advancing as time goes by.The past studies can only be used for a reference for the current studies.Thirdly，as a result of the different situations in different places，the studies also vary from region to region.Therefore，it is very necessary to carry out the studies in different places.Fourthly，different studies show different conclusions about the consumer behavior，because these studies focus on different consumers.Fifthly，the methods adopted in different studies are basically same but still have some difference.The methods include CVM survey，questionnaires，statistical analysis，variance analysis，path analysis，etc.

However，the studies should also be improved from the following aspects：firstly，the methods are so simple，the single equation（O）Logit and（O）Probit models are often used，while the simultaneous equation（O）Logit and（O）Probit models are rarely used.In fact，the four aspects mentioned above could be taken into account to establish a simultaneous model to discuss the relations of recognition，attitude，willingness and behaviors；secondly，the studies all focus on similar factors，more on the consumers themselves and their families than on their mental state and value；thirdly，the studies concentrate more on the consumers in some big cities like Beijing and Shanghai，and it is necessary that the consumers in other cities should also be studied；fourthly，the domestic studies should focus more on theory than on practice without establishing a clear theoretical framework.The conclusions made from the studies by learning from the methods of foreign countries are often biased.

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