Assessment of the impacts of the consumers’ awareness of organic food on consumption behavior

Abstract Consumer demand for organic foods has increased significantly in recent years in the world. Consumers are influenced by various internal/external factors when purchasing food products. The aim of this study is to determine the effects of knowledge variable on consumers’ purchasing or consuming behavior for organic foods together with other factors in Turkey (Hatay City). For this purpose, the effects of consumers’ organic product knowledge levels are examined within the frame of Theory of Planned Behavior. The data of 431 consumers analyzed in the model were collected in 2017 with a 21 scale questionnaire and analyzed with Structural Equation Model. According to the results of the model analysis, a significant part of the variance in consumers' organic food demand (61%) was explained by the organic food knowledge variable. Reducing consumption obstacles, along with efforts to increase the organic food knowledge of consumers, will increase organic demand. While trying to increase the supply of organic products especially in regions where consumers are concentrated, the food production sector should also focus on informing, raising awareness and promoting. The actual buying behavior in organic food products should be examined in more detail in terms of motivation sources and obstacles.

摘要 近年来，全球有机食品的消费者需求显著增长。消费者在购买食品时会受到各类内外部因素的影响。本研究旨在结合其他影响因素，探究知识变量对土耳其哈塔伊市消费者有机食品购买或消费行为的影响。为此，本研究基于计划行为理论（Theory of Planned Behavior）框架，分析消费者有机产品知识水平的影响效应。本研究以2017年通过21题项量表问卷收集的431名消费者数据为分析样本，采用结构方程模型（Structural Equation Model）开展数据分析。模型分析结果显示，消费者有机食品需求的方差中有61%可由有机食品知识变量解释。降低消费障碍并着力提升消费者的有机食品知识水平，将有效拉动有机食品需求。在扩大有机产品供给（尤其是消费者集中区域的供给）的同时，食品生产行业还应侧重信息科普、意识提升与宣传推广工作。未来可从动机来源与障碍因素维度，对有机食品的实际购买行为展开更细致的研究。