Importance of health and environment as quality traits in the buying decision of organic products
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Purpose This paper aims to explore consumer preference for fresh vegetables labelled as organic in combination with health and environment related quality traits. The study decomposes organic farming into its main quality aspects and measures consumers' preference structure for organic, in general, and for specific organic quality traits in particular. Design/methodology/approach By means of stated choice preference modelling, the following hypotheses are tested: consumers prefer health over environment related quality traits; the organic label plays a significant role in consumers' choice for organic products; organic farming is perceived as healthier and more environmentally friendly than conventional farming; purchase intention is mainly driven by health related quality traits; both health and environmental concerns influence purchase frequency, though to a different extent. The choice experiment was completed by 527 participants, with four repetitions per participant. Findings The health‐related traits score better than environmental traits in shaping consumer preference for organic vegetables. Consumers prefer organic products over B‐branded products, but not over A‐branded products, which suggests that consumers classify organic products among other quality niche products. However, they attribute a better score to the health and environment related quality traits of organic products, indicating a difference in quality cues between organic products and quality products in general. Price becomes less important, whereas presence of an organic label becomes more important with increasing buying intensity of organic vegetables. Undesirable traits, such as pesticide residue levels trigger a stronger response than desirable traits, such as environmental or health benefits. Original value The measurement of the role of health and environment quality traits in consumers' decision to buy organic or not is of relevance given the current debate on the factual differences between organic and conventional vegetables. Furthermore, the use of the stated choice preference to test the hypotheses is original and relevant.
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Past research does not yield a clear picture on whether egoistic or altruistic motives are dominant as drivers of consumers' green attitude and behavior.
“the results do not yield a clear picture on whether egoistic or altruistic motives are dominant”
From How the interplay between consumer motivations and values influences organic food identity and behavior (2018) · cites this paper as Mondelaers et al. (2009)
Mondelaers et al. (2009) found that individuals attach higher importance to health (egoistic motive) than to sustainability (altruistic motive) when making organic food choices.
“the study by Mondelaers et al. (2009) indicates that individuals attach higher importance to health (egoistic motive) than to sustainability (altruistic motive) when making organic food choices”
From How the interplay between consumer motivations and values influences organic food identity and behavior (2018) · cites this paper as Mondelaers et al. (2009)
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- Authors
- Mondelaers, K., Verbeke, W., & Van Huylenbroeck, G.
- Affiliations
- Ghent University (BE)
- ORCID
- Verbeke, Wim
- Venue
- British Food Journal
- Publisher
- Emerald
- Published
- 2009-09-26
- Volume
- 111
- Issue
- 10
- Pages
- 1120-1139
- ISSN
- 0007-070X (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2001218859
- Cited by
- 206
- References
- 36
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 24 · 2022: 20 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 12 · 2015: 12 · 2014: 12 · 2013: 11 · 2012: 10
- FWCI
- 10.52
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- biblio.ugent.be
- Licence
- Locations
- British Food Journal (publishedVersion)
- Ghent University Academic Bibliography (Ghent University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Organic Food and Agriculture
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Consumer Attitudes and Food Labeling
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Economic and Environmental Valuation
- Keywords
- organic food, consumer preferences, organic vegetables, organic labeling, purchase intention, purchase frequency, pesticide residues, organic vs conventional farming
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