Influence of Socio-Psychological Factors on Consumer Willingness to Pay (WTP) for Organic Food Products
Keywords:
Organic food; price premium; consumers’ perceptions; psychological factors; theory of planned behavior; ordered logit model
Abstract
This study evaluates consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) a premium for organic vegetables and fruits in Pietermaritzburg metropolis, KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa, using data collected from 210 consumers approached during their food shopping. The standard economic approach to valuation was extended by including psychological factors. The results from the empirical model show that psychological factors (behavioural control, attitude and subjective norms) exerted more influence on consumers’ WTP for organic products. In addition, socio-demographic factors such as gender, education, number of children in a household, high income and race, are statistically significant in explaining consumers’ WTP for organic food. Policy implications for advancement and improved promotion, sales and consumption of organic food products were discussed.
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References
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Notani, A. S. (1997). Perceptions of affordability: their role in predicting purchase intent and purchase. Journal of Economic Psychology, 18, 525-546. O’Neal, P. W. (ed.) (2007). Motivation of Health Behavior. New York: Nova Science Publishers Inc. Onozaka, Y., Bunch, D. & Larson, D. (2006). What exactly are they paying for? Explaining the price premium for organic fresh produce. Update: Agricultural and Resource Economics, 9, 1-4. Oh, H. & Hsu, C. H. C. (2001). Volitional degrees of gambling behaviors. Annals of Tourism Research, 28(3), 618-637. Onyango, B. M., Hallman, W. K. & Bellows, A. C. (2007). Purchasing organic food in US food systems: A study of attitudes and practice. British Food Journal, 109(5), 399-411. Omar, N. A, Nazri, M. A., Osman, L. H. & Ahmad M. S. (2016). The effects of demographic factors on consumers’ intention to purchase organic products in the Klang Valley: an empirical study. Malaysian Journal of Society and Space, 12(2), 68-82. Padel, S. & Foster, C. (2005). Exploring the gap between attitudes and behavior. British Food Journal, 107(8), 606-625. Roitner-Schobesberger, B., Darnhofer, I., Somsook, S. & Vogl, C. R. (2008). Consumer perceptions of organic food in Bangkok, Thailand. Food Policy, 33, 112-121. Sarma, P. K. & Raha, S. K. (2016). Consumers’ willingness to pay for organic beef: evidence from Dhaka city. Journal of Bangladesh Agricultural University, 14(1), 83-91. Shafie, F. A. & Rennie, D. (2012). Consumer perceptions 00towards organic food. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 49, 360-367. Spash, C. L., Urama, K., Burton, R., Kenyon, W., Shannon, P. & Hill, G. (2009). Motives behind willingness to pay for improving biodiversity in a water ecosystem: economics, ethics and social psychology. Ecological Economics, 68(4), 955-964. Stobbelaar, D. J., Casimir, G., Borghuis, J., Marks, I., Meijer, L. & Zebeda, S. (2006). Adolescents’ attitudes towards organic food: a survey of 15 to 16-year-old schoolchildren. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 31(4), 349–356. Tarkiainen, A. & Sundqvist, S. (2005). Subjective norms, attitudes and intentions of Finnish consumers in buying organic food. British Food Journal, 107(11), 808-822. Thogersen, J. (2006). Predicting Consumer Choices of Organic Food: Results from the CONDOR Project, in Proceedings of European Joint Organic Congress, eds. Andreasen C.B., L. Elsgaard, S. Sondergaard, L. Sorensen and G. Hansen. 30-31, Odense, Denmark. Thompson, N. J. & Thompson, K. E. (1996). Reasoned action theory: an application to alcohol free beer. Journal of Marketing Practice, 2, 35-48. Thompson, G. D. (1998). Consumer’s demand for organic foods: what we know and what we need to know. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 80(5), 1113-1118. Vindigni, G., Janssen, M. A. & Jager, W. (2002). Organic food consumption: a multi-theoretical framework of consumer decision making. British Food Journal, 104(8), 624-642. Voon, J. P., Ngui, K. S. & Agrawal, A. (2011). Determinants of willingness to purchase organic food: and explanatory studying using structural equation modeling. International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, 14(2), 103-120. Whitehead, P. & Nicholson, S. (2001). Organic food: niche or mainstream, IGD, Letch more Heath Wart ford.
Published
2018-11-03
How to Cite
Baiyegunhi, L. J., Mashabane, S. E., & Sambo, N. C. (2018). Influence of Socio-Psychological Factors on Consumer Willingness to Pay (WTP) for Organic Food Products. Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, 10(5(J), 208-219. https://doi.org/10.22610/jebs.v10i5(J).2510
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Research Paper
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