Using the Theory of Planned Behavior to Examine Repeated Organic Food Purchasing: Evidence from an Online Survey

Abstract

This study investigated repeated organic food purchasing behavior among customers of a local farm. Differently from previous studies, which have mostly taken random individuals as their sample, this study had as its sample individuals who are already customers and who have purchased several times, or have at least demonstrated an intention to do so through membership. Therefore, by eliminating the motivational aspect of intention, the focus was on examining the intention-behavior gap. Specifically, this gap was tested for repeated purchases by incorporating food safety concern, health consciousness, trust, and organic food knowledge as background variables into the Theory of Planned Behavior model. Data were collected through an online survey from 594 local farm customers, and the responses were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The utility of the extended model is mainly confirmed by this study, and the predictive power of the model is improved compared to the basic model. Lastly, intention and perceived behavioral control mediates the relationship between trust and organic food purchasing behavior, and further, trust moderates the relationship between intention and self-reported organic food buying behavior.

Keywords:

• Organic food
• theory of planned behavior
• trust
• food safety concern
• health consciousness
• knowledge

JEL CLASSIFICATION:

• M10
• C83
• R91
• I12

Acknowledgement

We would like to present special thanks to Pınar Kaftancıoğlu who is the owner of “İpek Hanım’ın Çiftliği,” a local farm in Turkey. This study would not have been possible without her support.

Disclosure statement

The authors have declared no conflict of interest.

This paper is a part of Dinc-Cavlak’s Ph.D. Thesis at the Department of Business Administration at the Middle East Technical University.

Notes

1 [I] available at: https://worldfood-istanbul.com/Articles/the-healthy-option-organic-food-in-turkey (accessed 7 February 2021).

2 [II] available at: https://www.euromonitor.com/food-and-drink-internet-retailing-in-turkey/report (accessed 7 February 2021).

3 TL denotes Turkish Lira.