Consumers’ Purchase Intention towards Organic

Food in Pakistan

Introduction
Consumers are now becoming increasingly aware and concerned about the safety of
food and its related problems such as genetic modification (Christoph et al., 2008;
Ortega and Tschirley, 2017), pesticides (Miles and Frewer, 2001), BSE (McCluskey et
al., 2005), and salmonella food poisoning (Miles and Frewer, 2001). Therefore, the
organic food market has evolved substantially due to the increasing need for healthier
foods, mainly organic foods (Bhattarai et al., 2013; Kumar et al., 2018; Lee et al., 2014;
Sharma and Bansal, 2013) that are grown without harmful pesticides, herbicides, and
artificial fertilizers. Organic food demand is expanding much faster than local production
and supply in several countries. The uncontrolled growth of the organic food market in
Asian countries indicates growing consumer concern about organic food on the
improvement of the quality of life and the shift in perceptions from traditional diet to a
healthy diet (Al-Swidi, Mohammed Rafiul Huque, Haroon Hafeez, & Noor Mohd Shariff,
2014). The international market for organic food reached $110.25 billion in 2016,
according to TechSci Research, and is anticipated to rise $262.85 billion by 2022. The
organic food industry is expected to grow rapidly in Asia Pacific countries, accounting
for more than 12% of global revenue by 2025 (Grand View Research, 2017). Several
studies addressing organic food consumption behavior can be found in the literature,
but most of these studies are concentrated in developed countries, presumably because
demand is higher in these countries. However, as the concept of organic food gains
traction in developing countries, more research is required to study the consumer
behavior towards organic food (Asif, M., Xuhui, W., Nasiri, A., & Ayyub, S., 2018).
The role of Country-of-origin (COO) in determining consumer perceptions, preferences,
and purchase behaviour has been the subject of extensive research (Newman et al.,
2014). One of the oldest and most widely explored areas in global marketing and
consumer behavior is the influence of COO on consumer choices, and a variety of
variables and moderators of COO effects have been found (Pharr, 2005; Verlegh and
Steenkamp, 1999). Consumer demand is playing an important role in driving the organic
industry's expansion, which has resulted in a growing body of knowledge (Hughner et
al., 2007; Aschemann-Witzel and Zielke, 2015; Rödiger and Hamm, 2015; Hemmerling
et al., 2015). In marketing research, the impact of COO on consumer perceptions and
purchasing intentions is a common topic (Bloemer et al.,2009). Consumers' product
evaluations are influenced by the COO of the product, according to past research
(Costa et al., 2016; Josiassen, 2010; Koubaa et al., 2015; Lee et al., 2013; Prentice and
Handsjuk, 2016) and buy decisions (Awada and Yiannaka, 2012; Dobrenova et al.,
2015; Godey et al., 2012).
Organic foods are generally more expensive than non-organic foods (Lea and Worsley,
2005; Radman, 2005). Price-conscious buyers are mainly concerned about paying
lesser prices (Lichtenstein et al., 1993). According to previous study, one of the most
significant barriers to organic food consumption is the notion that organic food is
expensive (Aertsens et al., 2009; Hughner et al., 2007). Therefore, understanding the
factor of Price Consciousness can be of great value in order to analyze consumers’
purchase intention and behavior towards organic food.
Agriculture is considered to be the main sector of Pakistan, accounting for nearly 24%
of Pakistan's GDP (PBS, 2021). Mostly, conventional methods are employed for
agriculture cultivation, which typically involve the use of chemical fertilizers, which has a
negative impact on people’s health. Consumers are becoming mindful of their food
purchases due to numerous food scandals such as debased and contaminated milk,
meat and vegetables and are switching from traditional to organic food products. As a
result, some farmers have switched from conventional to organic farming system (Asif,
M., Xuhui, W., Nasiri, A., & Ayyub, S., 2018). In Pakistan, the usage of some harmful
pesticides has also been banned in the cultivation process for health and environmental
concerns (FAO, 2020). For the production of organic crops and vegetables, the National
Institute of Organic Agriculture (NIOA) is imparting technical assistance to a variety of
clients, including educators, consultants, researchers, and farmers. At NARC, three
organic product manufacturing units have also been installed: organic fertiliser, organic
pesticide, and organic herbicide. If consumers' intentions are aligned, switching to
organic agriculture can bring environmental and health benefits. Thus, this study
employs the theory of planned behavior framework (TPB) to better understand the
behavior of consumers towards organic food in Pakistan. TPB is regarded as one of the
most useful frameworks for explaining human behavior in a variety of domains, and it is
particularly valuable in the field of environmental psychology (Stern, 2005). This study
utilizes three main dimensions of TPB including attitude, subjective norms and
perceived behavioral control, as determinants of purchase intention and purchase
behavior, because these factors have been identified to be driving individual’s intention
to either engage or not in certain behaviors (Ajzen, 1985). In addition, the study aims to
evaluate the role of awareness and COO as moderators on the links between purchase
intention and its determinants, as well as the moderating effect of Price Consciousness
(PC) on the relationship between organic food purchasing intention and behavior.
Literature review and hypothesis development
The current study’s objective was to explore the different factors that affect the
purchase intention which further also affects the purchasing behavior of organic food.
The “intention to perform behavior of different kinds can be predicted with high accuracy
from attitude towards behavior, subjective norm and perceived behavior control” (Ajzen,
1991). These three variables are part of a well-constructed theory i.e. Theory of
Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1985).
(Rivis et al., 2009, p. 2985) proposed that “the TPB is perhaps the most influential
theory in the prediction of social and health behaviors.” The theory’s wide relevance
qualifies it to be a perfect model to assess purchase intention of consumers. Its broad
applicability makes it a useful model for determining consumer preferences in the food
sector (Kim, Jang, & Kim, 2014). In social and psychological research, the theory of
planned behavior has been widely recognized and applied to examine consumer
behavior (Shah Alam & Mohamed Sayuti, 2011). (Ajzen, 1985), in the theory proposed
that the attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control are constructs that
affect purchase intention which in turn affects behavior. The creation of behavioral
intention is influenced by an amalgamation of attitude towards the behavior, subjective
norms, and perceived behavioral control. Several previous studies have used this
theory to navigate their way through consumer’s purchase intention and behavior.
(Dowd and Burke, 2013) investigated the TPB's capability to predict consumers'
intentions to purchase sustainably grown food in Asian culture. Hence, here also we’ll
use this theory with the intrusion of two other variables as country of origin and
awareness to investigate organic foods’ purchase intention. Further by assigning
purchase intention as mediator and price consciousness as moderator.

The first variable of the TPB is Attitude, which can be defined as “the evaluative effect
of positive or negative feelings of individuals in performing a particular behavior” by
(Fishbein and Ajzen,1977). Here, attitude has a notable relation with purchase
intention. Attitude is the consequence of Behavioral beliefs and result assessments.
Behavioral beliefs refers to the individual belief about the consequences of engaging in
a particular behavior. Result assessments refers to the corresponding favorable or
unfavorable judgment about the possible consequences of the behavior. According to
(Ajzen, 1991), attitude has a substantial impact on purchase intention.

The second variable Subjective Norm is defined as “the individual’s perception of the
likelihood that the potential referent group or individuals approve or disapprove of
performing the given behavior" (Fishbein and Ajzen,1977). Subjective norm is the
perceived social pressure to perform or not to play out the conduct. It has a substantial
impact on purchase intention towards organic foods (Al-Swidi et al., 2014; Tarkiainen &
Sundqvist, 2005).
The third TPB variable is the Perceived Behavioral Control and it is defined as “the
perceived ease or difficulty of performing the behavior, and it is assumed to reflect
experience as well as anticipated impediments and obstacles” (Ajzen, 1991). The PBC
measures the power that an individual needs, to restrain from playing out a specific
conduct or not. According to (Ajzen,1991), Perceived behavioral control is a direct result
of an individual's belief system regarding power over a circumstance and internal
elements that effects the behavior.

Based on the above assumptions, the following hypotheses are proposed:

H1: Attitude has a positive impact on purchase intention.

H2: Subjective Norms has a positive impact on purchase intention.

H3: Perceived behavioral control has a positive impact on purchase intention.

The impact of purchase intention on purchase behavior:

The best predictor of behavior is intention, which is defined as a cognitive expression of

an individual's will to undertake a particular behavior (Ajzen, 1991). The TPB asserts
that behavior is a result of collection of intentions functioning collaboratively (Ajzen and
Fishbein, 1980). The relationship and link between attitude and behavior is investigated
in a variety of settings and countries (Kaiser and Gutscher, 2003; Quoquab et al., 2017).
The more favorable the attitude towards behavior, the better the subjective norms, and
the higher the perceived behavioral control, the stronger the individual's intention to
execute the behavior. There are, however, few studies that have investigated this
relationship in an Asian setting such as Pakistan. Current research suggests that
consumers who have a positive attitude towards organic food are more inclined to buy
it. This indicates that customers' attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral
control can all play a vital role in evaluating their purchase intention and behavior
towards organic food. The following hypothesis is proposed based on this assumption:

H4: Consumer’s intention to purchase organic food has a positive impact on

purchase behavior.
The mediating role of purchase intention:

(Ajzen, 1991) in The TPB claims that intention is the most immediate and important
predictor of behavior and it mediates the impact of further variables. Specifically, people
shape intentions to carry out established behaviors that emerge from an individual’s
attitude towards the behavior.
This research provides the understanding of how one perceives others’ opinions
(subjective norms), their confidence level to perform the behavior successfully
(perceived behavioral control), their attitude, country of origin and awareness about the
product affects their buying intention. This study claims that the greater the positive
attitude, SN, perceived behavioral control, the higher the purchase intention towards
organic food and, as a result, the higher the probabilities that consumers will purchase
organic food. Hence, the following hypotheses are proposed:

H5: The relationship between attitude and PB is mediated by PI.

H6: The relationship between SN and PB is mediated by PI.

H7: The relationship between perceived behavioral control and PB is mediated by

PI.

The moderating role of awareness:

Now coming to the extended TPB variables which are Awareness and Country of
Origin. Awareness is defined as “the extent or alertness of individual consumers of their
rights and responsibilities in the marketplace.” (Rousseau and Venter, 1995,18). Due to
globalization, worries about the nature of items have been raised by consumers. This
has prompted buyer mindfulness in both marketing and research. Numerous consumers
know about the expression "organic" yet most are ignorant of organic practices. As per
(Kapuge, 2016), awareness is one of the two major factors that has a significant positive
influence with purchase intention of organic food. So, it means that more awareness
prompts more effect on the goal to buy. Based on this discussion, the hypothesis can be
formulated as:
H8: Awareness positively moderates in the purchase intention of organic food.

The moderating role of Country-of-Origin (COO):

The last variable Country of Origin is defined as customer insights on stereotype

images about nations are named as the COO impact. (Bilkey and Nes, 1982)
contended that such images go about as an outward showcasing signal in impacting
the assessment of items from different origins. Furthermore, various past studies have
affirmed that the COO of an item influences consumers’' assessments and buying
choices like (Awada and Yiannaka, 2012; Insch and McBride, 2004). (Veale and
Quester, 2009) proposed that COO may produce substantial contributions. Moreover,
(Askegaard and Ger, 1998) recommended that COO is probably going to connect an
item to yield product- country imagery, with emotional, tangible, and ceremonial
meanings. (Dobrenova et al., 2015) affirmed that purchasers with more certain COO
have significant effects on product insight and buying intention. Based on the stated
above, it can be hypothesized that:

H9: COO positively moderates in the purchase intention of organic food. When
COO is more positive,

a) The positive impact of attitude towards PI will be strengthened.

b) The positive impact of SN towards PI will be strengthened.
c) The positive impact of perceived behavioral control towards PI will be
strengthened.

The moderating role of Price Consciousness:

PC refers to “the degree to which the consumer focuses exclusively on paying low
prices” (Lichtenstein et al., 1993, p. 237). (Evanschitzky and Wunderlich, 2006)
suggested that certain customers are more worried and conscious of prices than others,
which has an impact on their overall shopping encounter. As previously discussed,
paying low prices is the most important concern of price conscious buyers. If the price
conscious shopper beliefs that the increased price of a product that offers unique
features is still not worth it, so he would never make the purchase. Researchers suggest
that the biggest obstacle while purchasing organic food is dealing with the perception
that it is expensive. As a result, it's reasonable to predict that price-conscious buyers on
the lookout for special deals are less inclined to buy organic food. Based on this
discussion, the study predicts that the association between PI and PB is less among
price conscious consumers than among consumers who are less price conscious. So,
the following hypothesis is developed:

H10: The relationship between PI and PB is moderated by Price Consciousness.

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