Why Do Consumers Buy Organic? Exploring Motivations and Socio-Economic Patterns

Dominika Jakubowska (), Małgorzata Grzywińska-Rąpca and Mariola Grzybowska-Brzezińska
Additional contact information
Dominika Jakubowska: Department of Market and Consumption, Institute of Economics and Finance, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland
Małgorzata Grzywińska-Rąpca: Department of Market and Consumption, Institute of Economics and Finance, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland
Mariola Grzybowska-Brzezińska: Department of Market and Consumption, Institute of Economics and Finance, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland

Agriculture, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-20

Abstract: The study explored the relationship between motivations and attitudes for purchasing certified organic food and the socio-economic characteristics of consumers. The research involved 1020 Polish respondents, using in-depth interviews with a structured electronic questionnaire. Participants were selected through non-random, purposive sampling, selecting only consumers of organic food. The findings revealed that altruistic-egoistic motives are prevalent among consumers with higher food expenditure, particularly on organic products. Three main categories of organic food consumers’ attitudes were identified: pro-environmental, driven by concerns for sustainability and environmental protection; pro-health, centered on personal and family health and food safety; and pro-wellbeing, focusing on personal satisfaction, emotional wellbeing, and ethical considerations. Women were more likely to prioritize pro-health attitudes, reflecting a focus on personal and family health. Additionally, higher household income was linked to stronger pro-environmental and pro-health purchasing attitudes. This study contributes to consumer behavior theory and practical applications by offering a framework that integrates altruistic-egoistic and hedonic motives, as well as pro-environmental, pro-health, and hedonic attitudes, illustrating their roles in shaping organic food purchasing decisions and highlighting the interplay between these motivations and socio-economic characteristics.

Keywords: organic food; consumer behavior; consumer motives; structural equation modelling (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/1/50/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/1/50/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jagris:v:15:y:2024:i:1:p:50-:d:1555255

Access Statistics for this article

Agriculture is currently edited by Ms. Leda Xuan

More articles in Agriculture from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().