Do Consumers Pay Attention to the Organic Label When Shopping Organic Food in Italy? - Organic Food and Agriculture: New Trends and Developments in the Social Sciences - page 112

2.1.3 Perceived behavioural control
Perceived control is the “perception of the ease or difficulty of performing the behavior of
interest anticipating some obstacles” (Ajzen, 1991). In the context of organic consumer
behavior, price and availability potentially limit organic purchases. The past research of
organic consumption has shown that the most important reasons for not buying organic
food are lack of availability and organic food's relatively higher price compared to
conventional food products. (Magnusson et al., 2001; Fotopoulos and Krystallis, 2002; Zanoli
and Naspetti, 2002; Padel and Foster, 2005; Chryssohoidis and Krystallis, 2005). However,
Canavari et al. (2002) found that 30 per cent of consumers are willing to pay a price
premium directly to farmers.
2.1.4 Ethical dimension
In literature on organic consumer behavior, major extension of the TPB is related to the
ethical dimension, defined by Shaw and Clarke (1999) as “the degree to which consumers
prioritize their own ethical concerns when making products choices.” Some studies used
different variables in order to take into account ethical dimension in organic consumer
behavior. To illustrate, Michaelidou and Hassan (2008) used self-identify concept defined as
the enduring characteristics that people ascribe to themselves. The authors found that self-
identity affected the intention to buy organic food products. Honkanen et al. (2006)
mentioned ethical values based on environmental and animal protection in order to explain
organic behavior, while Arvola et al. (2008) applied moral norms, defined as an individual's
conviction that acting in a certain way is right or wrong regardless of their personal or social
consequences, to demonstrate their strong influence on the consumption of organic food in
Italy and in the United Kingdom.
2.1.5 Socio-demographic variables and lifestyles
Socio-demographic characteristics were found to be significant in explaining the decision to
buy organic foods mainly in empirical studies conducted in Europe. Findings revealed that
only sex, income, age, education and household size were significant (Canavari et al., 2002;
Millock et al. 2003; Lockie et al. 2004; and Tsakiridou et al. 2006; Gracia and de Magistris,
2008). To illustrate, older, more educated consumers with high income and those living in
larger households are more likely to buy organic food products.
The concept of “food-related lifestyle” was developed in the mid-1990s as a segmentation
tool, which is tailored to the consumer's role as a food shopper (Grunert and Brunsø, 1997).
Lifestyles are important exogenous factors in the decision-making process influencing
consumer behaviour (Gil et al, 2000; Brunsø, Scholderer and Grunert, 2004). Schifferstein
and Oude Ophuis (1998) stated that health behaviour, such as additional exercise and habits
related to food intake, affects positively the organic food choice and Chryssohoidis and
Krystallis (2005) stated that most of Greek organic buyers claimed to follow a balanced and
healthy diet. de Magistris and Gracia (2009) demonstrated that lifestyles represent one of
main factor explaining organic food decision-making. In particular, organic food products
are preferred by those consumers interested in maintaining a particular lifestyle associated
with healthy and eating habits
2.1.6 The extension of planned behaviour model: paying attention on organic labelling
and organic knowledge
Academic studies of organic food labels have increased substantially in Europe during the
last two decades. Most of the empirical works have used the hypothetical approach to assess