Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
outcome with respect to the broad categories organic vs. conventional food. Of course
decisions are made also in speciality stores and of course also within the category of organic
food these decisions shape the environmental impact, but this is deliberately left out of
further analysis.
Let us take a closer look at the shopping location decision and its determinants first.
According to the action models presented in section 5 and the arguments presented by
Klöckner (2010) this decision should be impacted by three different variables: Intentions to
buy in a speciality store, perceived control over this behaviour and shopping habits or store
loyalties. Shopping habits refers to if people repeatedly did their shopping in a particular
store so that the decision where to go for a shopping trip might be shortcut and people go
just where they usually go. This effect might be in favour or disfavour of the organic food
store. Habits should reduce the impact of intentions on the choice, especially if people
decide under time pressure or with low emotional involvement. Perceived behavioural
control is divided into three sub-dimensions: (a) perceived consumer effectiveness, (b)
perceived availability of a speciality store, and (c) perceived convenience of shopping there
(e.g., how do I get there, do they offer everything I need, is it on my way to other activities,
etc.). Also perceived behavioural control should not only impact the decision but also the
strength of the impact of intentions: If perceived behavioural control is low, the impact of
intentions on behaviour should be reduced. Finally, mistrust in the credibility of the food
store might interfere with the intention to buy there.
Intentions to buy in a speciality store should be affected by the attitudes towards organic
food and speciality stores, personal norms (which also might be called moral attitudes),
social norms, and for some people also protection motivations out of health concern.
Attitudes are built on beliefs, personal norms are a reference to value orientations, and
social norms can be divided into injunctive norms (what people say to other people what
they should do) and descriptive norms (what other people do). Finally, protection
motivation is determined by the appraisal of a possible threat connected to shopping in a
conventional supermarket and the coping appraisal.
Many variables and relations in the lower part (the in-store decisions) are similar to the
variables in the upper half, but it is important to keep in mind, that they refer now to a
different decision: Intentions are now intentions to buy the organic version of one specific
product, the attitudes are attitudes about this specific product, habits are now routines in
the shop (for example which way to go through the aisles, in which and where on the shelf
to look for products, which products to prefer automatically) and brand loyalties. Perceived
control is also specific for this decision and incorporates specific versions of perceived
consumer efficiency, the availability and visibility of a product and the premium that has to
be paid. Social norms and a potential protection motivation are also connected specifically to
products or product classes. All of these variables will differ from the more general ones
described before and also between product categories and products.
Another important difference between the in-store decision and the between stores decision
is that eco-labels become a central position in enabling people to act according to their
intention to buy organic food. Organic food has to be identified and usually food labels
make that possible. As has been described before, people pay attention to food labels if they
intent to buy organic, but also only if labelled products are available and visible in the shop,
if the label is trusted and familiar. Visibility is affected by marketing within and outside the
store but also where and how a product is presented on the shelves. Visibility affects
familiarity, which in turn also affects trust (the more familiar the more trusted).
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