The impact of environmental protection and hedonistic values on organic wine purchases in the US

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to focus on one product category, organic wine, to provide a possible explanation for consumers' purchase behaviors regarding organic wine. Specifically, the authors consider the role of environmental protection and hedonistic values and their impact on organic wine purchases.

Design/methodology/approach

Hypotheses are proposed to examine relationships between environmental and hedonic values in organic wine purchasing. Online survey data were collected from 321 wine drinkers in the USA. Partial least‐squared analysis was used to test hypothesized paths between latent variables.

Findings

In total, ten of the 13 proposed linkages were supported by the data. Values reflecting the need for environmental protection and for living a hedonistic life were found to lead to belief systems that influence the purchase of organic wines.

Research limitations/ implications

The results demonstrate that hedonistic and environmental protection values and beliefs can partially explain the propensity to purchase organic wines. The study is limited in that only two values were investigated.

Practical implications

The results indicate several marketing implications for professionals around communication, promotion, and point‐of‐sale information for organic wine.

Originality/value

This is the first study to integrate environmental and hedonistic values to explain the purchase of organic wines.

Citation

Olsen, J., Thach, L. and Hemphill, L. (2012), "The impact of environmental protection and hedonistic values on organic wine purchases in the US", International Journal of Wine Business Research, Vol. 24 No. 1, pp. 47-67. https://doi.org/10.1108/17511061211213783