Sustainable purchase intentions towards organic food during Covid-19 pandemic: an exploratory study on Indian consumers
ISSN: 1747-1117
Article publication date: 9 August 2023
Issue publication date: 11 January 2024
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to determine the factors influencing consumers’ organic food purchase intention during Covid-19 and how Covid-19 impacted these factors. Understanding these factors will assist marketers in making strategic decisions on how to market their products during a crisis.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used a quantitative approach. Data were collected online from 278 organic food consumers based in India. The partial least squares-path modelling method was used for data analysis.
Findings
The results revealed that Covid-19 has substantially impacted consumers' health consciousness, environmental concern, availability, price and intention to buy organic food. This study also revealed that health consciousness, environmental concerns and availability of organic food affect consumers’ purchase intention even during the Covid-19. However, it has been found that price consciousness does not influence consumers’ purchase intention during Covid-19.
Practical implications
Marketers should come up with innovative promotional strategies. Providing information related to quality checks on packages, expanding online sales channels, boosting promotional activities and emphasising the long-term benefits of organic food items should be the go-to marketing strategy of organic food.
Originality/value
The study adds value to the extant literature by examining consumers' purchase intention towards organic food using more customised and thorough constructs that appear to be more practical during the challenging times of Covid-19 and whose findings are not restricted by some pre-established theoretical assumptions.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank anonymous reviewers and the editor for their valuable suggestion on the manuscript. They would also like to acknowledge Dr Arindam Saha for proofreading the manuscript.
The authors confirm that no funding was received from any of the sources.
Citation
Raj, V.A., Rai, S.S. and Jasrotia, S.S. (2024), "Sustainable purchase intentions towards organic food during Covid-19 pandemic: an exploratory study on Indian consumers", Social Responsibility Journal, Vol. 20 No. 2, pp. 243-260. https://doi.org/10.1108/SRJ-01-2022-0022
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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