Motives of Willingness to Buy Organic Food under the Moderating Role of Consumer Awareness

Aims: The present paper aims to study a set of motives favoring the consumer willingness to buy organic food in the context of developing market (Tunisia). This study also endeavors to examine the moderating role of awareness in the relationships between willingness to buy and its motives.

Place and Duration of Study: This research work was developed from May to December 2019. The hypotheses were tested in a developing country (Tunisia).

Methodology: To test the research hypotheses as well as the overall model fit, the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) method has been used. A survey was conducted from 16 June to 31 August of 2019 in several supermarkets and organic grocery shops in Tunisia.

Results: The findings of a quantitative study involving 480 Tunisian consumers of organic food products indicate that health consciousness and knowledge of organic food are significant drivers of willingness to buy. The intensity of these relationships is positively moderated by awareness. However, concern for the environment did not prove to exert any significant influence on willingness to buy.

Conclusion: This study provides interesting managerial guidelines for policymakers to switch to organic farming that is beneficial for health and environment. It also allows significant insights for marketers to formulate an effective marketing strategy through exploring some crucial drivers of willingness to buy organic food while enhancing the consumers’ awareness.