An impetus for the research paradigm of determinants of purchase intention of organic food consumers: empirical insight from India

Purpose - In the recent few decades, there has been a rampant increase in the demand of sustainable food products around the world because of high cognizance of consumers toward environment and health. Asian countries, especially India and China, are also expecting a tremendous boost in the domestic demand for organic food products in the upcoming few years. Therefore, it becomes pertinent to explore the factors affecting the purchase intention behavior of organic food items, especially in emerging economies, i.e. India. Hence, the paper aims to explore the factors driving the purchase decision of organic consumers by collecting data set from 603 organic food item consumers in India. Design/methodology/approach - The study has applied advanced statistical tools, i.e. structural equation modeling, Harman’s single factor test and other statistical measures, to analyze the collected research data. Findings - The results posit that consumers’ purchase intention has a favorable impact on health aspects; trustworthiness; social innovativeness; functional value; subjective norms and organic product knowledge. Moreover, the result explicates that health consciousness and trustworthiness are vital predictors of organic food purchase intention. Practical implications - The findings may assist the producers, processors, marketers, policymakers and regulators in devising appropriate policies and strategies for comprehending the complex phenomenon of organic consumers’ purchase behavior. Originality/value - To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to explore the drivers of purchase intention of organic food items by collecting data from well-defined consumers of organic food items in India.