ANNOUNCEMENTS
A growing concern among individuals regarding the menace created by unsustainable production and consumption patterns has created a demand for organic food all around the world. The observed shift in demand from conventional to organic food products reflect that consumers have become more conscious about the effect of chemically injected food both on health and environment. But the low levels of purchase frequency for organic food products stand in sharp contrast to the positive attitude and awareness exhibited by urban consumers. This can be attributed to a lack of trust towards the source of supply as well as dissatisfaction concerning availability. Sellers have a better knowledge of inherent qualities of the organic product which aren’t easily identifiable by consumers. This leads to the emergence of trust as an important factor in determining not only whether to purchase organic food or not but also where to purchase them from. This study attempts to analyze if certification enables consumers to perceive the quality of the organic food sold in markets of Delhi. To investigate the consumer’s intention of purchasing organic-labeled food, an additional construct has been included in the traditional “Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB)”. 102 residents of South Delhi were interviewed to study different trust dimensions.
Through path analysis, it is confirmed that along with the traditional constructs, the effect of the proposed construct i.e. “Perceived Quality” is also positive. Certification thus proves to reduce the asymmetry of information between consumers and sellers. Analysis of the purchase behavior suggests that there exist different trust orientations with the choice of channel of distribution. The results will help the policymakers guide their future course of action by providing them information about the preferences of the consumers.
