Resumo do trabalho

Consumer awareness around the world concerning sustainability and personal well-being has significantly intensified over the past years. This has been in response to the escalating prominence of environmental and health concerns among consumers (Laheri, Lim, Arya, & Kumar, 2024; Srivastava, Sanjeev, & Gupta, 2024). The heightened consumer environmental awareness has led to a noticeable shift in consumer behaviour, more specifically, a trend for organic food products over conventional food products is becoming more evident in purchasing patterns.

Organisations aiming to maintain competitive in a dynamic market landscape must remain attuned to the evolving environmental consciousness shaping consumer behaviour. The central aim of this research was to empirically test a conceptual measurement model of organic food purchase behaviour within South Africa’s Generation Y cohort, by employing the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). The study addressed two key research questions: Does the proposed organic food purchase behaviour model exhibit a five-factor structure? And does the measurement model meet the necessary criteria for conducting SEM?

The TPB, is the theoretical basis of this study, is a widely known and well-utilised theory in the Social Sciences domain. It is used to understand the intentional behaviour of consumers (Ajzen, 1991). The TPB evaluates how particular socio-cognitive variables influence a consumer’s intention to perform a specific behaviour. These constructs include subjective norms, attitude toward behaviour, perceived behaviour control, intention, and purchase behaviour. The TPB was adapted to assess the purchase intentions of Generation Y consumers organic food product adoption in South Africa.

Data were collected from a selected sample of 500 Generation Y South African consumers through a self-administered online survey. The responses were collected by IPSOS data collection company. The dataset underwent several statistical procedures to ensure validity and reliability. These included, descriptive statistics to summarise key demographic and response patterns, and a Pearson’s correlation analysis. Additionally, confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to validate a five-factor measurement model encompassing the factors of TPB.

The descriptive statistics reveal a high level of awareness of organic food products among South African Generation Y consumers, accompanied by favourable attitudes, subjective engagement, accessibility and robust intentions to purchase these products. Furthermore, the confirmatory factor analysis conducted on the proposed five-factor measurement model confirms the model’s validity, demonstrating strong internal consistency, as well as convergent, discriminant, and nomological validity. The model also meets criteria for acceptable to good overall fit.

The findings of this study suggest that the proposed model of organic food products of South African Generation Y consumers is a five-factor model comprising subjective norms, attitude toward organic food products, perceived behaviour control, purchase intention, and purchase behaviour.

From a theoretical standpoint, the findings of this study advance the literature on green purchase behaviour by applying the theory of planned behaviour as an underpinning framework to examine the nuanced interrelationships among consumers’ cognitions, affective responses, and behavioural intentions within the specific domain of organic food products. Importantly, the study offers contextually grounded insights by situating these dynamics within the emerging market environment of South Africa.

Laheri, V. K., Lim, W. M., Arya, P. K., & Kumar, S. (2024). A multidimensional lens of environmental consciousness: towards an environmentally conscious theory of planned behavior. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 41(3), 281-297.
Srivastava, R., Sanjeev, M. A., & Gupta, S. (2024). A fuzzy approach to determining antecedents to green cosmetic consumption in India. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 52(6), 671-688. doi:10.1108/ijrdm-09-2022-0340
Ajzen, I. (1991). The Theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 179-211.