Consumer behaviour towards Organic Food Consumption …libproject.hkbu.edu.hk/trsimage/hp/06011446.pdf · Consumer behaviour towards Organic Food Consumption in Hong Kong: ... 3.3

Consumer behaviour towards

Organic Food Consumption in Hong Kong:

An Empirical Study

BY

Lau Kwan Yi

06011446

Marketing Option

An Honours Degree Project Submitted to the

School of Business in Partial Fulfillment

of the Graduation Requirement for the Degree of

Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours)

Hong Kong Baptist University

Hong Kong

April 2009

Page i

Acknowledgement

I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge those who helped me in

completing my honours project.

To begin with, I would like to express my whole-hearted gratitude to my supervisor,

Dr. David Ko, for his unfailing guidance and support. He has provided me with a lot of

valuable advices and insightful feedback in the research process, so that I can complete

this study smoothly. Secondly, I would like to thanks the Hong Kong Organic Centre,

especially Miss Claudia Tsui, for their generosity and kindness in supplying me with

precious information. Thanks must also be given to my friends for their kind support and

help. Most importantly, I am indebted to my beloved family for their love and care.

Page ii

Abstract

With the recent rise of concern in food safety and environmental protection, the

organic food market in Hong Kong expands rapidly. Being free of chemical fertilizers,

patricides and preservatives, organic food represent a type of food that can free people

from the threat of food poisoning or any other harmful effects arising from excess or

illegal uses of harmful chemical in food. The organic industry is considered new to Hong

Kong, and there has not been any legal regulation on certifying standard of self-claimed

organic food. In view of the imbalance between a rising need for organic food and little

regulated organic certification system, this research attempts to investigate on the

consumption of organic food in Hong Kong.

Through examining the demographic characteristics of general public, attitude

towards organic food, health consciousness, environmental concerns and organic food

knowledge, the study aims to identify associations between all these factors and the

frequency in organic food consumption.

For research design, both exploratory and descriptive researches were conducted in

this study. Concerning methodology, the quota sampling method was adopted with the

sample size of 330. To analyze the collected data, the statistical analysis of Statistical

Package for Social Science was applied.

Findings show that gender and presence of children in household have significant

relationship with the organic food consumption. Positive relationships of attitude, health

consciousness, environmental concerns and organic food knowledge with the frequency

of organic food consumption are proved. Surprisingly, age, education and income are

found not related positively to consumption of organic food.

Recommendations are then provided based on the findings. Marketing strategies can

be formulated by targeting in groups of customers which have a higher consumption

potential. The supply and production volume can be increased, so as to lower the selling

price of organic food to a more competitive level which is not more than above

conventional food price level. Distribution channels of organic food can be increased with

supermarkets, health food stores and market as main development distribution network to

match with consumers shopping behaviour. Larger quantity and larger variety of organic

food can be obtained by local and over-border sourcing to broaden consumer base. A

system of organic food certification can be introduced to aid identification of real organic

products. Education should be blended well into marketing mix and be carried out in the

aspect of health, environmental and organic knowledge to boost the special

competitiveness in health maintenance, environmental protection and in rearing a more

favourable attitude towards organic food.

Page iii

Table of Contents

Acknowledgement .........................................................................................................i

Abstract.........................................................................................................................ii

1. Introduction..............................................................................................................1

1.1 Background ....................................................................................................1

1.2 Definition of Organic Food ...........................................................................1

1.3 Purpose of Research ......................................................................................2

1.4 Organic Food Consumption in Hong Kong.................................................3

1.5 Research Objectives .......................................................................................4

2. Literature Review ....................................................................................................4

2.1 Variables Influencing Consumption of Organic Food ................................4

2.1.1 Demographic Factors..........................................................................5

2.1.2 Attitude.................................................................................................6

2.1.3 Health Consciousness..........................................................................7

2.1.4 Environmental Concerns....................................................................7

2.1.5 Organic Food Knowledge...................................................................8

2.2 Proposed Framework and Hypotheses ........................................................8

3. Methodology ...........................................................................................................10

3.1 Research Design ...........................................................................................10

3.2 Sampling Plan and Sample Size .................................................................11

3.3 Questionnaire Design...................................................................................12

3.4 Data Analysis ................................................................................................13

4. Analysis and Findings ............................................................................................14

4.1 Demographics ...............................................................................................14

4.2 Nutrient Content Usage Pattern .................................................................16

4.3 Attitudes towards Organic Food.................................................................17

4.3.1 General Attitudes towards Organic Food.......................................17

4.3.2 Relationship between Attitudes and Age Group ............................18

4.3.3 Relationship between Attitudes and Gender ..................................20

4.3.4 Relationship between Attitudes and Education Level ...................20

4.3.5 Relationship between Attitudes of Income .....................................21

4.3.6 Relationship between Attitudes of Presence of Children in

household ....................................................................................................24

4.4 Health Consciousness...................................................................................24

4.5 Environmental Concerns.............................................................................25

4.6 Organic Food Knowledge............................................................................26

4.7 Variables Affecting Frequency of Organic Food Consumption...............27

Page iv

4.7.1 Relationship between Frequency and Age ......................................27

4.7.2 Relationship between Frequency and Gender ...............................28

4.7.3 Relationship between Frequency and Education Level ................29

4.7.4 Relationship between Frequency and Income................................30

4.7.5 Relationship between Frequency and Presence of Children in

Household ...................................................................................................33

4.7.6 Relationship between Frequency and Attitude ..............................34

4.7.7 Relationship between Frequency and Health Consciousness .......34

4.7.8 Relationship between Frequency and Environmental Concerns .35

4.7.9 Relationship between Frequency and Organic Food Knowledge.35

5. Discussion................................................................................................................36

6. Recommendations ..................................................................................................39

6.1 Strategies based on Demographics .............................................................39

6.2 Strategies based on Consumption Pattern.................................................39

6.3 Strategies based on Attitude towards Organic Food ................................40

6.3.1 Coping with limited availability, variety and selling locations .....40

6.3.2 Coping with difficulty in identifying real organic food and

confusing labels ..........................................................................................41

6.4 Strategies based on Health Consciousness.................................................41

6.5 Strategies based on Environmental Concerns ...........................................42

6.6 Strategies based on Organic Knowledge....................................................42

7. Limitations and Further Research .......................................................................43

8. Conclusion ..........................................................................................................44

References ...................................................................................................................45

Appendices.................................................................................................................A1

1. Introduction

1.1 Background

Food consumption patterns are rapidly changing nowadays as a result of

environmental issues, concern about the nutritional value of food and health issues. Issues

such as quality and safety in food attract consumer interest in organic food that is free

from pesticides and chemical residues (Childs and Polyzees, 1997; Zotos et al., 1999;

Baltas, 2001; Fotopoulos and Krystallis, 2002).

Although the concept of "organic food" seems to be well known to many consumers

(Roddy et al., 1996; Von Alvensleben, 1998), the proportion of consumers who purchase

organic foods on a regular basis is low (Grunert, 1993; Wandel and Bugge, 1997; Roddy

et al., 1996; Fotopoulos and Krystallis, 2002).

To better protect consumers from harmful and fake organic food, knowing the

factors affecting consumers consumption of organic products is therefore important.

Through investigation, the profile of buyers and non-buyers of organic products can be

figured out. This can be very critical for designing organic food labeling certification,

improving public health and enhancing the profitability of the food industry (Drichoutis et

al., 2005).

1.2 Definition of Organic Food

There is no common definition of organic due to the fact that different countries

have different standard for products to be certified organic. In simplest words, organic

foods are minimally processed to maintain the integrity of the food without artificial

ingredients, preservatives or irradiation. Organic products are obtained by processes

friendly to the environment, by cultivation techniques that consider both the attributes of

the final product and the production methods (Chinnici et al., 2002).

Generally speaking, Organic meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products come from

animals that are given no antibiotics or growth hormones. Organic food is produced

without using most conventional pesticides; fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or

sewage sludge; bioengineering; or ionizing radiation (United States Department of

Agriculture National Organic Program, 2000).

More than that, "organic" is not only a set of harmless agricultural production

technique, its ultimate meaning behind is to respect the nature and life, pay attention to

the conservation of the ecology to enhance environmental quality for future generations.

1.3 Purpose of Research

With rising concern of health issues and food safety, many consumers have turned

their site to organic products (Laroche et al., 2001). The increased consumers' interest in

organic food has been attributed among others to the growing demand for food free from

pesticides and chemical residues (Childs and Polyzees, 1997; Zotos et al., 1999; Baltas,

2001; Fotopoulos and Krystallis, 2002).

Organic food promotes a balance of human, other living organisms and the nature. It

also promotes no artificial preservatives and best maintain the originality of food. This

prevents excess use harmful ingredients and thereby ensures health.

The aim of the study is to gain knowledge about Hong Kong consumers' demographic

characteristics, attitudes, health consciousness, environmental concerns, organic food

knowledge and behaviour towards organic foods. From the research, the attitudes and

purchase behaviour of organic food will be assessed. It will give organic food marketers a

direction to improve the marketing strategies of their products. If organic food is

consumed by more consumers, society can greatly benefit from a public and global health

perspective (Wang et al., 1995). This results in a favourable situation benefiting the

consumers, manufacturers as well as the whole society.

1.4 Organic Food Consumption in Hong Kong

Following the worldwide trend, Hong Kong residents are becoming increasingly

health conscious and tend to consume healthier and more nutritious. In a public opinion

survey on customer behaviour (Hong Kong Organic Resource Centre, 2008), 90% of

respondents have consumed organic products, showing a 30% increase while compared to

a similar research done by the same organization in 2005. Demand for organic products

for Hong Kong consumers is rising speedily.

There are many researchers investigated the consumers attitudes towards organic

food but most of the empirical works on organic food are related to western regions like

Canada (Barbara, 2008), America and Europe Makatouni, 2002; Verdurme et al., 2002,

Baker et al., 2004; Zanoli and Naspetti, 2002). However, there is an inadequate study that

focuses on the consumer behaviour in Hong Kong. To redress the imbalance, this study

attempts to investigate consumer behaviour of organic food in Hong Kong.

1.5 Research Objectives

The research objectives are summarized as follows:

i. To figure out the consumption pattern of Hong Kong people for organic food.

ii. To find out the attitudes towards organic food of the general public.

iii. To find out the demographic characteristics, attitude, health consciousness,

environmental concerns and organic knowledge level in relation to the frequency

of organic food consumption.

iv. To provide recommendations for marketers on how to improve the organic claims

and formulate relevant strategies to attract potential consumers.

In this paper, the term buyers will be used to refer for those who always, often or

sometimes buy organic products, while non-buyers refer for those who never buy

organic products.

2. Literature Review

2.1 Variables Influencing Consumption of Organic Food

A review of the literature on organic food consumption shows that several attempts

have been made to examine consumers' perception of organic food, factors that have

facilitated or prevented the organic food choice, consumers' attitudes, as well as reasons

for purchase or non-purchase in many foreign countries.

2.1.1 Demographic Factors

In particular, organic food buyers tend to be younger than non-buyers (Jolly, 1991).

Age seems also to affect consumer attitudes towards organic food. Young people are

more environmentally conscious but less willing to pay more due to their lower

purchasing power, whereas older people are more health conscious and more willing to

pay an extra price for organic food (Wandel and Bugge, 1997; Thompson and Kidwell,

1998; Von Alvensleben, 1998; Fotopoulos and Krystallis, 2002).

Women seem to be more interested in organics than men, and they are more frequent

buyers than men (Davis et al., 1995; Wandel and Bugge, 1997). Overall, more positive

attitudes towards organic food have been detected in women as opposed to men (Lea and

Worsley, 2005).

Education has also been reported as a significant factor affecting consumer attitudes

towards organic food products. People with higher education are more likely to express

positive attitudes towards organic products, require more information about the

production and process methods of organics (Magnusson et al., 2001; Hill and

Lynchehaum, 2002; Wier et al., 2003), have the confidence to negotiate conflicting

claims in relation to organic food (Padel and Foster, 2005), and are more willing to pay a

premium for organic food (Jolly, 1991; Wandel and Bugge, 1997).

Moreover, demand for organic food seems to be positively correlated to income

(Von Alvensleben, 1998). Higher income households are more likely to form positive

attitudes and to purchase more organic food (Grunert and Kristensen, 1991; Magnusson et

al., 2001). However, income appears to affect mainly the quantity of organic products

bought and not the general willingness to buy. Higher income households do not

necessarily indicate higher likelihood of organic purchases. Some lower income segments

seem to be more entrenched buyers (Fotopoulos and Krystallis, 2002).

The presence of children in the household has also been regarded as a significant

factor, which positively influences consumers' organic food attitudes as well as buying

behaviour (Davis et al., 1995; Thompson and Kidwell, 1998; Fotopoulos and Krystallis,

2002). However, children's age can be considered as a key factor, meaning that the higher

the age of children in the household, the lower the propensity to buy organic food (Wier

et al., 2003).

2.1.2 Attitude

The socio-demographic profile seems to affect consumer attitudes and buying

behaviour towards organic food. Organic food attitudes are mainly influenced by gender,

age, income, level of education and the presence of children in the household (Davis et al.,

1995; Wandel and Bugge, 1997; Thompson and Kidwell, 1998; Magnusson et al., 2001;

Wier et al., 2003).

2.1.3 Health Consciousness

Health consciousness refers to the degree to which health concerns are integrated

into a persons daily activities (Jayanti and Burns, 1998). Health consciousness is

considered as a subjective intention or motivation to improve an individuals health. Past

studies have shown that the most important reason for purchasing and consuming organic

food appears to be health consciousness (Tregear et al., 1994; Huang, 1996;

Schlegelmilch et al., 1996; Hutchins and Greenhalgh, 1997; Wandel and Bugge, 1997;

Von Alvensleben, 1998; Magnusson et al., 2001; Squires et al., 2001, Padel and Foster,

2005).

2.1.4 Environmental Concerns

The consumers' level of ecological concern is related to their willingness to purchase

green products (Amyx et al., 1994). Although it is not a priority issue, it also has

significant effect in affecting consumption of organic products (Kristensen and Grunert,

1991; Tregear et al., 1994; Von Alvensleben, 1998; Schifferstein and Oude Ophuis, 1998).

Organic products use environmental friendly ways to produce and process, people who

are more concern for the environment is proposed to have a positive effect on the

purchase of organic products.

2.1.5 Organic Food Knowledge

Organic knowledge refers to the extent to which consumers have enduring

organic-related cognitive structures (Grunert and Grunert, 1995). Knowledge is proposed

to have a positive effect on a persons perceived diet effectiveness and his or her

consumption of organic products (Peter et al, 1999). In addition, knowledge is expected to

have a negative effect on a persons skepticism level (Szykman et al., 1997).

2.2 Proposed Framework and Hypotheses

With reference to the foregoing literature review and the extension of the work of

Boutsouki et al. (2008) conceptual framework, a framework is proposed in Figure 1 to

explain the consumption of organic products of Hong Kong consumers. The framework

shows the hypothesized relationships among consumers demographic factors, attitude,

health consciousness, environmental concerns, organic knowledge and consumption of

organic products.

H2

H1

Figure 1: The Proposed Framework

The research hypotheses are as follows:

H1: There is association between demographic factors and attitude.

H1a: There is a negative relationship between age and attitude.

H1b: There is a positive relationship between women and attitude.

H1c: There is a positive relationship between education level and attitude.

H1d: There is a positive relationship between income and attitude.

H1e: There is a positive relationship between presence of children in household and

attitude.

H2: There is association between demographics factors and the frequency of

organic food consumption.

H2a: There is a negative relationship between age and the frequency of organic food

H5

Demographic Factors

a. Age

b. Gender

c. Education Level

d. Income

e. Presence of

Children in household

Health

Consciousness

Organic Food

Knowledge

Attitude H3

H6

H4

Consumption

of organic

products

Environmental

Concerns

consumption.

H2b: There is a positive relationship between women and the frequency of organic

food consumption.

H2c: There is a positive relationship between education level and the frequency of

organic food consumption.

H2d: There is a positive relationship between income and the frequency of organic

food consumption.

H2e: There is a positive relationship between presence of children in household and

the frequency of organic food consumption.

H3: There is a positive relationship between attitude and the frequency of organic

food consumption.

H4: There is a positive relationship between health consciousnesses and the

frequency of organic food consumption.

H5: There is a positive relationship between environmental concerns and the


H6: There is a positive relationship between organic food knowledge and the


3. Methodology

3.1 Research Design

Both exploratory and descriptive researches were conducted in this study. For

exploratory research, secondary data were collected from academic journals, the Internet

and reference books. In terms of descriptive research, a questionnaire was structured and

personal interviews were conducted to determine the attitudes and behaviour of

consumers in Hong Kong towards organic food.

3.2 Sampling Plan and Sample Size

As one of the research objectives is to compare the buyers and non-buyers group, the

sample size formula for the estimation of proportion was applied (Malhotra, 2004). Based

on a past research done in Hong Kong (Hong Kong Organic Resource Centre, 2005), the

proportion of buyers is 30%. By substituting it into formula, the number 3231can be

obtained. Therefore, 330 questionnaires were distributed and the sample size should be

large enough to minimize Type II error.

In order to obtain the maximum socio-economic scattering of consumers

characteristics, the quota sampling method was adopted as to follow the sampling plan of

a similar study (Siu and Tsoi, 1998). Three districts, Wan Chai, Sha Tin and Sham Shui

Po were selected as to represent the high income district, middle income district and low

income district respectively. 110 questionnaires were distributed in each district. The

respondent was selected from every three passed-by to avoid self-selection bias.

1Assuming confidence level is 95% and standard error is 5%, therefore

n=0.3*(1-0.7)*1.962

/0.052

= 323

A pretest of questionnaire was conducted with 10 respondents prior to avoid

ambiguous wording and inapplicable questions in the questionnaire. Also, the survey was

completed through face-to-face interview in order to minimize misunderstanding of the

questions.

3.3 Questionnaire Design

A structured questionnaire will be used which employed with true-false questions,

multiple-choice questions and Likert scale questions.

Part 1 is aimed at identifying organic food buyers and non-buyers, and their consumer

behaviour. Statements are extracted from 2 similar reports done in Hong Kong by the

Hong Kong Organic Resources Centre (2005, 2008).

Part 2 consists of statements developed by previous research (Tsakiridou et al., 2008)

to assess attitudes towards organic food. The statements are short listed and slightly

modified from the original 23 statements to be better suit in gauging attitudes.

In Part 3, a six-item Likert-type scale to measure health consciousness was adapted

from Kraft and Goodell (1993) and expanded to 10 items with another research (Cheung,

2005) to examine personal health and diet.

The ten-item Likert type scale to measure environmental consciousness was selected

from Shepherd et al. (2005) and expanded based on the reference from the Green Power

in Part 4.

In Part 5, 10 true or false questions is used to test knowledge of organic products with

reference to the statements developed by the Agricultural, Fisheries and Conservation

Department (2008). A Do Not Know option is created to avoid unreliable answers.

Finally, in Part 6, demographic information of gender, age, occupation, marital status,

presence of children in household, members in household, income and educational level

are collected.

3.4 Data Analysis

To analyze the collected data, the statistical analysis of Statistical Package for Social

Science (SPSS) was applied. Different data analysis methods are as follow:

1. Reliability Test was employed to determine the Cronbachs alpha of attitude towards

organic food, health consciousness and environmental concerns. The resulting alpha

coefficients of the three variables are 0.835, 0.830 and 0.840 respectively, which all

above the minimum acceptable threshold of 0.7 suggested by Nunnally (1978). The

reliability test is contained in Appendix 4.1 for reference.

2. Frequency counts and descriptive statistics were used to summarize the result of

respondents.

3. Regarding attitudes towards organic food, One-way ANOVA was employed to find

out the significant differences between each of the five demographic factors.

4. One-way ANOVA, independent sample T-test and Linear Regression were used to

examine the relationship between the independent variables (demographic factors,

health consciousness, environmental concerns, organic food knowledge) and

dependent variable (frequency of label usage).

5. Chi-square analysis and independent sample T-test were applied again to investigate

the significant differences between users and non-users on their demographics,

health consciousness, environmental concerns and organic food knowledge.

For all analysis, a probability level of

group of earning less than $5,000 per month. Yet, 138 respondents (41.9%) indicated that

their family monthly income is more than $30000.

In terms of organic food consumption frequency, 265 respondents (80.3%) claimed

that they are buyers of organic food. Of those 252 users, the majority of respondents, with

the number of 166 (50.3%) stated that they sometimes use the label, which indicate the

consumption of organic food has not yet become a usual practice for general consumers.

Table 1: Demographics profile of overall sample

Variables Frequency % Frequency %

Gender Male 147 44.5 Female 183 55.5

16 - 25 122 37.0 46 - 55 53 16.1

26 - 35 53 16.1 56 - 65 24 7.3

Age

36 - 45 73 22.1 66 or above 5 1.5

Primary or below 38 11.5 Undergraduate 160 48.5

Junior secondary school 41 12.4 Postgraduate 14 4.2

Education

Senior secondary school 77 23.3

Single 169 51.2 Others 9 2.7 Marital Status

Married 152 46.4

Yes 220 66.7 No 110 33.3 Children in

Household

1 15 4.5 4 112 33.9

2 63 19.1 5 45 13.6

Members in

Household

3 75 22.7 >5 20 6.1

Executive/Manager 15 4.5 Housewife 35 10.6

Professionals 31 9.4 Student 89 27.0

Clerk 63 19.1 Unemployed 1 0.3

Service worker/Salesperson 31 9.4 Retired 8 2.4

Labour Worker 11 3.3 Self-employed 12 3.6

Occupation

Technician 8 2.4 Others 26 7.9

$5,000 or below 125 37.9 $30,000-$34,999 18 5.5

$5,000-$9,999 46 13.9 $35,000-$39,999 15 4.5

$10,000-$14,999 65 19.7 $40,000-$44,999 5 1.5

Personal

Monthly

Income

$15,000-$19,999 22 6.7 $45,000-$49,999 6 1.8

$20,000-$24,999 22 6.7 $50,000 or above 0 0.0

$25,000-$29,999 6 1.8

$5,000 or below 15 4.5 $30,000-$34,999 38 11.5

$5,000-$9,999 13 3.9 $35,000-$39,999 23 7.0

$10,000-$14,999 32 9.7 $40,000-$44,999 19 5.8

$15,000-$19,999 39 11.8 $45,000-$49,999 17 5.2

$20,000-$24,999 55 16.7 $50,000 or above 41 12.4

Total Family

Monthly

Income

$25,000-$29,999 38 11.5

At least Once/week 37 112 Seldom 166 50.3

At least Once/month 41 12.4 Never 65 19.7

Frequency of

Consumption

Once half a year 21 6.4

Buyers 99 30.0 Non-buyers 65 19.7

Consumption

of Organic

Food

4.2 Nutrient Content Usage Pattern

265 buyers were asked to identify their consumption pattern in organic food

consumption. As shown in Table 2, 34.3% and 38.1% of the respondents indicated a

past and future spending of $51-$200 respectively in organic food. Most buyers

bought organic vegetables most often while 83.8% of the respondents shop for

organic food in supermarkets. 41.1% respondents always read organic food labels

when shopping for organic food. For the price premium consumers are willing to pay

when compared with conventional food, 67.5% of the respondents are willing to pay a

higher price for organic food.

Table 2: Consumption Pattern of Organic Food Buyers

Variables Frequency % Frequency %

$50 or below 76 28.7 $501 - $700 23 8.7

$51-$200 91 34.3 $701 1000 15 5.7

Past Spending on

Organic Food

$201-$500 44 16.6 $1001or above 16 6.0

$50 or below 34 12.8 $501 - $700 22 8.3

$51-$200 101 38.1 $701 1000 24 9.1

Planned Future

Spending on

Organic Food $201-$500 56 21.1 $1001or above 28 10.6

Vegetables 133 50.2 Processed food 59 22.3

Fruits 41 15.5 Raw Material 19 7.2

Type of Organic

Food Bought

Most Often Meat 13 4.9

Markets 44 16.6

Health Food

Stores 97 36.6

Supermarkets 222 83.8 Stores 1 0.4

Shopping Place

for Organic Food

Convenient

Stores 2 0.8 Others 3 1.1

Always 109 41.1 Seldom 28 10.6

Usually 69 26.0 Never 11 4.2

Frequency to

Read Organic

Food Labels Sometimes 48 18.1

Negative 9 3.4 1/2 higher 42 15.8

0 77 29.1 double 13 4.9

1/4 higher 124 46.8

Price Premium

Willing to Pay

(compared with

conventional food)

4.3 Attitudes towards Organic Food

4.3.1 General Attitudes towards Organic Food

Both buyers and non-buyers of organic food were asked about the attitudes towards

organic food and the result is presented in Table 3. Generally speaking, the general public

have a favourable attitude towards organic food (Mean = 3.18) while the buyers have a

more favourable attitude (Mean = 3.24). Viewing organic food healthier scores the

highest mean of 4.12. The lowest means of 2.43, 2.48 and 2.49 are scored by the views

that it is difficult to identify real organic products, organic products labels in the

market are confusing and organic products are very expensive respectively.

Table 3: Attitudes towards Organic Food

General Buyers

Item Mean

Std.

Deviation Mean

Std.

Deviation

1. I am not interested in organics. 3.65 .897 3.81 .842

2. I prefer buying organics. 3.45 .854 3.62 .785

3. Organic products are safer and more reliable. 4.03 .724 4.08 .749

4. Organic products are of better quality. 3.96 .672 4.01 .666

5. Organic products are healthier. 4.12 .720 4.21 .673

6. Organic products taste better. 3.27 .775 3.30 .778

7. Organic products are of higher nutrition value. 3.61 .789 3.65 .785

8. Organic products are very expensive. 2.49 .848 2.55 .852

9. The packaging of organic products looks less pleasing to the

eye.

3.14 .796 3.20 .797

10. The outlook of organic products is less attractive. 3.16 .815 3.24 .818

11. Organics are supreme products consumed only by rich people. 3.17 1.013 3.30 .984

12. Consumption of organic products represents higher social

status.

2.63 .917 2.45 .932

13. Not many organic products are available in the market. 2.61 .811 2.61 .842

14. There is a small variety of organic products. 2.61 .834 2.61 .842

15. There are a lot of selling locations for organic products. 2.83 .806 2.85 .826

16. It is difficult to identify real organic products. 2.43 .914 2.48 .917

17. The organic products labels in the market are confusing. 2.48 .840 2.65 .845

18. I trust organic products. 3.12 .787 3.19 .775

19. I trust organic producers. 3.06 .812 3.11 .823

20. Organics consumption helps protecting the environment. 3.71 .764 3.80 .715

Overall Mean 3.18 3.24

4.3.2 Relationship between Attitudes and Age Group

One-way ANOVA reveals statistically significant differences in attitudes towards

organic food of different age groups. As shown in Table 4, 4.1 and 4.2, the figure

(F=6.246, p

36-45 while the groups 26-35 and 36-45 both indicate a more positive attitude than 16-25

and 56-65. The age group 66 or above has a more negative attitude with the lowest

mean score of 2.81 when compared with the 36-45 age group of the highest mean score of

3.3. Yet, the other pair groups have comparable frequency (p>0.05). There is no

relationship between attitude and age group, hence, hypothesis H1a can be rejected

(Appendix 4.2).

Table 4: Descriptive statistics of Attitudes between Age Group

Frequency Mean Std. Deviation

16-25 122 3.10 .322

26-35 53 3.30 .466

36-45 73 3.32 .444

46-55 53 3.15 .404

56-65 24 2.98 .232

66 or above 5 2.81 .282

Table 4.1: Result of One-Way ANOVA for significant differences between Attitudes and Age

Group

Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

Between Groups 4.631 5 .926 6.246 .000

Within Groups 48.049 324 .148

Total 52.68 329

Table 4.2: Result of Turkey Test for significant differences between Attitudes and Age Group

(I) Age (J) Age Mean Difference

(I-J) Std. Error Sig.

26-35 -.196 .063 .026 16-25

36-45 -.218 .057 .002

16-25 .196 .063 .026 26-35

56-65 .320 .095 .011

16-25 .218 .057 .002 36-45

56-65 .342 .090 .003

66 or above .511 .178 .049

26-35 -.320 .095 .011 56-65

36-45 -.342 .090 .003

66 or above 36-45 -.511 .178 .049

4.3.3 Relationship between Attitudes and Gender

To examine the significant difference between attitude and gender, Independent

Sample T-test is applied in Table 5 and 5.1. Levenes Test for Equality of Variances

p>0.05 means assumption of equal variances is met. The figure (t=-5.376, p

figure (F=4.993, p=0.001) reveals different education levels differentiate themselves in

attitudes. By the Turkey Test, the pairwise comparisons of the mean frequency shows that

Education with primary or below has the lowest mean of 2.93 and has a more negative

attitudes towards organic food when compared with senior secondary and undergraduate

education. As the other pair groups have comparable frequency (p.>0.05) (Appendix 4.4),

consumers education level is not positively related to attitudes towards organic food.

Hypothesis H1c can therefore be rejected.

Table 6: Descriptive statistics of Attitudes between Education Level


Primary or below 38 2.93 .378

Junior secondary school 41 3.14 .367

Senior secondary school 77 3.26 .421

Undergraduate 160 3.20 .387

Postgraduate 14 3.25 .370

Table 6.1: Result of One-Way ANOVA for significant differences between Attitudes and

Education Level


Between Groups 3.050 4 .762 4.993 .001


Total 52.680 329

Table 6.2: Result of Turkey Test for significant differences between Attitudes and Education

Level

(I) Age (J) Age Mean Difference (I-J) Std. Error Sig.

Senior secondary school -.330 .077 .000 Primary or below

Undergraduate -.270 .071 .001

Senior secondary school Primary or below 330 .077 .000

Undergraduate Primary or below 270 .071 .001

4.3.5 Relationship between Attitudes of Income

2 separate One-way ANOVAs and Turkey Tests are employed to investigate on

significant difference between attitude and income including personal and family income

respectively as shown in Table 7, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3 and 7.4. For personal income, the outcome

reveals a difference between groups (F=3.711, p

Table 7.1: Result of One-Way ANOVA for significant differences between Attitudes and Personal

Income


Between Groups 4.978 9 .553 3.711 .000


Total 52.680 329

Table 7.2: Result of Turkey Test for significant differences between Attitudes and Personal

Income


$5,000 or below $40,000-$44,999 -.687 .176 .005

$5,000-$9,999 $40,000-$44,999 -.810 .182 .001

$10,000-$14,999 $40,000-$44,999 -.630 .179 .018

$20,000-$24,999 $40,000-$44,999 -.611 .191 .049

$5,000 or below .687 .176 .005

$5,000-$9,999 .810 .182 .001

$10,000-$14,999 .630 .179 .018

$40,000-$44,999

$20,000-$24,999 .611 .191 .049

Table 7.3: Result of One-Way ANOVA for significant differences between Attitudes and Family

Income


Between Groups 4.987 10 .499 3.335 .000


Total 52.680 329

Table 7.4: Result of Turkey Test for significant differences between Attitudes and Family Income


$45,000-$49,999 -.501 .142 .021 $5,000-$9,999

$50,000 or above -.403 .123 .045

$45,000-$49,999 -.385 .112 .028 $1,5000-$19,999

$50,000 or above -.288 .086 .039

$5,000-$9,999 .501 .142 .021 $45,000-$49,999

$15,000-$19,999 .385 .112 .028

$5,000-$9,999 .403 .123 .045 $50,000 or above

$15,000-$19,999 .288 .086 .039

4.3.6 Relationship between Attitudes of Presence of Children in household

To examine the significant difference of attitudes between presence of children in

household, Independent Sample T-test is applied in Table 8 and 8.1. The result of

Levenes Test for Equality of Variances (F=1.494, p>0.05) confirmed the assumption of

equal variance. However, due to an insignificant test result (t=0.607, p>0.05), there is no

relationship between attitudes and presence of children. Hypothesis H1e is there fore

rejected (Appendix 4.6).

Table 8: Descriptive statistics of Attitudes between Presence of Children


Yes 110 3.20 .041

No 220 3.17 .026

Table 8.1: Independent Sample T-test for significant difference between Attitudes and Presence of

Children

Levene's Test

for Equality of

Variances

t-test for Equality of Means

F Sig. t df Sig. (2-tailed)

Equal cariances assumed 1.494 .223 .607 328 .544

Equal variances not assumed .588 200.408 .557

4.4 Health Consciousness

Overall, the mean score of health consciousness is 3.62, which shows a fair level in

health and diet of Hong Kong people as shown in Table 9. The item I worry that there

are harmful chemicals in my food has the highest mean of 3.93, reflecting a rise of

concern in food safety.

Table 9: Descriptive statistic of Health Consciousness

Item Mean

Std.

Deviation

1. I worry that there are harmful chemicals in my food. 3.93 0.69

2. I always avoid eating foods with additives and preservatives. 3.43 0.867

3. I am concerned about my drinking water quality. 3.85 0.664

4. I usually read the ingredients on food labels. 3.33 1.027

5. I read more health-related articles than I did 3 years ago. 3.35 0.973

6. I am interested in information about my health. 3.91 0.655

7. I always eat fresh and healthy foods, e.g. fruits, vegetables,

etc. 3.81 0.763

8. I am concerned about my health all the time. 3.86 0.696

9. I always pay attention to a balanced diet. 3.61 0.792

10. I always avoid eating snacks. 3.09 1.063

Overall mean 3.62

4.5 Environmental Concerns

The mean score of environmental concerns is 3.44, which shows a fair to favourable

level of environmental concerns as shown in Table 10. The item I use double sides of a

paper before throwing it away or taking it recycled scores the highest mean of 3.98 while

the item I avoid purchasing products in environmental unfriendly packages and I

prefer to buy environmental friendly labeled products both have the lowest mean score

of 3.05.

Table 10: Descriptive statistics of Environmental Concerns

Item Mean

Std.

Deviation

1. I avoid purchasing products in environmental unfriendly packages. 3.05 0.903

2. I always save energy. 3.67 0.790

3. I prefer to buy environmental friendly labeled products. 3.05 1.008

4. I always recycle plastic bottles and newspaper etc. 3.66 0.858

5. I use double sides of a paper before throwing it away or taking it recycled. 3.98 0.868

6. I bring my shopping bag when I go shopping. 3.38 1.124

7. I always donate things I do not need (like electric appliances, computers, toys,

clothes) to the charity. 3.42 0.933

8. I always avoid using disposable tableware. 3.28 1.026

Overall Mean 3.44

4.6 Organic Food Knowledge

The knowledge variable is based on ten true or false questions. For each question a

correct answer was assigned a 1 and a wrong answer was assigned a 0, giving a total

score between 0 and 10 for each respondent. The distribution of score and the percentage

of correct responses for each question are presented in Table 11 and 12. The average

score is 4.98, showing a fair level of organic food knowledge among the respondents.

Table 11: Scores of Organic Food Knowledge

Score 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Frequency 12 8 16 44 51 64 57 40 21 12 5

% 3.6 2.4 4.8 13.3 15.5 19.4 17.3 12.1 6.4 3.6 1.5

Overall Mean = 4.98

Table 12: Percentage of correct responses for each organic food question

Item (Notes: Correct answers are written in blankets) %

1. Organic production does not apply chemical pesticides and fertilizers. (True) 79.1

2. Organic food is not natural products. (False) 66.4

3. Organic food involves genetic modification. (False) 57.3

4. Organic food has higher nutrition content than conventional food. (False) 27.0

5. We can judge if a product is organic or not by its outlook appearance. (False) 62.1

6. There is no preservative in organic food. (True) 71.2

7. Organic farming use animal excretion as fertilizers. (False) 23.3

8. ISO9001 (Product management certification) is organic certification. (False) 24.5

9. Real organic products can only be bought in large supermarkets, department

stores or organic food stores. (False) 47.6

10. Only those products with organic-certified labels are real organic products. (True) 39.7

4.7 Variables Affecting Frequency of Organic Food Consumption

4.7.1 Relationship between Frequency and Age

Referring to Table 13, 13.1 and 13.2, One-way ANOVA shows statistically

significant differences in frequency of organic food consumption of different age groups.

The figure (F=12.967, p0.05)

(Appendix 4.7). Therefore, consumers age is not positively related to the frequency of

organic food consumption and hypothesis H2a can be rejected.

Table 13: Descriptive statistics of Frequency between Age Group


16-25 122 1.96 .322

26-35 53 2.87 .466

36-45 73 3.15 .444

46-55 53 2.43 .404

56-65 24 2.25 .232

66 or above 5 1.00 .282

Table 13.1: Result of One-Way ANOVA for significant differences between Frequency and Age

Group


Between Groups 85.992 5 17.198 12.967 .000

Within Groups 429.732 324 1.326

Total 515.724 329

Table 4.2: Result of Turkey Test for significant differences between Frequency and Age Group


26-35 -.909 .189 .000 16-25

36-45 -1.192 .170 .000

16-25 .909 .189 .000 26-35

66 or above 1.868 .539 .008

16-25 1.192 .170 .000

46-55 .717 .208 .008

56-65 .901 .271 .013

36-45

66 or above 2.151 .532 .001

46-55 36-45 -.717 .208 .008

56-65 36-45 -.901 .271 .013

26-35 -1.868 .539 .008 66 or above

36-45 -2.151 .532 .001

4.7.2 Relationship between Frequency and Gender

To examine the significant difference of frequency of organic food consumption

between genders, Independent Sample T-test is applied in Table 14 and 14.1. Levenes

Test for Equality of Variances p

Male 147 2.25 1.109

Female 183 2.61 1.337

Table 14.1: Independent Sample T-test for significant difference between Frequency and Genders

Levene's Test

for Equality of

Variances

t-test for Equality of Means

F Sig. t df Sig. (2-tailed)

Equal cariances assumed 15.73 .000 -2.621 328 .009

Equal variances not assumed -2.675 327.547 .008

4.7.3 Relationship between Frequency and Education Level

One-way ANOVA and Turkey Test are used to check the significant differences

in frequency of label usage of different education level and the result is presented in

Table 15, 15.1 and 15.2. The figure (F=3.966, p

Undergraduate 160 2.40 1.193

Postgraduate 14 2.36 1.082

Table 15.1: Result of One-Way ANOVA for significant differences between Frequency and

Education Level


Between Groups 24.002 4 6.000 3.966 .004

Within Groups 491.723 325 1.513

Total 515.724 329

Table 15.2: Result of Turkey Test for significant differences between Frequency and Education

Level


Primary or below Senior secondary school -.923 .244 .002

Primary or below .923 .244 .002 Senior secondary school

Undergraduate .470 .171 .048

Undergraduate Primary or below -.470 .171 .048

4.7.4 Relationship between Frequency and Income

Both personal income and family income are investigated by employing 2 separate

One-way ANOVAs and Turkey Tests respectively on significant difference in Table 16,

16.1, 16.2, 16.3 and 16.4. For personal income, the outcome reveals a difference between

groups (F=3.711, p

the family monthly income level of $30,000. The highest income level group also poses a

higher frequency over groups $5,000-$9,999, $15,000-$19,999 and $20,000-$24,999.

Since not all pairs shows significant results (p

$45,000-$49,999 -2.008 .470 .001

$25,000-$29,999 -1.703 .489 .020

$35,000-$39,999 -1.270 .335 .007

$40,000-$44,999 -2.870 .530 .000

$5,000-$9,999

$45,000-$49,999 -1.870 .489 .006

$5,000 or below 0.577 0.172 0.03 $10,000-$14,999

$40,000-$44,999 -2.431 .522 .000

$15,000-$19,999 $40,000-$44,999 -2.182 .558 .004

$20,000-$24,999 $40,000-$44,999 -2.273 .558 .002

$5,000 or below 1.841 .470 .004 $25,000-$29,999

$5,000-$9,999 1.703 .489 .020

$30,000-$34,999 $40,000-$44,999 2.222 .560 .004

$35,000-$39,999 $5,000 or below 1.408 .308 .000

$5,000-$9,999 1.270 .335 .007

$5,000 or below 3.008 .513 .000

$5,000-$9,999 2.870 .530 .000

$10,000-$14,999 2.431 .552 .000

$1,5000-$19999 2.182 .558 .004

$20,000-$24,999 2.273 .558 .002

$40,000-$44,999

$30,000-$34,999 2.222 .569 .004

$5,000 or below 2.008 .470 .001 $45,000-$49,999

$5,000-$9,999 1.870 .489 .006

Table 16.3: Result of One-Way ANOVA for significant differences between Frequency and Family

Income


Between Groups 69.866 10 6.987 4.999 .000

Within Groups 445.858 319 1.398

Total 515.724 329

Table 16.4: Result of Turkey Test for significant differences between Frequency and Family Income


$5,000 or below $45,000-$49,999 -1.722 .419 .002

$45,000-$49,999 -1.819 .436 .002 $5,000-$9,999

$50,000 or above -1.231 .376 .046

$10,000-$14,999 $45,000-$49,999 -1.151 .355 .050

$15,000-$19,999 $40,000-$44,999 -1.077 .331 .048

$45,000-$49,999 -1.665 .344 .000

$50,000 or above -1.077 .264 .003

$45,000-$49,999 -1.388 .328 .002 $20,000-$24,999

$50,000 or above -.800 .244 .045

$25,000-$29,999 $45,000-$49,999 -1.351 .345 .005

$40,000-$44,999 $15,000-$19,999 1.077 .331 .048

$5,000 or below 1.722 .419 .002

$5,000-$9,999 1.819 .436 .002

$10,000-$14,999 1.151 .355 .050

$15,000-$19,999 1.665 .344 .000

$20,000-$24,999 1.388 .328 .002

$45,000-$49,999

$25,000-$29,999 1.351 .345 .005

$5,000-$9,999 1.231 .376 .046

$1,5000-$19999 1.077 .264 .003

$50,000 or above

$20,000-$24,999 .800 .244 .045

4.7.5 Relationship between Frequency and Presence of Children in Household

Independent Sample T-test is applied to examine the significant difference between

frequency and the presence of children in a household. In Table 17 and 17.1, Levene's

Test for Equality of Variances

Equal variances not assumed 2.453 192.967 0.15

4.7.6 Relationship between Frequency and Attitude

Linear Regression is used to test the relationship between frequency of organic food

consumption and attitude and the result is presented in Table 18. The estimated slope

(B=1.954, p

4.7.8 Relationship between Frequency and Environmental Concerns

Again, Linear Regression is employed in testing the relationship between frequency

and environmental concerns as shown in Table 20. The estimated slope (B=0.740,

p

5. Discussion

The majority of the respondents have a positive attitude towards organic food.

However, over 50% of them indicated that they seldom consume organic food. Despite

the fact that a portion of the consumers claimed that they will spend more on organic food

in the future, most of them spent only $51-$200 on organic food in a year, which reflect

organic food, still, as a niche market in Hong Kong.

The socio-demographic profile of organic food buyers are revealed as women buying

more frequently then men. Although age is not an important factor, consumers aged

between 36-45 shows the highest frequency in the consumption of organic products

(Davis et al., 1995). It was explained by some studies that although younger consumers

has a higher willingness to buy due to their greater environmental concerns, they cannot

always afford it, and therefore being replaced by the mid-age group who has higher

financial power (Fotopoulos and Krystallis, 2002, Baker et al., 2002, Solomon et al.,

1999). Households with the presence of children are also found to consume organic food

more often. The reason behind may be perceived as a higher level of concern in food

safety with the presence of children, especially for women.

As expected, people who are more health conscious, environmental friendly and

have higher level of organic food knowledge are also confirmed to purchase organic food

more frequently. The item I worry that there are harmful chemicals in my food has the

highest mean value of 3.93 in the health consciousness scale implies a general high

awareness in the threat of food safety. Together with the 3 highest-mean-valued attitudes

of organic food of being healthier, safer and more reliable and are of higher quality,

an opportunity in the expansion and raise of the organic food market can be seen.

In term of price premium, nearly 70% of the consumers denoted a willingness to pay

a premium for organic food. Among them, the most bearable price premium is evaluated

at a 1/4 price level higher than non-organic conventional food. All these seem

contradictory to the phenomenon that organic food is surprisingly consumed at a low

frequency level. The reason behind can possibly be explained by some of the findings of

the survey. Among the attitudes towards organic food, the statements it is difficult to

identify real organic products, organic products labels in the market are confusing and

organic products are very expensive scored the lowest in mean values. They can be

interpreted as the main reasons failing organic products in becoming popular, which

coincide with rationalizations in past researches (Dent and McGregor 1994, An Bord Glas

1991, Stopes and Woodward 1988, Dixon and Holmes 1987, von Alvensleben and

Altmann 1987). This suggests a space for development or improvement in areas of price

competitiveness and organic food labeling certification.

Other negative attitudes towards organic food include few organic products available

in the market, small variety of organic products and few selling locations for organic

products. These negative attitudes act as barriers for consumption of organic products

(An Bord Glas 1991, Stopes and Woodward 1988; Jolly et al. 1989).

While talking about the difficulty in identifying real organic food products and

labels, the study about organic knowledge brings a lack of knowledge on organic food

into light. The average score of 4.98 out of 10 reveals lack adequate information in

identifying real organic food products and labels. Over 70% of the respondents mixed up

the product management certification ISO9001 with organic certification and did not

know that organic-certified labels represent real organic products. There is also a serious

misunderstanding about a higher nutrition content and the use of animal excretion as

fertilizers in organic food which are both actually false. Past studies have pointed out that

such a misunderstanding in organic ways of production will prevent consumers from

buying organic food (Verdurme et al., 2002, Worner and Meier-Ploeger, 1999)

In environmental aspect, the overall mean of environmental concerns is 3.44 which

represent a fair to moderate level of environmental concerns of the general public. The

same association has been captured by Fotopoulos and Krystallis (2002). However, it is

generally recognized that there are also numerous barriers to the diffusion of

environmentally friendly products, like organic food, despite the green trend in consumer

values and attitudes. The most common barriers stressed in the marketing literature

include consumer's reluctance to pay higher costs, both in terms of money and in time and

effort, their skepticism regarding the higher quality of these products (Vindigni et al.,

2002) and the lack of availability of these products (Lea and Worsley, 2005). Therefore,

marketing should be carefully handled to avoid collision of such barriers.

6. Recommendations

6.1 Strategies based on Demographics

As discovered in the survey, female and households with children are more likely to

consume organic products. These two groups therefore have a bigger potential as the

major consumption group and can be identified as target customers. A marketing mix

could focus on these groups and investigate in any special needs in the groups. As female

consumers are becoming more needy for detail information and knowledge about organic

facts and benefits, in terms of advertising, for example, rational appeals should be used

instead of emotional appeals in order to enhance the rate of return. Likewise, when

designing advertisement and packaging of products, more feminine designs, like more use

of warm colours, will be more appealing to the target group customers.

6.2 Strategies based on Consumption Pattern

According to the survey, a majority of the consumers take a price 1/4 higher than

non-organic conventional food. This can act as a reference when organic food marketers

develop their pricing strategies. As a matter of fact, organic products do require a higher

production cost due to more intensive farming, slower crops growth and less government

subsidies which pose an understandable difficulty in drawing down the prices. Therefore,

in long term, development of local organic agriculture could be encouraged to increase

production volumes of organic products. More organic food could also be imported from

China or overseas in order to decrease the price by driving up the supply, thereby

attracting more customers.

6.3 Strategies based on Attitude towards Organic Food

As mentioned before, negative attitudes towards organic food other than prices are

limited availability, limited variety, limited selling locations, difficulty in

identifying real organic products and confusing organic products labels.

6.3.1 Coping with limited availability, variety and selling locations

Selling locations and distribution channels could be increased and broadened, so that

the increase in convenience could attract both buyers and noon-buyers of organic food.

By increasing the production volume or supply of more variety organic food as

mentioned, not only the price could be reduced, selling locations could also be directly or

indirectly increased.

Further, the pattern of distribution channels could also be changed. As supermarkets,

health food stores and markets occupied a large share as organic food shopping points,

emphasis should be placed in these 3 channels, especially supermarket as it is the most

often shopping place for consumers. More organic food, especially vegetables and fruits,

should also be directed to markets in order to absorb a broader consumption group.

6.3.2 Coping with difficulty in identifying real organic food and confusing labels

The difficulty and confusion reflect a cluttered organic food labeling and

certification system. Need for an independent and standardized organic labeling system is

clearly indicated. This calls for cooperation and aids from local and international

governments. Organic food marketers should encourage the government to propose legal

standard on organic food certification in order to protect health of the general public. In

shorter term, organic food marketers could educate the public about certified labels by

means of advertisements or promotion such as TV advertisements.

6.4 Strategies based on Health Consciousness

Since consumers are increasingly aware of the threat of harmful additives and food

safety, organic food provide a safe and reliable way to eat healthy. Aspects like safe,

and healthy should be stressed in packaging, brand image development and advertising

to draw favourable attitude towards the brand or products.

Moreover, efforts in educating consumers about health awareness can foster more

favourable attitude and consumption for organic food. To do this, food marketers should

work together with the Government for developing promotional campaigns to influence

consumers beliefs about the relationship between food safety and disease. The

promotional campaign can be in different forms, depending on the target audience.

6.5 Strategies based on Environmental Concerns

Being a part of green food, environmental friendliness is advised to be maintained

when establishing brand image and formulating marketing mix. For example, the

packaging of food is advised to be environmental friendly, with less excessive packaging

to maintain a consistent image and impression for the product.

More than that a type of food, "organic" is not only a set of harmless agricultural

production technique, but a more important idea behind to protect the environmental and

create a mutual beneficial living environment for both nature and man. During marketing,

marketers can stress the importance in this aspect by means of education and promotion,

so that consumers will one day consider their social responsibility in environmental

protection.

6.6 Strategies based on Organic Knowledge

The framework reinforces the basic notion that, to increase consumers use of

nutrition label, policy can focus on education about health knowledge. Educational

programmes targeted at increasing levels of diet-disease knowledge can be effective in

teaching consumers that diet-related diseases may be preventable. This, in run, may lead

to healthier eating habits (Szykman et al., 1997).

To increase the nutrition knowledge, the food sector can cooperate with the

Government and public organizations to produce brochures, campaigns and TV

programmes for the general public. In addition, compulsory nutrition class and seminars

can be provided by schools to target the students. The younger they learn about nutrition,

the more benefits of healthy food choices they can enjoy.

7. Limitations and Further Research

This exploratory study provides some valuable information on attitudes and

frequency of organic food consumption, yet several questions remain unanswered.

First, due to cost limitation and time constraint, the study has placed emphasis on

isolating the role of health consciousness, environmental concerns and organic food

knowledge on organic food consumption apart from the role of demographic

characteristics in affecting them. As the variables are examined separately, estimates

linking demographic factors with organic food consumption without controlling for health

consciousness, environmental concerns and organic food knowledge into account may not

be accurate.

The study has also focus on the role of demographics in affecting attitude but

exclude other factors such as health consciousness, environmental concerns and organic

food knowledge.

This search focuses on demographics variables, health consciousness, environmental

concerns and organic food knowledge in relation to the frequency of organic food

consumption. However, it may have ignored other possible factors like consumers

skepticism, psychographic variables, health status, cost of information search, etc.

Besides, an experimental nature of study may provide a broader scope of understanding.

Knowing the characteristics of individuals who purchase organic food is a critical

part of the organic food consumption analysis. Yet, a key question still remains as to why

customers buy or not buy organic food. In the study, attitude is used as a way to

interpreter the reason behind, but it is not reliable as it is only a perception based on

findings. Further research should extend this study and determine the factors influencing

consumers purchase decision.

8. Conclusion

All in all, this study provides a preliminary analysis of the proposed framework that

underlies the consumption of organic food. Interestingly, age, education and income are

proved for not having a positive relationship with consumption of organic food. A

significant difference between gender and the organic food consumption is found.

Positive relationships among organic food consumption frequency and four aspects are

established, namely attitude, health consciousness, environmental concerns and organic

food knowledge. Findings in this study help marketers and government to develop

specific strategies for organic food customers and provide insights and directions for

future research.

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Page A1

Appendices

Appendix 1: Questionnaire on Organic Food Consumption English Version

A Questionnaire on Organic Food Consumption

Hello! I am a Year 3 student from the Hong Kong Baptist University majoring in

Marketing. I am now conducting a research project about organic food consumption

in Hong Kong. Please spare 5-10 minutes to fill in this questionnaire. All your

information given will be used for academic purpose only. Here, I would like to

express my gratitude for your help.

Part 1

The following statements measure your consumption of organic food.

Please tick the appropriate box(es).

1. Have you ever heard of the term organic food?

Yes No (End of questionnaire, thank you)

2. How often do you purchase organic food?

At least once/week At least once/month Once half a year

Seldom Never (Please jump to Part 2)

3. In the past year, how much do you and your family spend on organic food

monthly?

$50 or below $51 - $200 $201 - $500

$501 - $700 $701 $1000 $1001or above

4. In the coming year, how much will you and your family spend on organic food?

$50 or below $51 - $200 $201 - $500

$501 - $700 $701 $1000 $1001or above

5. Which type of organic food do you and your family buy most often?

Organic vegetables (e.g. Chinese cabbage, botany)

Organic fruits (e.g. apples, oranges)

Questionnaire No: Date / Time: / Venue: SSP / ST / WC

Page A2

Organic meat (e.g. chicken, beef)

Processed organic food (e.g. coffee, biscuits)

Organic raw materials (e.g. sugar, flour)

6. Where is the shopping place that you go most often when you buy organic food?

(You may choose more than one item.)

Markets Supermarkets Convenient stores

Health food shops Stores Others: ________________

7. How often do you pay attention to information on food labels on food products if

you need to purchase organic food?

Always Usually Often

Seldom Never

8. When compared with the price of conventional food, what is the maximum level

you are willing to spend on organic food?

When organic food is cheaper than conventional food

When organic food and conventional food are priced the same

When organic food is priced 1/4 higher than conventional food

When organic food is priced half way higher than conventional food

When organic food is priced double than conventional food

Part 2

The following statements describe your attitudes towards organic food.

Please indicate your agreeableness on a five-point scale with 1 representing strongly

disagree and 5 representing strongly agree.

Strongly

Disagree

Disagree Neutral

Agree Strongly

Agree

1. I am not interested in organics. 1 2 3 4 5

2. I prefer buying organics. 1 2 3 4 5

3. Organic products are safer and more

reliable. 1 2 3 4 5

4. Organic products are of better quality. 1 2 3 4 5

5. Organic products are healthier. 1 2 3 4 5

6. Organic products taste better. 1 2 3 4 5

7. Organic products are of higher nutrition 1 2 3 4 5

Page A3

value.

8. Organic products are very expensive. 1 2 3 4 5

9. The packaging of organic products looks

less pleasing to the eye. 1 2 3 4 5

10. The outlook of organic products is less

attractive. 1 2 3 4 5

11. Organics are supreme products

consumed only by rich people. 1 2 3 4 5

12. Consumption of organic products

represents higher social status. 1 2 3 4 5

13. Not many organic products are available

in the market. 1 2 3 4 5

14. There is a small variety of organic

products. 1 2 3 4 5

15. There are a lot of selling locations for

organic products. 1 2 3 4 5

16. It is difficult to identify real organic

products. 1 2 3 4 5

17. The organic products labels in the

market are confusing. 1 2 3 4 5

18. I trust organic products. 1 2 3 4 5

19. I trust organic producers. 1 2 3 4 5

20. Organics consumption helps protecting

the environment. 1 2 3 4 5

Part 3

The following statements describe your personal opinions about health consciousness.



Strongly

Disagree

Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly

Agree

1. I worry that there are harmful chemicals

in my food. 1 2 3 4 5

2. I always avoid eating foods with

additives and preservatives. 1 2 3 4 5

3. I am concerned about my drinking water 1 2 3 4 5

Page A4

quality.

4. I usually read the ingredients on food

labels. 1 2 3 4 5

5. I read more health-related articles than I

did 3 years ago. 1 2 3 4 5

6. I am interested in information about my

health. 1 2 3 4 5

7. I always eat fresh and healthy foods, e.g.

fruits, vegetables, etc. 1 2 3 4 5

8. I am concerned about my health all the

time. 1 2 3 4 5

9. I always pay attention to a balanced diet. 1 2 3 4 5

10. I always avoid eating snacks. 1 2 3 4 5

Part 4

The following statements describe your behaviour on environmental friendliness.



Strongly

Disagree

Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly

Agree

1. I avoid purchasing products in

environmental unfriendly packages. 1 2 3 4 5

2. I always save energy. 1 2 3 4 5

3. I prefer to buy environmental friendly

labeled products. 1 2 3 4 5

4. I always recycle plastic bottles and

newspaper etc. 1 2 3 4 5

5. I use double sides of a paper before

throwing it away or taking it recycled. 1 2 3 4 5

6. I bring my shopping bag when I go

shopping. 1 2 3 4 5

7. I always donate things I do not need (like

electric appliances, computers, toys, clothes)

to the charity.

1 2 3 4 5

8. I always avoid using disposable tableware. 1 2 3 4 5

Page A5

Part 5

Please answer the following questions about nutrition and food products according to

your knowledge. Please put a tick in the corresponding box.

True False

Do Not

Know

1. Organic production does not apply chemical

pesticides and fertilizers.

2. Organic food is not natural products.

3. Organic food involves genetic modification.

4. Organic food has higher nutrition content

than conventional food.

5. We can judge if a product is organic or not by

its outlook appearance.

6. There is no preservative in organic food.

7. Organic farming use faeces as fertilizers.

8. ISO9001 (Product management certification)

is organic certification.

9. Real organic products can only be bought in

large supermarkets, department stores or

organic food stores.

10. Only those products with organic-certified

labels are real organic products.

Part 6

Personal Information

Gender Male Female

Age 16 - 25 26 - 35 36 - 45

46 - 55 56 - 65 66 or above

Education Level Primary or below

Junior secondary school (S1-S3)

Senior secondary school (S4-S7)

Undergraduate

Page A6

Postgraduate

Marital Status Single Married Others

Children in a Yes No

Household

Members in a 1 2 3

Household 4 5 >5

Occupation Executive / Manager Professionals

Clerk Service worker / Salesperson

Labour Worker Technician

Housewife Student

Unemployed Retired

Self-employed Others

Personal $5,000 or below $5,000-$9,999

Monthly Income $10,000-$14,999 $15,000-$19,999

$20,000-$24,999 $25,000-$29,999

$30,000-$34,999 $35,000-$39,999

$40,000-$44,999 $45,000-$49,999

$50,000 or above

Total Family $5,000 or below $5,000-$9,999

Monthly Income $10,000-$14,999 $15,000-$19,999

$20,000-$24,999 $25,000-$29,999

$30,000-$34,999 $35,000-$39,999

$40,000-$44,999 $45,000-$49,999

$50,000 or above

This is the end of the questionnaire. Thank you!

Page A7

Appendix 2: Questionnaire on Organic Food Consumption Chinese Version

5-10

1.

2.

()

3.

$50 $51 - $200 $201 - $500

$501 - $700 $701 - $1000 $1001

4.

$50 $51 - $200 $201 - $500

$501 - $700 $701 - $1000 $1001

5.

()

()

()

()

()

6. ()

: __________________

: /: / : SSP / ST / WC

Page A8

7. :

8. ?

,

,

,

1 5

21. 1 2 3 4 5

22. 1 2 3 4 5

23. 1 2 3 4 5

24. 1 2 3 4 5

25. 1 2 3 4 5

26. 1 2 3 4 5

27. 1 2 3 4 5

28. 1 2 3 4 5

29. 1 2 3 4 5

30. 1 2 3 4 5

31. 1 2 3 4 5

32. 1 2 3 4 5

33. 1 2 3 4 5

34.

1 2 3 4 5

35. 1 2 3 4 5

36. 1 2 3 4 5

Page A9

37. 1 2 3 4 5

38. 1 2 3 4 5

39. 1 2 3 4 5

40. 1 2 3 4 5

1 5

7. 1 2 3 4 5

8.

1 2 3 4 5

9. 1 2 3 4 5

10. 1 2 3 4 5

11.

1 2 3 4 5

12. 1 2 3 4 5

13. 1 2 3 4 5

14. 1 2 3 4 5

15. 1 2 3 4 5

16. 1 2 3 4 5

1 5

9.

1 2 3 4 5

10. 1 2 3 4 5

11. 1 2 3 4 5

12. 1 2 3 4 5

Page A10

13.

1 2 3 4 5

14. 1 2 3 4 5

15.

1 2 3 4 5

16. 1 2 3 4 5

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18. ISO9001 ()

19.

20.

16 - 25 26 - 35 36 - 45

46 - 55 56 - 65 66

()

() /

Page A11

1 2 3

() 4 5 >5

/

/

$5,000 $5,000-$9,999

$10,000-$14,999 $15,000-$19,999

$20,000-$24,999 $25,000-$29,999

$30,000-$34,999 $35,000-$39,999

$40,000-$44,999 $45,000-$49,999

$50,000

$5,000 $5,000-$9,999

$10,000-$14,999 $15,000-$19,999

$20,000-$24,999 $25,000-$29,999

$30,000-$34,999 $35,000-$39,999

$40,000-$44,999 $45,000-$49,999

$50,000

Page A12

Appendix 3: Pictures of Nutrition Label

Documents

Consumer behaviour towards Organic Food Consumption …libproject.hkbu.edu.hk/trsimage/hp/06011446.pdf · Consumer behaviour towards Organic Food Consumption in Hong Kong: ... 3.3