Factors Affecting Customer Purchase Intention towards Organic Food Consumption: A Case Study based on the Community in University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka

Abstract

Food consumption patterns are changing rapidly, due to health issues, concerns about the food nutritional values and environmental issues. So, at present there exists an emerging market for organic food products globally as well as in Sri Lankan context, since organic food is considered to be in high quality in terms of many aspects. Moreover, the organic food industry in Sri Lanka is considered to be a niche market and level of consumption is still very low although it is growing rapidly. However, there is a dearth of studies conducted in the field of consumer behavior in the organic food industry in the Sri Lankan context. So, the main objective of this study was to identify the factors affecting the customers' purchase intention towards the organic food consumption in Sri Lanka; A case based on the community in University of Peradeniya (UOP). A sample of 90 individuals including students, academic and non academic staff from faculty of agriculture, UOP was selected using disproportionate stratified random sampling. Data were collected by administrating a structured questionnaire, based on theory of planned behavior. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics revealed that the sample respondents tend to show a moderate level of purchase intention towards the organic food consumption. Further results of regression analysis revealed that there is a significant impact of Knowledge (p<0.05) and Attitudes (p<0.05) of individuals on purchase intention towards organic food consumption. Therefore, it is recommended the relevant parties, for example such as the organic food companies and governmental authorities etc. to consider and emphasize more on consumer’s attitudes and knowledge in order to uplift the level of consumer purchase intention towards organic food. Further research direction is recommended by the researcher to conduct a comparative study on factors influencing the purchase intention towards the organic food consumption of other University communities in Sri Lanka by using a more representative sample.