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What motivates consumers to What motivates

consumers to buy
buy organic food in the UK? organic food?

Results from a qualitative study

Aikaterini Makatouni 345
Department of Agricultural and Food Economics,
The University of Reading, Reading, UK
Keywords Consumer behaviour, Organic food, United Kingdom
Abstract The aim of the overall project is to understand in depth the behavioural process of
parents with respect to organic food. Its main objectives are to identify: beliefs, with respect to
organic food, of parents who buy and do not buy organic food; the positive as well as negative
attitudes towards organic food of those who buy and do not buy organic food; the impact of
those attitudes on food choice for parents who buy and do not buy organic food; and to model
the food choice behaviour of parents with respect to organic food. Employs both qualitative
and quantitative methods. Reports the results of the second qualitative phase of the project
which involved 40 laddering interviews, which were conducted in Reading, UK. The means-
end chain approach was used. The key idea is that product attributes are a means for
consumers to obtain desired ends. Participants were parents with children aged 4-12 years
old, who were responsible for food purchases in their families and belonged to ABC1 class.
The life values which were revealed mainly fall into three main broad categories. Consumers'
human, animal and environment centred values form the key motivating factors for
organic food purchase. Both laddering and focus group interviews have generated certain
hypotheses that are tested through the quantitative phase of the project, which uses a sample
survey.

Introduction
Organic food is one of the fastest growing areas of the food market in Europe,
Northern America, Australia and Japan with sales being in excess of $114.5
billion in 1999. Although organic food sales still account for only around 1 per
cent of the total food market, many countries are showing growth of 20 to 30 per
cent annually (Leatherhead, 2000). The UK market is expanding rapidly with a
30 per cent annual sales increase, although it remains currently underdeveloped
in comparison to some other European countries (Mintel, 1999).
Several attempts have been made to examine consumers' perception of
organic food, factors that have facilitated or prevented the organic food choice,
consumer attitudes and reasons for purchase/non-purchase (Soil Association,
2000; Makatouni, 1999; Davies et al., 1995; Grunert and Juhl, 1995; Roddy et al.,
1994; Hutchins and Greenhalg, 1997; Latacz-Lohmann and Foster, 1997).
According to existing research, organic food is perceived as food without
``chemicals'' and ``growth hormones'', food that is ``not intensively'' produced
and is grown as ``natural'' (Soil Association, 2000; Makatouni, 1999; Davies et
al., 1995). Consumers purchase organic food mainly for health reasons; in view British Food Journal,
of being better for the children because of lower pesticides and fertiliser Vol. 104 No. 3/4/5, 2002, pp. 345-352.
# MCB UP Limited, 0007-070X
residues (Soil Association, 2000, Makatouni, 1999; Latacz-Lohmann and Foster, DOI 10.1108/00070700210425769
BFJ 1997; Morris, 1996; Davies et al., 1995; Tregear et al., 1994). Moreover, better
104,3/4/5 taste, being like home-grown, being free from BSE, genetic modification and
food additives are motivations for buying organic food. According to the Soil
Association (2000), Grunert and Juhl (1994), Grunert (1993), and Sparks and
Shepherd (1992), the trend towards increased consumption of organic food can
be linked to a broader concern about environmental issues. Ethical and moral
346 reasons for buying organic food are also apparent in other studies (Worcester,
2000; Morris, 1996). The main reasons that prevent consumers from buying
organic food are: high price, lack of availability, satisfaction with conventional
food, lack of trust, the limited choice and lack of perceived value (Soil
Association, 2000; Makatouni, 1999, Mintel, 1999; Morris, 1996; Davies et al.,
1995; Roddy et al., 1994; Tregear et al., 1994).
Although many consumers have expressed interest in organic food, the food
choices of relatively few people have been affected. Therefore, expressed
interest in organic food does not play a significant role in organic food purchase
and a discrepancy between positive attitude and behaviour is apparent.
Therefore, knowledge of consumers' cognitive structures and their impact on
the purchase decision will inevitably shed light on consumers' organic food
purchase decisions.

Purpose
The present paper is part of an overall study which employs a plurality of
methods (qualitative and quantitative approaches) to obtain an in-depth
understanding of consumer purchasing behaviour with regard to organic food.
More specifically, it attempts to explore the beliefs and attitudes of both
organic and non-organic food buyers and to detect their impact on purchase
behaviour.
The present paper presents the results of laddering interviews, which form
the second qualitative phase of the project. The interviews aimed to explore
further issues that were derived during the focus groups so as to obtain a
greater insight into the belief structures of consumers with regard to organic
food.

Means-end chain theory and laddering

The means-end chain theory is one among several theories that have developed
in cognitive psychology so as to understand how consumers perceive self-
relevance consequences of products (Gutman, 1982). The main idea behind the
means-end chain theory is that consumers' involvement in a product depends
on the psychological linkages which the consumers make between themselves
and the actual products (Olson, 1989). Means-end chain theory builds on work
of psychologists (Tolman, 1932) and economists (Abbott, 1955) who believed
that products are bought and consumed not for their own sake, but because
they mean something to the consumer (Reynolds and Gutman, 1988). In other
words, consumers buy a product because that product represents something
for themselves.
 In means-end chain theory, products are seen as means through which What motivates
consumers obtain value ends. According to this theory, consumers choose consumers to buy
products because they believe that the specific attributes of the product can organic food?
help them to achieve desired values through the consequence or benefits of
product use (Reynolds and Gutman, 1984). According to the means-end chain
model, every product has attributes that lead to benefits and values and this
attribute-consequence-value sequence model is the focus of the model (Valette- 347
Florence and Rappacchi, 1991).
In the current study, laddering interviews were chosen so as to uncover
consumers' means-end chains. More specifically, the objectives of the
interviews were to:
. identify the attributes of organic food that are perceived as important by
consumers who regularly buy organic food;
. identify the type of consequences and personal values which motivate
interest in these attributes of organic food;
. assist in the development of the questionnaire which will form the next
stage of the study.

Methodology
The study employs a qualitative research design with respondents that are
parents with children, between the ages of 4 to 12 years, and buy organic food
regularly. Respondents were all responsible for buying food in their families and
all belonged to the ABC1 socio-economic class. Age was not a criterion, since
most participants belonged to the same age group because they had children 4-12
years old. All interviewees had to consume at least two out of eight named
organic food products in the screening questionnaire. Participants were recruited
in supermarkets and an organic home-delivery company based in Reading also
agreed to put a leaflet into its bags to attract organic buyers. Participants were
offered a cash incentive to participate. A total of 40 laddering interviews were
conducted in the area of Reading during June, July and August 2000.
Eight different conventionally produced food products were presented to the
respondents (on cards), who were then asked to rank them according to their
likelihood of buying the organic version.
(1) apples;
(2) carrots;
(3) chicken;
(4) beef;
(5) bread;
(6) pasta;
(7) eggs;
(8) yoghurt.
BFJ Previous research has shown that measurement of consumer attitudes and
104,3/4/5 belief structures becomes more reliable and predictive of consumer behaviour
when the focus is on specific products rather than in broad product categories
in general (Bredahl, 1998). These particular products were selected because
they are all widely consumed everyday food products and are among those
products that children either like or are encouraged to eat. Furthermore, each of
348 them was expected to elicit different attributes.
With regard to coding, all data were categorised into attributes,
consequences and values. There was a common coding for all products
involved into the laddering interviews. The coded data were entered into
Laddermap, a computer program that aided in the analysis of the laddering
response. The first stage in the analysis of laddering data was a content
analysis of the means-end chains as obtained from individual respondents. The
content analysis of the 40 interviews resulted in 402 idiosyncratic concepts
which were categorised under 87 codes. Each code was identified as an
attribute, consequence or value.
Laddermap generated an implication matrix which serves as a method of
bridging the gap between the qualitative and quantitative aspects of the
laddering interviews. A hierarchical value map (HVM) was then produced
based on the results of the implication matrix. A hierarchical value map gives a
graphic presentation of all the most frequently mentioned attributes,
consequences and values and it consists of a series of nodes, connected by lines,
representing the aggregate of the respondents' ladders. Separate hierarchical
value maps were also created for the most frequently used attributes during the
interviews and focus groups.
The cut-off criterion determines which connections should be included in the
hierarchical value map. A cut-off point of 3 was chosen for this study (9 for the
overall HVM), which means that a link is drawn between two concepts if at
least four respondents have mentioned the concept as a direct or indirect
consequence of another concept. This accounts for 75-80 per cent of the
relationships. By selecting a cut-off point of more than one the complexity of
the results is reduced and therefore the clarity of the HVMs is increased, as only
those links that are mentioned more often are represented in the map.

Results
Having conducted the analysis of the laddering interviews, it was decided that
the results should be presented under two different sections; the first section
was based on all the elicited attributes, consequences and values represented in
overall HVM, whereas the second section was an attribute-based analysis and
resulted in several different HVMs which include only selected attributes and
their linkages with consequences and values. For the purpose of this paper,
only the overall HVM will be presented as well as the HVMs of the most
frequently mentioned concepts in the overall HVM.
 Figure 1 illustrates the respondents' most common means-end chain What motivates
regarding organic food, which, for the purpose of this research, were the eight consumers to buy
different food products. organic food?
Figure 1 demonstrates that, with a cut-off point of 9, which represents 43 per
cent, pesticides as an attribute, like eating it as a consequence, and responsibility
for family and self well-being and health as a value tend to be the most popularly
mentioned concepts during the laddering interviews. More specifically, as 349
many as 38 of the respondents mentioned pesticides as attributes, 34 mentioned
like eating it as consequence, and 36 mentioned responsibility for family and self
well-being and health as a value.
The map consists of various main parts; the first part is centred around
responsibility for family and self well-being and health. This part of the map
represents what could be termed as the health factor. The second part of the
map is centred around (not) like eating, which represents the hedonistic factor.
Additionally, there is also the part which is centred around happier animals as
well as the part that is around destruction of the environment which represents
the ethical factor.

Discussion
The life values which were revealed in the current phase of the project mainly
fall into three main broad categories;
(1) values that are centred around the human being (Figure 2);
(2) values that are centred around animals' well-being (Figure 3); and
(3) values centred around the environment (Figure 4).
Regarding the first category, values that refer to human health, well-being, and
feelings and desires are included, such as responsibility for health and well-
being of self and family, feel relaxed and satisfaction, nostalgia, longer life,

Figure 1.
Overall HVM for all
types of organic food,
cut-off = 9 (43 per cent)
BFJ
104,3/4/5

350

Figure 2.
HVM for ``health'',
cut-off = 3 (75 per cent)

Figure 3.
HVM for ``animals'',
cut-off = 3 (72 per cent)

Figure 4.
HVM for ``environment'',
cut-off = 3, (71 per cent)

happy life. Moreover, these values can focus either on the individuals (longer
life, feel relaxed and satisfaction) or on the family unit (responsible for family
health and well-being) or on the society unit as a whole (egalitarian). In this
category the most frequently mentioned value was that referring to the health-
related factor and, in particular, for being responsible for health and well-being What motivates
for self and family, which appears to be in the primary/central position in almost consumers to buy
all the HVMs. More specifically, with the exception of few attributes (hedonic), organic food?
all the attributes form ladders that include this health-related value. This
supports the focus group results and the relevant literature that presents the
health factor as the main motivation for the purchase of organic food.
The second most frequently mentioned value centred around animals. At 351
this point it is wise to distinguish between life values related to animals per se
(health, human feelings/beliefs about animals) and life values related to
animals that have an impact on human beings (health, and human feelings,
desires about life in general excluding those feelings/ beliefs about animals).
This can be interpreted as the animals' lives and human life being highly
correlated, not only due to animal welfare issues, but mainly due to the impact
that the animals' life can have on human health. The concepts ``you are what
you eat'' and ``happy animals produce healthy products'' perfectly reflect the
relationship between animals and health and seem to be the reference point in
the purchase of meat and livestock products.
The study also showed that there are also values related to the environment,
especially when the effects of pesticides and the consequences of the imports of
organic food are concerned. Therefore, responsibility and protection for the
environment comes just after the animal welfare issues in terms of frequency. It
should be mentioned that, according to previous research, worries about the
environment was one of the most frequently mentioned issues. Moreover, by
protecting the environment, parents believe that they protect their families' well-
being as they want their children to be brought up on a ``healthy'' planet and
later inherit it. This supports their beliefs that any destruction of environmental
balance will have effects in terms of human well-being and well-living.

Summary and conclusions

The main conclusion from the analysis of the laddering interviews is that, for
this group of British consumers, certain types of consequences of organic food
have self-relevance. These consumers perceive organic food as a means of
achieving individual and social values, of which the most important is centred
around the health factor for either themselves or their families. Values centred
around the environment and animal welfare are also considered to be
important, although their impact on the health factor seems to be the most
significant motive for choosing organic food.
Both focus groups and laddering interviews have aided in the generation of
a number of hypotheses that will be tested during the quantitative phase of the
projects.
The relation between concern about health of humans and animal welfare
issues needs to be further investigated as well as the overall nature of the
concern about animal welfare issues (impact of high animal welfare standards
and health of humans). It would be also interesting to uncover if possible, the
means-end chains of non-organic food buyers and compare the results with the
results of the current study.
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