FACILITATOR AND INHIBITOR FACTORS FOR THE ORGANIC FOOD PURCHASING INTENTION OF CONSUMERS IN HO CHI MINH CITY

Abstract

Organic food has become popular in Vietnam due to the increasing awareness of people about unsafe food. However, organic food is not the optimal choice in terms of consumption intentions. This shows that a gap exists between the intention and perception of consumers when choosing to buy organic food, which is a motivating or inhibiting factor. Therefore, the study aims to identify and evaluate the factors that promote and inhibit the intention to buy organic food. With the scales inherited from previous studies, qualitative research through preliminary in-depth interviews with experts with certain knowledge about organic food was carried out to verify the relevance of the scale for the context of a developing country like Vietnam. Preliminary quantitative study with 77 valid observations to assess the reliability of the scale. With a formal research sample of 299 consumers, a multivariable linear regression model was used to test the research hypothesis. The results show that health consciousness, ecosystem welfare, quality safety, value barriers, risk barriers, and use barriers are the factors that explain the intention to buy organic food. Several governance implications are proposed to attract consumers to choose to buy organic food.