CONSUMERS BEHAVIOR ON ORGANIC FOOD: EVIDENCE FROM THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5937/ekoPolj1603871VKeywords:
organic food, the market, consumers, behavior, SerbiaAbstract
In developed countries, the demand for organic food has seen a signifcant increase in the past decade. However, the organic food market in Serbia is still in its infancy and can be considered an emerging market. By gaining an understanding of consumer behavior on the Serbian market, it is possible to provide a greater consumption of organic food per capita through an appropriate marketing approach, as well as quicker development of the national market. This paper will outline some of the most signifcant fndings obtained from a quantitative study of the population of Serbia in the role of buyers and potential buyers of organic food. How much knowledge respondents have about organic food was also studied and presented here, as was the socio-demographic profle of the consumers as an important determinant of organic food consumption. In addition, we also analyzed consumer behavior when buying organic food from the standpoint of basic instruments of the marketing mix: the product, the price, marketing communication (promotion) and marketing channels (place). The obtained results were explained in relation to the theoretical knowledge obtained from previous studies carried out on various national markets. Based on these fndings, a solid foundation for the development of effective marketing strategies was obtained.
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References
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34. Sekovska, B. (2010): Organic food supply chain - the case in Macedonia, Economics of Agriculture, Vol. 57, No. 2, pp. 171-178.
35. Tsakiridou, E., Zotos, Y., Mattas, K. (2006): Employing a Dichotomous Choice Model to Assess Willingness to Pay (WTP) for Organically Produced Products, Journal of Food Products Marketing, Vol. 12, No. 3, pp. 59-69.
36. Tung, S.J., Shih, C.C., Wei, S., Chen, Y.H. (2012): Attitudinal inconsistency toward organic food in relation to purchasing intention and behavior: An illustration of Taiwan consumers, British Food Journal, Vol. 114, No. 7, pp. 997-1015.
37. Vehapi, S. (2015): A study of the consumer motives which influence the purchase of organic food in Serbia, Economic Themes, Vol. 53, No. 1, pp. 102-118.
38. Vlahović, B., Puškarić, A., Jeločnik, M. (2011): Consumer Attitude to Organic Food Consumption in Serbia, Petroleum Gas University of Ploiesti Bulletin, Vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 45-52, National Institute of Economic Research, Bucharest, Romania, (available at: http://www.upg-bulletin-se.ro/archive/2011-1/6.%20Vlahovic_Puskaric_Jelocnik.pdf).
39. Vlahović, B., Tomić, D., Popović, V. (2010): Stanje i perspektive potrošnje proizvoda organske poljoprivrede,. Conference on organic agriculture "Selenča", Selenča, Serbia, (available at: http://organiccentar.rs/sites/default/fles/radovi_sa_foruma/STANJE%20I%20PERSPEKTIVE%20POTRO%C5%A0NJE%20PROIZVODA%20ORGANSKE%20POLJOPRIVREDE.pdf)
40. Wandel, M., Bugge, A. (1997): Environmental concern in consumer evaluation of food quality, Food Quality and Preference, Vol. 8, No. 1, pp. 19-26.
41. Wier, M., Jensen, K.O.D., Andersen, L.M., Millock, K. (2008): The character of demand in mature organic food markets: Great Britain and Denmark compared, Food Policy, Vol. 33, No. 5, pp. 406-421.
42. Willer, H., Lernoud, J. (2014): The World of Organic Agriculture: Statistics and Emerging Trends 2014, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), Frick, and International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), Bonn, Germany, (available at: http://orgprints.org/25172/1/willer-lernoud-2014-world-of-organic.pdf)
43. Willer, H., Lernoud, J. (2015): The World of Organic Agriculture. Statistics and Emerging Trends 2015, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), Frick, and International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), Bonn, Germany, (available at: https://shop.fbl.org/fleadmin/documents/shop/1663-organic-world-2015.pdf)
44. Willer, H., Lernoud, J. (2016): The World of Organic Agriculture. Statistics and Emerging Trends 2016, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), Frick, and International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), Bonn, Germany, (available at: https://shop.fbl.org/fleadmin/documents/shop/1698-organic-world-2016.pdf)
45. Yazdanpanah, M., Forouzani, M. (2015): Application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour to predict Iranian students intention to purchase organic food, Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 107, 16 November 2015, pp. 342-352.
2. Akbari, M., Asadi, A. (2008): A Comparative Study of Iranian Consumers Versus Extension Experts Attitudes towards Agricultural Organic Products (AOP), American Journal of Agricultural and Biological Sciences, Vol. 3, No. 3, pp. 551-558.
3. Aryal, K., Chaudhary, P., Pandit, S., Sharma, G. (2009): Consumers Willingness to Pay for Organic Products: A Case From Kathmandu Valley, Journal of Agriculture and Environment, Vol.10, June 2009, pp. 15-26.
4. Baourakis, G., Kourgiantakis, M., Migdalas, A. (2002): The Impact of E-commerce on Agro-food Marketing. The Case of Agricultural Cooperatives, Firms and Consumers in Crete, British Food Journal, Vol. 104, No. 8, pp. 580 – 590.
5. Canavari, M., Bazzani, G.M., Spadoni, R., Regazzi, D. (2002): Food safety and organic fruit demand in Italy: a survey, British Food Journal, Vol. 104, No. 3/4/5, pp. 220 – 232.
6. Chinnici, G., DAmico, M., Pecorino, B. (2002): A multivariate statistical analysis on the consumers of organic products, British Food Journal, Vol. 104, No. 3/4/5, pp. 187 – 199.
7. Crandall, P. G., Friedly, E. C., Patton, M., OBryan, C. A., Gurubaramurugeshan, A., Seideman, S., Ricke, C.S., Rainey, R. (2010): Estimating the Demand for Organic Foods by Consumers at Farmers Markets in Northwest Arkansas, Journal of Agricultural & Food Information, Vol. 11, No. 3, pp. 185-208.
8. De Magistris, T., Gracia, A. (2008): The decision to buy organic food products in Southern Italy, British Food Journal, Vol. 110, No. 9, pp. 929-947.
9. Dimitri, C., Dettmann, R.L. (2012): Organic food consumers: what do we really know about them, British Food Journal, Vol. 114, No. 8, pp. 1157 – 1183.
10. Doorn, J.V., Verhoef, P.C. (2015): Drivers of and Barriers to Organic Purchase Behavior, Journal of Retailing, Vol. 91, No. 3, pp. 436-450.
11. Essoussi, L.H., Zahaf, M. (2008): Profling Organic Food Consumers: Motivations, Trust Orientations and Purchasing Behavior, Journal of International Business and Economics, Vol. 8, No. 2, pp. 25-39.
12. Fotopoulos, C., Krystallis, A. (2002): Purchasing motives and profle of the Greek organic consumer: a countrywide survey, British Food Journal, Vol. 104, No. 9, pp. 730- 765.
13. Gifford, K., Bernard, J.C. (2011): The effect of information on consumers willingness to pay for natural and organic chicken, International Journal of Consumer Studies, Vol. 35, No. 3, pp. 282-289.
14. Govindasamy, R., Italia, J. (1999): Predicting Willingness-to-Pay a Premium for Organically Grown Fresh Produce, Journal of Food Distribution Research, Vol. 30, No. 2, pp. 44-53.
15. Grubor, A., Djokić, N. (2016): Organic food consumer profle in the Republic of Serbia, British Food Journal, Vol. 118, No. 1, pp. 164-182.
16. Grunert, S.C. (1993): Green consumerism in Denmark: Some evidence from the ØKO foods-project, International Journal of Marketing, Vol. 32, No. 3, pp. 140-151.
17. Hill, H., Lynchehaun, F. (2002): Organic milk: attitudes and consumption patterns, British Food Journal, Vol. 104, No. 7, pp. 526-542.
18. Janssen, M., Hamm, U. (2011): Consumer perception of different organic certification schemes in fve European countries, Organic Agriculture, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 31-43.
19. Jonas, A., Roosen, J. (2008): Demand for milk labels in Germany: organic milk, conventional brands, and retail labels, Agribusiness, Vol. 24, No. 2, pp. 192-206.
20. Kalentić, M., Stefanović, E., Simić, I., Maerz, U. (2014): Organic Agriculture in Serbia: at a glance 2014, GIZ-Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH, National Association Serbia Organica, Beograd, Serbia.
21. Krystallis, A., Fotopoulos, C., Zotos, Y. (2006): Organic Consumers Profle and Their Willingness to Pay (WTP) for Selected Organic Food Products in Greece, Journal of International Consumer Marketing, Vol. 19, No. 1, pp. 81-106.
22. Lockie, S., Lyons, K., Lawrence, G., Mummery, K. (2002): Eating Green: Motivations behind organic food consumption in Australia, Sociologia Ruralis, Vol. 42, No. 1, pp. 23-40.
23. Lockie, S. (2006): Capturing the Sustainability Agenda: Organic Foods and Media Discourses on Food Scares, Environment, Genetic Engineering, and Health, Agriculture and Human Values, Vol. 23, No. 3, pp. 313-323.
24. Lopez, E., Lopez, R.A. (2009): Demand for differentiated milk products: implications for price competition, Agribusiness, Vol. 25, No. 4, pp. 453–465.
25. MacKinnon, S. (2013). The BC organic market: growth, trends and opportunities, 2013., (available at: https://ota.com/sites/default/fles/indexed_fles/COTA_NationalOrganicMarketSummary.pdf)
26. Mesias Díaz, F.J., Martinez-Carrasco Pleite, F., Miguel Martinez Paz, J., Gaspar García, P. (2012): Consumer knowledge, consumption, and willingness to pay for organic tomatoes, British Food Journal, Vol. 114, No. 3, pp. 318-334.
27. ODonovan, P., McCarthy, M. (2002): Irish Consumer Preference for Organic Meat, British Food Journal, Vol. 104, No. 3/4/5, pp. 353 – 370.
28. Padel, S., Foster, C. (2005): Exploring the gap between attitudes and behaviour: Understanding why consumers buy or do not buy organic food, British Food Journal, Vol. 107, No. 8, pp. 606-625.
29. Padilla Bravo, C., Cordts, A., Schulze, B., Spiller, A. (2013): Assessing determinants of organic food consumption using data from the German National Nutrition Survey II, Food Quality and Preference, Vol. 28, No. 1, pp. 60-70.
30. Pellegrini, G., Farinello, F. (2009): Organic consumers and new lifestyles: An Italian country survey on consumption patterns, British Food Journal, Vol. 111, No. 9, pp. 948- 974.
31. Radman, M. (2005): Consumer consumption and perception of organic products in Croatia, British Food Journal, Vol. 107, No. 4, pp. 263-273.
32. Roitner-Schobesberger, B., Darnhofer, I., Somsook, S., Vogl, C.R. (2008): Consumer perceptions of organic foods in Bangkok, Thailand, Food Policy, Vol. 33, No. 2, pp. 112- 121.
33. Saunders, M., Thornhill, A., Lewis, P. (2009): Research Methods for Business Students, Pearson Education, Harlow, England.
34. Sekovska, B. (2010): Organic food supply chain - the case in Macedonia, Economics of Agriculture, Vol. 57, No. 2, pp. 171-178.
35. Tsakiridou, E., Zotos, Y., Mattas, K. (2006): Employing a Dichotomous Choice Model to Assess Willingness to Pay (WTP) for Organically Produced Products, Journal of Food Products Marketing, Vol. 12, No. 3, pp. 59-69.
36. Tung, S.J., Shih, C.C., Wei, S., Chen, Y.H. (2012): Attitudinal inconsistency toward organic food in relation to purchasing intention and behavior: An illustration of Taiwan consumers, British Food Journal, Vol. 114, No. 7, pp. 997-1015.
37. Vehapi, S. (2015): A study of the consumer motives which influence the purchase of organic food in Serbia, Economic Themes, Vol. 53, No. 1, pp. 102-118.
38. Vlahović, B., Puškarić, A., Jeločnik, M. (2011): Consumer Attitude to Organic Food Consumption in Serbia, Petroleum Gas University of Ploiesti Bulletin, Vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 45-52, National Institute of Economic Research, Bucharest, Romania, (available at: http://www.upg-bulletin-se.ro/archive/2011-1/6.%20Vlahovic_Puskaric_Jelocnik.pdf).
39. Vlahović, B., Tomić, D., Popović, V. (2010): Stanje i perspektive potrošnje proizvoda organske poljoprivrede,. Conference on organic agriculture "Selenča", Selenča, Serbia, (available at: http://organiccentar.rs/sites/default/fles/radovi_sa_foruma/STANJE%20I%20PERSPEKTIVE%20POTRO%C5%A0NJE%20PROIZVODA%20ORGANSKE%20POLJOPRIVREDE.pdf)
40. Wandel, M., Bugge, A. (1997): Environmental concern in consumer evaluation of food quality, Food Quality and Preference, Vol. 8, No. 1, pp. 19-26.
41. Wier, M., Jensen, K.O.D., Andersen, L.M., Millock, K. (2008): The character of demand in mature organic food markets: Great Britain and Denmark compared, Food Policy, Vol. 33, No. 5, pp. 406-421.
42. Willer, H., Lernoud, J. (2014): The World of Organic Agriculture: Statistics and Emerging Trends 2014, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), Frick, and International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), Bonn, Germany, (available at: http://orgprints.org/25172/1/willer-lernoud-2014-world-of-organic.pdf)
43. Willer, H., Lernoud, J. (2015): The World of Organic Agriculture. Statistics and Emerging Trends 2015, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), Frick, and International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), Bonn, Germany, (available at: https://shop.fbl.org/fleadmin/documents/shop/1663-organic-world-2015.pdf)
44. Willer, H., Lernoud, J. (2016): The World of Organic Agriculture. Statistics and Emerging Trends 2016, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), Frick, and International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), Bonn, Germany, (available at: https://shop.fbl.org/fleadmin/documents/shop/1698-organic-world-2016.pdf)
45. Yazdanpanah, M., Forouzani, M. (2015): Application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour to predict Iranian students intention to purchase organic food, Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 107, 16 November 2015, pp. 342-352.
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Published
2016-08-31
How to Cite
Vehapi, S., & Dolićanin, E. (2016). CONSUMERS BEHAVIOR ON ORGANIC FOOD: EVIDENCE FROM THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA. Ekonomika Poljoprivrede, 63(3), 871–889. https://doi.org/10.5937/ekoPolj1603871V
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Original scientific papers
