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This paper investigates the roles of personal, product related and economic factors in predicting rural consumers' attitudes and purchase intentions towards organic and free-range produce. A conceptual model is derived and tested via structural equation modeling on a sample of 222 rural consumers. The results show that attitude is explained by consumers' food safety concern, ethical lifestyle and price perceptions. Attitude partially mediates the effects of ethical lifestyle and price on intention to purchase organic produce as well as the effect of ethical lifestyle on intention to purchase free-range produce. Attitude assumes a more central role in fully mediating the effect of food safety concern on intention to purchase organic produce, as well as the effect of price on intention to purchase free-range produce. Overall the conceptual model of consumer decision making performs well in both organic and free-range contexts yielding similar results. textcopyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd.

Keywords

  • Free-range,Organic,Rural consumers,Structural equation modeling
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)130-139
Number of pages10
JournalFood Policy
Volume35
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2010
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