Report on consumer behaviour in purchasing of organic food products in Australia

This proposal presents a research program that focuses on the research question: How and why do consumers make purchase decisions about organic products in Australia? The question is important because the Australian organic food industry is new but is growing at 20 percent per year. However, there is a lack of marketing strategy and awareness within the industry. This research will extend the knowledge of buying behaviour about organic products by addressing the problem. The goal of the research is a sound theoretical model of consumer behaviour for organic products that will fill the gaps in the literature and add to the knowledge base for industry, business government and farmers. To begin, the report examines the literature about the Australian organic industry showing the size and importance of the industry. It also reveals consumer confusion as to what really is ‘organic’. Following the review of this literature, the first research issue was developed. R1 1: How do consumers in Australia identify organic food? Next, internal factors affecting the purchase decision are examined. The second research issue developed from a review of this literature. RI 2: What internal factors influence the purchase decisions of Australian consumers to buy organic products? Finally the review explores the process and explains the theory relating to how consumers come to decisions when purchasing organic products. Research issue three develops from this review. RI 3: What is the purchase decision structure consumers use when purchasing organic products in Australia? References are made to green consumer behaviour and 'environmental behaviour' throughout this review, where they exist. The methodology used is four focus groups to assist in discovering new ideas, diagnosing situations and screening alternatives. Focus groups generate insights into complex behaviours and motivations and will be useful for the exploratory and developmental nature of the research. Two of the groups were people with low organic consumption experience while two groups included those with a high organic consumption experience. The findings of the research determine how consumers identify organic products and showed factors that influence their purchase decision. As well, a model of the purchase decision structure for consumers regarding organic products, links the literature to theoretical knowledge of consumer behaviour. This report contributes to organic marketing through the development of a theoretical framework that will improve the understanding of management implications and give guidelines to the industry. However, this report is an analytic generalisation and a survey is needed for statistical generalisation of the findings. Moreover, further research needs to examine the external factors influencing the consumer purchase decisions towards organic products in Australia would extend the parameters of this report and add to future knowledge of organic marketing.