The influence of food choice motives and objective and subjective knowledge on organic food consumption

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine the influence of six different food choice motives and objective and subjective knowledge on consumers attitude toward organic food and organic consumption based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) model. The online survey was conducted in October 2015 and data were collected from a sample of 343 in South Korea. This study applied structural equation modeling (SEM) by using a PLS-graph and discovered that among six different motives, concern for health and the environment were found to be the main factors in explaining organic food consumption. In addition, subjective knowledge about organic food had a positive effect on attitude toward organic food. Based on the empirical results, several suggestions are provided to the institutions as to facilitate the organic sectors on-going expansion in South Koreas food industry.