Organic Foods and Consumer Choice in Context: An Exploration of Switching Behaviour

Abstract

This research examined how a large segment of consumers switch between buying organic and conventional food and explores the reasons and motivations behind this behaviour. With almost no previous research addressing this specific segment as a whole, the 'switching' behaviour has been poorly understood and previous explanations inconsistent and at times contradictory. A switcher puzzle was constructed to highlight the main issue under investigation: why does this group of consumers switch? This research focused on switchers living in two areas: one the rural town of Armidale and the city of Canberra. These two areas were identified on the basis that they potentially represented two different types of consumer living experience: rural versus city based. Twenty-one participants were interviewed from these areas, thirteen from Canberra and eight from Armidale, in face to face, semi structured, in-depth interviews which permitted a range of issues to be explored during the interview. Participants were also drawn from a variety of living arrangement types including: single parent households; single people; and couples with and without children living at home. A grounded theory approach was used to analyse how these switchers described the context in which they shop for food in general as well as their attitudes and beliefs towards organic food.