Resumo

On the demand side, increasing consumer health awareness has boosted organic food consumption, which has exponentially increased over the last two decades, outpacing conventional food markets in both developed and developing economies.

Since organic food quality is difficult to verify during purchase and even after consumption, many consumers judge that greenwashing practices are also applied to the organic market, and they have become skeptical about the healthiness of products promoted as organic, as well as about the environmental certifications and labeling, affecting the perceived value and the purchase decision-making process. In this context, the purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact of consumer skepticism on the perceived value and purchase intention of organic food.

Skepticism describes the tendency of an individual to distrust others, and is considered a temporary consumer state, induced by situational factors independent of the personality (Patel et al., 2017). Perceived value is an assessment by the consumer of the usefulness of a product or service based on perceptions of what is obtained and what is delivered for it (Zeithaml, 1988). Purchase intention demonstrates the consumers’ willingness to purchase goods or services from the same establishment and share their experience with others (Cronin et al., 2000).

Quantitative research was carried out through a survey applied to a sample of 404 consumers from the State of Paraiba, Brazil. Data analysis included descriptive statistics and confirmatory factor analysis using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).

The study confirmed the negative relationship between skepticism and the perceived value of organic foods and the positive relationship between the perceived value and purchase intention. In contrast, the negative relationship between skepticism and purchase intention was not confirmed by data analysis.

Theoretical contribution resides in the study of the influence of consumer skepticism on consumer behavior, which is the foundation of the attribute-behavior-context theory; and the credibility of organic food labels, concerning the signaling theory. Practical and social contributions recommend incorporating rational aspects, such as social and health benefits of organic products on communication strategies and information campaigns aiming at improving the knowledge about health, environment, and social benefits of organic production and consumption.

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