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ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study is to apply a structural equation model to investigate the impact of food safety concern, label, price-quality inference and consumers attitudes on consumers' purchase of green- labeled food in China. Questionnaires were distributed to randomly selected respondents who have purchased green-labeled food in Shanghai. A structural equation model was applied to analyze all hypotheses by using AMOS 17.0. The consumers' actual green purchase of green-labeled food was positively related with food safety concern (β=0.29, p<0.001), label (β=0.22, p<0.001) and attitude towards green-labeled products (β=0.16, p<0.01). In addition, food safety concern showed significant influence on label (β=0.45, p<0.001) and consumer attitudes (β=0.12, p<0.05). Price-quality inference was positively affected by label (β=0.11, p<0.05). Moreover, for consumers' attitudes variable, it is significantly affected by price-quality inference (β=0.19, p<0.001). However, a relationship between price-quality inference and consumers' actual green purchase of green-labeled food was not found. Recommendations are provided for improving the marketing of green labeled food products in China.
Keywords: China, Green marketing, Food safety, Price-quality inference, Consumer attitude
Introduction
The ever-increasing concern with health and environmental issues among consumers has accelerated their anxieties about the food they have eaten, for which they have paid attention to the quality of the food, the usage of fertilizer, the level of nutrition and the supervision of chemical residues ( Beharrell and MacFie, 1991). Based on an estimation in which one out of three consumers in industrialized countries suffers from food-borne diseases every year (Food safety- a worldwide public health issue 2000), food-borne risks have prompted private and public sector to improve the production of inexpensive food with fewer or without food-borne risks to meet consumers' demand (Buzby and Roberts, 1996; Lutter, 1999; Unnevehr and Jensen, 1999; Shogren et al, 1999). In recent years, whether the modern food system is able to provide safe food has been questioned by consumers, and the consumers often link high risks with the consumption of conventional food, which has been considered as a main causes for public health hazards (Williams and Hammitt, 2001). The demand for healthy eating patterns has raised (Steenkamp, 1997; Gofton and Ness, 1991; Daly and Beharrell, 1988), which has been a tendency in current consumption pattern.
To satisfy customers and to build a...