Consumers’ willingness to pay for organic products in Thailand

Consumers’ willingness to pay for organic products in Thailand

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate factors affecting consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) a premium for organics. Design/methodology/approach – A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data at five retail stores in metropolitan Bangkok. Exploratory factor analysis and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of social economics Vol. 42; no. 5; pp. 480 - 510
Main Authors: Sriwaranun, Yaowarat, Gan, Christopher, Lee, Minsoo, Cohen, David A
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Bradford Emerald Group Publishing Limited 01-01-2015
Subjects:
Agricultural production
Consumer behavior
Consumers
Consumption
Contingent valuation
Distribution costs
Economics
Environmental economics
Exploratory factor analysis
Farmers
Food
Food safety
Market shares
Marketing
Markets
Methodology
Natural & organic foods
Organic farming
Organic produce
Policy making
Premiums
Prices
Purchasing
Questionnaires
Respondents
Retail stores
Retailing
Rice
Social economics
Sustainable agriculture
Valuation
Welfare economics
Willingness to pay
Thailand
Environmental economics
Welfare economics
Agricultural economies
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Summary:Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate factors affecting consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) a premium for organics. Design/methodology/approach – A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data at five retail stores in metropolitan Bangkok. Exploratory factor analysis and the double-bound contingent valuation method were used for analysis. Findings – Results indicate WTP premiums of 88, 51 and 51 per cent for kale, jasmine rice and pork, respectively. Analysis indicates that respondents are willing to pay a premium if they have already purchased organic products, have good health, strong ethical and environmental concerns, think that organic products provide greater quality and health benefits, and reside in the city. Respondents with children, however, are less likely to pay a premium for organic products. Analysis also indicates that the price premium hinders purchase. Practical implications – Efforts should be made by policymakers, together with marketers and producers, to lower the price of organic products to attract more consumers. Originality/value – To enlarge the organic market, one must understand consumers’ preferences for organic products and the premium they will pay for them. This is not well-researched. Though several studies have investigated consumers’ behaviour towards environmentally friendly products in Thailand, there is little research on WTP. This lack is a major impediment to the growth of organic consumption and the development of organic product markets.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
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ISSN:0306-8293
1758-6712
DOI:10.1108/IJSE-09-2013-0204