Drivers of and Barriers to Organic Purchase Behavior

• Comprehensive framework with many theoretically relevant variables explaining actual organic purchases.
• Organic products are less popular in vice categories and categories with a high promotional intensity.
• Biospheric values that reflect a person's concern for the environment increase organic purchases.
• Quality and health motives drive organic purchases only in particular categories.

Using a cost–benefit approach, this study is the first to jointly investigate supply-side factors and consumer characteristics that drive or hinder organic purchases. With scanner data that track actual purchase behavior in 28 product categories, the authors find that organic products are less popular in vice categories and categories with high promotional intensity and more popular in fresh versus processed categories. Biospheric values that reflect a person's concern for the environment and animal welfare increase organic purchases. Quality and health motives drive organic purchases only in certain categories, in particular categories with a low promotional intensity. Egoism and price consciousness act as barriers to organic purchases.

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