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Consumers’ Attitudes towards Organic Products and Sustainable Development: A Case Study of Romania

Author

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  • Camelia F. Oroian

    (Department of Economic Sciences, Faculty of Horticulture, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, 3-5 Manastur Street, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania)

  • Calin O. Safirescu

    (Department of Environmental and Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Cluj-Napoca, 3-5 Manastur Street, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania)

  • Rezhen Harun

    (Department of Agribusiness and Rural Development, College of Agricultural Sciences, University of Sulaimani, Kurdistan Regional Government-Iraq, Sulaimani-Bakrajo-Awal 5100, Iraq)

  • Gabriela O. Chiciudean

    (Department of Economic Sciences, Faculty of Horticulture, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, 3-5 Manastur Street, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania)

  • Felix H. Arion

    (Department of Economic Sciences, Faculty of Horticulture, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, 3-5 Manastur Street, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania)

  • Iulia C. Muresan

    (Department of Economic Sciences, Faculty of Horticulture, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, 3-5 Manastur Street, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania)

  • Bianca M. Bordeanu

    (Department of Environmental and Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Cluj-Napoca, 3-5 Manastur Street, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania)

Abstract

Organic food consumption has increased during the last years as a consequence of its direct impact on consumer health, life style, and social convenience as well as on the environment and sustainable development. Compared to the European level, the consumption of organic food products is quite low in Romania. This paper investigates the perception and attitudes of the organic food consumers from the North-West Development Region of Romania. Consumers’ perception towards organic food products was measured using 30 items. The data were collected from 568 respondents and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. A factor-cluster approach was used to identify consumer groups. The findings indicated that health concerns, sensory appeal, sustainable consumption and weight concerns are the main reasons for consuming organic food products. Three main groups of organic food consumers were identified: “gourmand”, “environmentally concerned” and “health concerned”.

Suggested Citation

  • Camelia F. Oroian & Calin O. Safirescu & Rezhen Harun & Gabriela O. Chiciudean & Felix H. Arion & Iulia C. Muresan & Bianca M. Bordeanu, 2017. "Consumers’ Attitudes towards Organic Products and Sustainable Development: A Case Study of Romania," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-14, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:9:y:2017:i:9:p:1559-:d:110991
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    3. Manuela Vega-Zamora & Manuel Parras-Rosa & Francisco José Torres-Ruiz, 2020. "You Are What You Eat: The Relationship between Values and Organic Food Consumption," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-13, May.
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    5. Veenarat Ut-tha & Rebecca Chung, 2023. "Unraveling Psychosocial Drivers of Environmentally-labeled Coffee," Economia agro-alimentare, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2023(3), pages 109-141.
    6. Tiia-Lotta Pekkanen, 2021. "Institutions and Agency in the Sustainability of Day-to-Day Consumption Practices: An Institutional Ethnographic Study," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 168(2), pages 241-260, January.
    7. Costinela Fortea & Valentin Marian Antohi & Monica Laura Zlati & Romeo Victor Ionescu & Ioana Lazarescu & Stefan Mihai Petrea & Dragos Sebastian Cristea, 2022. "The Dynamics of the Implementation of Organic Farming in Romania," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-17, May.
    8. Kinga Nagy-Pércsi & Csaba Fogarassy, 2019. "Important Influencing and Decision Factors in Organic Food Purchasing in Hungary," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-21, November.
    9. Yam B. Limbu & Christopher McKinley & P. Ganesan & Tianfu Wang & Junzhou Zhang, 2023. "Examining How and When Knowledge and Motivation Contribute to Organic Food Purchase Intention among Individuals with Chronic Diseases: Testing a Moderated Mediation Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-16, October.
    10. Kuo Ming Chu, 2018. "Mediating Influences of Attitude on Internal and External Factors Influencing Consumers’ Intention to Purchase Organic Foods in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-15, December.
    11. Paweł Bryła, 2019. "Regional Ethnocentrism on the Food Market as a Pattern of Sustainable Consumption," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(22), pages 1-19, November.
    12. Veenarat Ut-tha & Pai-Po Lee & Rebecca Chung, 2021. "Willingness to Pay for Sustainable Coffee: A Case of Thai Consumers," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(4), pages 21582440211, October.
    13. Hsin-Wei Hsu & Chia-Ying Chen & Chia-Wen Wu, 2021. "Cross-Cultural Comparison of Sustainable Agro-Food Consumption from Consumers’ Perspectives: Cases from Taiwan and France," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-19, August.
    14. Raluca-Giorgiana Chivu & Otilia-Elena Platon, 2019. "Analysis of Nutritional Principles Addressed and Nutrition in Romanians: A Case Study," Global Economic Observer, "Nicolae Titulescu" University of Bucharest, Faculty of Economic Sciences;Institute for World Economy of the Romanian Academy, vol. 7(2), pages 126-130, December.
    15. Vasile Stoleru & Neculai Munteanu & Andrei Istrate, 2019. "Perception Towards Organic vs. Conventional Products in Romania," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-14, April.
    16. Mostafa Fawzy Zayed & Hazem Rasheed Gaber & Nermine El Essawi, 2022. "Examining the Factors That Affect Consumers’ Purchase Intention of Organic Food Products in a Developing Country," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-16, May.
    17. Mahmoud Tarhini, 2022. "Consumption and Consumer Behaviour of Organic AGRI-FOOD Products," REVISTA DE MANAGEMENT COMPARAT INTERNATIONAL/REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL COMPARATIVE MANAGEMENT, Faculty of Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 23(1), pages 136-149, March.
    18. Alina Butu & Codrin Dinu Vasiliu & Steliana Rodino & Ioan-Sebastian Brumă & Lucian Tanasă & Marian Butu, 2019. "The Anthropological Analysis of the Key Determinants on the Purchase Decision Taken by the Romanian Consumers Regarding the Ecological Agroalimentary Products," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(18), pages 1-22, September.

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