A Structural Equation Modeling Approach To Examine The Impact Of Awareness, Accessibility, And Trust Factors On Consumer Perception Of Organic Staple Foods

Abstract

Nowadays people have become very conscious about health, sustainability and ethical shopping. But research on organic food has mostly focused on fruits and packaged goods, while less attention has been given to daily-use organic staple foods such as rice, dal, wheat and cereals. The main objective of this study is to learn how awareness, accessibility, trust in certification, health consciousness, ethics and socio-cultural factors influence people's perceptions towards organic staple foods. In this research, data was collected from 392 people via structured questionnaire. Factor analysis and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) were used to understand the relationships between these factors. The results show that all six factors have a significant positive impact on consumer perception – the strongest influence was that of awareness. Moderation analysis also showed that the effect of awareness varies with age, health with gender and accessibility with income level. This research fills gaps that were previously overlooked in the context of organic staples. The study findings are very useful for marketers, policy makers and organic product sellers, especially those who want to develop targeted and culturally relevant strategies. Through this study, we gain a better understanding of how complex and interconnected factors consumers' perceptions depend on when it comes to sustainable food choices.