How does perceived severity of COVID-19 influence purchase intention of organic food?

Abstract

Purpose

The COVID-19 outbreak has been rapidly spreading around the world for more than a year. However, few studies have explored the connection between the perceived severity of COVID-19 and purchase intention of the health-related products, for example, organic food. Based on the stimulus–organism–response (S-O-R) framework, this study examines the influencing mechanism of perceived severity of COVID-19 on purchase intention of organic food.

Design/methodology/approach

To evaluate the proposed model, an online survey was utilized to collect 1,104 valid questionnaires from China.

Findings

The findings suggest that (1) the perceived severity of COVID-19 has a significant positive impact on purchasing intention; (2) health consciousness acts as a mediating role between perceived severity of COVID-19 and purchasing intention and (3) perceived inconvenience negatively moderates the connection between perceived severity and purchase intention.

Originality/value

The findings of this paper provide new insights into the positive effects of COVID-19 and pave the way for governments and enterprises to promote the purchase behaviour of organic food.

Citation

Wang, H., Ma, B., Cudjoe, D., Bai, R. and Farrukh, M. (2022), "How does perceived severity of COVID-19 influence purchase intention of organic food?", British Food Journal, Vol. 124 No. 11, pp. 3353-3367. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-06-2021-0701