Abstract:
Purpose – In recent years, consumers today recognise organic foods as high-quality products which can
benefit them in various aspects. The tendency to switch consumption behaviours from conventional to
ecological food products or organic food has largely been due to the claims that organic crops are grown in ecofriendly and sustainable environments. Thus, the study highlighted unique results on young consumers’
purchasing intentions from a new perspective. The paper aims to investigate the factors influencing
consumers’ purchase decision towards organic food, particularly amongst Generation Y consumers.
Design/methodology/approach – The underlying fuzzy set theory is employed to handle the fuzziness of
consumers’ perceptions since the attributes are usually expressed in linguistic preferences. Overall, the study
focussed on five important aspects – health consciousness, environmental concern, social influencing and
ethical concern – that also include twenty criteria that had been identified and introduced after a thorough
review of related literature.
Findings – The results reveal that the most important criteria in the selected firm are environment protection,
chemical instrument, buying attitude and animal testing. In comparison, the cause group includes criteria such
as environment protection, natural food and support for training programmes, whilst the effect group includes
production practices, monitoring protections and ethically produced food.
Research limitations/implications – The sample collection from the study focussed on Generation Y
consumers who consume organic food in Malaysia. This could lead to the limitation towards external
generalisability. The study will provide numerous advantages to the communities. The policy maker should
develop a proper marketing strategy to promote organic food as food that is healthier, better in nutrition and
safer for society.
