Predicting Intention to Buy Organic Food during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A multi-group analysis based on the Health Belief Model

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has deeply affected physical and psychological health of people. It also had a huge impact on their dietary choices. This study specifically attempts to determine the impact of the constructs of health belief model on consumer purchase intention of organic food in the pandemic scenario. A survey was conducted among 413 Indian organic food consumers. The proposed hypotheses are tested by employing structural equation modeling. The findings highlight those perceived benefits is an important predictor of consumers' behavioral intention to buy organic food, followed by cues to action and perceived threats. It is also found that consumers' age moderates the impact of perceived threat and perceived barrier on consumers' purchase intention, with a 22% difference in model prediction. In conclusion, the health belief model is found to be one of the most suitable models to predict consumer intention toward organic food purchase during the COVID-19 pandemic.