A Study of the Consumer Motives which Influence the Purchase of Organic Food in Serbia

Abstract

The organic food market in Serbia is in its initial phase of development and can be considered a developing market. A deeper understanding of consumer motivation is possible through an adequate marketing approach which will provide increased organic food purchasing per capita and the quicker development of the national market. This paper presents a selection of the most important findings, which the author obtained from a quantitative study carried out in Serbia. We studied and analyzed the main reasons why people purchase organic food and the obstacles to buying these products, as well as the willingness of consumers to pay a higher price for organic products in comparison to the alternative products obtained from conventional food production systems. The presented results support the theoretical conclusions acquired from numerous previous studies carried out in various countries. Starting from the obtained research results, the conclusion offers a recommendation for the implementation of successful strategies of the marketing mix instruments.