Perceived Value and Organic Food Purchase Intention for Sustainable Agricultural Development: An Extended Theory of Planned Behavior in Shandong, China

Abstract

Understanding consumer demand for organic food is important for the development of sustainable agricultural markets and the broader transition toward more sustainable food systems. This study examines how health, safety, environmental, social, and hedonic values, together with subjective product knowledge, are associated with attitudes and purchase intention (PI) toward organic food. An extended Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) framework was tested using an online non-probability quota survey of 733 adult consumers in Shandong Province, China. Structural equation modeling was employed to examine the proposed associations. The results show that health, safety, environmental, social, and hedonic values are positively associated with attitudes toward organic food, with health and safety values showing the largest standardized associations. Attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control are positively associated with PI, with subjective norms showing the largest direct association. In contrast, subjective product knowledge shows a positive but statistically non-significant association with attitude. These findings highlight the importance of health-, safety-, and environment-related value perceptions in shaping consumer evaluations of organic food. From a demand-side perspective, the results provide insights for organic food market development and sustainable agricultural policy. By strengthening consumer recognition of differentiated organic products, demand-side development may help create more favorable market conditions for producers participating in higher-value and sustainability-oriented agricultural value chains, providing a demand-side perspective relevant to organic food market development and potentially to sustainable agricultural value chains.