Individuals’ personality and consumption of organic food

• Published in: Journal of cleaner production 2020-02, Vol.245, p.118772, Article 118772
• Main Authors: Gustavsen, Geir Wæhler, Hegnes, Atle Wehn
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Big Five; Graded Response Model; Organic food; Personality; Sustainable consumption; Willingness to pay
• ISSN: 0959-6526; 1879-1786
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.118772

This paper adds to the debate on sustainable food consumption by probing the relation between individuals’ personality and choice of organic foods. We make use of the Big Five personality model which consists of the personality traits: Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Emotional stability, and Openness to experience. The Graded Response Model, logistic regression models, and interval regression models are applied to explore the impact of personality on choice of organic food. Five hypotheses regarding the connection between personality and consumption of organic foods were tested using eight different models. The results indicate that Openness to experience is positively related, while Extraversion is negatively related, to the attitudes of organic foods. Some of the tests showed positive relations between Agreeableness and attitudes towards organic foods. In addition, individuals high in Conscientiousness have a lower willingness to pay for organic foods compared with conventional foods. The consequence of the connection between Openness to experience and organic food is that stakeholders may take this into account when planning strategies and methods to increase sales. •Personality traits are important predictors for organic food consumption.•Openness to experience is positively related to attitude and individuals’ willingness to pay for organic food.•Communication and other promotional activities may be tailored to approach different personalities.