Why do you want an organic coffee? Self-care vs. world-care: A new SOR model approach to explain organic product purchase intentions of Spanish consumers

Abstract

• There is a growing demand for alternative organic products. • An adapted SOR model is suitable to explore acceptance of organic coffee. • World-care affects consumer hedonic and utilitarian attitudes for organic coffee. • Hedonic attitudes are crucial for influencing purchase intentions. • Producers should consider world-care in organic coffee marketing. The growing concern for environmental preservation, sustainability and the well-being of producers and consumers has created demand for alternative organic products. In the context of organic product consumption, individuals may be motivated by self-care or world-care factors. This study proposes a new, adapted version of the SOR model − stimulus (S), organism (O), response (R) − to explore the acceptance of an organic coffee produced in Peru. The model used data from 570 Spanish consumers, and the analysis was carried out using partial least squares (PLS), based on variance. The findings revealed that world-care (S) significantly influences both hedonic and utilitarian attitudes (O), while self-care (S) was not found to have a significant impact on these attitudes. In addition, both hedonic and utilitarian attitudes were found to influence consumers' purchase intentions for organic coffee (R), with hedonic attitudes playing a particularly crucial role. These results carry substantial theoretical and practical implications for the fostering of a more sustainable and environmentally conscious coffee market.