The Level of Trust and the Consumer Attitude toward Organic Vegetables: Comparison between Japanese and German Consumers

Summary

This study examined the differences in the consumer’s attitude toward and the buying behavior of organic vegetables in Japan and Germany through two online questionnaire surveys, and tested if the level of trust was related to such differences. The study found that the average level of trust was higher for the German samples when trust was measured by the question items related to organic vegetables (OVT), while the Japanese samples exhibited higher trust when it was measured by the scales of “general trust” (GNT). Both scales of trust were confirmed to be related to the attitude and buying behavior of organic vegetables including purchase frequency, consumption intensity, benefit evaluation. OVT was also shown to be associated with the consumer’s choice of the channel by which they shop for organic vegetables.