Organic is the new black - Sending and interpreting reputational signals in the context of organic food choices

Summary

Consumers typically self-report favoring organic food because of tastiness, healthiness, and ethical nature. However, it is possible that they are also favored due to other motives that are socially disapproved of and nonconscious. Through three interlinked articles, the current thesis aims to shed light on the reputational signal value of organic food consumption in various social contexts. The first article examines how activating a nonconscious status-motive influences a preference for organic foods and their senso-emotional experience. When reputational concerns were primed salient, organic options were not only selected more but a food sample served as organic also tasted better. The second article investigates organic food-related status signaling in an intra-male context. Among urban males, but not among rural males, the pro-organic male status-signaler was perceived positively and even treated favorably. The third article explores the social signal value of organic food consumption among consumers with various worldviews. Intriguingly, both consumers who held strong ethical values and those who held conservatism values viewed a presumed organic food favorer as prosocial. The findings contribute to the literatures of prosocial status-signaling and green consumerism. In practice, the results indicate strong status symbolism associated with organic food consumption. Emphasizing reputational issues in their sales environments, for instance, may represent a potential starting-point in efforts to increase the sales of organic foods despite their high prices.