Views of consumers and other food chain 
actors on organic food and its production

Jyrki Aakkula, Sari Forsman-Hugg, Katri Jakosuo, Marja-Riitta Kottila, Päivi Rönni 
and Eliisa Sarkkinen

Abstract - In this study we have examined what kind of views and attitudes consumers and other food chain actors have concerning organic food and its production and how these views and attitudes differ. The survey data from year 2003 consist of responses by 1 186 consumers and 333 other food chain actors. The main methods used in the analysis of survey responses were factor, cluster and discriminant analyses. With the help of these methods, consumers and other food chain actors were clustered into various groups. The discriminant analysis was based on respondents’ attitudes towards organic food and organic food production. As a result of the analysis, five differing attitudinal groups among the consumers were identified. These attitudinal groups were Believers, Committed, Neutrals, Doubters and Negatives. In addition, six differing attitudinal groups were identified among the other food chain actors. These attitudinal groups were Believers, Supporters, Weak Doubters, Strong Doubters, Unsatisfieds and Negatives. The organic food chain appears to suffer from shortcomings: the products and information do not flow smoothly from producers to consumers. Consequently, both consumers and other food chain actors want more information about organic food production and more visibility and public sales promotion activities for organic products.

Introduction
A framework for this research is derived from the supply chain management approach. Supply chain management aims at the integration of balancing supply and demand across the whole supply chain, where efforts are made to bring suppliers and customers in a business process (Omta et al., 2001; Tan, 2001). One of the functions of the effective supply chain management is to break down barriers which exist between each of the links in the supply chain. In the supply chain management literature, the notion of chain is a central concept. Chains are considered to be composed of actors who work together vertically to add value to customers. An actor in a chain at the micro level is an individual, for example an entrepreneur or a producer, whereas at the meso-level actors are aggregations of individuals, for example food processing firms that work together for a common goal. A chain, on the other hand, links supplier and customer organisations, from the initial raw materials to the ultimate consumption of the finished product (Omta et al., 2001). Supply chains are thus sequential, vertically organised transactions representing consecutive states of value creation (Lazzarini et al., 2001).
	In the market economy every actor aims at maximising his own profit according to traditional economic theory. Nowadays, when actors operate in a complex environment the applicability of the traditional economic theory is questionable. To get a more realistic understanding of the system complexity, theories of stakeholders are often applied. A demand-supply chain constitutes one stakeholder network. According to the stakeholder theory, the chain and the stakeholders should act as one entity (Näsi, 1995). Instead of maximising the profit of one individual actor, the actors in the demand-supply chain should seek the optimal result for all actors in the chain, which in a long run would guarantee the best result for each individual actor. A shared view of the function of the chain also leads to deeper co-operation between actors and the development of common processes between actors (Näsi, 1995; Fearne et al., 2001).
	The organic food chain can be considered as an alternative food chain, or rather a network, in which the mutual interaction between different actors is of utmost importance. This interdependence can relate particularly to knowledge co-specialisation, which means that one actor is strongly dependent on the knowledge of another actor (Lazzarini et al., 2001). In alternative food chains, emphasis should be laid on transparency and traceability of the chain, rather than the product itself, as well as the role of relationship between actors in creating value. The pursuit of transparency is easier when the number of actors is limited (e.g., direct sales), and the distances, both in space and time, are considerably small. Customer accessibility, however, often requires that organic products are distributed and marketed alongside conventional products in mainstream marketing channels. This makes particular demands on the functionality of the organic food chain.
	In an effective demand-supply chain, products flow smoothly from producers to consumers through all necessary actors of the chain and information flows fluently between actors so that every actor can predict and plan its operations compatible with their environment and other actors. Increased co-operation and more fluent information flow improve competitiveness of chains by reducing costs and improving accessibility to products (Kotzab, 2001; Vorst, 2000).

Objectives
The aim of this study was to examine what kind of views and attitudes consumers and other food chain actors have concerning organic food and its production and how these views and attitudes differ. Other food chain actors consist of agricultural and horticultural producers, food processors, wholesalers, retailers and catering services.
 
Data and methods
The survey data analysed (from year 2003) consist of responses by 1 186 consumers and 333 representatives of other food chain actors. The main methods used in the analysis of the survey responses were factor, cluster and discriminant analyses.

Results
The consumers and the other food chain actors were separated into various groups. The discriminant was based on the respondents’ attitudes towards organic food and organic production. As a result of the factor and cluster analyses, five different attitudinal consumer groups were found. The Believers’ (n = 224) attitudes towards organic food and organic production were positive in every respect. Although the Committed (n = 256) favoured organic products, they criticised their lack of visibility in the media and stores. The Neutrals (n = 275) did not have a clearly positive or negative attitude towards organic food or organic production. The Doubters (n = 292) said that there was not enough information about organic products. The Negatives’ (n = 139) views on organic food and organic production were unenthusiastic in all respects. 
	Among the other food chain actors, six different groups were identified. The main discriminant factor was experience on organic production and organic products. The Believers’ (n = 74) views on organic food and organic production were positive in all respects. The Supporters (n = 51) wanted more information about organic food production and more visibility for organic food. The Weak Doubters (n = 54) doubted whether organic food production has positive effects on the environment and firm-level economic profitability. The Strong Doubters (n = 24) considered the organic food chain severely malfunctioning and organic food production unprofitable. The Unsatisfieds (n = 84), who participated in the organic food production by themselves, had negative experiences on both interaction between actors and organic food prices. The Negatives’ (n = 46) views on organic food and organic food production were unenthusiastic in all respects. 
	When the survey results of the year 2003 were compared to the results from previous years, it appeared that they were more pessimistic. The producers, in particular, felt insecure about the future of organic food production. In addition, the producers’ willingness to take part in the organic food chain had fallen slightly. On the other hand, in the consumer side, the frequent users’ willingness to buy organic food products had remained on the same level.

Conclusions
Based on our findings, we conclude that the organic food chain has shortcomings: the products and information do not flow smoothly from producers to consumers. Consequently, both consumers and other food chain actors want more information about organic food production and more visibility and public sales promotion activities for organic products.

Acknowledgement
This research is part of the Finnish National Organic Research Programme and it is financed by the Finnish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

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