Occasionally Organic - A Study of Occasional Consumers of Organic Food in Sweden

Sammanfattning: Purpose: This thesis provides insights in the perceived values and the level of involvement associated with buying organic food among occasional organic consumers in Sweden. Methodology: Based on the framework of the actors approach and using an abductive methodological perspective, this thesis has been constructed with a qualitative research strategy, and carried out through in-depth interviews. Theoretical perspectives: Two main theoretical perspectives have been used as a foundation for this thesis, perceived value and involvement. The former has been examined through four different dimensions, in order to provide a more holistic view of the concept. Empirical foundation: Primary data was collected through semi-structured interviews with occasional consumers of organic food domiciled in three different cities in Sweden. Conclusion: The findings suggest that both low perceived value and low involvement could be reasons why occasional consumers often opt out on organic food. The findings from the four-dimension framework on perceived value indicate that the quality and emotional dimensions add some value to organic food, while the social dimension did not add any relevant value. The economical dimension affected the value negatively, and the price for organic products was considered to be high. When investigating involvement, we found that it was low for grocery shopping in general, and equally low for organic products.