THE MEDIATING INFLUENCE OF DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS ON THE PURCHASE INTENTION OF ORGANIC FOOD AMONG ACADEMIC STAFF OF NIGERIAN UNIVERSITIES

Abstract

This research concerns the mediating influence of demographic factors on the 
purchase intention of organic food among academic staff of Nigerian universities. Employing 
a quantitative research methodology, this research collected data through structured 
questionnaire distributed to a sample of 370 academic staff members across various 
universities in south-east, Nigeria, achieving a response rate of 82.16% with 304 valid 
responses. The research hypotheses were tested using statistical methods to assess direct and 
indirect effects, with a significance threshold set at the 5% level. Our analysis revealed several 
key findings. Firstly, there was a strong direct effect of attitudes towards organic food benefits 
on purchase intentions, with a coefficient of 0.6764 and a 95% confidence interval ranging 
from 0.6020 to 0.7509, indicating a robust positive influence. Furthermore, demographic 
factors were found to mediate this relationship significantly, as evidenced by an indirect effect 
of 0.0230 with a bootstrap confidence interval not including zero (0.0067 to 0.0461). Similarly, 
motivations for purchasing organic food displayed a direct negative impact on purchase 
intentions (coefficient -0.3857, 95% confidence interval from -0.4870 to -0.2843) and were also 
significantly mediated by demographic factors, showing an indirect effect of -0.0403. The study 
also established the significant influence of subjective norms and awareness and information 
sources on purchase intentions, with respective coefficients of 0.2726 and -0.3492. In both 
cases, demographic factors served as a significant mediator, enhancing our understanding of 
how individual characteristics intersect with cultural and social influences to affect 
behavioural outcomes in organic food markets. Barriers and challenges related to sourcing 
organic food emerged as another critical factor positively influencing purchase intentions, 
demonstrated by a direct effect coefficient of 0.3485 and confirmed mediation by demographic 
factors (indirect effect 0.0485). This finding suggests that overcoming such barriers may 
significantly boost organic food consumption among this demographic. These findings 
underscore the necessity for targeted educational campaigns and institutional support to 
navigate the identified barriers effectively and foster a more sustainable consumption pattern 
among academics