Using online comments to explore consumer beliefs regarding organic food in German-speaking countries and the United States

Consumer beliefs play an important role in explaining consumer behavior. This exploratory study aims at building an inventory of consumer beliefs about organic food. To reach this objective, we conducted a content analysis of online comments about organic food posted on news websites and forums in German-speaking countries (n = 1094) and the United States (n = 1069). Such user-generated content has emerged as an abundant source of insight for consumer research, although very little has been exploited in organic food consumption research. The main result of this study is a comprehensive category system of 65 organic food beliefs and their relative frequencies. The category system reflects the large variety of beliefs and their differing salience within and across the two regions studied. We discuss the relevance of our category system for future survey, experimental, and textual research, as well as for marketing practitioners and policy-makers.