RESUMEN
The Brazilian consumers have expanded their purchases of organic products. However, little is known about these consumers' purchase behavior. Considering the Theory of Planned Behavior, was aimed at this study to evaluate the positive influence of attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavior control in the decision to buy organic vegetables and to evaluate the causal relationships of these variables in the intention to buy vegetables in function of the sociodemographic characteristics of the consumer. During the purchase process, 472 people were interviewed using a questionnaire. The structural equation modeling with the partial least squares method was used to test the relationships proposed in the specific objectives, among the latent variables, attitude, subjective norm, perceived control and uncertainty, predictive of purchase intention. The results indicate that the latent predictive variables influence positively the intention to purchase, unless the perceived uncertainty that the higher this is, the less will be the intention to purchase. Regarding the socioeconomic variables, only the groups targeted in the level of schooling and family income showed significant differences for the relationship between the subjective norms and purchase intention, and for the group age range, the relation between perceived uncertainty and purchase intention.
O consumidor brasileiro tem ampliado as suas compras de produtos orgânicos. No entanto, muito pouco se conhece sobre o comportamento de compra desses consumidores. Considerando a Teoria do Comportamento Planejado, o objetivo deste estudo foi o de avaliar a influência positiva da atitude, das normas subjetivas e do controle de comportamento percebido na decisão de compra de hortaliças orgânicas e avaliar os relacionamentos causais destas variáveis na intenção de compra de hortaliças orgânicas em função das características sociodemográficas do consumidor. Foram entrevistados 472 pessoas, durante o processo de compra, por meio da aplicação de um questionário. A modelagem de equações estruturais com o método de mínimos quadrados parciais foi utilizada para testar as relações propostas nos objetivos entre as variáveis latentes atitude, norma subjetiva, controle e incerteza percebida, preditivas da intenção de compra. Os resultados indicaram que as variáveis latentes preditas influem positivamente à intenção de compra, salvo a incerteza percebida que quanto maior for esta, menor será a intenção de compra. Em relação às variáveis socioeconômicas, apenas os grupos segmentados do nível de escolaridade e faixa de renda familiar apresentaram diferenças significativas para o relacionamento entre a norma subjetiva e intenção de compra, e para o grupo faixa de idade, a relação entre incerteza percebida e intenção de compra.
Asunto(s)
Comportamiento del Consumidor , Alimentos OrgánicosRESUMEN
The study was conducted to confirm the construct of individual perception and preference for work characteristics as personal factors influencing Korean nurses' job satisfaction. The subjects of the study were 231 nurses who are currently working in intensive care units and have been for a minimum of 6 months. The study used the Staff Perception and Preference Scale(Song et al., 1997) to measure the individual's perception and preference on the technical, practice, and management components of the ideal work environment. The Korean version of the Staff Perception and Preference Scale consists of 16 items on perception and 13 on preference with each item related on a scale from 1 (not at all) to 4 (a great deal). Psychometric testing revealed that the preference and perception scale is internally consistent with Chronbach's alphas of .83 for perception scale and .80 for preference scale. The subscales of the perception and preference scale also showed acceptable reliability for the early stage of the development of the instruments with Chronbach alphas of .62-.76 and .69-.83 respectively. Criterion0related validity of the scale was tested by examining correlations with individual growth need that is conceptually close to individual preference, but not to individual perception. Individual growth need was significantly related to individual preference(r=.63, p<.05), but the correlation with the perception scale was not significant. A separate factor analysis for the each of perception and preference scales was performed with a three-factor loading solution based on a previous study. The results on the staff perception scale confirmed with varimax rotation that the items were cleanly and strongly loaded on technique, practice and management components, which together explained 50.7% of the variance. The factor analysis on the staff preference scale also yielded a three factor solution that explained 56.7% of the variance, but items on technique and management components were loaded together. This phenomena may due to the current nursing delivery system in Korea where nurses never experience either shared governance nor case management, and as a results they may not be able to consider management roles as their potential extended roles. Therefore, more efforts should be given to enhance nurses' autonomy and decision making in the technique, practice and management components of their work environment. Meanwhile, there is a need for continuously confirming and developing tools for individual perception and preferences to effectively enhance job satisfaction among Korea nurses through innovative work environments.