Source :  Business Strategy and the Environment
Bus. Strat. Env. 19, 512–526 (2010)
Published online 27 July 2009 in Wiley Online Library
(wileyonlinelibrary.com)

This paper investigates the determinants of consumer attitudes toward organic products
marketed by mainstream retailers under a private label. Since organic products are credence
goods, consumers cannot directly verify whether these products comply with offi cial
standards. Organic labels are the primary source of consumer trust in organics, but these
labels must be noticed and understood before consumers will actively seek them out. In
that some consumers may not prioritize product labels when they shop, it is sometimes
up to retailers to strengthen consumer trust. Within the antecedents of this trust, we isolated
the contribution of the corporate social responsibility associations held by consumers
about retailers. We surveyed Italian customers interested in organics and found that they
are more likely to trust the private-label organic products sold by a retailer when it is
considered socially responsible. Our results also show that consumer trust translates into
brand loyalty and a willingness to pay a premium price for organic products.