RJOAS January 2025
by Hartoni, Rifiana, Yulianti Mira, Muzdalifah, Septiana Nurmelati, Ikhsan Sadik (Study Program of Agribusiness, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Lambung Mangkurat, Banjarbaru, Indonesia)
Horticulture is a very important commodity for food needs. The trend of environmentally friendly products is starting to develop rapidly, especially in food products such as vegetable products. Producers and marketers of environmentally friendly organic vegetables are faced with competition in the market for non-organic vegetables and organic vegetables. Nowadays, consumers are increasingly faced with a variety of choices of organic vegetable brands based on the brand image built by the company and consumer trust in the brand so that they make a purchase intention. This underlies researchers to conduct research on the relationship between brand image and consumer brand trust towards the purchase intention of organic vegetable products in South Kalimantan. The research was carried out in South Kalimantan in 2024, using a research sample of 100 respondents. The data analysis used was descriptive analysis and Rank Spearman correlation analysis. The results of the study show that the brand image indicator that has the highest average score is a preference for organic vegetable/fruit products. The brand trust indicator that has the highest average score is found in the consistency of the quality of available organic vegetable/fruit products to determine purchasing decisions. The purchase intention indicator that has the highest average score is found in making a purchase with a variety of sales services compared to other stores/brands. The results of the correlation test showed that there was a significant relationship between brand image and brand trust with purchase intention, which means that if there is an increase in brand image and brand trust of organic vegetable products, it will increase the purchase intention of organic vegetable products in South Kalimantan.
Food is one of the basic human needs; therefore the fulfilment of sufficient food is the right of every Indonesian citizen to realize quality human resources. Along with the increase in population and community welfare, the need for food is also increasing. The population growth rate and the availability of national food are very closely related. The increase in population must be accompanied by an increase in the amount of national food available. Therefore, farmers as producers of food crops must be able to increase production in their farming (Oktapiyah, 2016).
Horticulture is a very important commodity for food needs and nutritional improvement for the community in fulfilling the source of vitamins, fiber and minerals that are indispensable for humans. One of these horticultural commodities is vegetables. Apart from being a source of food and nutrition, horticultural products also have other benefits, such as benefits for the environment, namely aesthetics, genetic conservation and as a buffer for nature preservation (Priyambodo, 2017). Every year vegetable products in Indonesia have increased from year to year. In 2018, the area of organic agriculture in Indonesia increased by 251,630.98 hectares (Organic Institute, 2019). The standard of vegetable consumption in Indonesia is 65.75 kg/capita/year while the Indonesian population only consumes 37.94 kg/capita/year of vegetables (Directorate General of Horticulture, 2013).
The majority of agriculture in Indonesia is still carried out conventionally. Agriculture conventionally causes a high use of inputs in the form of chemicals such as fertilizers and chemical pesticides. The excessive use of fertilizers and chemical pesticides will have an impact on decreasing environmental quality and human health. The public's understanding of the dangers of these chemicals is starting to be realized that it is not good for the environment and health, so it is necessary to find alternative farming that can produce products that are free from synthetic chemical contamination and can maintain a healthier environment. Since then, natural farming methods have begun to be redeveloped, namely organic agriculture with the term back to nature which means returning to nature which is becoming a new trend for the Indonesian people (Priyambodo, 2017).
Green products or known as ecological products or environmental friendly products are products that contain safe, non-toxic components that can be recycled, and use environmentally friendly packaging to reduce the negative impact of product consumption on the environment. The trend of environmentally friendly products began to develop rapidly due to the influence of global warming, the growing cases of environmental pollution and the emergence of certain products that override consumer health factors. The impact of this problem is on consumer health. Consumer awareness has changed to a tendency to choose the consumption of natural and healthy foods that function to prevent diseases from appearing (Priyambodo, 2017).
Consumers who already have a positive attitude towards a brand, will generate interest in buying the product. The term buying interest has the meaning of purpose and is generally used to understand the consumer's purpose in making a purchase decision. The better the brand image of the product and the more consumers believe in the product, the better it will increase the consumer's decision to make a purchase. Based on this description, brand image and brand trust in the purchase intention of organic vegetable products in South Kalimantan are very important to be researched. This is considering that the role of the agricultural sector in South Kalimantan is very large.
The role of the agricultural sector in South Kalimantan is very clearly illustrated by the contribution of the agricultural sector to the gross regional domestic product (GDP) which occupies the second position out of all sectors (Central Statistics Agency of South Kalimantan, 2024). In addition, the agricultural sector also absorbs the largest workforce compared to other sectors (Fatchur et al, 2023). One of the subsectors that is part of this sector is the horticulture subsector. Although the contribution from the horticulture subsector is still low, but with the existing potential, it is very likely to grow along with the increasing demand for organic products, such as organic vegetables.
Producers and marketers of organic vegetables are faced with competition in the market for non-organic vegetables and organic vegetables. Although the vegetable market is still dominated by non-organic vegetable products, the increasing demand for organic vegetables has resulted in the development of different brands that continue to emerge from year to year. Consumers are increasingly faced with a variety of choices of organic vegetable brands based on the brand image built by the company and consumer trust in the brand so that they make purchase intentions. This underlies researchers to conduct research on the relationship between brand image and consumer brand trust towards the purchase intention of organic vegetable products in South Kalimantan.
The researcher carried out research in South Kalimantan from March 2024 to November 2024. The stages in this study start from the stage of preparing a research proposal, collecting secondary and primary data, data processing to preparing a research report. The data used in this study consisted of secondary data and primary data. Secondary data are sourced from BPS South Kalimantan, scientific articles, and other sources related to this research. Meanwhile, primary data is data sourced from the results of interviews obtained from research respondents, namely consumers of organic vegetable products in South Kalimantan.
The data collection method used in this study is using a survey method. Interviews with respondents in this study used a list of questions (questionnaires) that had been compiled and tested for validity and reliability. The sample used in this study was 100 respondents. The sampling method uses non-probability sampling, namely by purposive sampling technique. The respondents were taken as a sample in this study with the criterion that the consumer had purchased organic vegetable products in South Kalimantan.
The data analysis used in this study consists of descriptive analysis and Rank Spearman correlation analysis.
The data analysis used to assess the relationship between the variables of brand image and consumer brand trust relationship on the purchase intention of organic vegetable products in South Kalimantan, namely using the Rank Spearman correlation test analysis. The Spearman Rank correlation test is used to determine the relationship between the two existing variables (independent variable and dependent variable), namely to test the relationship between brand image and purchase intention of organic vegetable products in South Kalimantan, as well as to test the relationship between consumer brand trust and purchase intention organic vegetable products in South Kalimantan. The scale used for the three variables is the ordinal scale. The Spearman Rank correlation coefficient (rs) measures the closeness of the relationship between two variable variables or the presence or absence of a relationship between the two variables tested and determines the strength or weakness of the relationship (Wijaya, 2003). The analysis of the Spearman Rank correlation test was carried out using IBM SPSS Statistics 26.00 for Windows.
The results of the Spearman Rank correlation test produced a p-value that showed the relationship between variables at the real level (α) = 0.05. If the p-value is less than 0.05, then it can be concluded that there is a significant relationship between the two variables tested. The asterisk (*) found in the coefficient correlation value also indicates the significance or relationship between variables. The more stars (*) on the correlation coefficient, the higher the level of significance or relationship between variables. The direction of correlation is determined by the value of the coefficient of correlation with a positive (+) or negative (-) value. If the value of the coefficient is positive, the direction of correlation is unidirectional. The value of the correlation coefficient is a value used to measure the strength or closeness of a relationship between variables. The property of the value of the correlation coefficient is plus (+) or
minus (-). This shows the direction of correlation of the meaning of the correlation properties presented in the Table 2 (Nugroho, 2005).
A positive correlation coefficient value means that there is a positive relationship between the variables tested, and vice versa.
According to Kotler (2002) brand image is a set of beliefs, ideas, and impressions that a person has towards a brand, therefore consumer attitudes and actions towards a brand are highly determined by the brand image. In addition, brand image is a requirement of a strong brand and image is a perception that is relatively consistent over the long term. The indicators used to measure the brand image of organic vegetable products in South Kalimantan in this study consist of:
- The impact on organic vegetable products is my consideration for buying;
- Belief in organic vegetable/fruit product stores/brands is the reason why I buy;
- A preference for organic vegetable/fruit products is a purchase consideration that I make;
- The assumption that the store/brand that I already know has an image of organic vegetable/fruit products is the reason for the purchase;
- The organic vegetable/fruit product store/brand that I buy is usually different from other organic vegetable/fruit product stores/brands.
The respondents' answers that the most about their impression of organic vegetable products as a consideration in buying were in the approval criterion of 38%, and the least in the disagreement criterion of 12%. Regarding the belief in organic vegetable/fruit product stores/brands as the reason for making a purchase, the most respondents answered the most opinions on the approval criteria of 36% and the least on the disapproval criteria of 13%. In terms of preference for organic vegetable/fruit products as a purchase consideration that I made, the most respondents answered in the agree criterion of 54% and the least in the disagreement criterion of 13%. Regarding the assumption that the store/brand that I already know has an image of organic vegetable/fruit products as a reason for purchase, the most respondents answered in the disagreement criterion of 40% and at least in the strongly agree criterion of 6%. In the organic vegetable/fruit product stores/brands that I buy, which are usually different from other organic vegetable/fruit product stores/brands, the most respondents answered on agree and disagreement criteria, which is 41% and at least 7% on the disagreement criteria.
Brand trust is the ability of a brand to be trusted, which comes from consumer confidence that the product is able to meet the promised value and the good intentions of the brand are based on consumer belief that the brand is able to prioritize the interests of consumers. Trust in a brand can only be obtained if marketing can create and maintain a positive emotional connection with consumers that must be built (Ferrinnadewi, 2010). The indicators used to measure brand trust in organic vegetable products in South Kalimantan in this study consist of:
- Trust in the quality of organic vegetable/fruit products determines purchasing decisions;
- Feeling Safe Consumption of organic vegetables/fruits determines purchasing decisions;
- The consistency of the quality of the organic vegetables/fruits available determines the purchasing decision;
- Transparency of Origin Organic vegetable/fruit products sold by stores determine purchasing decisions;
- Sustainability and health commitments are considerations for buying organic vegetable/fruit products.
The most respondents answered that the trust in the quality of organic vegetable/fruit products determined the purchase decision was in the approval criterion of 37%, and the least in the disagreement criterion of 13%. In terms of the feeling of safety of consumption of organic vegetable/fruit products to determine the purchase decision, the most respondents answered the most in the agree criterion of 37% and the least in the disagreement criterion of 13%. In terms of the consistency of the quality of available organic vegetable/fruit products to determine purchasing decisions, the most respondents answered in the agree criterion of 71% and at least in the strongly agree criterion of 4%. In terms of transparency of the origin of organic vegetable/fruit products sold by stores to determine purchasing decisions, the most respondents answered in the disagreement criterion of 40% and the least in the disagreement criterion of 13%. In terms of sustainability and health commitments as considerations for buying organic vegetable/fruit products, the most respondents answered in the agree criterion, which was 43% and at least 10% in the strongly agree criterion.
Purchase intention is the thought, desire and interest of consumers in a product that will lead to the action to buy the informed product (Khan & Tan, 2020). Purchase intention is a consumer's standard plan to try to buy a product. Intent to buy procedures to examine and predict consumer behavior in their attention to a particular brand and their willingness to make a purchase (Garg & Joshi, 2018). The indicators used to measure purchase intention in organic vegetable products in South Kalimantan in this study consist of:
- I searched for information on social media before buying organic vegetable/fruit products;
- I searched for information in online shopping before buying organic vegetable/fruit products;
- I will buy organic vegetable/fruit products based on the results of family/friends' recommendations;
- The store I went to make a purchase had a variety of sales services compared to other stores/brands;
- I will buy organic vegetable/fruit products in the near future;
- The products I buy will usually be recommended to others.
The most respondents answered in the indicator of looking for information on social media before buying organic vegetable/fruit products in the agree criterion of 47%, and at least in the strongly agree criterion of 6%. In the indicator of looking for information in online shopping before buying organic vegetable/fruit products, the most respondents answered the most on the agree criterion of 45% and the least on the disagreement criterion of 7%. In the indicator of buying organic vegetable/fruit products based on the results of family/friend recommendations, the most respondents answered in the agree criterion of 51% and the least in the disagreement criterion of 12%. When making a purchase with a variety of sales services compared to other stores/brands, the most respondents answered in the agree criterion of 36% and the least in the disagreement criterion of 13%. In the indicator of purchasing organic vegetable/fruit products in the near future, the most respondents answered on the disapproval criterion, which was 47% and at least on the disagreement criterion at 6%. In the indicator that the product is usually recommended to others, the most respondents answered on the agree criterion, which is 43% and at least on the strongly agree criterion of 3%.
To determine the strength of the correlation between variables, a Spearman Rank (rs) correlation test was carried out. According to Umar (2005), this correlation assumes that the data consists of pairs of numerical or nonnumeric observations. The strength and direction of the correlation (relationship) will have meaning if the relationship between these variables is of significant value. In this study, it will be seen that the correlation test of spearman rank between brand image and brand trust with the purchase intention of organic vegetable products in South Kalimantan.
It can be seen that the correlation coefficient between brand image and brand trust with the purchase intention of organic vegetable products in South Kalimantan is 0.990 and 0.951, respectively. The direction of correlation shows a positive relationship, and then the direction of the relationship is unidirectional. This one-way relationship means that if brand image and brand trust increase, it will increase purchase intention.
Based on the significance value, the significance level (real test level) used is 0.05 (5%). In Table 6 and Table 7, the value of Sig. (2-tailed) is smaller than the real test level of 0.05, so the relationship is significant. So H0 is rejected and H1 is accepted, that is, there is a significant relationship between brand image and brand trust with purchase intention. This means that if there is an increase in the brand image and brand trust of organic vegetable products, it will increase the purchase intention of organic vegetable products in South Kalimantan.
Brand image measurement was carried out with five indicators consisting of impressions, beliefs, preferences, assumptions and differentiators of organic vegetable products in South Kalimantan, with the highest average score on the preference indicator (the category of agreeing) and the average score of the lowest on the indicator of assumption (category of disagreeing).
Brand trust measurement was carried out with five indicators consisting of quality trust, consumption safety feeling, quality consistency, product origin transparency, and commitment to sustainability & health of organic vegetable products in South Kalimantan, with the highest average score on the quality consistency indicator (approval category) and the lowest average score on the product origin transparency indicator (disapproval category).
The measurement of purchase intention is carried out with six indicators consisting of (a) looking for information on social media before buying, (b) looking for information in online shopping before buying, (c) products recommended by friends and family, (d) having a variety of sales services compared to other brands, (e) purchasing products in the near future, and (f) products will be recommended to others. The results of the purchase intention measurement with the highest average score on the indicator have a variety of sales services compared to other brands (category agree), and the average lowest score on the product indicator will be recommended to others.
The results of the correlation test showed that there was a significant relationship between brand image and brand trust with purchase intention, which means that if there is an increase in brand image and brand trust of organic vegetable products, it will increase the purchase intention of organic vegetable products in South Kalimantan.
The researcher expressed his gratitude to the Institute for Research and Community Service (LPPM) of Lambung Mangkurat University for providing research funds through the Compulsory Lecturer Research Grant (PDWM) in 2024 with PNBP Financing of Lambung Mangkurat University for the 2024 Fiscal Year Number: 1090.158/UN8.2/PG/2024 dated June 3, 2024.
Original paper, i.e. Figures, Tables, References, and Authors' Contacts available at http://rjoas.com/issue-2025-01/article_10.pdf