Wine produced by organic grapes in Greece: using means- end chains analysis to reveal organic buyers' purchasing motives in comparison to the non-buyers

Abstract The present study attempts to offer more insights into the Greek wine market with emphasis on wines produced from organically grown grapes by relating wine choice to consumers' personal value structure. With the use of a qualitative sample and applying the Means–end Chains methodology and the corresponding “laddering” interviewing technique, it attempts first to reveal the way basic motives are linked to wine shopping behaviour of consumers and the way wine purchase-relevant knowledge is stored and organised in their memory in relation to their personal values. Then, by discriminating between organic food buyers and non-buyers, the study identifies motivational and cognitive discriminating differences between the two consumer types, which can offer a solid explanation as to their distinctive purchasing behaviour in respect of the organic products.

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