INTEGRATED BEHAVIOURAL AND ECONOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR TOWARDS GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION (GI) RICE VARIETIES IN KERALA, INDIA

Abstract

Geographical Indications (GIs) are increasingly positioned as instruments for rural development, biodiversity conservation, and safeguarding traditional agricultural knowledge, yet consumer-facing research on GI food products remains disproportionately thin relative to producer and institution-centred scholarship. Kerala is the only Indian state with six registered GI rice varieties, several cultivated under low-input, organic systems integrated with traditional aquaculture, but participatory marketing and consumer engagement have lagged behind institutional recognition. This study examines consumer attribute preferences, willingness to pay (WTP), and decision-making behaviour toward GI rice varieties in Kerala using an integrated analytical framework combining Maximum Difference Scaling (MaxDiff), contingent valuation with binary and ordered logistic regression, and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) grounded in the Engel-Kollat-Blackwell (EKB) consumer decision-making model. Survey data were collected from 240 consumers across six GI rice-producing districts using purposive and snowball sampling. Results show that intrinsic quality attributes (taste, nutritional value, cooking quality) outweigh extrinsic, certification based cues in shaping consumer preference. Behavioural constructs, particularly evaluation of alternatives, explain willingness to pay more strongly than socio-demographic characteristics, with information search and income showing a notable reversal in effect between the decision to pay a premium and the premium's magnitude. Consumer decision making follows the sequential EKB path from need recognition through post-purchase satisfaction. These findings indicate that strengthening product-specific awareness, information credibility, and intrinsic-quality communication, rather than certification recognition alone, is central to expanding sustainable premium demand for GI rice varieties.