Marketing aspects of quality assurance systems: The organic food sector case

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to describe the effect of quality assurance systems on business performance and subsequently, how a quality assurance system can be utilized as a determinant factor of a firm's marketing strategy, especially for the organic food sector. Design/methodology/approach - Based on literature and the quality theory, the following subjects are examined: the types of goods according to their quality attributes, the benefits of participating in a quality award procedure, how a quality assurance system affect on firms' performance, and finally, the factors that determine consumers' willingness to pay a price premium for organic products. Findings - The findings showed that, better quality conformance is associated with sales growth and better sales margins. Moreover, the most important benefit of a quality certification is its ability to increase market share and provide access to new market. In addition, the key to define quality is consumers and a company's internal definition of quality must reflect consumers' requirements. Finally, factors such as socio-demographic characteristics, the perceived quality and risks have been found to be important determinants of consumers' willingness to pay a price premium to buy organic food products. Originality/value - This study presents an outline of how a quality assurance system can be used to provide not only consistent product quality but also different elements that can be used to determine a firm's marketing strategy. The findings can help all the involved bodies to avoid the impediments and develop an appropriate marketing strategy for the effective promotion of certified organic food products.