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Effects of abnormally shaped fruits and vegetables on consumer’s willingness to buy: a meta-analytic study

Ana Carolina Campos (Business School, UNISINOS, Porto Alegre, Brazil)
Fernando De Oliveira Santini (Business School, UNISINOS, Porto Alegre, Brazil)
Marcelo G. Perin (Department of Marketing Management, Business Administration School, FGV, São Paulo, Brazil)
Wagner Junior Ladeira (Business School, UNISINOS, Porto Alegre, Brazil)

Journal of Social Marketing

ISSN: 2042-6763

Article publication date: 8 June 2022

Issue publication date: 12 October 2022

495

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this meta-analytic study is to investigate the possible influence of food shape abnormality on consumer’s willingness to buy fruits and vegetables. This research also investigates some possible moderators (methodological, cultural, socio-economic and contextual) that could influence the direct effects.

Design/methodology/approach

This study applied the meta-analysis approach to understand the effect of food shape abnormality on willingness to buy fruits and vegetables. In this research, 16 empirical articles were examined, with a total of 54 effect sizes.

Findings

The results showed consistent negative effects between food shape abnormality and consumers’ willingness to buy fruits and vegetables. This study also found significant effects related to culture (Hofstede’s cultural dimensions) and to socio-economic (Human Development Index) moderators. The findings demonstrated that cultures with higher power distance levels promoted stronger effects in the relationship between abnormally shaped food and willingness to buy. Additionally, related to social–economy aspects of a nation, the negative effects between abnormally shaped food and willingness to buy are stronger in countries with low human development rates.

Practical implications

Public policymakers can benefit from the main findings by implementing interventions strategies and education campaigns based on different cultural dimensions. In cultures characterized by high levels of aversion to uncertainty, social communication campaigns can build trust and provide the consumer more knowledge about abnormally shaped fruits and vegetables, whereas in cultures characterized by low levels of masculinity, related to higher levels of sustainability, local producers can benefit from the “local food” positioning to sell abnormally shaped fruits and vegetables.

Originality/value

This research advances studies about consumer behaviour in relation to food waste, highlighting factors beyond aesthetic issues, such as a nation’s culture and its economic context. These results open the way for new work in this area.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPQ) and Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES).

Citation

Campos, A.C., De Oliveira Santini, F., Perin, M.G. and Ladeira, W.J. (2022), "Effects of abnormally shaped fruits and vegetables on consumer’s willingness to buy: a meta-analytic study", Journal of Social Marketing, Vol. 12 No. 4, pp. 556-586. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSOCM-08-2021-0178

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited

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