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1 – 10 of 19Marin Cagalj, Rainer Haas and Ulrich B. Morawetz
Claims about environmental impact, health effects and taste of food products are restricted in the EU. The purpose of this paper is to quantify how much such claims would change…
Abstract
Purpose
Claims about environmental impact, health effects and taste of food products are restricted in the EU. The purpose of this paper is to quantify how much such claims would change the willingness to pay (WTP) for organic products in Croatia.
Design/methodology/approach
For estimating the WTP under different claims the authors used an experimental auction. Participants (258) bid for real food products (organic and conventional tomatoes and apples) and are endowed with cash at a location where they usually go shopping.
Findings
For the sample the authors find that consumers are willing to pay on average a premium of 42 percent for organic apples and 59 percent for organic tomatoes. On top of that, WTP increases between 16-20 percent for environmental claims and 12 percent for health claims. Taste-related claims are not significant.
Practical implications
Sellers and producers of organic food can benefit from adding claims to organic labels. To protect consumers from manipulation, regulators are well advised to be cautions when allowing claims about credence attributes of food.
Originality/value
The authors quantify the influence of claims about organic products on the WTP by using experimental auctions which are particularly suitable to investigate effects which cannot be observed on the market.
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Joseph Birundu Mogendi, Hans De Steur, Anselimo Makokha and Xavier Gellynck
Despite the large body of research on consumers’ willingness-to-pay for new food, few studies have tried to integrate new technology-based systems and improve their validity. The…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite the large body of research on consumers’ willingness-to-pay for new food, few studies have tried to integrate new technology-based systems and improve their validity. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the integration of short messaging service (SMS) in experimental auctions.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a case study on iodine biofortified food with 180 household decision makers in Africa, a standard Becker-Degroot-Marschak procedure was compared with the novel SMS-based procedure through five information/auction rounds. Thereby, a standard protocol commonly employed in validation of medical diagnostic tests was adopted, assessing the sensitivity, specificity, precision, negative predictive values, likelihood ratios and post-test probability.
Findings
The SMS-based elicitation exhibited high levels of sensitivity (89-95 per cent), specificity (63-73 per cent), precision (40-60 per cent), NPV (92-98 per cent), LR+(2.6-3.3) and LR−(0.08-0.2) for all the auction rounds. The post-test plot indicates that the novel procedure is particularly consistent in ascertaining positive and negative valuations for a new food product.
Originality/value
Even though SMS-based bidding is shown to be an accurate, but also convenient and attractive bidding procedure, which is in line with novel ways of purchasing food, further validation is inevitable to determine its reliability in different contexts and its most effective use.
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Luigi Galletto, Francesco Caracciolo, Vasco Boatto, Luigino Barisan, Deborah Franceschi and Marica Lillo
Consumer likeability and willingness to pay (WTP) for two Italian sparkling wines, (Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco DOCG and Prosecco DOC) are evaluated through a…
Abstract
Purpose
Consumer likeability and willingness to pay (WTP) for two Italian sparkling wines, (Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco DOCG and Prosecco DOC) are evaluated through a non-hypothetical Becker-DeGroot-Marschak (BDM) auction during a wine-tasting experiment. The purpose of this paper is to estimate individual WTP and relate it to likeability for both wines, with and without supplying additional information on their features.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected in May–June 2019 from a sample of 99 consumers in Northern Italy. A non-hypothetical BDM auction in a wine-tasting experiment was implemented.
Findings
The results show that the additional information plays a significant role in widening the WTP gap between the two geographical indications (GIs), while the blind tasting narrows this gap. The “superiority” of the Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco DOCG is confirmed but relies more on its better reputation than its better taste.
Research limitations/implications
The authors are aware of two main limitations in the study. The first is the territorial composition of the consumer sample. The second is the selection of the Prosecco bottles used in the experiment. The results are considered pioneering and need to be verified by additional experiments with different consumer and bottle samples.
Practical implications
Promotional suggestions for the Tutelary Consortia of the two GIs stem from the results. The Prosecco DOC should primarily stress its likeability, while the Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco DOCG should primarily emphasise the reasons for its “superiority”.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors' knowledge, no previous study has related likeability and WTP for similar GI wines produced in contiguous areas. Moreover, the current research has applied a non-hypothetical BDM auction in a wine-tasting experiment.
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Yan Zhang, Shaosheng Jin, Yu Yvette Zhang and Xiaohua Yu
The purpose of this study is to decompose the effects of country-of-origin labeling (COOL) into multiple dimensions—macrolevel image, related to the country image, and microlevel…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to decompose the effects of country-of-origin labeling (COOL) into multiple dimensions—macrolevel image, related to the country image, and microlevel image, related to dairy industry/product attributes—and investigate how each dimension affects Chinese consumers' evaluation of imported milk.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopted the Becker–DeGroot–Marschak (BDM) auction mechanism to elicit consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) for milk from different countries (New Zealand, Australia, Germany, France and China). The experiment was conducted with 348 shoppers at supermarkets in three major cities of China (Hangzhou, Wuhan and Shijiazhuang). The study subject was ultrahigh-temperature processing (UHT) milk (200 mL Tetra Pak aseptic brick package).
Findings
The results show that Chinese consumers are willing to pay a premium for UHT milk from New Zealand, Australia, Germany and France compared to domestic milk, and the premiums are 59.4, 58.9, 57.9, and 52.9% respectively. Both microlevel and macrolevel images exert a substantial influence on consumers' WTP, and the microlevel image has a greater impact on consumers' evaluation of milk than the macrolevel image. Particularly, the macropolitical, microtechnology/quality and microdesign/package dimensions have a positive influence on WTP for milk.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the existing literature in introducing the country-of-origin image (COI) construct with different dimensions to get in-depth knowledge about the country-of-origin (COO) effect in food or agricultural economics.
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Mo Chen, Shijiu Yin, Yingjun Xu and Zhiwei Wang
– The purpose of this paper is to determine consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for tomatoes carrying different organic labels.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to determine consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for tomatoes carrying different organic labels.
Design/methodology/approach
The data were collected from 878 randomly selected consumers in Shandong Province, China, using the Becker-DeGroot-Marschak auction experiment. The authors used the multivariate probit (MVP) model to analyze the factors influencing consumer preferences.
Findings
Results indicated that consumers’ WTP for tomatoes carrying the European Union (EU) organic label was significantly higher than those carrying the Chinese organic label. However, no significant difference was found between consumers’ WTP for tomatoes carrying the EU organic label and that for tomatoes carrying both Chinese and EU labels. The results of the MVP model analysis demonstrated that the consumers with different individual characteristics had heterogeneous preferences for organic labels. Food safety consciousness and organic knowledge both had positive effects on consumers’ WTP, meanwhile, environmental awareness had no prominent effect on consumer preferences.
Originality/value
This research is of academic value and of value to policy makers and suppliers. To satisfy diverse market requirements, governments, and manufacturers should consider consumer preferences for different certification labels in strategy development.
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This paper aims at investigating the contemporary trend toward regional consumption from the perspective of consumers’ search for brand authenticity. In particular, the paper…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims at investigating the contemporary trend toward regional consumption from the perspective of consumers’ search for brand authenticity. In particular, the paper joins literature on brand authenticity from the marketing literature and literature on the local food movement to investigate consumers’ response to authenticity claims in the competition of local and global food brands.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper engages in a series of three experimental studies; one of which uses a Becker–DeGroot–Marschak lottery to assess individuals’ willingness to pay for authenticity claims of (non)global brands.
Findings
Findings show that authenticity perceptions lead to higher brand value independent of brand globalness; while global brands can mitigate competitive disadvantages in localized consumer markets by actively authenticating their brand image.
Originality/value
This paper reveals the usefulness of authentic brand positioning for global beverage brands when competing with local beverage brands to overcome the liability of globalness. To sustainably benefit from the local food movement, local brands thus will require to build up brand images beyond associations of mere authenticity.
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Glenn W. Harrison and E. Elisabet Rutström
We review the experimental evidence on risk aversion in controlled laboratory settings. We review the strengths and weaknesses of alternative elicitation procedures, the strengths…
Abstract
We review the experimental evidence on risk aversion in controlled laboratory settings. We review the strengths and weaknesses of alternative elicitation procedures, the strengths and weaknesses of alternative estimation procedures, and finally the effect of controlling for risk attitudes on inferences in experiments.
Kam C. Chan, Kam C. Chan and Hannah Wong
The purpose of this paper is to assess the quality of doctoral programs in terms of their faculty auditing research output as well as their effectiveness in training future…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assess the quality of doctoral programs in terms of their faculty auditing research output as well as their effectiveness in training future auditing faculty.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents a retrospective analysis of auditing research that appeared in five premier accounting journals (AOS, TAR, CAR, JAE, and JAR) during the time period 1975-2009.
Findings
The authors offer several new insights. First, the authors provide rankings of accounting programs based on their faculty's research output as well as their graduates' research output. The rankings of auditing research are significantly different from those that are based on aggregated accounting research output. Second, the rankings are found to be skewed; due to the display of high concentrations of auditing research among the top auditing research programs. Third, the rankings have exhibited considerable changes over time, which suggest extreme competitions in maintaining the relative positions of the doctoral programs. Fourth, the authors detect a noticeable change in auditing research methodologies.
Practical implications
The findings are useful to: new and job-seeking auditing doctorates in selecting academic appointments; potential doctoral students in identifying auditing graduate programs that best fit their career goals; university administrators in assessing their auditing faculty; and auditing scholars in positioning their journal outlets.
Originality/value
The study extends the findings of the previous studies by focusing on auditing research publications in top journals over a long sample period. The authors also provide evidence of changes in research methodologies in auditing research as well as changes in rankings among different institutions in recent years.
Richard Engelbrecht-Wiggans and Elena Katok
We present results of several experiments that deal with endogenous entry in auctions and auction valuation. One observation that is constant across all the experiments we report…
Abstract
We present results of several experiments that deal with endogenous entry in auctions and auction valuation. One observation that is constant across all the experiments we report is that laboratory subjects have a difficult time evaluating potential gains from auctions. Even after they are given some experience with particular auctions, the uncertainty inherent in the auctions (the probability of winning as well as the potential gains from winning) makes it difficult for subjects to compare different auction mechanisms. This highlights the need for new experimental procedures to be used for testing theories that involve endogenous auction entry in the laboratory.
Ruojin Zhang, Dan Fan, Gene Lai, Junqian Wu and Jungong Li
Agricultural insurance has become increasingly important to farmers' livelihood and production in rural China. Yet despite the enormous governmental subsidizing efforts, the…
Abstract
Purpose
Agricultural insurance has become increasingly important to farmers' livelihood and production in rural China. Yet despite the enormous governmental subsidizing efforts, the insurance participation rate remains below expectations. This study revisits the linkage between farmers' risk attitudes and crop insurance utilization by providing a cross-cutting perspective such that the role of risk aversion is re-scrutinized in Chinese “kindred” village economies.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors administrated a lottery-based multiple price list (MPL) experiment by recruiting rice farmers from 12 villages in Sichuan province in southwestern China. Using the experimental data, farmers' risk attitudes are assessed and coefficients of risk aversion are estimated within the rank-dependent expected utility (RDEU) framework by maximizing a structured likelihood function.
Findings
This study provides substantiating evidence that rice farmers in southwestern China exhibit relatively high risk aversion. The authors also provide suggestive evidence of the positive relationship between farmers' risk aversion and crop insurance utilization. In addition, findings reveal that kinship network has a negative effect on crop insurance utilization, such that farmers who are connected in higher degree of kinship network have lower likelihood of crop insurance utilization, which suggests that kinship network may be substitute for formal crop insurance. Result also demonstrates that the incentive effect of risk aversion on farmers' crop insurance participation manifests differently depending on the degree of kinship network in rural China.
Originality/value
This study provides a cross-cutting perspective by scrutinizing the effects of farmers' risk attitudes and kinship network on crop insurance participation in rural China, which has received relatively little attention in the literature. Conclusions on the effects of risk aversion on crop insurance participation have been mixed in previous studies. In addition, to the best of our knowledge, little has been done to explicitly examine the influence of social proximity and networks on farmers' insurance uptake. This study attempts to fill both gaps. This study provides new insights which might shed lights on the understanding of farmers' crop insurance participation in rural China.
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