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This paper aims to empirically investigate the role of product positioning in the launch of food and drink products using a large dataset of new product development by food companies in Australia (AU) and New Zealand (NZ). As such, positioning through credence attribute claims can be associated with product launch strategies, including brand-new products, expansion of product ranges, new packaging and relaunch, as a response to market demand.

Text analysis was used to investigate the descriptions of food claims using Structured Query Language, providing a word list of food claims and further filtered and categorised into groups of claims. Multinomial regression models were then employed to analyse the association between product launch strategies and food claims adopted by firms.

The results of this paper provide evidence that positioning via food claims play an important role in product launch strategies in both AU and NZ. Types of food claims matter differently to firms' product launch decisions in the two markets. The “green” and “ethical” attributes are found to be associated with new launches in NZ but not in AU. Claims that are seen as most important for consumers are more likely to be engendered for the more costly launch approach.

This study is amongst the first studies that addresses the role of positioning in product launch strategies of food companies. The results and findings provide insights into the different prevailing credence attributes from the firm side and help policymakers to regulate the delivery of information about credence attributes to consumers.

This study aims to examine how the relative importance of a search versus a credence attribute, strategically addressed in a flu vaccination advertisement, varies as a function of message sidedness. A search attribute was designed to highlight the affordability of flu shots, and a credence attribute addressed the potential health benefits of flu vaccination.

Two experiments were designed to explore how the relative persuasiveness of search versus credence attributes varies as a function of message sidedness in the context of flu vaccination advertising. In Experiment 1, the search–credence attribute type was manipulated by addressing either the affordability (e.g. “Get free flu shots”) or indirect health benefits of flu vaccines (e.g. “Improve herd immunity/community health”). In Experiment 2, an individual-level credence attribute (e.g. “Strengthen your immune system”) was created and compared to the other two attribute conditions used in Experiment 1: a search versus a societal credence versus an individual credence attribute.

Experiment 1 (N = 114) revealed the relative advantage of a search attribute (free flu shots) in the two-sided persuasion. Experiment 2 (N = 193) indicated that the persuasive impact of a societal credence attribute (herd immunity/community health) was greater in the two-sided message condition (vs one-sided message condition).

Relatively little research has examined how consumers respond to strategic flu prevention and vaccination messages promoting either credence or search attributes. Motivated by the need to investigate the relative effectiveness of stressing “herd immunity” versus “free flu shots” in flu vaccination advertising, this study examines how the effects of these distinct attributes on flu vaccination judgments differ between two-sided (e.g. “No vaccine is 100% effective”) and one-sided persuasion.

A model for analysis of consumer behaviour towards food is developed. This model is intended to bridge the gap between the objective quality approach pursued in food sciences, the product characteristics approach, and the subjectively perceived quality approach, the product attribute approach as pursued in the consumer behaviour literature. The focus is on the information processing by the consumer. Information on the product quality is supplied to the consumer in the form of cues received while shopping or consuming. A distinction is made between extrinsic and intrinsic cues, and between search‐, experience‐, and credence‐quality attributes. Within the credence attributes, three categories are distinguished: food safety, health, and all other credence quality attributes. It is demonstrated that public policy should use minimum standards for regulating food safety, information and consumer education on health issues and definitional standards to regulate the other credence qualities. In the case of search quality, no public intervention is needed. In the case of experience quality, reputation is a means of reducing the quality erosion inherent for experience quality attributes. In the case of those foods which are not sold prepacked over the counter, these means are restricted. Here the public regulators could consider backing up the private quality policy efforts on labelling by implementing traceability schemes and defining the requirements for specific label claims.

Previous researchers have established that brand names are important in determining perceptions of brand quality and attitude towards the product. In this research we investigate the role of brand name in shaping consumers’ evaluation of search, experience, and credence attributes. The findings confirm that, prior to trial, brand name increases consumers’ perception of experience and credence attribute performance evaluations. However, prior to trial, brand name is found not to affect consumers’ perception of search attributes. Trial of the brand is found to reduce (and not eliminate) the advantage branded products have in enhancing consumers’ perception of experience and credence attributes.

This research aims to examine how credence, search and experience attributes compete with suggestive brand names that are incongruent with the attributes they cue (e.g. expensive EconoLodge Motel, short-lasting Duracell battery and joint-stiffening JointFlex pill).

This study relies on experimental studies, together with analyses of variance, t-tests and logistic regressions.

Incongruent suggestive brand names can distort product evaluations and alter perceptions of product performance in joint product judgments involving contradictory credence attributes; they can misdirect product evaluations even if the search attributes conflict with competitor brands. Furthermore, they are more likely to backfire if contradictory experience attributes are readily available to consumers.

This test of the role of incongruence between suggestive brand names and actual product features includes key concepts that can inform continued studies, such as search attributes that consumers can readily observe, experience attributes that can be observed only after product use and credence attributes that might not be observed even after use.

This study provides applicable guidelines for managers, consumers and policymakers.

The findings expand beyond prior literature that focuses on memory-based, separate evaluations of advertised benefits and inferences or expectations of unavailable attributes. Specifically, this study details the implications of congruence between the suggestive brand names and different types of attributes observable at different consumption stages.

This paper develops a conceptual framework, based on quality attributes and quality cues, to demonstrate the necessary requirements for effective communication of quality cues to customers in the supply chain and consumers at place of purchase. The “perceived quality” approach to product quality is adopted and the links between intrinsic/extrinsic cues and experience/credence attributes of a product are developed. The framework is applied to the UK meat sector by considering which attributes/cues are altered by farm assurance schemes and, hence, which type of cue is needed to signal these attributes, and what elements are necessary for effective signalling of this type of cue. It is shown that the necessary requirements for effective communication of each type of cue (intrinsic and extrinsic) vary considerably. Farm assurance schemes are shown to affect credence attributes; hence extrinsic cues must be used to signal these standards. It is concluded that the credibility of scheme standards and inspections to those standards is of crucial importance for the assurance scheme extrinsic cue (certificate/label) to be effective in predicting these credence attributes.

Due to increased health concerns, restaurant customers rely more on credible cues that indirectly represent health-related credence quality. To comprehensively understand the dynamics between credence cues and restaurant delivery with different infection risks, this study aims to investigate changes in cue utilization during the pandemic.

Data on delivery sales, brand and review rating between 2019 and the first half of 2020 were obtained from Meituan. Fixed-effects estimation was used to investigate 579,858 restaurant observations across 338 cities in China.

Health concerns significantly increased the use of restaurant delivery and the increased delivery sales remained steady even after infection risk was reduced. However, cue utilization in restaurant delivery substantially changed depending on inflection risk. In the pandemic-spreading period, the sales effect of the brand increased while that of review rating decreased. The decreased effect of review rating was recovered in the pandemic-flattening period, whereas the abnormal brand effect continued only when branded restaurants had a high rating.

The findings demonstrate the selective and contextual nature of cue utilization in the restaurant delivery setting. These characteristics are also manifested in a health crisis from a credence cue perspective.

The findings demonstrate the selective and contextual nature of cue utilization in the restaurant delivery setting. These characteristics are also manifested in a health crisis from a credence cue perspective. Further, this study re-conceptualizes credence quality and cues, considering their roles in risk management. The findings help develop risk management strategies based on customers’ usage patterns of credence cues in health crises.

The dynamics between credence cues and restaurant delivery has not been comprehensively investigated, especially when infection risk changes. This study delivers theoretical and practical contributions about how to use credence cues in the restaurant business amid health crises.

While the brand equity associated with tangible goods has received a great deal of attention in the literature, a basic understanding of the nature of brand equity for services has yet to emerge. Most of what is known about brand equity for services is based on theoretical or anecdotal evidence. In addition, the presumed differences in brand equity associated with search‐dominant, experience‐dominant, and credence‐dominant services has yet to be empirically examined. The objectives of this study are threefold: to empirically test whether brand equity is more important for services than for tangible goods, to test whether the presumed differences in brand equity for search‐, experience‐, and credence‐dominant services can be confirmed in an empirical examination, and to assess whether consumer knowledge of a product category has an effect on the importance of brand equity across product types. Contrary to suppositions in the literature, the results indicate that brand equity is more important for tangible goods than for services. In addition, the results do not support the presumed differences between service types as brand equity for search‐dominant services is more important than for both experience‐ and credence‐dominant services. The same pattern of results is achieved when consumer knowledge of each product category is included as a covariate.

This paper aims to propose a framework model of belief consistency on the confirmatory bias theory, trying to explore the interactions between cues of credence-label structure and different controversial types of health foods, as well as the intermediary mechanism of belief consistency.

This paper presents a conceptual framework of belief consistency based on confirmation bias theory. The interactions between cues of credence-label structure and different controversial types of health foods, as well as the intermediary mechanism of belief consistency.

Consumers’ willingness to purchase varies under interactions between cues of credence-label structure (product-level and ingredient-level credence-label cues) and different controversial types of health foods (noncontroversial health foods and controversial health foods). In the consumption context of noncontroversial health foods, the presence of product-level credence-label cues causes confirmation bias, greater perception of health belief consistency and higher willingness to purchase healthy foods. In the consumption context of controversial health foods, the presence of ingredient-level credence-label cues results in the prevention of confirmation bias, lower perception of unhealthy belief consistency and higher willingness to purchase health foods.

This paper offers a significant tool for researchers to enrich relevant theories in the field of the conceptual framework of cues of credence-label structure. It also discusses practical implications for enterprise marketing and for the health and welfare of consumers.

Learning about whether target markets face search, experience, or credence situations when assessing a company′s product or service can help in formulating more effective marketing strategies. Depending on the information situation of the targets, a company may want to vary the information content and amount of its advertising, its use of brand names and warranties, its emphasis on personal selling, and other elements of its marketing program. Offers several propositions to guide marketing decision making.