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Local food impacts tourist satisfaction and drives the choice of a tourist destination. However, it is not clear which attributes of local food products drive tourists’ preferences. More specifically, little is known about potential segments in the tourist market. Acknowledging consumers’ divergent inclinations, we explore tourist preferences toward local food attributes through a market segmentation approach.

This study uses the Best-Worst Scaling method to examine the preferences of 311 tourists for attributes of local food products that are known to affect their choices. We employ a Latent Class Analysis to identify market segments with distinct preferences.

Results indicate that tourists prioritize taste, quality, authenticity, healthiness, connection to local culture and tradition and environmental friendliness over price, appearance, enhancement of local economy, availability and packaging. We further identify three segments: Sensory Seekers, Cultural Experiencers, and Price Conscious. The largest segment, Sensory Seekers, is driven by taste and quality attributes, while Cultural Experiencers prioritize connection to local culture and authenticity. The Price Conscious segment places a greater emphasis on price than the other segments. Cultural Experiencers demonstrate the highest willingness to pay for local food products.

The positioning of local products should target Cultural Experiencers. Agri-firms and state agencies promoting a tourist destination internationally can also use the connection to local culture and authenticity in their marketing campaigns.

Our research contributes to food marketing literature by showing which local food attributes drive tourist preferences. Moreover, we uncover unobservable heterogeneous preferences among tourists.

This study emphasizes the growing significance of destination attributes in shaping the experiences and behaviours of gastronomy and culinary tourists. Understanding both core and complementary attributes of a gastronomy tourism destination is crucial for its sustainable development. However, there is a lack of a reliable measurement for tourists’ perceived attributes of gastronomy tourism destinations (PAGTD). Therefore, the purpose of this study is to develop a scale to measure tourists’ PAGTD.

The study systematically followed the scale development and validation process, using three samples (Sample 1, n = 200; Sample 2, n = 204; and Sample 3, n = 204) to establish the psychometric properties of the proposed PAGTD scale.

The validated scale comprises five dimensions, namely, food culture, food sensations, food cooking, service environment, and food price & quality, encompassing a total of 22 measurement items.

This research significantly contributes to the gastronomy tourism literature by elucidating the dimensionality of PAGTD and validating the PAGTD scale.

目的地属性对美食游客的体验和行为的影响日渐凸显。理解美食旅游目的地的核心属性和补充属性对目的地可持续发展至关重要。然而, 目前还缺乏一份测量游客感知的美食旅游目的地属性（PAGTD）的量表。因此, 本文旨在开发并验证游客感知的美食旅游目的地属性量表（PAGTD量表）。

本文严格遵循量表开发与验证的程序, 利用三份样本（样本1, n=200; 样本2, n=204; 样本3, n=204）建立了PAGTD量表的信度和效度。

经过验证, PAGTD量表包括5个维度：美食文化、美食感官因素、美食烹饪、服务环境、美食价格与质量, 共计22个测项。

本文不仅阐明了游客感知的美食旅游目的地属性的多维结构, 还开发并验证了一份具有良好信效度的PAGTD量表。

Este estudio hace hincapié en la creciente importancia de los atributos de los destinos a la hora de configurar las experiencias y los comportamientos de los turistas gastronómicos y culinarios. Comprender tanto los atributos principales como los complementarios de un destino turístico gastronómico es crucial para su desarrollo sostenible. Sin embargo, se carece de una medición fiable de los atributos percibidos por los turistas de los destinos de turismo gastronómico (PAGTD). Por lo tanto, el objetivo de este estudio es desarrollar una escala para medir los PAGTD de los turistas.

El estudio siguió sistemáticamente el proceso de desarrollo y validación de la escala, utilizando tres muestras (Muestra 1, n=200; Muestra 2, n=204; y Muestra 3, n=204) para establecer las propiedades psicométricas de la escala PAGTD propuesta.

La escala validada comprende cinco dimensiones: saber, cultura alimentaria, sensaciones alimentarias, cocina de los alimentos, entorno del servicio y precio y calidad de los alimentos, que abarcan un total de 22 ítems de medición.

Esta investigación contribuye significativamente a la literatura sobre turismo gastronómico al dilucidar la dimensionalidad del PAGTD y validar la escala PAGTD.

There are calls for irradiated food labelling due to a significant need for food safety and extensive procedures to safeguard consumer health. Additionally, there is a strong push from producers for mandatory Country of Origin (COO) labelling. The study examines how the COO and Radura labels influence consumer behaviour and shows the interplay between these influences. Using Attitude-Behavior-Context theory, a conceptual model is proposed and tested to evaluate these factors. The use of multiple labels allows for more choices. How the information presented on labels corresponds to consumers' pre-purchase information search is tested on regular label users.

Structural Equation Modelling (SEM), Generalised Linear Modelling and Cluster Analysis were used to analyse the data on a sample of 322 Australian respondents.

The study revealed that COO labelling had a significant positive relationship with attitudes but a negative relationship with WTP, acting as a suppressed mediator between attitudes and WTP. Interestingly, while knowledge was not found significant, label confidence emerged as a significant factor. Furthermore, the research suggests that regular users may prioritize COO labels over Radura labels.

This research contributes novelty by being the first to address the interplay between COO and irradiated labels, complementing the growing body of literature on irradiation labelling. It also offers valuable insights for retail practitioners, providing an understanding that can facilitate the delivery of high-value multiple labels at the point of purchase.

Despite the growing interest in blockchain technology (BCT) applications in the agri-food industry, evidence of their economic and strategic implications remains scarce. This study aims to contribute to filling this gap by jointly investigating how BCT adoption affects transactional relationships, and how it contributes to the firm’s strategic resources.

An explanatory case study is conducted based on a theoretical framework grounded on transaction cost economics and the resource-based-dynamic capabilities view. Six BCT implementations by agri-food firms are studied. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analysed using thematic analysis.

Findings reveal that BCT benefits depend on how companies integrate technology across their supply chains. In fact, the results suggest that overall transaction efficiency within the supply chain is enhanced only for those firms prioritising stakeholder engagement during technology implementation and leveraging existing trust relationships with economic agents. Moreover, the results suggest that BCT is not yet perceived as a strategic resource, but rather that it has the potential to enhance firms’ operational-adaptive, absorptive and innovative capabilities. When all supply chain actors clearly understand blockchain’s functionality and value, the development of these capabilities becomes more pronounced.

The study identifies two BCT adoption configurations. One primarily focuses on enhancing supply chain efficiency and transparency (dynamic BCT), while the other uses BCT mainly for marketing purposes (static BCT). These configurations lead to varied possibilities for leveraging BCT’s potential advantages. Furthermore, they show how a mismatch between a strategic approach and its chosen configuration could work against any positive impact and lead to disillusionment with the BCT. Thus, managers should assess carefully the impact of such different configuration choices on performance.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to attempt to analyse the economic implications of adopting BCT in the food sector from both a firm and supply chain perspective. Additionally, it shows how interpreting these impacts is contingent on the diverse modalities for embedding BCT into existing supply chains.

This study aims to investigate the impact of service quality (SQ), perceived value (PV) and consumer satisfaction on Thai street food, with customer satisfaction (CS) as a mediator for customer loyalty and repurchase intention (RI). It also explores how consumer trust (CT) in Thai street food safety moderates these relationships.

Structural equation modelling (SEM) was utilised to analyse the complex interrelationships between various constructs. Multi-group analyses were conducted to investigate the moderating effects of CT on the structural model, considering two distinct groups based on trust levels: low and high.

The findings revealed that SQ and PV significantly influenced CS and behavioural intention, while the perceived quality of Thai street food had no significant impact on post-COVID-19 consumer satisfaction. The study highlighted the critical role of CT in moderating the relationships between SQ, PV and CS, with distinct effects observed in groups with varying trust levels.

The research emphasises the importance of enhancing SQ and delivering value to customers in the context of Thai street food, which can contribute to increased CS, RI and positive word-of-mouth. Furthermore, the study underscores the critical role of building CT in fostering enduring customer relationships and promoting consumer satisfaction and loyalty.

This research offers valuable insights into consumer behaviour and decision-making processes, particularly within the realm of Thai street food. It underscores the significance of understanding and nurturing CT, especially in the post-COVID-19 landscape, emphasising the need for effective business strategies and consumer engagement.

This study aims to investigate the impact of consumer ethnocentrism on consumers' evaluation of blockchain-based traceability information. It also examined how the use of quick response (QR) codes for traceability affects consumers' evaluation of traceable food products.

An online choice experiment was conducted to determine consumers' evaluation of the blockchain-based traceability of Feta cheese with a quota sample of 715 Greek consumers. Pearson bivariate correlation and mean comparison were used to examine the relationship between consumer ethnocentrism and QR use behaviour. Random parameter logit models were employed to examine consumers’ valuation of the examined attributes and interaction terms.

The results show that ethnocentric consumers are willing to pay more for blockchain-based traceability information. Ethnocentric consumers tend to scan QR codes with traceability information. Spending more time reading traceability information embedded in QR codes does not lead to a higher willingness-to-pay (WTP) for traceable food products.

The findings suggest that patriotic marketing messages can draw consumers' attention to blockchain-based traceability information. The modest WTP for and low familiarity with blockchain-based traceability systems raise the need for educating consumers regarding the benefits of blockchain in traceability systems.

This is the first study to provide timely empirical evidence of a positive WTP for blockchain-based traceability information for a processed dairy product. This study is the first to attempt to distinguish the effects of the intention to scan QR codes and reading information embedded in QR codes on consumers’ valuation of food attributes.

People frequently experience a conflict between immediate pleasure and long-term health when consuming healthy food. This study investigates how anthropomorphizing healthy food influences consumers’ sense of pleasure and their subsequent food preferences.

Using different samples and food items, the authors conducted five online or laboratory studies to provide empirical support for the research hypothesis, rule out potential alternative explanations, and demonstrate boundary conditions.

By conducting five empirical studies involving self-reported and actual eating preferences, this study found that anthropomorphism increases consumer preference for and actual intake of healthy food. Such an anthropomorphism effect is driven by the increased positive affect evoked by anthropomorphism. However, this positive effect is suppressed for consumers who experience low trust in their affective feelings. Additionally, the effect is weakened when consumers readily attribute their affective feelings to a target-irrelevant source.

This study contributes to the literature on healthy consumption, anthropomorphism, and mood, revealing whether and how food anthropomorphism affects consumers. For marketers in the field of healthy food and relevant policymakers, anthropomorphic means can be employed, such as giving products human names, to enhance consumer preference for them. Moreover, anthropomorphizing can help alleviate consumers’ concerns about the relative lack of pleasurable taste in healthy foods and compensate for the lack of hedonic value that consumers may feel, thereby enhancing consumer welfare.

1. Anthropomorphism increases consumer preference for healthy food and actual intake of it.

2. The anthropomorphism effect is driven by the increased positive affect evoked by anthropomorphism, through which affective feelings offer evaluative and decisional informativeness for judgments and decision-making.

3. The positive effect of anthropomorphism is suppressed for consumers who experience low trust in their affective feelings.

4. The anthropomorphism effect is weakened when consumers readily attribute their affective feelings to a target-irrelevant source.

Anthropomorphism increases consumer preference for healthy food and actual intake of it.

The anthropomorphism effect is driven by the increased positive affect evoked by anthropomorphism, through which affective feelings offer evaluative and decisional informativeness for judgments and decision-making.

The positive effect of anthropomorphism is suppressed for consumers who experience low trust in their affective feelings.

The anthropomorphism effect is weakened when consumers readily attribute their affective feelings to a target-irrelevant source.

The increasing focus of consumers on health and environmental sustainability continues to drive the demand for organic food. Despite the recognized importance of health and environmental concerns, the differential impact of these factors on organic food purchasing decisions is evident, indicating the presence of moderating variables. This investigation attempts to delineate these contingencies within the realms of socio-environmental and individual factors, paying particular attention to subjective norms, uncertainty, and egoistic values.

Using the convenience sampling method, the primary data sample was collected by a professional market research consulting firm and included 1876 usable respondents from China. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was utilized to verify the model and test the relationships between the constructs.

The results indicated that the path from environmental concern to organic food purchase intention was significantly influenced by subjective norms and uncertainty, both of which enhance this relationship. In contrast, egoistic values appeared to dampen this effect. Uncertainty also emerged as a key factor in the link between health concerns and organic food purchase intention, albeit with an opposite impact, weakening the relationship.

This study provides useful insights for academics and marketers to understand the complex phenomenon of organic consumer behavior. This result indicates that marketers can target reference groups to develop organic food marketing strategies.

Few studies have proposed and validated a model with these moderating factors collectively to study the purchase intention of organic food consumers in China.

This study explores the viability of incorporating more expensive organic wheat flour into speciality bakery products, which are of superior quality, thus justifying the higher cost. As consumers may be reluctant to purchase organic speciality baked goods due to unfavorable taste associations with organic foods, particularly those consumed as a treat or for pleasure, this study investigates the impact of providing taste assurances and origin information on consumer acceptance and WTP for organic speciality bakery products.

Using data from an online survey of US consumers, random parameter logit models were estimated and willingness-to-pay (WTP) values were calculated.

Study results show that the use of more expensive organic flour is justified for speciality bakery products when favorable taste assurances are provided or for consumers who value organic foods. Freshness indictors were only important in the case of speciality breads, but not for other products. Finally, improving consumer awareness of organic labeling standards does not significantly impact their organic product preferences or taste perceptions.

This analysis aims to identify the product information likely to increase the consumption of organic speciality bakery/pastry products and thus support the incorporation of organic wheat flour into these higher-value products.

While previous choice experiment studies have extensively examined consumer preferences for organic products, few have evaluated the impact of providing taste and freshness indicators, particularly in the context of vice goods. This study examines the impact of providing taste and freshness indicators on consumer acceptance and WTP for various organic speciality bakery/pastry products in stated choice experiments, where consumers to not have the option to taste the product. Specifically, we examine if taste and freshness assurances reduce potential negative organic product taste biases.

Food labels are increasingly used to provide information to consumers. As a common design strategy used for food package labels globally, label frame is often used to expand the perceived breadth of a brand and create a broader brand image. We evaluated the effect of the presence or absence of a non-genetically modified organism (non-GMO) label frame on consumers' preferences for non-GMO foods.

This study collected data from 120 MBA students at a university in Sichuan, China, and 126 foreign volunteers in a shopping mall in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. The study investigates the effect of the presence or absence of non-GMO label frame (i.e. label with or without an outline) on non-GMO food preferences through a field survey and two controlled experiments. To empirically analyse the psychological mechanisms by which non-GMO label frames affect consumers' preferences for non-GMO food, we set up the mediating variable of food association of safety.

For ordinary consumers, a framed non-GMO label is more likely to evoke food association of safety and further enhance consumer preference for non-GMO foods. It facilitates consumers' choice of healthier foods. This finding did not otherwise vary across demographic characteristics.

This study is the first to examine the influence of non-GMO label frames on consumers' non-GMO food preferences, which is an innovative research question. The findings of this study are instructive for food manufacturers and policymakers to better design and use non-GMO label frames to attract more consumers to choose non-GMO foods.