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This paper's objective is to investigate consumers' and producers' expectations towards geographical indications (GIs) in a German context, where this certification scheme has not been widely used so far.

Data for the consumer side were obtained by a structured questionnaire. A total of 741 consumers were asked online with respect to their knowledge and expectations towards geographical indications in general and Hessian apple wine in particular. The collected data were analysed by an explorative factor analysis and a binary logit model. Additionally, data for the producer side were collected via an in‐depth interview with one major producer of Hessian apple wine.

The consumer side results indicate that Hessian consumers' awareness and knowledge about GIs is very limited. Moreover, it is found that the quality warranty dimension is not as important as the economic support dimension and perceived authenticity of the product. A hypothetical willingness to pay for protection is mainly driven by consumer perceptions and expectations towards the positive impacts of geographical indications on the local economy. The producer side results highlight that the most important motivation to apply for a protected G1 (PGI) is to secure the established reputation against misuse by competing producers in order to ensure the quality level of Hessian apple wine.

The findings indicate that a PGI is by no means a self‐runner. The positive impacts of this certification scheme have to be communicated to consumers in order to be successful.

Empirical evidence regarding consumers' knowledge and expectations towards geographical indications in a non‐Mediterranean context is limited. The present paper contributes to the existing literature by providing empirical evidence for a German case study.

The purpose of this paper is to identify inherent deficiencies of the geographical indications (GIs) as protective brands adding to the premium value of the products as compared to the protection guaranteed to brands under the trademark route. Whereas the former protects the attributes of the goods, the latter adds to the brand equity of the goods. The paper attempts to find means to assign a strong visible identity that creates a premium visibility for GIs to help them emerge as strong brands just like the brands envisaged for the trademarks.

This is a qualitative research based on primary and secondary source of information. Secondary sources comprise statutory provisions of two main acts on GIs and trademarks, articles/news items available in academic/trade journals and information generated from Government of India websites. Primary research involved face-to-face interactions with practicing advocates and select holders of GIs. Information was collected on parameters related to efficacy, applicability, enforceability, monitoring, marketability and legal issues of GIs and trademarks.

Though the GI Act was enacted to improve the commercial prospects of manufactured/grown outputs by entities based in a particular geographical limit, it has not delivered to the extent it was expected. The GI product still faces the challenges of poor awareness, fratricidal competition and threat of ingenuine products. The same concept under the trademarks is adequately promoted and protected by ensuring visibility through the logos. And hence, the same can be made mandatorily under the grant of GIs.

Most of the research done so far on GIs is from a legal perspective. It is perhaps the first work on the theme that takes up the cross-functional approach and explores adding a marketing dimension to a concept that was considered only under the domain of law. The article tries to assimilate best of both the worlds in terms of legal protection and marketing appeal for the geographical indicators.

Quality and top quality wines (wines with geographical indication (GI)) have a larger share (59 per cent) on the Croatian market and this was one of the reasons for defining the subject of the research. Although there are a few market research studies, none of them is completely oriented on the role and market significance of GI of wine. There is an evident lack of information in this field. This paper aims to address these issues.

The population of the basic group is a high‐qualified population for reviewing different aspects of wine as a complex product. Stratification of the units from the sample has been made on the sample (n=200). Data were analysed using univariate statistics, bivariate correlations and multiple factor analysis.

Results have shown a high correlation degree between the higher socioeconomic status of examinees and preferences for wine with GI. It might be concluded that examinees with a higher level of education are more familiar with wine with GI and also have a higher culture of wine consumption.

The sample, including only expert groups from institutions, could be understood to be a limitation of this study although they are a highly‐qualified population for reviewing different aspects of wine as a complex product. Further research is needed to analyse other consumer groups and to determine possible differences in attitudes.

Research results indicate a need to increase consumers' familiarity with GI wine. Overall positive attitudes towards wine with GI should be reinforced and consumers could be influenced through targeted advertising.

The paper presents some Croatian consumers' opinions about the importance of GI of consumed wine. Extracted are the main impact factors regarding the wine selection.

Continuing economic growth in emerging markets offers large market opportunities to producers and marketers worldwide; however, market failures due to asymmetric information are often seen when high-quality products enter these “new markets” where recognition rates among consumers are low. The use of “geographical origin” labels as quality signals to overcome asymmetric information problem plays an important role. The purpose of this paper is to compare consumers’ perception and willingness to pay (WTP) for different levels of geographic origin labels to provide insights to the strategic use of origin labels in emerging markets.

A consumer survey on geographic labeling for imported dairy products was carried out in Beijing, China in May 2015. Under the “products of European Union (EU)” range, the authors used “product of Ireland” as a case study for the country-specific origin label. Information on consumer demographic, dairy consumption, safety perceptions, knowledge on Ireland and Irish products, as well as WTP for different geographic labeling and product attributes were collected from 307 face-to-face interviews. WTP was elicited using double-bounded contingent valuation method, and estimated with maximum log-likelihood function.

The authors found that consumers are willing to pay premium prices for both of these geographical origin indicators, but the EU label had slightly higher WTP results. However, the controversial situation is that although the EU label has a better chance than the country-specific label in signaling premium quality to Chinese consumers, EU labeling at its best signals an average quality across the EU counties. For premium products with above average quality, using generic EU labeling has a potential drawback to the establishment of product differentiation.

This study is the first to evaluate Chinese consumers’ WTP for EU generic origin label for dairy products in comparison to country-specific origin label. Findings of the study have immediate policy and marketing implications in emerging markets.

The purpose of this paper is to identify and quantify the factors determining the prices of organic and conventional cheese. For a market with a high degree of product differentiation, i.e. the German cheese market, price premiums of various cheese attributes are examined. Thereby, special attention is paid to country of origin (CO) effects, geographical indications (GIs) and organic claims.

The analysis is based on homescan panel data of 13,000 representative German households provided by the GfK consumer research association. The data set combines actual purchase and demographic data for a five-year sample period from 2004 to 2008. Applying the hedonic technique, the cheese price is modelled as a function of a wide range of consumer, store and product characteristics. Effects are analysed in detail by distinguishing between supply- and demand-side effects and by estimating price regressions not only for the whole sample but also for different shop types.

The estimated organic price premiums range between 18 per cent in discount shops and 26 per cent in hypermarkets. The impacts of the CO and GIs are considerably smaller in magnitude and limited to special shopping venues like super- and hypermarkets.

The German cheese market is currently evolving from a staple product market to a highly differentiated market where increasing attention is paid to quality indicators such as organic claims or GIs. The data are remarkable, both in sample size and information content. Furthermore, the estimation of shop type-specific price premiums offers new and detailed insights in consumer valuation and producer costs of a wide range of cheese attributes.

Consumers often face a dilemma regarding the purchase decisions of traditional handloom apparel because of the non-availability of information cues that would enable them to assess the quality of the product. The spread of counterfeit products in the market adds to information asymmetry. The study aims to examine factors influencing purchase intention of traditional handloom apparel that have Geographical Indication (GI) certification, which follows the certification procedure specified by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).

A survey was conducted among 202 traditional handloom apparel consumers in India and the data was analysed using structural equation modelling. The purchase intention of GI certified handloom apparels was examined as the dependent variable, whereas quality consciousness, product diagnosticity, perceived information asymmetry were placed as independent variables. The mediating role of perceived quality and product trust in the relation between perceived information asymmetry and purchase intention was also looked into.

Results reveal that quality consciousness positively influences product diagnosticity (facilitated by the GI label certification) which in turn reduces perceived information asymmetry. Further, a reduction in perceived information asymmetry was found to increase the purchase intention of traditional handloom apparel, fully mediated by the perceived quality and product trust.

The customers who are facing a dearth of information while making purchase of traditional handlooms will be benefitted from the GI certification label which provides authenticity regarding product attributes confirming quality. Further, the study adds to the theory by establishing the relation between quality consciousness and perceived information asymmetry.

The findings imply that GI handloom apparel sellers should design marketing strategies that would project GI certification labels for traditional handloom apparel to effectively communicate product quality attributes, thus enhance product diagnosticity reducing information asymmetry. While organic certification for agricultural products is done at the individual producer’s level, GI certification is done under the producer’s collective label. Further, studies may be extended to agricultural products (Darjeeling tea, Alphonso mangoes, etc.), food items (rasgulla, Thirupathi laddoo, etc.) and handicrafts (Aranmula Mirror, Payyannur pavithra ring) that have acquired GI label in India. GI certification is adopted worldwide and studies may be extended to such products also [example Parma ham (Italy), Hessian wine (Germany)].

Empirical research on determinants of consumer purchase intentions of GI certified traditional handloom apparel is a novel attempt done in the context of a developing country such as India. The study brings out the importance of the GI certification label envisaged by the WIPO, which can serve as a tool for reducing uncertainties faced by consumer in framing purchasing intentions. This can be extended to any product type such as agricultural, food products and handicrafts that has acquired GI certifications in different countries. The study revealed that product diagnosticity (through GI certification) could reduce perceived information asymmetry that leads the consumer to the perception of quality and product trust which results in the purchase intention of traditional handloom apparel. The outcomes of the study can be instrumental in designing marketing strategies for capturing market share.

Geographical Indications (GI) are complex and multi-purpose institutions. Their objectives include encouraging diversification of agricultural production, improving farmers’ income, countering depopulation of rural areas, satisfying consumer demand for high-quality good, and protecting consumers from food fraud. The authors argue that such objectives are not necessarily aligned as divergence may arise among stakeholders (such as farmers, consumers or rural communities) about the optimal design of the GI. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

The authors developed a simple, static game-theory model describing the basic choices that a planner faces in designing a GI.

The authors conclude that the optimal organization requires finding trade-offs among conflicting but equally desirable objectives. Perfect monitoring is not a sufficient condition to resolve such conflicts. Sub-consortia and flexible production agreements may increase the efficiency of a GI.

The authors described basic trade-offs in GI design using the simplest possible model. To this purpose the authors introduced limiting assumptions that may be relaxed in future research. The representation of the GI agreement focussed on the quality level only, abstracting from all other consideration. Using a static model prevented us from explicit modeling of (loss of) reputation effects. The simplifying assumptions about consumer behavior and cost functions have reduced the generality of the results. Extensions of the model may consider introducing additional elements in the GI agreement such as production areas or governance models, dynamic games and general functional forms.

The authors found that in designing a GI: first, promotion approaches revolving around small groups of local leaders (i.e. efficient, high-quality producers) might overshoot quality, resulting in unsustainable production agreements; second, introducing degrees of flexibility in the production agreement may help achieving a sustainable GI; and finally, sub-consortia/optional labels may help dealing with producers’ heterogeneity.

The authors found that setting a high standard in the production agreement is not sufficient condition for delivering quality food to consumers, as producers might have incentive to commit frauds. A simple command and control approach to quality in GI’s is not always the most efficient strategy, because it may reduce participation. In designing the GI, the goals of identity preservation and food quality must be balanced with consideration of producers’ incentives. The involvement of producers in the design of the GI is a critical success driver. Yet, this practice can be problematic because of producers’ heterogeneity.

The paper provides theoretical foundation for best practices in forming a GI, including: multi-stakeholder involvement, management of farmer heterogeneity and monitoring.

Over the past decade, there has been a significant increase in interest about fraud in food supply chain. Victims of food fraud and counterfeiting can be different actors in the supply chain: distributors, retailers and, most importantly, customers. Victims of food fraud face not only economic losses, but also health and safety risks when handling or consuming fraudulent products. The aim of this paper is to present the situation regarding counterfeiting and fraud in the food supply chain from a theoretical and practical point of view. The attitudes and opinions of consumers, experts in the field and retailers on the occurrence of food fraud and counterfeiting were explored. The results of an online survey of 326 consumers in Croatia showed that their awareness of food fraud is low. Most of them are only partially familiar with food fraud or do not know anything about this issue. The respondents are most familiar with mislabelling of organic products, meat packaging date fraud, and misuse of geographical indications (PDO/PGI). Consumers have low trust in all organisations that should protect them from food fraud (e.g. Croatian national institutions and authorities). A survey with eight food experts (olive oil, wine, milk and dairy products, honey, strong alcoholic beverages) found that they very rarely encounter food fraud in their work, usually two or more times a year. Retailers are aware of the existence of food fraud, but still do not take measures beyond the usual level in their quality assurance systems. To raise awareness of food fraud, education of all stakeholders by relevant institutions is needed.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of local origin of food in the Hungarian population's decisions regarding food purchase and to identify under which conditions consumers consider food to be a local product.

The study was based on a representative quantitative consumer survey (n = 1,000). Cluster analysis was used to define different consumer groups.

In general, consumers perceive that local products have positive characteristics that distinguish them from not locally sourced foodstuffs. The results prove that the accessibility of local food products differs to a great extent in towns and regions. In towns with local markets, the ratio of recognition and acceptance of local products is higher. Based on the attitudes and behaviour of respondents towards local products, five clusters were separated and described.

Although the sample's representativeness of three demographic factors was ensured, some general limitations resulted from the sampling methodology.

Based on the study findings, the authors encourage farmers' market operators to actively study the purchasing habits, attitudes and expectations of the consumer groups described in the study and to exchange information to promote the development of an economically successful local food supply system.

This empirical representative study is suitable to describe the knowledge, attitudes and behaviour of Hungarian consumers related to local food products. Consumer perception about local food varies internationally; therefore, national level studies are important to understand the viability of short food supply chains.