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Geographical indications (GIs) are expected to stimulate rural development by increasing the viability and resilience of farms in disadvantaged and remote areas. However, little quantitative evidence exists to support this expectation. This study fills this knowledge gap by quantitatively analyzing the effect of GI adoption on farm incomes in the EU olives and wine sectors.

The analysis uses data from the Farm Accountancy Data Network and EUROSTAT and an endogenous switching regression model to analyze the impact of GI adoption on farm incomes for specialized quality wine and olives producers in the year 2014.

The results show that GI adoption significantly improves farm incomes in both the olives and the wine sector.

The research uses data from the farm accountancy data network (FADN). This is seen as a limitation of the analysis. The research raises some concerns about the appropriateness of FADN for the assessment of farmers' involvement in food quality schemes and a reconsideration of FADN as a tool for farm performance analysis is advised.

This is one of few quantitative studies of the impact of geographical indications on farm performance. Furthermore, it gives insights into the mechanisms by which GI can affect farm incomes.

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.

Protected designation of origin (PDO) and protected geographical indication (PGI) products form the core of the European Union (EU) quality food policy. Low and fragmented logo recognition perils the entire plan. This work aims to provide a “classification” of European consumers as regards logo awareness based on generic demographic and socio-economic characteristics and to test hypotheses relating PDO awareness with the purchasing behaviour of consumers.

The work utilises publicly available pan-European databases collected from Eurobarometer in four rolling surveys from 2012 to 2017. The statistical analysis exploits the spatially nested nature of the data.

The “logo aware” consumer is distinctively different from the average representative European consumer. A range of demographic, human capital and socio-economic characteristics and behavioural and attitudinal traits differentiate the consumers who are aware of the logo. Country and region effects are vital.

Benefits of large and representative samples accrue by utilising available Eurobarometer surveys. This comes at a cost. The individual researcher has no control over the questions included in the questionnaire.

Consumer classification forms the basis of awareness-raising strategies. It reveals the numerous segments of aware and non-aware consumers and opens a discussion about tools and methods to reach out to the European consumer.

This analysis holds an exact pan-European perspective and incorporates consumers' characteristics, behaviour, attitudes and country and region effects.

The paper aims at investigating whether and how the product designation of origin (PDO) label influences consumers' acceptance, attributes' perception and purchase intention of PDO foods.

The study employs an experimental lab study based on the affective test of acceptance methodology with a nine-point hedonic scale. Three PDO foods are compared with similar non-PDO samples concerning cheese, cured ham and olive oil categories.

The presence of PDO labels enhances the consumers' acceptance as well as their perception of sensory attributes. A critical role of the brand name as an enhancer of consumer acceptance also emerges, highlighting the relationship between brand-name and PDO label.

The main limitation is related to the lab study methodology, which employs a small number of participants and occurs far from a “normal” situation of consumption. The acceptance test, moreover, does not provide explanations about motives underlying the differences in consumers' perception and preferences.

Practical implications are suggested for food companies concerning the management of both PDO labels and brand strategies and the product's properties that could improve the sensory perception of consumers and their overall product's acceptance.

The study contributes to the debate on consumer behaviour towards PDO foods by adding evidence about the positive influence of such a certification on individual preferences on the basis of a sensory methodology that has been little employed for studying the domain of product certifications.

Using a generic cheese as an anchor product, in this study consumers' preferences for different EU quality schemes have been investigated. Specifically, the study aims to understand whether “Protected Designation of Origin” (PDO), “Organic” and “Mountain Product” labels are independent or if there are some synergies existing between them, questioning – at the same time – whether this alleged exchange of value plays a positive or negative role in terms of consumers' willingness to pay.

A discrete choice experiment (DCE) was conducted on 600 Italian consumers performing a random parameter logit model. The respondents were representative of the Italian population in terms of age, gender and geographical distribution. Consumers' preferences for the presence of “Organic” and “Mountain product” labels were assessed in the DCE, together with the effect of price, for both PDO and generic cheeses.

Consumers are willing to pay a premium in price for “Organic” and “Mountain Product” per se, for cheese with and without the PDO denomination. Considering the interaction effects, results showed that the combined use of “Organic” and “Mountain Product” labels do not decrease consumers' intention to buy. However, when applied on a PDO product, these attributes generate a lower consumers' willingness to pay in comparison with the generic ones, highlighting a possible overlapping between them.

Despite the abundant literature on EU quality schemes in many food categories, this study represents one of the first attempts to measure the interaction effect between different EU quality schemes.

Through geographical indications, the European Union aims to stimulate economies, especially in lagging rural regions, and to help consumers recognise and locate quality products from specific regions. The highly uneven distribution of geographical indications, and with that the unequal benefits of this policy, have been identified and discussed in the scientific literature on food and rural development.

Using a statistical analysis of the distribution of geographical indications, the paper tests the validity of several theoretical explanations that are offered in the literature for the uneven spatial distribution.

From this assessment, the paper concludes, amongst others, that common single-cause explanations for the uneven distribution of labels in Europe have weak explanatory value. Rather, the uneven distribution is based on a complex set of causes, with different effects at national and regional level. Moreover, the findings highlight that in contrast to its aim, the policy does not seem to benefit especially lagging rural regions.

The analysis of the uneven distribution of labels in Europe offered here suggests that a distinction should be drawn between the mechanisms resulting in regional food products versus the mechanisms resulting in regional food labels, such as geographical indications.