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In persuading people to drink your wine instead of someone else's it is essential to know what will make them change, and what will deter them from changing again. In their theory of reasoned action Fishbein and Ajzen (1975) developed a model designed to achieve just that Reasoned action theory starts from the premise that people make rational choices which are influenced by their attitudes towards (say) a product and by their response to social norms. In this study the model, which has a good record in identifying the determinants of a wide range of voluntary behaviour, was applied to wine drinking behaviour. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire administered to 142 respondents. Unexpectedly, the results showed that the decision to drink wine is influenced mostly by the expectations of other people, but that wine drinking is not ‘social’ in a formal sense. Attitudinal beliefs, specifically ‘taste’, were only secondary determinants of behaviour. Significantly, other than taste no attitudinal factors had any appreciable influence on wine drinking. These findings have practical applications which are discussed in the final section of the article.

British food manufacturers are generally larger and more profitable than their EC competitors, while British supermarkets are so successful that they are widely considered to be in a completely different league to their international counterparts. In fact, across the business spectrum, the top firms in Europe are British. Uses the food industry to examine the paradox arising from the contrast between the superior profitability of many British firms and the consistent, long‐term loss of international markets by Britain to European and other international competitors. Concludes that the answer lies in the definition of success. For senior managers of British public companies success consists of keeping at bay the threat posed by the financial market. This leads them to neglect the lesser threat of loss of customer markets to international competitors – a far less immediate problem.

Observes that between 1985 and 1989 consumption of low‐alcohol and alcohol‐free beer grew by over 500 per cent, yet expectations of a large and expanding market into the 1990s were not fulfilled, partly because of economic downturn. Explains that as the economy recovers, some brewers are anticipating renewed growth. Reports an application of reasoned action theory to the roles of attitudes, norms, behavioural control and habit in predicting behavioural intention regarding consumption of alcohol‐free beer, in the very different market environment of the 1990s. Details how data were collected by means of a postal questionnaire, which revealed, unexpectedly, that not getting drunk was not found to be an important predictor of intention, and, instead, behavioural intention was chiefly determined by beliefs concerning taste and health. Also discovered that normative influences, especially friends for non‐users and family for users, were secondary predictors, and that neither habit nor perceived behavioural control added to the efficacy of the model. Concludes, however, that this does not necessarily negate the potential value of perceived behavioural control, and makes some suggestions for the practical application of the findings to marketing strategy.

Wine is important to the Portuguese economy, and the United Kingdom is one of Portugal's oldest and most important wine markets. Yet the Portuguese are rapidly losing their share of the UK market, and have already been overtaken by Australia, Bulgaria, South Africa, the USA and Hungary. This paper reports a study of the Portuguese wine industry in the context of the UK market using Porter's structural analysis model as the analytical framework. Data were collected via depth interview with executives closely involved in the wine trade, in Portugal and the UK. It was found that Portugal's traditional source of competitive advantage, low costs as a consequence of low wages, has been eroded. The absence of any other cost advantage, low investment in products and markets and a lack of scale economies are exacerbated by production‐led convictions that Portuguese wine is best — it is just that the customers do not appreciate it. Meanwhile the customers perceive a lack of reliability in quality, lack of the ability to consistently deliver the required quantity and fluctuating prices. Portugal needs a consistent strategy for sustainable competitive advantage; some alternative strategies are discussed.

UK sales of olive oil increased by 15 per cent in real terms between 1986 and 1992. As part of a programme of research investigating the diffusion of the Mediterranean diet in the UK, investigates the reasons behind this rapid acceptance of olive oil in British kitchens through a study of consumers′ attitudes and behaviour regarding its culinary use. The study was designed to establish the salient attitudinal and normative beliefs which consumers associate with olive oil in order to assess the value of those beliefs as predictors of behaviour in respect of olive oil usage. Perceived control was found not to be relevant at an early stage in the study, therefore, the theory of reasoned action (as opposed to planned behaviour) was used as the methodological base. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire completed by 151 subjects. Attitudinal beliefs, especially those concerning flavour enhancement, were found to be important predictors of olive oil usage, casting doubt on the assumption that increased UK olive oil consumption results mainly from its perceived health benefits. As with many food choice studies normative beliefs were found not to be useful indicators of behaviour.

The purpose of this paper is to draw the attention of managers and academics to the extent of demographic changes now occurring in the European Union, specifically the ongoing change from a young consumer base to one in which most adult consumers are aged over 50. It seeks to explain the nature of the challenge and highlight the need for further research.

Both academic and practitioner sources are synthesised in order to identify and describe the issues, and explore the actions that could be taken to adapt to and profit from the changing demographic environment.

Current marketing practice evolved against the background of the post‐war baby boom, a demographic aberration which resulted in an exceptional era during which consumer markets were dominated by youth, and marketing practice by advertising and other promotional activity. The paper also argues that the subsequent ageing of the consumer base will require businesses to place more emphasis on the customer‐centric model of marketing generally espoused by management scientists.

The paper identifies a major shift in the demographic base of consumer markets, outlines the implications for marketing practice and proposes ways in which businesses can adapt.

The overwhelming majority of discussion on, and research into, the phenomenon of population ageing and its impact on markets originates from the USA, despite the fact that Europe faces a far greater challenge. The paper alerts both academics and practitioners to the nature and scale of the demographic change occurring in the European Union, discusses appropriate corporate responses and calls for further research into the neglected area of older consumers.

Investigates the proposition that reasoned action theory can be successfully applied in the small business (dairy farmers) domain. That proposition is supported by the outcome and, in common with many other studies, attitude was found to be the main predictor of behavioural intention. The normative component does not improve the efficacy of the model, possibly because of the routinised nature of the behaviour under scrutiny or the expertise of the decision makers concerned. It seems likely that the influence of other people may be greater in new‐buy situations, but that influence is unlikely to involve the element of social obligation that is behind consumers’ tendency to comply with the expectations and beliefs of salient referents. Some recommendations for further research into the stability and generalizability of the findings are made.

The organic food market is one of the most promising in Europe, although national markets have developed at different rates. In Germany, organics' share of total food turnover is 2.7 per cent compared with 1 per cent in the UK. This study explores the reasons why the behaviour of consumers in the UK and Germany has been so divergent despite both groups of consumers holding similar attitudes about organic foods. This was done by investigating the underlying values driving food choice behaviour using means‐end theory and Laddermap 5.4 software. In both cases the dominant means‐end hierarchies were uncovered and the cognitive process mapped. Although similarities emerged with respect to values concerned with health, wellbeing and the enjoyment of life, product attributes sought in order to achieve these values were different between the groups. A major difference was found in the absence among the UK group of any connection between organic food and the environment.

Retail store image has been shown to play an important role in store patronage, and it is widely accepted that psychological factors have a significant role in store image formation. Past research has often involved the measurement of tangible attributes, or links between store images and consumers’ self‐images. This study was undertaken to move to the next stage by exploring the link between perceived store image and the personal values which underlie behavioural choices. Fashion retailing was selected as an appropriate research domain because of the well‐established associations between clothing choice, personality, self concept, and personal values. Means‐end theory and laddering methodology were employed in interviews with 30 female respondents. The hedonic values of “enjoyment and happiness” and “quality of life” were found to be the terminal values most sought by consumers in association with store image. These were linked through the consequence “nice feeling” to the tangible attributes of “price”, “quality” and “reputation”. The study illustrates an application of means‐end methodology in a retail environment, and the results provide a platform for fashion store image and positioning strategies. Suggestions for further research are made.