Search results

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.

Maintaining food safety techniques in the supply chain management require special food safety labelling techniques during distribution in the retail food industry. The food products have to be of good quality and labelling inbound, manufacturing, and outbound in the supply chain contributes to this aim. The purpose of this study is to evaluate how food safety labelling is managed in Vietnam’s retail food industry with a special focus on food in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Photography was used in an observational study conducted among five separate retail market chains all located in this city. In which ways are the applications of the developed food safety labelling techniques among three separate retail food markets similar and dissimilar being accounted for? The results show that the packaging and labelling in Big C, Aeon Citimart, and Giant using the symbols of food safety build trust for their customers. The Big C indicates guidelines for VietGAP and green labelling. Aeon Citimart indicates the name of the good, expiration date and instructions for use as well as guidelines for the government factor (VietGAP) to the food safety practices in the Vietnamese food retail sector.

The study employs two independent experimental studies to collect data. It focuses on the matching effect between advertising appeals and product types. The Elaboration Likelihood Model serves as the theoretical framework for understanding the cognitive processing involved in consumers' responses to these advertising appeals and product combinations.

This paper aims to investigate the impact of advertising appeals on consumers' intentions to purchase organic food. We explored the interaction between advertising appeals (egoistic vs altruistic) and product types (virtue vs vice) and purchase intention. The goal is to provide insights that can enhance the advertising effectiveness of organic food manufacturers and retailers.

The analysis reveals significant effects on consumers' purchase intentions based on the matching of advertising appeals with product types. Specifically, when egoistic appeals align with virtuous products, there is an improvement in consumers' purchase intentions. When altruistic appeals match vice products, a positive impact on purchase intention is observed. The results suggest that the matching of advertising appeals with product types enhances processing fluency, contributing to increased purchase intention.

This research contributes to the field by providing nuanced insights into the interplay between advertising appeals and product types within the context of organic food. The findings highlight the importance of considering the synergy between egoistic appeals and virtuous products, as well as altruistic appeals and vice products. This understanding can be strategically employed by organic food manufacturers and retailers to optimize their advertising strategies, thereby improving their overall effectiveness in influencing consumers' purchase intentions.

Organic food processing must include organic principles to be authentic. This qualitative study aims to understand the processors' understanding of organic food processing quality.

This study is based on semi-structured expert interviews with eight employees of six purely or partly organic dairies from Germany and Switzerland. Interview themes are (1) quality of organic milk processing in general, (2) assessment of specific processing techniques, (3) product quality of organic milk and (4) flow of information between producer and consumer. The interviews have been audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed.

(1) Experts prefer minimal processing; some prefer artisanal processing, whilst others stress the advantages of mechanisation. (2) High temperature short time (HTST) pasteurisation and mechanical processing techniques are accepted; ultra-high-temperature (UHT) milk processing is partly rejected. (3) Traditional taste and valuable ingredients should be present in the final product. Natural variances are judged positively. (4) Consumers' low level of food technology literacy is challenging for communication.

The results cannot be generalised due to the qualitative study design. Further studies, e.g. qualitative case analyses and studies with a quantitative design, are necessary to deepen the results.

The paper shows which processing technologies experts consider suitable or unsuitable for organic milk. The paper also identifies opportunities to bridge the perceived gap between processors' and consumers' demands.

The study shows the challenges of processors in expressing the processors' understanding of process quality.

Sustainability labels play a crucial role in providing consumers with quick and easily accessible information to assess the environmental, social and economic impacts of products. This research examines how different sustainability labels influence consumer perceptions and assessments of alternative food networks (AFNs).

The authors conducted three cross-sectional studies to explore consumer perceptions of sustainability labels for AFNs. The authors tested labels representing the three sustainability dimensions, labels of different graphical quality and different awarding bodies.

Consumers did not differentiate between sustainability dimensions but assessed labels in a holistic manner. The overall rating of a label positively influenced perceived sustainability. Self-designed and professionally designed labels had a positive effect on the intention to buy from an AFN. Professionally designed labels also enhanced the perceived authenticity of the networks. Notably, the source of the label, whether self-awarded or awarded by an official body, did not significantly impact consumer perceptions. However, interaction effects revealed professionally designed labels had a stronger positive effect on purchase intention when they were self-awarded.

AFNs can derive benefits from using labels. Self-organized, non-profit AFNs are well advised to have labels professionally designed.

This research contributes to the understanding of the effects of sustainability labels for community-based AFNs, diverging from the traditional focus on individual products.

Using an enhanced version of the theory of reasoned action (TRA), this study investigates the antecedents of organic quinoa-based food buying intention. In addition to attitude toward this behavioral intention, the proposed model examines the influence that ecological welfare, political values, and consumer-perceived corporate social responsibility (CSR) of the point of sale exert on consumer willingness to purchase organic quinoa-based food.

Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the data collected through an intercept survey conducted at specialized organic stores on a convenience sample of 158 individuals in Italy.

Although ecological welfare and a retailer's CSR image positively influence consumer attitude toward buying organic quinoa-based food, political values negatively affect this attitude. Furthermore, consumer attitude is found to be a crucial predictor of behavioral intention.

At the theoretical level, the results are useful for demonstrating that other variables, in addition to those used in the traditional TRA, can further explain consumers' organic food buying intention. Additionally, the findings might be useful for both quinoa producers and retailers in creating and executing their marketing and communication strategies.

In addition to contributing to the stream of literature that investigates possible variables that might increase the predictive power of the TRA, this study sheds some light on organic food purchasing consumer behavior.

Urban metropolitan consumers react to the different qualitative categorizations of the product thus creating homogeneous market segments. The aim of this paper is to identify specific market segments which allow for the definition of homogeneous olive oil consumer targets.

This study was based on the stated preferences of consumers and emphasizes the role that different quality scales of olive oil have in the eye of the consumer. The data, collected through a questionnaire, were analysed by means of inferential and multivariate statistics techniques, that is, the study specifically entailed a factorial and cluster analysis.

This paper explores olive oil market segments broken down by the different quality levels of existing products, thus trying to identify main consumer preferences. Our outcomes suggest the existence of three main quality classes of olive oil consumer: basic, popular and premium.

Even though we gathered data and information from a broad sample, the study does not fully reflect the average Italian population since we based our study on a convenience sample of northern Italian consumers. A more extended sample is needed to test our hypothesis in other regional areas.

The outcomes derived from this study provide useful insights both for marketers and olive oil producers by allowing more efficient strategic decisions in terms of product segmentation.

This study, aimed at matching olive oil market segments and consumer preferences, shows the existence of three well-defined quality classes of olive oil consumer: basic, popular and premium. In addition, this study ascertains for the first time how the attitude towards local products is positively influenced by family origin as a result of an inter-generational attitude.

Previous research has found mixed evidence of an attitude–behavior gap in organic food consumption. However, the complex mechanisms underlying this gap warrant further investigation. The purpose of this study is to examine the role of word-of-mouth (WOM), trust, and involvement in the relationship between consumer organic food attitudes and conative loyalty. The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) was used as underlying framework for modeling our conceptualized arguments.

A moderation and moderated mediation analysis was performed on a cross-sectional sample of 1,011 Australian organic food consumers.

The results support the TPB-inspired moderated-mediation model. Specifically, the authors found moderated mediation effects of WOM, trust, and involvement on conative loyalty via attitudes toward organics.

The cross-sectional research design and the focus solely on Australian consumers constitute limitations of this study.

The authors' findings imply that an analysis of the attitude–behavior gap should go beyond the testing of contingent consistency hypotheses and instead combine moderation and mediation mechanisms to better model consumer decision-making leading to conative loyalty. Practitioners would face a resource challenge when targeting low-trust, low-involvement, and low-WOM consumers as developing conative loyalty of these segments would require a longer-term approach through building favorable attitudes toward organic foods.

This study is one of the first to demonstrate the potential of examining the attitude–behavior gap in the organic food context through a moderated mediation lens in explaining the dynamics of conative loyalty.

This study aims to critically review the research on food eco-labels to identify research gaps and recommend future research directions in business and management.

A hybrid integrated review combines bibliometric analysis with an in-depth framework-based study of theory–context–characteristics–methodology (TCCM) and reviews quality research published over 21 years between 2002 and 2022.

We identify key research themes and the knowledge structure of food eco-label research. Future researchers should explore food eco-label dynamics and phenomena in areas related to consumer behaviour, information, consumer knowledge, environmental concerns, trust, packaging and willingness-to-pay as antecedent factors.

This review contributes to the business and management literature by quantifying existing research and consolidating its evolution. The articles were sourced from the established Web of Science (WoS) database. Other databases should be included in future reviews. We also focus on research published in business and management. Further studies could include research beyond such specialised domains.

Consumers need more information on the objectives and meaning of food eco-labels. The dissemination of knowledge on eco-labels, as well as effective communication and information on eco-labels, are relevant to future research issues.

The knowledge derived from this research holds significant potential in shaping policies and devising tools aimed at reducing the carbon footprint linked to food production and consumption. Considering the substantial impact of these activities on our planet’s carbon footprint, addressing food security and sustainability emerges as a crucial concern for humanity. Recognising the importance of eco-label communication and information becomes particularly pertinent for future generations, who stand to bear the most substantial impact of climate change and sustainable development. These generations are also more inclined toward embracing and implementing sustainable practices.

There are no comprehensive, integrated reviews exploring the methods, variables and constructs used in studies on food eco-labels based on all articles published in WoS journals in the business and management domains. This is the first comprehensive literature review using a hybrid approach (bibliometric review with TCCM framework) in the field of food eco-label research.

本研究擬以批判性的態度,審閱過去有關食物生態標籤的研究,以能確認研究缺口,並於商業和管理的範疇裡,建議今後的研究方向。

這是一個混合綜合審閱研究。研究結合了文獻計量分析方法和理論 -背景 - 特徵 - 方法論 (TCCM) 框架; 研究人員審閱於2002年與2022年間二十一年裡出版的高水平學術研究。

我們確認了關於食物生態標籤的研究裡主要的研究主題和知識結構。研究人員和學者今後應致力關於消費行為、資訊、顧客知識、環境關注、信任、包裝和支付意願等議題的研究範疇,以能在這些範疇內,把食物生態標籤的變革動力和現象,作為是先前因素進行探索。

本研究確定了現存有關的研究的數量,並幫助鞏固了這類研究的發展,就此,對商業和管理文獻作出了貢獻。審閱的學術論文均來自被認可的 Web of Science 資料庫。今後的研究應涵蓋其它資料庫; 而且,我們的焦點是放在關於商業和管裡的文獻上; 研究人員和學者今後或許也應致力於其它研究範疇。

消費者需要更多關於食物生態標籤目標和意義的資訊; 因此,今後的研究須關注生態標籤知識的傳播,以及生態標籤的有效溝通和資訊。

根據於 Web of Science 出版、以及在商業和管理領域內的學術論文,似乎沒有全面的或綜合的審閱,去探索有關食物生態標籤研究內採用的研究方法、變數和構築。本研究為在食物生態標籤研究領域裡,首個使用混合方式 (結合文獻計量分析方法和理論 -背景 - 特徵 - 方法論 (TCCM) 框架)的全面文獻審閱。

This study aims to reveal the implications that trust, as a key driver of consumer behaviour, might have on consumer acceptance of front-of-pack labels (FOPLs) and policy effectiveness. By conducting three studies on 1956 European consumers with different levels of exposure to FOPLs, this study offers additional theoretical and experimental support through a deep investigation of the central role of trust in consumers’ decision-making towards healthier and more informed food choices.

Study 1 used structural equation modelling to assess whether trust is a relevant mediator of the relationship between attitude and behavioural intention (BI), thus upgrading the front-of-pack acceptance model (FOPAM); Study 2 tested the model by comparing two labels at the extremes of the current European scheme (NutrInform Battery [NiB], Nutri-Score [NS]); Study 3 assessed the effect in cases where the connection between trust and algorithms is made transparent and evaluated trust dimensions, focusing on the perception of an algorithm presence behind FOPLs information.

Study 1 strengthens the FOPAM model with the mediating role of trust in FOPLs, demonstrating a positive effect of attitude on trust and, in turn, on BI, and resulting in a higher model fit with all the significant relationships; Study 2 revealed that the relative performance of the different labels on the FOPAM can be explained by the trust dimension; Study 3, investigating the dynamics of trust in the FOPAM, revealed that the NS is less effective than the NiB on attitude, BI and trust.

The sample was limited to Italian, French and English respondents, and two labels at the extreme of the spectrum were examined. Furthermore, the research has relevance to the issue of trust. Other moderators used in previous studies on technology acceptance model, such as actual use versus perceptual use, user experience level or type of users and type of use might be investigated.

The investigation of trust, with the upgrade of FOPAM, enhances understanding of consumers’ decision-making processes when aided by food labels and makes a new contribution to the European Union “Inception Impact Assessment” in preparation for the finalization of the “From-Farm-to-Fork Strategy”, providing new insights into the role of trust by assessing the relative performance of FOPLs in consumers’ acceptance of food-related information. Furthermore, this study revealed that consumers’ perception of FOPLs worsens when they realize that they are the result of an algorithmic calculation. Finally, the new FOPAM represents a reliable theoretical model for future research on FOPL.

This study increases the knowledge about the performance of different FOPLs on several dimensions of food decision-making, positions the upgraded FOPAM as a valid alternative to existing theoretical models to assess the relative performance of labels, also extending the literature in the context of algorithm-based FOPL, and could be used as a valid support to policymakers and industry experts in their decision towards a unified label at European level.