Eating Algae? Consumer Perception of Algae-Based Food in Austria

Algae-based foods are becoming more and more popular in recent years. They not only provide health benefits for the human organism but are also cheap and sustainable to produce. Therefore, algae-based novel food products hold potential for future expansion within the consumer market. On the basis of a discrete choice experiment, we assessed consumer perception and willingness to pay (WTP) of Austrian consumers for innovative food products made from algae on the example of algae crackers. To approximate the weighting of the product attributes origin, price, flavor, production method, and packaging, Choice Based Conjoint Analysis (CBCA) was applied (online survey; n = 301). In addition, socio-demographic data were collected and the preferences of the participants towards algae food products were determined using scales from literature. Subsequently, WTP for each product attribute was approximated based on the outcome of the CBCA.Results of the CBCA show that the attribute “production method” is the most important attribute with an overall importance of 26.7% (maximum part worth utility for the attribute level “organic”), followed by price (25.6%; as expected, the lowest price has the highest part worth utility), origin (20.6%; maximum part worth utility for domestic origin), packaging (17.3%; paper packaging) and taste (9.8%; almost no differences between “spicey”, “salt”, “sweet”). Based on these results, the overall WTP was assessed: +1.90 € for products produced in Austria compared to products imported from the EU; +2.42 € for organically produced and +1.44 € more for paper packaging (in comparison to plastic packaging). Altogether, the present study shows that in general algae-based food products are positively perceived by consumers; the findings are roughly in line with previous studies from literature, with some interesting differences—e.g., higher WTP for organic algae-based food compared to similar studies where regional production was evaluated to be of higher importance. Therefore, it is expected that innovative algae foods have significant potentials in today's consumer food market; however, food producers should consider the expectations and perceptions of consumers in order to be able to successfully introduce novel algae food products in this—at least up to now—niche market

Pricing of Content Services – An Empirical Investigation of Music as a Service

In the last years new concepts of digital music distribution have been developed. One of them is Music as a Service, which provides music streaming over the internet as a service - without transferring ownership for the content. This differentiates Music as a Service from Download to Own, which is used by music download platforms predominantly and is the most widely studied concept in academic research. The aim of this paper is to receive first research implications about customers’ attitudes towards MaaS. Based on an empirical survey of 132 Music as a Service users, this research explores the effects of product configurations on consumers’ utility and their willingness to pay (WTP) for premium offers. We can show that next to price, contract duration and music quality as the most important product attributes, there is a high WTP for overcoming insufficient mobile internet coverage

Transforming value perception in music information systems

Information systems are changing the way artists and consumers create, use and interact with music. Music experience has become richer and more sophisticated than simply buying and listening to music. New links between IS and music are forging unprecedented levels of creative e-collaboration, innovative music technology development, new music commerce and marketing methods, alongside with the emergence of e-music communities nurturing up-and-coming artists careers. Distinct from non-creative industries, the music industry is at the forefront of technological innovation where the ubiquitous adoption of music downloading, widespread use of personal music systems, and value chain disintermediation has shifted the focus of value delivery towards consumer control. This paper provides new insights into the effect of recent technological change on stakeholders within the music industry value chain, and of music information systems upon creative music products. The paper further explores the stakeholder perceptions of the value added or depleted from music by the technology, and examines the future expectations of information systems amidst the volatility and uncertainty of the music industry.<br /

On the Search for New Revenue Models: An Empirical Investigation of Personalized News Aggregators

News consumption is evolving from offline newspapers to online news. Nevertheless, no profitable business model exists for online news, and publishers are still reporting drops in revenue. Personalized news aggregators (PNAs), which rely on new information and communication technologies, provide a new way to aggregate content that might provide the basis for a revenue model in order to design a business model. Nonetheless, there is very little research about user willingness to pay (WTP) for a PNA service, in part because WTP strongly depends on the ideal configuration of a PNA. Based on an adaptive conjoint analysis (ACA) with 146 participants, this study explores the importance of different attributes in a user’s estimation of total utility and a user’s WTP for changing attribute levels. We show that price, contract duration, and revenue model are the most important attributes. €2.50 per month would be acceptable in combination with an advertising-based revenue model. Changing the contract duration from 12 months to one month shows the highest WTP. However, even if the importance of personalization functionalities is high, there is limited WTP for it

Microalgae-based Food: Consumer Perception and Willingness to Pay in Austria—a Discrete Choice Based Experiment

Algae-based foods have been gaining increasing popularity in recent years and hold tremendous potential, provided that there is greater awareness and knowledge about microalgae-based foods within both the general population and the food industry. These products not only offer health benefits for the human body but are also cost-effective and environmentally sustainable to produce. Using a discrete choice experiment (DCE), we assessed consumer perception and willingness to pay (WTP) of Austrian consumers for innovative food items made from microalgae, using algae crackers as an illustrative example. To approximate the weighting of the product attributes of origin, price, flavor, production method and packaging, we employed Choice Based Conjoint Analysis (CBCA) through an online survey (n = 301 participants). Subsequently, we approximated WTP for each product attribute based on the outcomes of the CBCA. The study reveals that, on the whole, microalgae-based food products are favorably perceived by consumers. The findings generally align with prior research in the literature, albeit with some noteworthy distinctions. For instance, there is a higher WTP for organic microalgae-based food compared to similar studies where regional production was evaluated to be of higher importance. Consequently, innovative microalgae foods seem to have significant potential in consumer food markets. Food producers should consider the expectations and perceptions of consumers in order to be able to successfully introduce novel microalgae food products in this, currently, niche market

The Effects of Gender, Age, and Income on the Willingness to Pay for Music Downloads

This paper examines the effects of gender, age, and income on the willingness to pay (WTP) for music downloads. The examination is based on an online survey of 1 330 Finnish consumers conducted in June 2010. The analysis of the survey data follows a two-phase strategy. In the first phase, the effects of the explanatory variables on the consumers’ unwillingness to pay (UWTP) for album and track downloads are examined by using contingency tables and the Pearson’s χ2 tests of independence. In the second phase, the effects of the explanatory variables on the consumers’ actual WTP for album and track downloads are examined by using one-way analysis of variance (1-ANOVA) and post-hoc multiple comparisons. The results of the analysis suggest that there are several statistically significant differences in the WTP for albums and tracks between the examined consumer segments. These findings and their implications should be taken into consideration in the future business models of music download stores

The Impact of Community Involvement on Game Life-Cycle: Evidence based on Gaming Platform Steam

Later stages of the product life-cycle are characterized by diminishing sales and declining prices. Especially firms with substantial product development costs, as is the case in the video game industry, are dependent on long product life-cycles to amortize initial costs. This confronts firms with the fundamental challenge of maintaining the value of their product from the consumer’s perspective and thus delaying the natural price decline. We investigate whether product features that facilitate community involvement and interaction are an effective means to keep the product stimulating and relevant in the long run. Using extensive data from the PC video game market, we show that the inclusion of interactive, community-engaging features allows firms to both charge higher prices and delay the natural price decline of their product. However, for one of the investigated features we find the opposite effect, which we explain by subsequent analysis. Thereby, we gain valuable insights into the importance of robustly designed incentive systems in community-focused features. Our findings could help firms in their efforts to design attractive and economically viable products with prolonged life-cycles. Keywords: Product life-cycle; digital goods pricing; user communities; co-creation; digital gaming platforms.Later stages of the product life-cycle are characterized by diminishing sales and declining prices. Especially firms with substantial product development costs, as is the case in the video game industry, are dependent on long product life-cycles to amortize initial costs. This confronts firms with the fundamental challenge of maintaining the value of their product from the consumer’s perspective and thus delaying the natural price decline. We investigate whether product features that facilitate community involvement and interaction are an effective means to keep the product stimulating and relevant in the long run. Using extensive data from the PC video game market, we show that the inclusion of interactive, community-engaging features allows firms to both charge higher prices and delay the natural price decline of their product. However, for one of the investigated features we find the opposite effect, which we explain by subsequent analysis. Thereby, we gain valuable insights into the importance of robustly designed incentive systems in community-focused features. Our findings could help firms in their efforts to design attractive and economically viable products with prolonged life-cycles. Keywords: Product life-cycle; digital goods pricing; user communities; co-creation; digital gaming platforms

Uma análise dos serviços de música streaming e dos seus consumidores

This study aims to identify the most decisive attributes in the purchasing decisions for consumer streaming music services, as well as analysing consumer's behaviours towards digital music. The study begins with a literature review focusing on the already existing findings in this field even while we could not find any direct characterization in the literature either of streaming music service consumers and their motivations for purchasing a premium package compared to that usually provided for free. We then carried out a survey with the attributes deriving from the literature review before concluding that there are attributes of potential importance that were not included in previous studies. Hence, we were able to define the five attributes of importance to the decision purchase process, specifically price, playlist customization, offline access, videos and advertising. Then, we carried out quantitative analysis with the objective of identifying the attributes users deem decisive in their decisions to buy/subscribe premium services. In particular, a conjoint analysis was carried out with the participation of 312 respondents, subscribers and non-subscribers of streaming music services. Thus far, there have been no such studies in Portugal and a corresponding absence of conjoint analysis studies. The results for the total sample reveal how price appears as the most important attribute, followed by the customization of playlists and offline access. However, we also undertook analysis that segmented four different consumer profiles and that returned distinct conclusions. We also found that almost half of our sample reported doing illegal downloads from the Internet. There are trends in digital piracy that arise as a result of several factors, such as the unwillingness to pay for a legal alternative, and the perceived risk by the consumer from these illegal attitudes is very low. Our results suggest that consumers' ethical judgments generally have no significant impact on their propensity to pirate music.Este estudo tem como objetivo identificar os atributos determinantes na decisão de compra de um serviço de música streaming, bem como analisar os comportamentos do consumidor face à música digital. O estudo iniciou-se com uma revisão da literatura já existente na área proposta, sendo que não encontrámos uma caracterização direta dos consumidores de um serviço de música streaming e respetiva motivação de compra de um pacote premium face ao que usualmente é fornecido gratuitamente. Foi então realizado um levantamento entre os atributos presentes na literatura, e concluímos que há atributos que são potencialmente importantes que não foram incluídos em estudos anteriores. Desta forma, foi possível definir os cinco atributos que são importantes no processo de tomada de decisão de compra: preço, personalização das playlists, acesso offline, vídeos e ainda a publicidade. Seguidamente, foi realizada uma análise quantitativa com o objetivo de identificar os atributos que os utilizadores consideram determinantes na sua decisão de compra/assinatura de um serviço premium. Em particular, foi realizada uma análise conjoint com a participação de 312 inquiridos, assinantes e não assinantes de serviços de música streaming. Até então, não existiam estudos para Portugal e nenhum deles utilizou conjoint analysis. Os resultados revelaram que para o total da amostra, o preço surge como o atributo mais importante, seguindo-se da personalização das playlists e do acesso offline. Fizemos também uma análise de segmentação que identificou quatro perfis distintos de consumidores e para as quais conseguimos retirar conclusões distintas. Por outro lado, verificámos que praticamente metade da nossa amostra declarou fazer downloads ilegais da Internet. Há tendências de pirataria digital que surgem como resultado de vários fatores, como a indisponibilidade para pagar por uma alternativa legal, e o risco percecionado por parte do consumidor face a estas atitudes ilegais é muito baixo. Os nossos resultados sugerem que, de um modo geral, os julgamentos éticos dos consumidores não têm impacto significativo na sua propensão a piratear música