Improved resource efficiency and cascading utilisation of renewable materials

In light of various environmental problems and challenges concerning resource allocation, the utilisation of renewable resources is increasingly important for the efficient use of raw materials. Therefore, cascading utilisation (i.e., the multiple material utilisations of renewable resources prior to their conversion into energy) and approaches that aim to further increase resource efficiency (e.g., the utilisation of by-products) can be considered guiding principles. This paper therefore introduces the Special Volume “Improved Resource Efficiency and Cascading Utilisation of Renewable Materials”. Because both research aspects, resource efficiency and cascading utilisation, belong to several disciplines, the Special Volume adopts an interdisciplinary perspective and presents 16 articles, which can be divided into four subjects: Innovative Materials based on Renewable Resources and their Impact on Sustainability and Resource Efficiency, Quantitative Models for the Integrated Optimisation of Production and Distribution in Networks for Renewable Resources, Information Technology-based Collaboration in Value Generating Networks for Renewable Resources, and Consumer Behaviour towards Eco-friendly Products. The interdisciplinary perspective allows a comprehensive overview of current research on resource efficiency, which is supplemented with 15 book reviews showing the extent to which textbooks of selected disciplines already refer to resource efficiency. This introductory article highlights the relevance of the four subjects, presents summaries of all papers, and discusses future research directions. The overall contribution of the Special Volume is that it bridges the resource efficiency research of selected disciplines and that it presents several approaches for more environmentally sound production and consumption

Wissensstandsanalyse zum Verbraucher- und Ernährungsverhalten bei ökologischen Lebensmitteln mit Einbezug der Außer-Haus-Verpflegung

Die vorliegende Studie enthält einen umfassenden Überblick zur nationalen wie internationalen Verbraucherforschung für Öko-Lebensmittel. Insgesamt wurden 562 Publikationen basierend auf 338 wissenschaftlichen Studien aus dem Zeitraum Januar 2000 bis Juni 2011 zu den Themengebieten Determinanten des Verbraucherverhaltens, Verbrauchersegmentierung, Produkt-, Preis-, Kommunikations- und Distributionspolitik sowie Außer-Haus-Verzehr analysiert und hinsichtlich ihrer Datengrundlage und Methodik bewertet. Die Betrachtung der einschlägigen englisch- und deutschsprachigen Literatur lieferte Erkenntnisse zum Wissensstand über die Verbraucherforschung für Öko-Lebensmittel und ermöglichte die Identifizierung relevanter Forschungslücken für Deutschland, die richtungsweisend für die zukünftige Forschung ist. Insgesamt ergab sich eine hohe Publikationsdichte insbesondere in den letzten vier Jahren. Zu den zahlenmäßig am häufigsten behandelten Themengebieten gehören die Determinanten des Verbraucherverhaltens, die Produktpolitik sowie die Preispolitik. Dennoch sind auch hier viele gänzlich unbearbeitete Fragestellungen, bspw. zu den Geschmackspräferenzen unterschiedlicher Verbraucher-gruppen, zu umweltfreundlichen Verpackungen sowie zur Preiskenntnis und Preispsychologie des Konsumenten, zu finden. Darüber hinaus konnten innovative Aspekte der Trendforschung zum Thema Öko-Lebensmittel ausgemacht werden. Andere Themengebiete wie zum Beispiel Kommunikationspolitik und Außer-Haus-Verzehr sind bisher kaum untersucht. Die Status-Quo-Analyse wurde mit den Ergebnissen aus einer Online-Befragung und einem Experten-Workshop ergänzt, um die Relevanz der identifizierten Forschungslücken einzuschätzen und den Forschungsbedarf aus Praktiker- und Expertensicht zu ermitteln. Aus dieser umfassenden Analyse konnten konkret Empfehlungen für zukünftige Forschungsschwerpunkte in Deutschland abgeleitet werden

Farmer Consumer Partnerships: WP 5 Report on the results of Consumer Choice Experiments

Within the European-funded research project CORE Organic Farmer Consumer Partnership, we tested selected OrganicPlus arguments displayed on organic egg packages in consumer choice experiments in the five study countries of Austria, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. The focus was on investigating consumers’ preferences and willingness to pay for the selected OrganicPlus arguments: “from the respective country”, “from the respective region”, “highest animal welfare standards” and “fair prices for our organic farmers: 20cents extra”. Furthermore, the objective was to determine causal relationships between the preferences observed and the relevant characteristics of the consumers by means of a questionnaire-based survey. The data was analysed with multinomial logit models. As hypothesised, organic egg packages displaying OrganicPlus arguments were more preferred by organic consumers than organic eggs without OrganicPlus arguments. However, consumer preferences varied between the arguments and between countries. The argument, “from the respective region” was the most preferred argument in all countries, except in Austria, where it was ranked after “highest animal welfare standards” and “from the respective country”. The argument “highest animal welfare standards” was the most preferred argument in Austria, while it was ranked after the argument “from the respective region” in Germany and Switzerland. The argument “fair prices for our organic farmers: 20 pence/20 cents/50 Rappen extra” was significantly preferred among German and Swiss consumers, although the argument was less relevant than “from the respective region” and “highest animal welfare standards”. The willingness to pay for OrganicPlus arguments varied considerably between the countries, however, it was highest for “from the respective region” in most study countries. Causal relationships were found between consumers’ attitudes and their preferences for some of the OrganicPlus arguments. Besides this, socio-demographic characteristics, purchase patterns related to organic food as well as consumers’ social commitment all had an impact on consumers’ preferences for OrganicPlus arguments

Definition, Measurement and Determinants of the Consumer's Willingness to Pay: a Critical Synthesis and Directions for Further Research

Differentiated prices, bundling, Web auctions : firms' pricing practices are evolving. When there is no market or for customised pricing, the willingness-to-pay concept seems to be interesting. This article aims at presenting a synthesis of the marketing research stream relative to willingness to pay. First, a definition of the concept is given and compared to other similar concepts, notably reference price and acceptable price. Then the methods of measurement are presented, compared to those used to measure elasticity and criticized. Furthermore, the research on external determinants of willingness to pay is commented. Finally, numerous directions for further research are proposed.willingness to pay, price elasticity, reference price, acceptable price, conjoint analysis, contingent valuation, Vickrey auctions, BDM lottery, prices

Willingness-to-pay in terms of price: an application to organic beef during and after the “mad cow” crisis

This paper aims at assessing consumers’ attitudes and willingness to pay for organic beef, an obvious alternative to regular beef in terms of safety, both immediately and at a longer term after the BSE crisis. It is based on two random telephone surveys in an Italian region, the first one conducted in 2001 (few months after the BSE crisis) and the second one in 2003. The analysis is based on an innovative methodology of contingent valuation, keeping into account the possibility for consumers to decide the quantity of their purchase when a price is proposed. The results show that though the effect of the BSE crisis weakened along with time distance, it left some permanent signs in consumers’ behaviour. The main conclusion is that the demand for organic beef reduced, but that in the meantime it became more inelastic.BSE, organic beef, willingness to pay, contingent valuation

Innovating out of the Fishmeal Trap: The role of Insect-Based Fish Feed in Consumers’ Preferences for Fish Attributes

The purpose of the study was to examine the potential market impacts of the use of insect-based protein for fish feed as an innovative approach out of the fish-meal trap. An online questionnaire was used to elicit information on fish consumption choices among 610 German consumers using a Discrete Choice Experiment. Mixed logit and latent class logit models were used to model consumers’ preference heterogeneity. Results showed, that consumers’ preferences for fish attributes such as filets, freshness, ecolabelling and domestic production are heterogeneous and important in consumption choices. The minor share of the respondents was sensitive, while the remaining was indifferent regarding the use of insect based protein as feed in trout production. For this sensitive segment, consumption would be expected to be reduced unless the price is reduced or other attributes such as convenience aspects are improved. The implication is that firms can substitute without a significant impact on the market demand given that the majority of consumers are indifferent regarding feed sources for trout production. As a result, it provides an innovative way to ensure sustainable use of resources and reduces the threat of fish meal trap while reducing pressure on the already over-exploited marine life. The results provide first insights into the market impact of using insects in the animal protein value chain. It is important especially with Europe’s recent lift of the ban on using insect-based protein in the animal food industry

Reference Price Effect on Consumer Preference: Evidence from Food Labeling

As consumer\u27s interest in labeled products increases, consumer preference for labeled products garnering more attention. Understanding the factors influencing consumer preference for labeled food products can aid effective food marketing, and ultimately benefit farmer profit. This study investigates how reference prices would affect consumer preference for familiar or unfamiliar labeled products. The reference price is used to provide price information for the product that consumers are interested in. The data is obtained from a 2019 online national survey via qualtrics. The contingent valuation method (CVM) and a seemingly unrelated regression (SUR) are used to investigate the effect of different formats of reference price (i.e., low means versus high means, small intervals versus large intervals) on consumer willingness-to-pay (WTP) for conventional and labeled chips and salad. The results show that a high mean of the reference price of conventional chips has a significant positive impact on WTP for all the chips products except for the transitional organic chips. In the case of salad, a higher mean of the reference price of conventional salad has a significant impact on consumer WTP for all the alternative salads, except for organic. However, the interval of reference prices does not have a significant impact on WTP on labeled food products in either case of chips or salad. The internal reference price (the price consumers paid last time) is a significant impact on consumer WTP. The results indicate that when consumers are faced with more considerable uncertainty in the shopping environment, they become more reliant on the price they paid last time

Seasonality Effects on Consumers Preferences Over Quality Attributes of Different Beef Products

Using discrete choice modelling, the study investigates 946 American consumers willingness-to-pay and preferences for diverse beef products. A novel experiment was used to elicit the number of beef products that each consumer would purchase. The range of products explored in this study included ground, diced, roast, and six cuts of steaks (sirloin, tenderloin, flank, flap, New York and cowboy or rib-eye). The outcome of the study suggests that US consumers vary in their preferences for beef products by season. The presence of a USDA certification logo is by far the most important factor affecting consumers willingness to pay for all beef cuts, which is also heavily dependent on season. In relation to packaging, US consumers have mixed preference for different beef products by season. The results from a scaled adjusted ordered logit model showed that after price, safety-related attributes such as certification logos, types of packaging, and antibiotic free and organic products are a stronger influence on American consumers choice. Furthermore, US consumers on average purchase diced and roast products more often in winter slow cooking season, than in summer, whereas New York strip and flank steak are more popular in the summer grilling season. This study provides valuable insights for businesses as well as policymakers to make inform decisions while considering how consumers relatively value among different labelling and product attributes by season and better address any ethical, safety and aesthetic concerns that consumers might have