Smarter Lunchrooms: Using Behavioral Economics to Improve Meal Selection

Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

A benefit congruency framework of sales promotion effectiveness

Are monetary savings the only explanation for consumer response to a sales promotion ? If not, how do the different consumer benefits of a sales promotion influence its effectiveness ? To address the first question, this research builds a framework of the multiple consumer benefits of a sales promotion. Through a series of measurement studies, we find that monetary and non-monetary promotions provide consumers with different levels of three hedonic benefits (opportunities for value-expression, entertainment, and exploration), and three utilitarian benefits (savings, higher product quality, and improved shopping convenience). To address the second question, this research develops a benefit congruency framework which argues that a sales promotion's effectiveness is determined by the utilitarian or hedonic nature of the benefits it delivers, and the congruence these benefits have with the promoted product. Among other results, two choice experiments show that as predicted for high-equity brands, monetary promotions are more effective for utilitarian products than for hedonic products. We then discuss the implications the multi-benefit and the benefit congruency frameworks have for understanding consumer responses to sales promotions, for the debate about the value of everyday-low-price policies, and for designing more effective sales promotions.Sales promotions; consumer benefit; benefit congruency

A marketing-finance approach linking contracts in agricultural channels to shareholder value

A conceptual marketing-finance framework is proposed which links channel contracting in agriculture and the use of financial facilitating services (e.g., financial derivatives) to (shareholder) value creation. The framework complements existing literature by explicitly including channel contract relationships as market-based assets that can be managed to reduce cash flow volatility and hence increase shareholder value. We show how financial facilitating services (e.g., derivatives) can be used to complement the cash flows components of channel contract relationships thereby further reducing the risk adjusted cost of capital and improving shareholder value. In a field study of producers, wholesalers, and processors, in the potato and meat industry the framework shows how shareholder value can be enhanced by using financial facilitating services, such as derivatives, to complement marketing channel relationships. Moreover, this study shows how producers and managers from agribusiness companies can use such financial services as conflict-solving tools in case of incongruent contract preferences between channel members.marketing-finance, agricultural marketing strategy, decision-making, channels, Agribusiness, Agricultural Finance,

Stop spooning dosing:milliliter instructions reduce inclination to spoon dosing

BACKGROUND: Does the use of teaspoon units in dose recommendations on Drug Facts panels of liquid medicine lead to dosing errors and could any such errors be reduced if millimeter units were used instead? FINDINGS: Participants given dosing instructions in teaspoon units were twice as likely to choose a kitchen teaspoon as those given instructions in milliliter units (31.3 vs. 15.4 %). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that spoon usage—and the inherent risk of dosage errors—could be reduced by more than 50 % simply by changing the units of measurement given in dosing instructions

The Influence of Assortment Structure on Perceived Variety and Consumption Qualities

Increasing the actual variety of an assortment has been shown previously to increase the quantity consumed. We show, however, that consumption quantities are also influenced by the perceived variety of an assortment. In combination, six lab and field studies show that the structure of an assortment (e.g., organization and symmetry or entropy) moderates the effect of actual variety on perceived variety. We further show that it is perceived variety that in turn influences consumption quantities through anticipated consumption utility. Making salient other consumption rules, such as size of the assortment, moderates this effect. These findings are of immediate relevance to interdisciplinary researchers and to consumers and health practitioners who wish to better control food consumption

HOW SOY LABELING INFLUENCES PREFERENCE AND TASTE

Using a “Phantom Ingredient” taste test, this article demonstrates how the use of soy labels and health claims on a package negatively biased taste perceptions and attitudes toward a food erroneously thought to contain soy. Consumers who ate products which mentioned soy on the package described the taste more grainy, less flavorful, and as having a strong aftertaste compared to those who ate the product but saw no soy label. Yet, while putting “soy” on a package negatively influenced taste-conscious consumers, when combined with a health claim, it improved attitudes among consumers who are health-conscious, natural food lovers, or dieters. Our results and discussion provide better direction for researchers who work with ingredient labeling as well as for marketers who work with soybean products.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Food compensation: do exercise ads change food intake?

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Past research has shown that promotional messages such as food advertising influence food consumption. However, what has gone largely unexplored is the effect of exercise advertising on food intake. This study experimentally tested the effects of exposure to exercise commercials on food intake at a lunch meal as compared to the effects of control commercials.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Prior to eating lunch, 125 participants (71 women, 54 men) watched 8 commercials, either all related to exercise or fitness (n = 67) or neutral products (i.e. car insurance) (n = 58). The meal consisted of a pasta dish with tomato sauce, salad and chocolate pudding. The post-lunch questionnaire included questions about body mass index, exercise habits, motivation and dietary restraint.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Participants exposed to exercise commercials reduced their caloric intake by 21.7% relative to the control condition. Additionally, watching exercise messages increased the perceived healthiness and liking of the meal. Although exercise habits and intentions did not moderate the effect of commercial condition on food intake, we also found that this intake reduction was driven by participants with higher body mass index levels.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These results imply that exercise messages may serve as a reminder of the link between food and physical activity and affect food consumption. It also highlights the need for increased awareness that these messages have powerful influences not only on exercise behavior, but also on closely related behaviors such as eating.</p

When snacks become meals: How hunger and environmental cues bias food intake

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>While environmental and situational cues influence food intake, it is not always clear how they do so. We examine whether participants consume more when an eating occasion is associated with meal cues than with snack cues. We expect their perception of the type of eating occasion to mediate the amount of food they eat. In addition, we expect the effect of those cues on food intake to be strongest among those who are hungry.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>One-hundred and twenty-two undergraduates (75 men, 47 women; mean BMI = 22.8, <it>SD </it>= 3.38) were randomly assigned to two experimental conditions in which they were offered foods such as quesadillas and chicken wings in an environment that was associated with either meal cues (ceramic plates, glasses, silverware, and cloth napkins at a table), or snack cues (paper plates and napkins, plastic cups, and no utensils). After participants finished eating, they were asked to complete a questionnaire that assessed their hunger, satiety, perception of the foods, and included demographic and anthropometric questions. In addition, participants' total food intake was recorded.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Participants who were in the presence of meal-related cues ate 27.9% more calories than those surrounded with snack cues (416 versus 532 calories). The amount participants ate was partially mediated by whether they perceived the eating occasion to be a meal or a snack. In addition, the effect of the environmental cues on intake was most pronounced among participants who were hungry.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The present study demonstrated that environmental and situational cues associated with an eating occasion could influence overall food intake. People were more likely to eat foods when they were associated with meal cues. Importantly, the present study reveals that the effect of these cues is uniquely intertwined with cognition and motivation. First, people were more likely to eat ambiguous foods when they perceived them as a meal rather than a snack. Second, the effect of the environmental cues on intake was only observed among those who were hungry.</p

Guiltless gluttony: The asymmetric effect of size labels on size perceptions and consumption.

We have proposed and demonstrated that size labels can be used as a semantic heuristic in making size judgments. A series of three laboratory and one field experiments show that size labels influence not only size perception but also actual and perceived consumption; and that their effect is most pronounced under conditions of limited cognitive resources and increased concern for accuracy. Among our results we demonstrate that consumers are more likely to accept a larger item being labeled as small by the marketer compared to a smaller item being labeled as large, an asymmetric effect that we call &quot;guiltless gluttony&quot;