The structure of consumer decision-making and sensory innovations in wine labeling

Aim of study: To understand how a consumer’s decision-making process on wine choice varies when faced with labels introducing either a scratch-and-sniff strip or a Thermo-sensitive indicator as a novelty. Area of study: Navarre (Spain). Material and methods: This study applies the laddering survey method based on means-end chain theory to link product attributes to consumption benefits and values pursued. Main results: In the context of these sensory innovations in labeling, the brand name of a product ceases to be of importance in this sector, with the new label becoming the relevant issue, associated with quality and aspects related to social wine consumption. In addition to this, these innovations make the decision-making process more complex by including more aspects of consumers’ personalities. Research highlights: For innovative labeling introducing sensory cues, the complexity of consumers’ selection process increases, the wine brand loses importance and the label design gains importance as a signal of quality. Labeling innovations could be a great opportunity for wine companies with low marketplace positioning to improve their position and obtain better results in a highly competitive market

Researching the entrepreneurial behaviour of new and existing ventures in European agriculture

This study analyzes differences existing between new and established agri-entrepreneurs as well as differences in relation to their counterparts in non-agricultural ventures. This study uses the resource-based view and institutional economics as conceptual frameworks and focuses on the analysis of the resources and capabilities, entrepreneurial orientation (risk-taking, proactiveness and innovativeness) and legitimation affecting the entrepreneurial process. The literature points out that the specific characteristics of the sector (strong family links and institutional support) can condition the entrepreneurship process. Thus, hypotheses are developed to test these relationships. We use random effects models to test our hypotheses with the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) for 20 European countries. Results show that agri-entrepreneurs have weaker entrepreneurial capabilities than other sectors. However, new entrants into the agricultural sector are not less entrepreneurial in relation to other sectors. On the other hand, established agri-entrepreneurs are less proactive than other sectors. Results suggest that new entrants into agriculture are more entrepreneurially oriented than established ones. Our study contributes to the entrepreneurship literature by contextualizing the entrepreneurship process and providing valuable insights for policy-makers to enhance farmers’ entrepreneurial skills and entrepreneurial orientation.The authors acknowledge the financial support from Project AGL2012-39793-C03-01 and AGL2015-65897-C3-1 (Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness); co-financed by FEDER

Conectando con nuestros abuelos para mejorar la educación formal

Esta experiencia surgió al inicio del curso 2020-21, al detectar la necesidad de fortalecer relaciones humanas tras meses de confinamiento por la COVID-19. Esta circunstancia se aprovechó para motivar a los alumnos en su proceso de aprendizaje. En concreto, el objetivo era aprender y aplicar técnicas de investigación social afrontando problemas de situaciones reales y próximas, en las que los alumnos pudieran desarrollar relaciones de empatía. Partiendo de unos conocimientos teóricos sobre investigación cualitativa, se propuso a 57 estudiantes, matriculados en una asignatura de Investigación de Mercados, realizar entrevistas en profundidad a sus abuelos para tratar los problemas surgidos durante el periodo de confinamiento, con especial referencia a cuestiones de habitabilidad. Se obtuvieron treinta transcripciones que se usaron para realizar el trabajo de la asignatura. Los resultados muestran que la experiencia ha sido enriquecedora para los estudiantes en cuanto que ha permitido aplicar métodos del programa de la asignatura a casos reales, cercanos, y con interés social. De forma más general, se propone potenciar el contacto con los abuelos de los alumnos, dada su proximidad y sus conocimientos, para impulsar la implicación de la enseñanza universitaria en los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible

Estudio del contenido e impacto de las valoraciones online de vinos en amazon.es

Las valoraciones publicadas en plataformas como Amazon influyen en las decisiones de los consumidores y en las ventas. Sin embargo, la investigación sobre su influencia en la compra de alimentos es escasa. Por ello, este estudio analiza 2.197 revisiones en Amazon.es de sus 100 vinos más vendidos. Se realiza un análisis exploratorio del contenido publicado por los compradores mediante minería de datos y análisis de tópicos. Mediante modelos de regresión se analiza el impacto de las valoraciones de los usuarios, sentimientos expresados, precio y número de comentarios en la distribución de ventas. Los resultados revelan cómo los consumidores ponen de relieve la relación precio-calidad y características organolépticas como atributos a destacar. Finalmente, entre los factores que influyen las ventas destaca el número de comentarios y la distribución de las valoraciones, estando aquellos con mayor porcentaje de 5 cinco estrellas en las posiciones más altas de la clasificación de los 100 vinos más vendidos, mientras que los sentimientos expresados no son significativos

International entrepreneurship in Africa: The roles of institutional voids, entrepreneurial networks and gender

This paper explored how institutional voids (market-unfriendly regulations and corruption) in the home country affect the internationalization degree of early-stage entrepreneurs in Africa. We examined the contingent roles of entrepreneurial networks and gender in the relationship between these institutional voids and entrepreneurs’ internationalization degree. We used 2003–2017 GEM data from 17 African countries and applied multilevel-ordered logistic models. Our analysis revealed that market-unfriendly regulations have a negative effect on the entrepreneurs’ internationalization degree and that corruption, in line with the escapism view, has a positive effect. Our results indicated that entrepreneurs engage in networking bricolage to internationalize their ventures and overcome context limitations. They also suggested that the internationalization degree of female entrepreneurs increases in market-unfriendly regulatory environments. Finally, our results showed that the ‘escapism effect’ of corruption is greater for female entrepreneurs; however, for female entrepreneurs with medium and large internationalization degrees, this context imposes additional constraints on them

Using Twitter to explore consumers' sentiments and their social representations towards new food trends

Purpose: This paper investigates the use of Twitter for studying the social representations of different regions across the world towards new food trends. Design/methodology/approach: A density-based clustering algorithm was applied to 7,014 tweets to identify regions of consumers sharing content about food trends. The attitude of their social representations was addressed with the sentiment analysis, and grid maps were used to explore subregional differences. Findings: Twitter users have a weak, positive attitude towards food trends, and significant differences were found across regions identified, which suggests that factors at the regional level such as cultural context determine users' attitude towards food innovations. The subregional analysis showed differences at the local level, which reinforces the evidence that context matters in consumers' attitude expressed in social media. Research limitations/implications: The social media content is sensitive to spatio-temporal events. Therefore, research should take into account content, location and contextual information to understand consumers' perceptions. The methodology proposed here serves to identify consumers' regions and to characterize their attitude towards specific topics. It considers not only administrative but also cognitive boundaries in order to analyse subsequent contextual influences on consumers' social representations. Practical implications: The approach presented allows marketers to identify regions of interest and localize consumers' attitudes towards their products using social media data, providing real-time information to contrast with their strategies in different areas and adapt them to consumers' feelings. Originality/value: This study presents a research methodology to analyse food consumers' understanding and perceptions using not only content but also geographical information of social media data, which provides a means to extract more information than the content analysis applied in the literature

Researching the entrepreneurial behaviour of new and existing ventures in European agriculture

This study analyzes differences existing between new and established agri-entrepreneurs as well as differences in relation to their counterparts in non-agricultural ventures. This study uses the resource-based view and institutional economics as conceptual frameworks and focuses on the analysis of the resources and capabilities; entrepreneurial orientation (risk-taking, proactiveness and innovativeness); and legitimation affecting the entrepreneurial process. The literature points out that the specific characteristics of the sector (strong family links and institutional support) can condition the entrepreneurship process. Thus, hypotheses are developed to test these relationships. We use random effects models to test our hypotheses with the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) for 20 European countries. Results show that agri-entrepreneurs have weaker entrepreneurial capabilities than other sectors. However, new entrants into the agricultural sector are not less entrepreneurial in relation to other sectors. On the other hand, established agri-entrepreneurs are less proactive than other sectors. Results suggest that new entrants into agriculture are more entrepreneurially oriented than established ones. Our study contributes to the entrepreneurship literature by contextualizing the entrepreneurship process and providing valuable insights for policy-makers to enhance farmers’ entrepreneurial skills and entrepreneurial orientation