The causal influence of hedonic visual brand cues on Generation Z's impulsive food buying

Brands’ reward-triggering visual cues, conceptualised in this research as hedonic visual brand cues, may be regarded as conditioned stimuli that trigger consumers’ approach behaviour. Increasing research suggests that exposure to proximate rewards, such as rewarding visual cues, may activate impulsive buying. Nevertheless, additional research is needed to determine the nature of the causal entities at play when Generation Z is exposed to hedonic visual brand cues. As a result, this study aims to identify and explore the causal factors and mechanisms underlying the relationship between hedonic visual brand cues exposure and Generation Z’s impulsive food buying.Focusing on the food domain, this project is the first comprehensive investigation of (a) the causal influence of hedonic visual brand cues on Generation Z’s impulsive food buying and (b) the causal factors and generative mechanisms underpinning this relationship. Consistent with the tenets of critical realism, the methodology adopts a triangulated multi-method qualitative approach: participant observation of purchase behaviour; semi-structured interviews aided by photo elicitation and projective techniques; and online conversations via social media. The methodology has been designed to progressively deepen the holistic understanding of the studied phenomenon.The findings of this study suggest several theoretical and practical implications. Specifically, 28 causal factors and six causal mechanisms have been found capable of facilitating Generation Z’s impulsive buying when food shopping. The findings propose (a) a conceptual framework that incorporates the causal factors and mechanisms influencing Generation Z’s impulsive food buying and (b) practical implications to guide practitioners to maximise the effectiveness of brand strategies targeting Generation Z’s impulsive food buying. Therefore, the insights gained from this study may be of assistance to academics and practitioners interested in understanding the antecedents of Generation Z’s impulsive food buying

Message in a Bottle of Wine from Emerging Markets. Is the Country of Origin Still a Relevant Cue in Consumers’ Perceptions?

Research shows that country of origin (COO) has a significant impact on product evaluations and purchasing behaviour. However, there is a lack of clarity regarding the effects of COO on Generation Y within the wine industry. Therefore, this study aims to provide clarity on the impact of COO on consumer perception when purchasing wine from emerging markets such as Chile, South Africa, and China. Qualitative research was conducted with a total of 28 individuals who participated in a qualitative survey. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. The results indicate that the COO is still an important cue for consumers when evaluating the quality of wine. However, other factors such as price, design, and type of grape are perceived as important factors that influence consumers' perceptions. The findings of this investigation can guide wine marketers in selecting appropriate cues for their international marketing strategies

Beer Brand Word-of-Mouth Drivers in Colombia: A Qualitative Exploration

This paper explores which motivational drivers incline consumers to engage in word-of-mouth (WOM) communication within the Colombian beer market, forecast to be among the most important beer markets during the coming years. Colombian consumers are primarily influenced by recommendations from friends and family and are therefore more likely to adopt new products due to WOM rather than mass communication. Yet marketers still have little knowledge of how to manage WOM effectively, especially in the Latin America region. Consequently, the authors adopt a qualitative research method conducting semi-structured interviews with fifteen Colombian beer market mavens aimed at exploring which motivational drivers cause consumers to engage in WOM. Twelve motivational drivers were found for WOM about beer brands. Of these, two were found to be partially important, and three appeared to be necessary. The findings of this study propose a number of recommendations to be made for enhancing motivational drivers to generate more WOM. The findings of the study could be used to develop a quantitative measurement identifying which of the motivational drivers have the most influence on Colombian consumers to engage in WOM. This research could assist brewing businesses to internationalise into the Colombian beer market and to achieve competitive advantage

Detecting Starting Point Bias in Dichotomous-Choice Contingent Valuation Surveys

We examine starting point bias in CV surveys with dichotomous choice payment questions and follow-ups, and double-bounded models of the WTP responses. We wish to investigate (1) the seriousness of the biases for the location and scale parameters of WTP in the presence of starting point bias; (2) whether or not these biases depend on the distribution of WTP and on the bids used; and (3) how well a commonly used diagnostic for starting point bias - a test of the null that bid set dummies entered in the right-hand side of the WTP model are jointly equal to zero - performs under various circumstances. Because starting point bias cannot be separately identified in any reliable manner from biases caused by model specification, we use simulation approaches to address this issue. Our Monte Carlo simulations suggest that the effect of ignoring starting point bias is complex and depends on the true distribution of WTP. Bid set dummies tend to soak up misspecifications in the distribution assumed by the researcher for the latent WTP, rather than capturing the presence of starting point bias. Their power in detecting starting point bias is low

Urban Environmental Health and Sensitive Populations: How Much are the Italians Willing to Pay to Reduce Their Risks?

We use contingent valuation to elicit WTP for a reduction in the risk of dying for cardiovascular and respiratory causes, the most important causes of premature mortality associated with heat wave and air pollution, among the Italian public. The purpose of this study is three-fold. First, we obtain WTP and VSL figures that can be applied when estimating the benefits of heat advisories, other policies that reduce the mortality effects of extreme heat, and environmental policies that reduce the risk of dying for cardiovascular and respiratory causes. Second, our experimental study design allows us to examine the sensitivity of WTP to the size of the risk reduction. Third, we examine whether the WTP of populations that are especially sensitive to extreme heat and air pollution - such as the elderly, those in compromised health, and those living alone and/or physically impaired - is different from that of other individuals. We find that WTP, and hence the VSL, depends on the risk reduction, respondent age (via the baseline risk), and respondent health status. WTP increases with the size of the risk reduction, but is not strictly proportional to it. All else the same, older individuals are willing to pay less for a given risk reduction than younger individuals of comparable characteristics. Poor health, however, tends to raise WTP, so that the appropriate VSL of elderly individuals in poor health may be quite large. Our results support the notion that the VSL is individuated

Emissions Trading, CDM, JI, and More - The Climate Strategy of the EU

The objective of this paper is to assess the likely allocation effects of the current cli-mate protection strategy as it is laid out in the National Allocation Plans (NAPs) for the European Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). The multi-regional, multi-sectoral CGE-model DART is used to simulate the effects of the current policies in the year 2012 when the Kyoto targets need to be met. Different scenarios are simulated in or-der to highlight the effects of the grandfathering of permits to energy-intensive instal-lations, the use of the project-based mechanisms (CDM and JI), and the restriction imposed by the supplementarity criterion

Carriers of ADAMTS13 Rare Variants Are at High Risk of Life-Threatening COVID-19

Thrombosis of small and large vessels is reported as a key player in COVID-19 severity. However, host genetic determinants of this susceptibility are still unclear. Congenital Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura is a severe autosomal recessive disorder characterized by uncleaved ultra-large vWF and thrombotic microangiopathy, frequently triggered by infections. Carriers are reported to be asymptomatic. Exome analysis of about 3000 SARS-CoV-2 infected subjects of different severities, belonging to the GEN-COVID cohort, revealed the specific role of vWF cleaving enzyme ADAMTS13 (A disintegrin-like and metalloprotease with thrombospondin type 1 motif, 13). We report here that ultra-rare variants in a heterozygous state lead to a rare form of COVID-19 characterized by hyper-inflammation signs, which segregates in families as an autosomal dominant disorder conditioned by SARS-CoV-2 infection, sex, and age. This has clinical relevance due to the availability of drugs such as Caplacizumab, which inhibits vWF-platelet interaction, and Crizanlizumab, which, by inhibiting P-selectin binding to its ligands, prevents leukocyte recruitment and platelet aggregation at the site of vascular damage