RESEARCH AND ADVERTISING DECISIONS IN AN OPEN ECONOMY: THE CASE OF COLOMBIAN MILDS COFFEE

Research and advertising investment both offer the potential to increase producer surplus. A model is developed that includes applied research and generic advertising with the aim of measuring marginal and optimal returns from each. While applicable to specific firm behavior, the model is applied to data from the world coffee market, with particular focus on Kenyan and Colombian producer groups.Marketing, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Analysis of Value-Added Meat Product Choice Behaviour by Canadian Households

The competitive landscape in retailing has changed over the past decade. Moreover, the degree of product differentiation has been increasing: households are able to choose between an increasing number of store brands and national brands of similar products. The value added meat market is no different than any other sector of the grocery market – both national brands and private label brands are being developed to appeal to the consumer‘s desire for convenience, health, production and environmental attributes. Understanding the factors that are influencing consumers‘ value added meat product preferences is important for meat manufacturers who wish to add value to their firm‘s performance and increase market share. This knowledge is required in order to predict changes in demand and develop new products and marketing strategies that respond to changing consumer needs. The objective of the paper is to provide information on value added meat consumption patterns in Canada at the household level using household purchase information from a representative sample of the Canadian population collected through Nielsen Homescan™. Specifically the focus is on how meat consumers make their decision to purchase value-added meat products – the impact of value added meat types, store choices and brands preference on meat demand. The study undertakes an empirical investigation of Canadian household value added meat demand for the period 2002 to 2007. A comparison of consumers‘ preferences is performed with respect to store-switching, brand loyalty and meat expenditure. Multivariate regression analysis is employed to explain consumer preferences for the examined stores, products and brands. We find that meat price, advertising, the number of stores visited, household socio-demographic characteristics and regional segments are strongly related to meat expenditure levels. Value added meat product preferences vary widely across meat types - for example, consumer behaviour towards pork is not a good predictor of behaviour towards poultry, in terms of national brand/store brand choice. The data developed in this analysis can highlight6 marketing opportunities that exist for meat producers and processors to increase the value of total sales for their particular products. The results of this study highlight the impact of number of stores regularly shopped at on purchases of national brand versus private label meat products, the impact of expenditure on meat by product form on national brand versus private label and the impact of demographic and regional variables on all meat purchases, by animal species.consumer behaviour, store loyalty, meat demand, value-added meat, national/store brand choice, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, D1, M3,

Canadian Consumer Concerns About Food Safety Issues and Confidence in Food Products: Comparison of Beef and Pork

In examining consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for food attributes, one approach is to use economic experiments, sometimes associated with consumers sensory testing. In this particular research project different types of pork chops are examined to identify consumer WTP for pork chop credence attributes such as traditionally raised, Canadian Pork labelled or identified as coming from a farm with on farm food safety accreditation (CQA). However, the results of the research are only useful for the national industry if the participants’ values can be extrapolated to the Canadian population. The participants in the research completed a survey that was similar in many respects to a national on-line survey completed in Canada two months earlier. Comparing the responses from the pork study to the national on line survey can help identify how different the respondents are. The pork study participants self studied to be part of a consumers panel for the Alberta Food Product Testing Centre in Edmonton. Respondents in both groups have less confidence in pork relative to other food products. Respondents in the pork survey were mostly concerned about antibiotics in meat while national survey respondents were mostly concerned about animals genetically modified for meat, egg or dairy production. In terms of human health issues, pork survey respondents were mostly concerned about while national survey respondents were more concerned about unhealthy eating. Respondents in the pork survey had lower risk perception scores for pork and were more willing to accept the risks of eating pork than the national panel assessed either beef or chicken.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty,

The changing egg demand in Canada: do advertising and health message contents matter?

Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, Health Economics and Policy,

Comparing Predictors of Diet Quality in Canada Over Time Under Consideration of Altering Food Guides

Latest data on the diet of Canadians from the Canadian Community Health Survey reveals that the diet quality of Canadians needs improvement. Within this paper predictors of diet quality in Canada are identified based on two cross-sectional data sets from the Canadian Food Expenditure Survey. To measure diet quality, the Canadian Healthy Food Diversity (CanHFD)-Index is developed which is based on Food Guide recommendations. Moreover, this paper considers that the Food Guide between survey years has changed when analyzing diet quality. To track changes in demand for diet quality we use “Canada’s Food Guide 1982” to calculate CanHFD-Index for 1984 and 1996. Changes in demand for diet quality according to “Canada’s Food Guide to Healthy Eating 1992” are observed by calculating CanHFD-Index with data from 1984 and 1996. Theoretically, this model is related to Becker’s household production theory and Lancaster’s characteristics approach. Multiple regression results show significant changes in the Canadian demand for food diversity over time. Some of the differences can be traced back to the different versions of the Canada Food Guide. Increasing age, higher income, being female, and high education level are positive predictors of diet quality in 1984 and 1996 among others.diet quality, healthy food diversity, Canada, Food Guides, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Health Economics and Policy, D12, D13, I12, Q18,

OBSERVING CHANGES IN CANADIAN DEMAND FOR FOOD DIVERSITY OVER TIME

Research on food diversity is interdisciplinary in nature, and is highly relevant for different research fields. Eating a variety of foods has been linked to the nutritional well-being of the household. From an economic perspective, food diversity can be used to derive important conclusions regarding the economic well-being of a population under study. This paper attempts to fill two main research gaps. The first objective of this paper is to analyze the demand for food diversity in Canada for the first time. This includes observing the extent of food diversity and the identification of respective socio-economic determinants. The second main objective is to compare changes in the cross-sectional demand for food diversity over time using three data sets of the Canadian Food Expenditure Survey (1984, 1996 and 2001). Food diversity is measured twice, with a measure used in nutritional studies and an economic diversity measure to draw conclusions for both research fields. Results show that in all years the demand for diversity (both indices) is positively influenced by income, age, and household size. We observe a significant quadratic influence of income in all models. Over all years, males and singles have a lower demand for food diversity than females and married Canadians. In addition, the region the household lives in is a strong predictor of food diversity. We observe changes in demand for food diversity in Canada. It is shown that the demand for food diversity decreased from 1984 to 1996 and 2001.Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

New Directions in Consumer Behaviour Research

Consumer behaviour remains an evolving and fascinating area of research. In this article we highlight some of the current work by Canadian researchers in the areas of enhancing both the quality and application of consumer analysis. The work described below touches upon areas in which not just economic theory and methods, but also the policy process can be improved. The working papers cited here were all presented as part of the principal paper session, “What’s Going on in Consumer Behaviour?†held at the joint meeting of the Canadian Agricultural Economics Society and the Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association in Halifax, Nova Scotia in June 2004.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Marketing, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

Attitudes Towards and Satisfaction with Credit Unions in Alberta. A Regression and Scale Analysis.

Credit unions have played an important historical role in the Canadian economy. However, recent changes in the financial, agricultural and agri-food industry are posing great challenges to Credit unions in Western Canada. Much attention has been given to the impact of competitive rates and the environment offered by banks on credit union performance to the neglect of issues relating to member satisfaction and commitment which may be adding to other problems in the credit union sector. Studies by Feinberg (2001), Sibbald, et al (1999), Loser et. al (1999) , Fried, et. al (1999), Karels and McClatchey (1999) and Tokle, and Tokle (2001) among others have identified key issues relating to the competitive financial roles of credit unions in small financial services, in comparative analysis studies as well as merger related issues. However many of these studies have focused on the financial aspects of credit unions, and have not dealt with broader issues of whether or not the public understands the nature of credit unions, why people stop or intend to continue being members of credit unions. A mailed questionnaire, designed to elicit understanding of and attitudes towards credit unions was sent out to 1500 Alberta residents. In spite of the fact that the survey was complex with no reminder notice sent, the response rate was 12%. Analysis was conducted with a series of scale and logit regression analyses based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TpB) (Ajzen and Fishbein 1975, 1980 and Ajzen (2001) to elicit respondents´ beliefs, satisfaction and attitudes towards credit unions, and to measure the factors affecting their intention to patronize credit unions. Results indicate 78% of respondents were familiar with and understood the concept of credit unions. The majority (58%) was male, and 71% were aged 45 or older. Respondents who are active members of a credit union generally held positive attitudes towards their credit unions, and 89% rated their credit unions as performing well under a set of six performance categories. Analysis from the logit models found credit unions involvement with the local community and customer service to be the major reasons for credit union patronage. Elicitation of respondents´ intentions to patronize a credit union from the TpB analysis show that among the three attributes (attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavior control), respondents´ subjective norm (siblings influence) and perceived behavioral control significantly explained patronization intentions. Results suggest that a 22 percentage of the public is unaware of credit unions, a further 30 percentage was once and is no longer a member of a credit union. For the 58% of the population that remain committed to credit union, there are still significant issues around member involvement in decision making, communication and provision of education/training to them.Agricultural Finance,

Measuring Efficiency in Fruit and Vegetable Marketing Co-operatives with Heterogeneous Technologies in Canada

The objectives of this study are to estimate the efficiency of fruit and vegetable co-operatives in Canada and to investigate the relationship between the degree of financial leverage and efficiency.Agribusiness,

Traceability -- A Literature Review

In light of recent food safety crises and international trade concerns associated with food or animal associated diseases, traceability has once again become important in the minds of public policymakers, business decision makers, consumers and special interest groups. This study reviews studies on traceability, government regulation and consumer behaviour, provide case studies of current traceability systems and a rough breakdown of various costs and benefits of traceability. This report aims to identify gaps that may currently exist in the literature on traceability in the domestic beef supply chain, as well as provide possible directions for future research into said issue. Three main conclusions can be drawn from this study. First, there is a lack of a common definition of traceability. Hence identifying similarities and differences across studies becomes difficult if not impossible. To this end, this study adopts CFIA’s definition of traceability. This definition has been adopted by numerous other agencies including the EU’s official definition of traceability however it may or may not be acceptable from the perspective of major Canadian beef and cattle trade partners. Second, the studies reviewed in this report address one or more of five key objectives; the impact of changing consumer behaviour on market participants, suppliers incentive to adopt or participate in traceability, impact of regulatory changes, supplier response to crisis and technical description of traceability systems. Drawing from the insights from the consumer studies, it seems as if consumers do not value traceability per se, traceability is a means for consumers to receive validation of another production or process attribute that they are interested in. Moreover, supply chain improvement, food safety control and accessing foreign market segments are strong incentives for primary producers and processors to participate in programs with traceability features. However the objectives addressed by the studies reviewed in this paper are not necessarily the objectives that are of most immediate relevance to decision makers about appropriate traceability standards to recommend, require, subsidize etc. In many cases the research objectives of previous work have been extremely narrow creating a body of literature that is incomplete in certain key areas. Third, case studies of existing traceability systems in Australia, the UK, Scotland, Brazil and Uruguay indicate that the pattern of development varies widely across sectors and regions. In summary, a traceability system by itself cannot provide value-added for all participants in the industry; it is merely a protocol for documenting and sharing information. Value is added to participants in the marketing chain through traceability in the form of reduced transactions costs in the case of a food safety incident and through the ability to shift liability. To ensure consumer benefit and have premiums returned to primary producers the type of information that consumers value is an important issue for future research. A successful program that peaks consumer interest and can enhance their eating experience can generate economic benefits to all sectors in the beef industry. International market access will increasingly require traceability in the marketing system in order to satisfy trade restrictions in the case of animal diseases and country of origin labelling, to name only a few examples. Designing appropriate traceability protocols industry wide is therefore becoming very important.traceability, institutions, Canada, consumer behaviour, producer behaviour, supply chain, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Health Economics and Policy, International Relations/Trade, Livestock Production/Industries, Marketing, Production Economics, D020, D100, D200, Q100,