Consumers’ evaluation of imported organic food products: The role of geographical distance

Country-of-origin (COO) effects and consumer evaluation of organic food products are rarely studied in combination. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate organic consumers’ preferences for imported organic food products from different origins and the underlying reasons for these preferences, including how consumers’ COO preferences depend on the geographical distance to the COO. We employed a multi-method, qualitative approach consisting of in-store interviews (N = 255) and focus groups (six, N = 38) with organic consumers in three German cities located in the north (Hamburg, close to Denmark), west (Münster, close to The Netherlands) and south (Munich, close to Austria). The interviews confirmed the well-known preference for domestic (also for) organic products. It also revealed a preference for geographically close countries as origin for imported organic products. The main reason for this preference is the perceived negative environmental impact of transportation, followed by trust in the country and general country image. Implications for exporters of organic food products are discussed, underlining the importance of building trust and supporting a positive country image, especially in geographically close export markets

Creating space for interpreting within extended turns at talk

In consecutively interpreted conversations, long multi-unit turns pose an interactional problem, as the interpreter may need to intervene into the turn space of the current speaker to interpret. This paper explores multimodal practices employed by medical professionals and interpreters to manage the temporary suspension of extended turns-in-progress. Using data from video-interpreted hospital encounters, we show how video-mediation poses challenges to the fine-tuned coordination involved in creating temporary suspension. We identify one practice used by medical professionals by which they produce turns in several chunks, or ‘installments’, temporarily suspending the ongoing turn and allowing the interpreter to begin interpreting. When a medical professional does not suspend their longer turns, the interpreter more actively signals the medical professionals, for instance through use of pre-beginning signals, to suspend the progressivity of their turn and yield for interpreting. We explore at what place during medical professionals' ongoing multi-unit turns interpreting is made relevant, how this is done and by whom.publishedVersio

Impact of Country of Origin and Organic Certification on Consumer Food Choices in Developed and Emerging Economies. Abstract for EMAC 2018

To investigate the influence of COO on consumers’ food choices in the presence of other quality cues, a choice-based conjoint (CBC) experiment was conducted in Germany, France, China and Thailand. In each country, a sample of about 1000 consumers participated after being screened for responsibility for the household’s shopping, consumption of the case product, and knowledge of organic food. The overall design is a full factorial with four COOs, three different organic label conditions and three price levels. The 36 different choice options were bundled in 12 choice sets of three alternatives, which were presented in random order. The study revealed a general tendency to prefer imported food products from economically developed over products from less developed countries. In Europe, this effect cannot be disentangled from a preference for nearby COOs. However, in Asia, distance to the COO seems less important. Country image linked to level of economic development seems to matter more

Deliverable 1.3.(a): Conference paper: Consumer evaluation of imported organic food products in emerging economies in Asia

Consumers in emerging economies such as Thailand and China have started to demand organic food products – mainly due to food safety reasons (Ortega, Wang, Wu, & Hong, 2015; Roitner-Schobesberger, Darnhofer, Somsook, & Vogl, 2008; C. L. Wang, Li, Barnes, & Ahn, 2012; O. Wang, De Steur, Gellynck, & Verbeke, 2015). Since the domestic organic markets are still not well-established in Thailand and China, there is a huge potential for export of organic food products to these markets from countries, where the organic markets are more established and able to provide consumers with safe products. However, little is known about consumer preferences for imported organic food in emerging economies in Asia. A total of 139 in-store interviews were conducted in China (70 in March 2016 and 69 in March 2017). In Thailand, 81 in-store interviews were conducted in August 2016. Also, two focus groups were conducted with consumers in Bangkok, Thailand, and Guangzhou, China, respectively, in August 2016. The aim with this triangulation was to enhance the validity of the findings and reduce inherent method bias. Thai and Chinese consumers perceived products’ country-of-origin as important, but price, brands and familiarity with the product also influenced their decision. Country-of-origin was especially considered when evaluating the quality and safety of the products. In Thailand, trust in the certification was the major reason for choosing imported products from especially New Zealand, Japan and Australia. Food safety and quality control were also important motives. That was also the case in China - however, choosing imported food was often a consequence in low levels of trust in domestic certification. Environmental awareness (pesticides, transport distances) also played a role for Chinese consumers. The results imply that there is a growing awareness among Chinese and Thai consumers towards organic products – especially the imported ones, since these are associated with food safety and quality control in both countries. The study also provides evidence of the array of variables influencing consumer preferences for foreign COOs. These findings expand the scarce research on COO effects in the context of organic food

Deliverable 3.2: Survey instrument

This document is deliverable 3.2. in the SOMDwIT project and provides information on the development of the survey instrument for the quantitative data collection in Denmark, Germany, France, Thailand and China

Deliverable 1.3.(b): Conference paper: German consumers’ evaluation of imported organic food products – the importance of geographical distance

In Germany, as in several other European countries, the demand for organic food is growing substantially faster than domestic production and supply, which has led to high import shares of many organic foods. Consequently, domestic consumers are presented with a wide variety of organic products from foreign country-of-origins (COOs). Although there are many studies of consumer preferences for COO on the one hand and organic food on the other, research on COO effects in the context of organic food is scarce. More specifically, there is a lack of research on how consumers evaluate imported organic food products. To explore regional differences in German consumers’ preferences for imported organic foods, 6 focus groups and 255 in-store interviews were conducted in Hamburg (north, close to Denmark), Munich (south, close to Austria) and Münster (west, close to The Netherlands). The multi-method study design included both between and within-method data triangulation. The aim was to enhance the validity of the findings and reduce inherent method bias. German organic consumers were found to be a highly involved target group demonstrating an intrinsic motivation to acquire relevant knowledge in order to elaborate on differentiated product alternatives. This leads to an increased importance of a product’s origin and ultimately translates to a higher attention to the COO cue in the purchase situation. Overall, a strong preference for imported organic food products with specific, geographical close COOs were found among organic consumers in three different German regions. Figure 1 shows that Austria was the most preferred foreign COO in Munich; it also ranked amongst the top five origins in Hamburg, whilst it was only mentioned few times in Münster. In Münster, respondents clearly favoured products from the Netherlands. Also in Hamburg most respondents indicated prefer Dutch products, closely followed by French and Danish ones. Apart from Hamburg, Denmark was very seldom or not at all mentioned as alternative COO. Hence, at least for Munich and Münster, the geographically close COO was preferred (Austria and The Netherlands, respectively), while the preferences for Danish products were comparatively more pronounced in Hamburg than in the other two cities. The findings further suggest that preferences for foreign COOs were strongly influenced by concerns about the negative effects of transport. The prevalence of these considerations can be attributed to a high environmental concern amongst organic consumers. These findings are in line with past research arguing that consumers buy organic food at least partly for ethical reasons, as reflected in such pro-environmental behaviour. This study’s findings expand the scarce research on COO effects in the context of imported organic food. In particular, this study offers exporting countries, domestic retailers and policy makers insights into how imported organic products are perceived, possibly revealing growth opportunities for both demand and supply side

Deliverable 3.3: Questionnaire in five local languages

This document is deliverable 3.3. in the SOMDwIT project and provides information about the translation of the survey instrument (Deliverable 3.2) into Danish, Germany, French, Thai and Chines

Pride and prejudice - a comparison of consumer preferences for country-of- origins of imported organic foods in Germany and China. Abstract for EMAC 2018

The aim is to investigate why and when consumers in an emerging economy vs. an economically developed country prefer imported to domestic organic food products. A domestic country bias has been found mostly in developed countries. Three studies were conducted with organic consumers in China and Germany: In-store interviews, focus groups and an online survey. A strong domestic country bias for organic food products is confirmed in Germany, and to a much lesser extent in China. German consumers prefer products imported from countries that are geographically and culturally close. Food safety and health concerns are the primary reasons for Chinese consumers buying organic food. Hence, organic products from developed countries are preferred because of institutions they trust will secure high and credible organic standards. This gives economically developed countries a competitive advantage on the world market

What does the ‘chat’ tell us about participation and engagement in online video conferencing?

Although much is known about the experiential nature of online conferencing, we know less about actual participation and engagement. This paper investigates delegate interactions in the “parallel chat” function of a video platform during an online medical education conference. We collected 813 unique messages, posted while speakers presented on a digital stage. We used descriptive statistics to summarize message/chat content in terms of participant categories and topic. 23% of delegates posted in the chat. However, to go beyond these dimensions, we used conversation analytic methods to identify the actions accomplished in messages and their interconnectedness. We developed a coding scheme to report this analysis across the complete dataset. We found that messages mostly comprised positive assessments (“Wonderful talk!”) and appreciations (“Thank you!”). ‘Second’ messages were more common than initiations or ‘first’ messages, indicating extensive engagement between participants. Few messages received no response. Delegates also formulated what speakers said to develop ‘learning moments’ in the chat. Overall, we argue that a richer and more precise understanding of participation and engagement in video conferencing can be achieved by analysing actual participation and its content, rather than relying only on post-hoc reports and surveys. Data are in British English

Identification and investigation of a novel biomarker signature for active Tuberculosis

University of Technology Sydney. Faculty of Science.Each year 3 million Tuberculosis cases go undiagnosed and untreated, partly due to limitations in access to care and current diagnostic tests. Eliminating this disease relies on developing new tools that rapidly, and accurately identify those with active TB disease. This thesis investigated plasma proteins and miRNA to identify a biomarker signature of active TB disease, and to examine their function and utility for clinical application, particularly miR-99b-5p. A novel 5-analyte biosignature (IP-10, miR-29a, miR-99b, miR-146a and miR-221) distinguished Chinese TB cases from control subjects with a high sensitivity and specificity of 96% and 97% respectively. Further assessment of this biosignature in a cohort of predominantly asymptomatic TB patients from Vietnam highlighted that these biomarker candidates, particularly the miRNA, were more likely to be associated with advanced TB disease. Functional analysis indicated that miR-99b may acts as an anti-inflammatory mediator during TB, however, there was conflicting data on its function in macrophages between mice and humans. This research provides valuable data for the development of new diagnostic biomarkers for TB disease. Further research to identify confounding factors such as disease severity that impact the universal application of a new biomarker test for TB, are urgently required