Factors influencing consumer wine choice: The case of wine tourism

This research was undertaken to examine the relationship between the wine tourism activities of consumers and their subsequent wine choices. Exploratory research was undertaken giving specific attention to wine tourism, first, as a factor of influence on decision-making, second, on levels of consumer involvement and third on long-term consumer loyalty. A convenience sample of 12 wine consumers in Dublin participated in the study. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were used to gather the qualitative data used. The findings clearly establish links made by consumers between their wine tourism experiences and their subsequent wine purchase preferences. The findings highlight the importance of facilitating the co-creation of memorable wine tourism experiences as a determinant of improved consumer involvement as well as the development of long-term consumer loyalty. Implications for industry practitioners suggest a continued focus on the provision of unique wine tourism experiences; while the findings support the theoretical links between consumers own past experiences and their use as a valuable information source when making purchase decisions

'Hesitant compliers': Qualitative analysis of concerned fully-vaccinating parents

Objective: Some parents are hesitant about vaccines and yet still vaccinate their children. Vaccine behaviours are not fixed and parents who are concerned but nonetheless adherent to standard schedules could switch to an unconventional schedule, delaying or cherry-picking vaccines. There is a need to better understand vaccine hesitancy in specific contexts, acknowledging cultural and geographical variation, to ensure interventions targeting hesitancy are well directed and received. Methods: To identify the behaviours, knowledge and attitudes of 'hesitant compliers' in Perth, Western Australia, nine one-on-one in-depth interviews were conducted with vaccinating parents of children ( < 5 years) who were identified as being hesitant. Interview transcripts were analysed qualitatively and themes developed inductively, following a constructivist paradigm. Results: Parents saw vaccination as important for themselves and their community, despite their limited knowledge of vaccine preventable diseases. Parents reported concerns about potential side effects, and worried about the safety of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) and seasonal influenza vaccines. Concerned about the role of anti-vaccination information in the community, some sought to isolate themselves from parents who did not vaccinate, although others were concerned that this could entrench non-vaccinators' behaviours. Parents' views were all underlaid by two pivotal 'vaccine-related events' that had occurred in the community: the severe injury of a baby from seasonal influenza vaccination in 2010, and the death of a baby from whooping cough in 2015. Conclusions: Parents interpreted pivotal vaccine-related events in the community as requiring them to take personal responsibility for vaccine decisions. Their reports of continued vaccine fears (evident in international studies in recent decades) demonstrate that vaccine scares have long lasting effects. With vaccine rates high and stable, current strategies appear to be have little impact on addressing parental vaccine concerns. Further research is required to determine the prevalence of hesitancy amongst vaccinating parents and identify critical points for intervention

Stimulating Influenza Vaccination via Prosocial Motives

Americans do not vaccinate nearly enough against Influenza (flu) infection, despite severe health and economic burden of influenza. Younger people are disproportionately responsible for transmission, but do not suffer severely from the flu. Thus, to achieve herd immunity, prosocial motivation needs to be a partial driver of vaccination decisions. Past research has not established the causal role of prosociality in flu vaccination, and the current research evaluates such causal relationship by experimentally eliciting prosociality through messages about flu victims. In an experimental study, we described potential flu victims who would suffer from the decision of others to not vaccinate to 3952 Internet participants across eight countries. We measured sympathy, general prosociality, and vaccination intentions. The study included two identifiable victim conditions (one with an elderly victim and another with a young victim), an unidentified victim condition, and a no message condition. We found that any of the three messages increased flu vaccination intentions. Moreover, this effect was mediated by enhanced prosocial motives, and was stronger among people who were historical non-vaccinators. In addition, younger victim elicited greater sympathy, and describing identifiable victims increased general sympathy and prosocial motives. These findings provide direct experimental evidence on the causal role of prosocial motives in flu vaccination, by showing that people can be prompted to vaccinate for the sake of benefiting others