The Value of Organic plus. Analysing Consumers’ Preference for Additional Ethical Attributes of Organic food Products

Organic Plus attributes strengthen the sustainability of the organic products and differentiate them from the 'conventionalized' organic ones. Products with Organic Plus attributes seem appreciated by organic consumers. However, research on consumers' preference for Organic Plus is still scarce, leaving gaps in the understanding of the consumers' characteristics of organic products with Plus attributes. In order to enrich the knowledge of consumers' preference for organic products with Plus attributes, the present study aims to achieve three Objectives: (1) identifying which Plus attributes, among fair prices to local farmers, integration of people with disabilities and eco-friendliness, are most sought after among Italian consumers of organic products (2) measuring, through the willingness to pay elicitation techniques, the level of preference for the various plus attributes; (3) determine which psychological, socio-demographic and contextual factors influence the purchasing choice of organic consumers for the three Plus attributes. Better knowledge of consumers' preference for organic Plus attributes, as well as the psychological and socio-demographic characteristic can provide useful indications to better-tailored marketing strategies on specific consumers' profiles

A ricardian analysis of the impact of climate change on permanent crops in a mediterranean region

This is the first study which explores the impact of climate change in Sicily, a small Mediterranean region of Southern Europe. According to research, Mediterranean area has shown large climate shifts in the last century and it has been identified as one of the most prominent “Hot-Spots” in future climate change projections. Since agriculture is an economic activity which strongly depends on climate setting and is particularly responsive to climate changes, it is important to understand how such changes may affect agricultural profitability in the Mediterranean region. The aim of the present study is to assess the expected impact of climate change on permanent crops cultivated in Sicilian region (Southern Italy). By using data from Farm Accountancy Data Network and Ensembles climatic projections for 2021-2050 period, we showed that the impact of climate change is prominent in this region. However, crops respond to climatic variations in a different manner, highlighting that unlike the strong reduction in profitability of grapevine and citrus tree, the predicted average Net Revenue of olive tree is almost the same as in the reference period (1961-1990)

Le nuove reti di innovazione dello sviluppo sostenibile: i network agro-alimentari biologici in Sicilia

The alternative food network, especially GAS (Solidarity Purchase Groups), are considered like laboratories where testing new models of innovation system (new social paradigms). In this paper is focused the theory of transitions management. With the help of Social Network Analysis, we tried to understand the network between GAS and associations both of them involved in the processes of food production and consumption, aimed at promoting sustainable development in Sicily

Critical determinants influencing consumers’ decision-making process to buy green cosmetics. A systematic literature review

The current Systematic Literature Review (SLR) represents the first attempt to systematically classify the factors influencing consumers' decision-making process to purchase green cosmetics, based on a review of 60 studies from 2007 to 2022. The factors were classified using the Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) paradigm as the theoretical framework. The findings of the SLR indicate that consumers' decision-making process is primarily driven by socio-psychological stimuli, such as environmental concern, health consciousness, and social norms. These stimuli trigger internal states in consumers, which consist of cognitive and affective states. The internal states are represented by facilitators, such as attitude towards green cosmetics, perceived product quality, and product knowledge, as well as inhibitors, such as perceived high price, skepticism, and greenwashing. Among the final responses, purchase intention was found to be the most detected in the reviewed studies. Regarding socio-demographic characteristics, the segment of green cosmetic consumers is mainly characterized by women, employed individuals, with a high level of education and income. The study also highlights the core limitations of the existing literature and proposes a research agenda for future investigations

Bioenergy chain building: a collective action perspective

Depletion of natural resources has become a key issue on the European policy agenda. Bottom-up measures have emerged in several countries with a view to promoting awareness campaigns and environmental sustainability, with the agenda set by individuals who start up collective initiatives at the local level. Such collective action provides an incentive to free-ride on the contribution of others. Social norms and the consequent behavior of individuals involved in collective action assume a key role in ensuring sustainable use of a public good, achieving significant, long-lasting success. The present study aims to ascertain which determinants most affect farmers’ willingness to contribute to common resources. The empirical study was conducted in an area in the province of Avellino (southern Italy) most affected by soil erosion problems. The study focused on the willingness of farmers to contribute to the public good through biomass production (Giant Cane). In all, 175 face-to-face questionnaires were administered to farmers in September-November 2013. Schwartz’s norm-activation model variables were collected. A Tobit model was implemented in which the dependent variable was the land farmers stated they were willing to cultivate with Giant Cane. Four on five psychological constructs, based on the NAM, proved statistically significant with the expected sign, showing that an altruistic behavioral approach is useful to predict the individual’s decision to adopt cooperation norms

Quality determinants and effect of therapeutic properties in honey consumption. An exploratory study on italian consumers

Nowadays, more and more consumers show a growing interest in healthy food products that may help to maintain or improve human health, such as honey. Honey has always represented a fundamental component of traditional medicine in many world cultures. However, only thanks to several studies carried out in the last years, its use is considered as an alternative and complementary medicine, namely apitherapy. In this way, honey is recognized increasingly by consumers not only as a natural alternative to refined sugar but as healthy food, as shown by determining an increase of its consumption worldwide. This study aims to explore the consumers’ determinants of honey consumption, trying to understand whether, and how much, therapeutic properties of honey aect the Italian consumers’ choices. The findings of this study, although exploratory, provide information on which quality characteristics influence honey consumption in Italy, revealing that, among quality attributes, the therapeutic properties of honey play an important role in aecting consumers’ behavior, followed by income, variety and taste. This could have some implications for producers and marketers as this information could contribute to defining eective marketing strategies for communicating to consumers the quality attributes of honey and its therapeutic benefits

Chemical–Physical, sensory analyses and consumers’ quality perception of local vs. imported loquat fruits: a sustainable development perspective

Local products and their distribution through short supply chains play a key role in the sustainable development of many rural areas, as affirmed by the 2030 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Agenda. Moreover, in the last years, more and more consumers have shown a specific interest towards local production, pushed by the need for healthy eating, protecting the environment, and boosting the local economy. However, the cultivation of local fruit varieties or ecotypes has considerably decreased in the last decades because of their low production potential. As a result, many farmers have been forced to replace local orchards with few worldwide grown cultivars, causing a loss of genetic agrobiodiversity. For instance, in Italy, the loquat market is composed of imported cultivars and local grown autochthonous fruits (ecotype). Therefore, the aim of this study is to analyze the chemical–physical and sensory qualities, as well as the determinants of Italian consumer preference towards local ecotype of loquat fruit compared to imported varieties. Results show that local ecotypes result in excellent physico-chemical and sensory attributes, and that place of purchase and taste are the most important factors influencing consumers’ preference towards local loquats. Therefore, the cultivation of loquat ecotypes, together with effective marketing strategies, could increase the competitiveness of certain Italian rural areas, where this crop has always played a significant role in the economy

Triggering collective action for bio-energy supply chain through contract schemes

This paper discusses contractual features to manage and coordinate a hypothetical bio-energy supply chain. The present study focuses on farmers operating in two Regions of Italy, namely Sicily and Campania, somewhat representative of areas with high potential of investments in new bioenergy supply value chain. Farmers were asked to choose whether to participate or not in a collective investment regulated by contract schemes. Monetary trade-offs were then computed among contract attributes. A specific questionnaire was submitted to a sample of farmers selected on the basis of their potential capability of investments. A stated preference modelling approach was implemented so that farmers could make a choice between alternative contracts reporting varying attribute levels. If energy-producing companies are paying attention to biofuel production aiming at a diversification of their activities, results show that farmers' participation needs to be managed through contracts that take care of investment length, warranty on investment return, and risk management

Un'applicazione della Social Network Analisys alla rete di relazioni di un Gruppo d’Acquisto Solidale: l’esperienza di Gasualmente

The phenomenon of GAS (Solidarity Purchase Groups) in Sicily has in Gasualmente an important actor. This GAS, was created following a structured training program and research by the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Palermo. It now plays an important role as activator of relationships and ethical affirmation of critical consumption, and promotion of organic products. The study aims through the Social Network Analysis, to investigate Gasualmente network and the role played by all the actors involved

Good, Safe and Fair: Quality Perception and Consumer Demand of Locally Produced Beef in Southern Italy

The increasing concern amongst consumers regarding the safety and quality of the beef that they buy is the result of food scares that have characterized the beef market in the last two decades. These scares, together with environmental and ethical concerns, caused consumers to reflect upon the quality of the beef they eat. The aim of this paper is to identify which quality characteristics influence the incidence of local beef consumption on the total consumption of beef. It is assumed in this study that such choice is a response to a process of quality evaluation, which occurs combining specific quality attributes and socially constructed food quality criteria strictly linked to a socially fair dimension of local productions. Consumers who habitually purchase local beef at the butcher shops were the focus of our empirical strategy. Data were collected by administering a face-to-face questionnaire to 160 consumers in Sicily (Southern Italy), right after their purchases at the butcher shops. The results of this study suggest some implications in defining locally produced beef quality, making more accurate strategies possible when supporting the spread of production and consumption of beef at the local level.La pr\ue9occupation croissante des consommateurs \ue0 l'\ue9gard de la salubrit\ue9 et de la qualit\ue9 de la viande bovine qu'ils ach\ue8tent est le r\ue9sultat des crises alimentaires qui ont caract\ue9ris\ue9 le march\ue9 de la viande bovine ces deux derni\ue8res d\ue9cennies. Ces craintes, s\u2019ajoutant aux pr\ue9occupations environnementales et \ue9thiques, ont amen\ue9 les consommateurs \ue0 r\ue9fl\ue9chir \ue0 la qualit\ue9 de la viande qu\u2019ils consomment. Le but de cet article est d'identifier les caract\ue9ristiques de qualit\ue9 qui influencent l'incidence de la consommation de viande bovine locale sur la consommation totale de viande bovine. Dans cette \ue9tude, nous avan\ue7ons qu\u2019un tel choix est une r\ue9ponse \ue0 un processus d'\ue9valuation de la qualit\ue9 qui combine attributs de qualit\ue9 sp\ue9cifiques et crit\ue8res de qualit\ue9 alimentaire construits socialement, strictement li\ue9s \ue0 une dimension socialement \ue9quitable des productions locales. Nous avons focalis\ue9 notre strat\ue9gie empirique sur les consommateurs ayant l\u2019habitude d\u2019acheter de la viande locale dans les boucheries. Les donn\ue9es ont \ue9t\ue9 collect\ue9es \ue0 l\u2019aide d\u2019un sondage direct aupr\ue8s de 160 consommateurs en Sicile (Sud de l'Italie), juste apr\ue8s leur achat dans les boucheries. Les r\ue9sultats de cette \ue9tude sugg\ue8rent certaines implications dans la d\ue9finition de la qualit\ue9 de la viande bovine produite localement, permettant d\u2019\ue9tablir des strat\ue9gies plus pr\ue9cises pour soutenir l\u2019expansion de la production et la consommation de viande bovine \ue0 l\u2019\ue9chelle locale