Direct and mediated impacts of product and process characteristics on consumers’ choice of organic vs. conventional chicken

There is a lack of research into why consumers value process characteristics. In this study, we test the hypothesis that the impact of process characteristics such as organic and free-range on consumers’ choices of food products is at least partly mediated through expected eating quality or taste expectations. In other words, the process characteristics partly function as cues to (eating) quality. Using a traditional metric conjoint approach based on an additive model, four product characteristics (production method, price, size and information about farmer and rearing conditions) were varied in a fractional factorial conjoint design, creating nine profiles of whole chickens. 384 respondents rated the nine different chickens in terms of taste expectations and willingness to buy. Since the nine records for each respondent are not independent, we used linear mixed modelling for the mediation analysis, We find that, as expected, taste expectations are a strong predictor of willingness to buy. As hypothesized, the impact of both product and process characteristics on willingness to buy is at least partly mediated through taste expectations. Hence, the study shows that process characteristics are important for consumers, not only in and off themselves, but partly because consumers make inferences about eating quality from knowledge about such process characteristics

We need a sustainable consumption pattern

Abstrac

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

Predicting Consumer Choices of Organic Food: Results from the CONDOR Project

Based on a survey in eight European countries, a model of consumer decision making and behaviour with regard to organic food is presented as well as comparative results. It is found that the reasons given and the reasoning behind choosing organic products are quite similar across countries, but that whereas behavioural intentions are predictive of behaviour in the North, this is not the case in the South of Europe. A framework for understanding the difference between North and South is presented

Adding more value to added-value. An exploration of consumers’ perceptions and attitudes towards improved animal welfare standards in organic meat production processes

The expansion of the organic food market and the growing competition are factors that fuel the differentiation of organic food products. Differentiation may be achieved by developing “organic-plus” products that integrate other value-adding characteristics beyond the organic quality. In this context, the aim of this study was to explore whether consumers would notice and value further improvements in the animal welfare standards than those imposed by organic regulation. The results of three focus groups designed as a concept test reveal positive attitudes towards the proposed production process from both regular and occasional organic buyers. The results further indicate that the proposed “organic-plus” products would probably be valued by a niche of regular organic meat consumers, provided that the products also offer good overall quality and that the animal welfare aspect is clearly communicated

Consumers’ Intentions to Buy Energy-Efficient Household Appliances in China

This study investigates the intentions of Chinese consumers to buy electrical household products labeled as highly energy-efficient, using induction cookers as a case study. Data were collected from June to August 2019 using an online survey among Chinese residents (N = 189) recruited through convenience sampling. The SEM analysis revealed that consumers’ intentions to buy an energy-efficient induction cooker are primarily driven by their attitudes towards doing so, while perceived control also played a role. In addition, multi-group analysis revealed that paying attention to energy labels moderates relationships in the model. For Chinese consumers who do not, in general, pay attention to energy labels, the intention to buy an energy-efficient induction cooker is weakly related to the antecedents proposed by the TPB, and only the attitude towards doing so is significant. However, for consumers who generally pay attention to energy labels, relationships in the model are strong, with all three TPB antecedents being significant and jointly accounting for substantial variation in purchase intentions. This suggests that clear and sufficient information on energy-efficient products and energy labeling is necessary to convince consumers that it is worthwhile to choose energy-efficient products

Does Green Consumerism Increase the Acceptance of Wind Power?

In this paper, we discuss what might be termed an action-based learning approach to promoting important pro-environmental actions, such as support for or acceptance of environmental policy. Such an approach involves promoting simple and easy behaviours as entry points for more radical steps towards sustainability, referred to as “catalytic” or “wedge” behaviours. Despite the obvious need for innovative approaches to promote important pro-environmental behaviour, and sound theoretical backing for such concepts, there is a lack of research testing the key propositions of this approach. In a survey study based on a random sample of residents of the state of Maine, USA, we find that both everyday “green” behaviour and the acceptance of an expansion of wind power are rooted in environmental concern and that everyday “green” behaviour gives a significant contribution to predicting acceptance of wind power when controlling for environmental concern. Hence, the promotion of everyday “green” behaviours may prepare the grounds for increasing acceptance of more far-reaching changes in the population, such as an expansion of wind power

INCOME AND PRICE AS A BARRIER TO ORGANIC FOOD CHOICE

From the barriers said to potentially hamper the further development of the sector, the consumer demand side and herein the high prices are handled as crucial. We reviewed the literature since 2000 regarding the role of perceived price and income. We find that self-report based studies nearly unequivocally find price is the primary barrier to choice, deviations from this appear to occur when researching organic consumers and developed organic markets. There are mixed findings regarding income, but representative studies tend to indicate a significant influence. Number and age of children and income level are found to impact the influence of income on intention to or purchase of organic food

Eksportmarkeders opfattelse af Danmark som oprindelsesland - SOMDwIT

Formålet med Organic RDD2.2-projektet ‘Sustainable Organic Market Development With International Trade’ (SOMDwIT) var at skabe et bedre grundlag for den økologiske sektors eksportstrategi ved at øge forståelsen af, hvad forbrugere på en række eksportmarkeder (Tyskland, Frankrig, Kina og Thailand) synes om økologiske produkters oprindelsesland, herunder Danmark. Forbrugernes holdninger til danske økologiske fødevarer er blevet undersøgt gennem forbrugerinterviews, fokusgruppe-interviews og spørgeskemaundersøgelser på de fire forskellige markeder

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