In this commentary, I aim to highlight some issues currently challenging the advancement of knowledge in the food-related consumer research academic community. Retracing the sections of a research ...paper, several strategic writing practices authors use to please reviewers are outlined together with customary referee comments considerably popular nowadays (as paper originality; sample size and external validity; and risk of bias). These odds in the current publishing and reviewing practices, which are also under transition and in an ongoing shift, need thorough discussion among the academic community. The overall goal of the commentary is to foster debate and reflection among editors and scholars to better define the possible boundaries of good contributions to knowledge and the precise guidelines to prevent (potentially) detrimental practices on both sides.
Technical improvements in the sustainability of wine making will likely proceed thorough a progressive refinement of processing strategies without substantial discontinuities. The new varieties ...obtained through interspecific crossings represent a new technological paradigm with remarkable effects on cropping conditions. Indeed, vineyards planted with these new varieties require few treatments and result in a dramatic reduction in the pesticide use, production costs and carbon footprint. Wine consumption scholars should closely examine how the media will communicate these varieties to the general public, as we anticipate that this will influence consumers' perception of risk and, in turn, directly affect the market.
Consumers' preferences for products derived from genetic improvements and innovations in plant breeding are often conditioned by technophobia and negative public imaginaries. The current study ...addresses this issue by analyzing consumers' monetary preferences for a win-win innovation (generating gains for both private actors and the community) in the viticulture sector, namely fungus resistant grapes (FRG). The use of these grapes reduces the quantity of chemical inputs applied to vineyards, simultaneously improving firms' economic performance. This study aimed to assess whether consumers prefer wines originating from FRG varieties to conventional wines. In particular, through an experimental online survey involving 627 Italian regular wine drinkers, the study compares individuals' willingness to pay (WTP) for conventional wines with the WTP for two FRG wines produced with two different techniques: horticultural hybridization and genome editing. The study also assesses the potential effect of polarized media coverage on preferences by testing, in a between-subjects experimental design, two diverging (positive/negative) information scenarios, and the core drivers of these preferences. The findings suggest that respondents express a premium price for horticultural FRG wines compared to conventional wines (+9.14%) and a strong discount for genome edited FRG wines (-21.13%). The results also reveal that negative information reduces consumers' WTP for horticultural FRG wines, while positive information increases their WTP for genome edited FRG wines. Last, the study highlights that individuals concerned with food sustainability issues and knowledgeable about wine are more likely to accept both FRG typologies. Overall, the study confirms the crucial role of appropriate information for market acceptance of innovations based on plant genetics to foster the adoption of sustainable pest-reducing practices in wine production.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
An overview of the functional foods (FFs) market in Europe that ascertains the opportunities for further expansion of this segment is presented. Consumer behavior towards FFs was analyzed through a ...quantitative survey conducted on 400 Italian food shoppers. Our findings reveal that respondents are confused due to the ambiguity of what FF products are, and that consumers perceive products that are intrinsically healthy such as yogurt, cereals and juice, as preferable and credible carriers of FFs. Moreover, use of principal components analysis highlighted the key role played by the perception of healthiness in determining shoppers’ attitudes towards FF.
While there is evidence of consumers' interest in wine sustainability, acceptance of innovations in wine production is not guaranteed. The current study addresses this issue by analyzing consumers' ...acceptance of fungus-resistant grape (FRG) wines, a sustainable innovation that can substantially reduce the need for chemical inputs in viticulture. To do so, by means of an online survey including large samples of regular wine drinkers in Italy (N = 752), the UK (N = 858) and the USA (N = 856), the study compares individuals' preferences for conventional wines with preferences for FRG wines. The study also explores whether FRG wine acceptance is influenced by informal or formal purchase occasion, by different types of information regarding the product, and by individual attitudinal characteristics. The findings show a general acceptance of FRG wines among consumers. In particular, consumers' preferences for FRG wines on formal occasions are not significantly different from their preferences for conventional wine, whereas on informal occasions, consumers prefer FRG wines over conventional wines. Regarding the impact of information on participant choice, participants informed about the potential effects of FRG on sensory wine characteristics had lower preferences for FRG wines than those who read an information script regarding crop biodiversity. Last, individuals' sustainability concerns and food technology neophobia had positive and negative influences on FRG acceptance, respectively. Overall, this research provides wineries, nurseries and policy-makers with important insights concerning the market potential of FRG wines in three key markets.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Current study evaluated the effect of information on farmers' decision to enter the digestate market and investigated the drivers of individual preferences for this source of organic content. A ...between subject economic experiment was performed in Sicily (Southern Italy) involving 230 farmers. Through a multiple price list format individual willingness-to-pay (WTP) for digestate and traditional cow manure were elicited. Findings show that providing farmers with information on digestate attributes positively affects respondents’ decision to enter the digestate market. Results provide practical insights to policy makers interested in promoting their decision to enter the digestate market among Mediterranean farmers.
•A between-subjects experiment was performed, interviewing 230 farmers face-to-face.•Providing information increases farmers' probability to enter the digestate market.•Preliminary information campaigns are necessary before political actions.
This study reveals the consumer side of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the food industry, exploring awareness, preferences and willingness to pay for CSR of a representative sample of ...Italian households. The results clearly indicate that Italian consumers reveal a high level of awareness within clear, though heterogeneous, preferences for CSR initiatives. Five consumers' groups were identified: ‘environmentalists’, ‘pro‐socials’, ‘collectivists’, ‘animal friends’ and ‘selfish health centered’. Furthermore, the study reveals consumers' willingness to pay a premium price to reward food companies addressing their concerns and expectations in terms of CSR. Findings offer insights for business managers on how to promote CSR, developing communication and information strategies focusing on specific needs and personal relevance within a group of consumers.
This research is aimed at investigating consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) for conventional, organic and functional yogurts in two different information treatments. The basic information treatment ...provided respondents with yogurts labelled conventional, organic or functional while the second treatment included additional information. To elicit values for these specific products, 100 Italian consumers participated in an experimental auction using the Vickrey fifth‐price sealed‐bid mechanism. Findings reveal that providing additional information through a specific health claim increases consumer's perceived value of the functional yogurt, while for the organic counterpart additional information on organic regulation does not add much to the premium. Moreover, our study shows that specific socio‐demographic variables (as gender, age, presence of kids in the household and the need to follow a specific diet) positively affect WTP for functional and organic yogurts.
The global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol launched in 2010 by the World Health Organization includes, amongst several areas of recommended actions, providing consumer information ...about, and labelling, alcoholic beverages to indicate alcohol-related harm. Labelling requirements worldwide for alcoholic drinks are currently quite diverse and somewhat limited compared to labelling on food products and on tobacco. In this context, the current paper contributes to the academic and political debate on the inclusion of nutritional and health information on wine labelling, providing some insights into consumer interest in, and preferences for, such information in four core wine-producing and -consuming countries: Italy, France, Spain, and the United States of America. A rating-based conjoint analysis was performed in order to ascertain consumer preferences for different formats of additional information on wine labels, and a segmentation of the sample was performed to determine the existence of homogeneous groups of consumers in relation to the degrees of usefulness attached to the nutritional and health information on wine labels. Our results highlight the interest expressed by European and United States consumers for introducing nutrition and health information on wine labels. However, the results of conjoint analysis show some significant differences among stated preferences of the information delivery modes in different countries. In addition, segmentation analysis reveal the existence of significant differences between consumer groups with respect to their interest in receiving additional information on wine labels. These differences are not only linked to the geographic origin of the consumers, or to socio-demographic variables, but are also related to wine consumption habits, attitudes towards nutritional information, and the degree of involvement with wine. This heterogeneity of consumer preferences indicates a need for a careful consideration of wine labelling regulations and merits further investigation in order to identify labelling guidelines in terms of the message content and presentation method to be used.
Freshwater scarcity is becoming one of the most pressing issues of the global environmental sustainability, and agriculture is the main responsible of that scarcity. During the last decade, there has ...been an increasing consumers' environmental concern about the impact of food production on water usage. This paper investigates young consumers' preferences towards water saving wines and the determinants of willingness to pay (WTP) for these products. Data were collected through an experimental auction mechanism in Italy by assessing young consumers' willingness to pay for three different wines (i.e. conventional-no water saving label, water saving front-of-pack labelled and water saving back-of-pack labelled). Young consumers' (N = 200) characteristics related to their personal values, pro-environmental attitudes, wine habits, labeling attitudes and socio-demographics were also collected. Results reveal that on average young consumers are willing to pay higher prices for water saving labeled wines. Additionally, wine consumption frequency, label trust and use as well as consumers' environmental-friendly attitude have a positive effect on willingness to pay for these wines. The current study offers valuable insights to policy makers and wine producers for product differentiation and for more efficiently targeting campaigns towards young consumers, in order to increase sustainability-labeled wine consumption.
PDF
