Deparment of Business Administration

Given the heterogeneity of European consumers, it is not surprising that they have different perceptions and expectations regarding and understanding the concept of ‘traceability’. Consumers may also perceive traceability differently for different product types. The present study is based upon an analysis of focus groups in 12 countries across Europe. It explains how European consumers understand the traceability of food products as well as their expectations of traceability for different types of food product (meat and honey have been used as examples). Labelling schemes for these two types of products are also examined. The results showed that dissimilarities exist in consumers’ perceptions of traceability in different countries. Some dissimilarities also exist between consumers’ expectations of traceability and the information they require. However, labels are still seen as an important way of communicating with consumers, although the participants claimed that these labels need to be understandable and more easily accessible to facilitate consumer understanding.

Reference to origin and region has become a factor of differentiation and added value for food product companies. Although previous studies argue that designation of origin can be considered as an extrinsic cue affecting consumer preferences, the main concern which still exists is whether designation of origin influences their actual purchase behaviour and, moreover, behavioural loyalty towards them. For measuring loyalty we applied the Dirichlet model on scanner supermarket data on dry-cured ham, a common local French food product. Results show that designation of origin is not that an important driver of loyalty comparing to price and brand name.

This paper proposes a framework of discourses regarding consumers’ healthy eating as a useful conceptual scheme for market segmentation purposes. The objectives are: (a) to identify the appropriate number of health-related segments based on the underlying discursive subject positions of the framework, (b) to validate and further describe the segments based on their socio-demographic characteristics and attitudes towards healthy eating, and (c) to explore differences across segments in types of associations with food and health, as well as perceptions of food healthfulness.316 Danish consumers participated in a survey that included measures of the underlying subject positions of the proposed framework, followed by a word association task that aimed to explore types of associations with food and health, and perceptions of food healthfulness. A latent class clustering approach revealed three consumer segments: the Common, the Idealists and the Pragmatists. Based on the addressed objectives, differences across the segments are described and implications of findings are discussed.

This study focuses on the coverage of food hazards by the Greek mass media. During the study period of three years, 311 articles from two daily and one Sunday newspaper were identified and analysed. The most important results drawn from the analyses are the following: (a) genetically modified foods was the most referenced food hazard; (b) there was often a simultaneous reference to more than one food hazard in the text; (c) most of the articles had informative content; (d) a periodicity existed in the media coverage of food hazards; and (e) the articles’ content was dependent upon the food hazard that was covered. Implications for future research are also discussed.

The implementation of traceability in the food supply chain has reinforced adoption of technologies with the ability to track forward and trace back product-related information. Based on the premise that these technologies can be used as a means to provide product-related information to consumers, this paper explores the perceived benefits and drawbacks of such technologies. The aim is to identify factors that influence consumers’ perceptions of such technologies, and furthermore to advise the agri-food business on issues that they should consider prior to the implementation of such technologies in their production lines. For the purposes of the study, a focus group study was conducted across 12 European countries, while a set of four different technologies used as a means to provide traceability information to consumers was the focal point of the discussions in each focus group. Results show that the amount of and confidence in the information provided, perceived levels of convenience, impact on product quality and safety, impact on consumers’ health and the environment, and potential consequences on ethical and privacy liberties constitute important factors influencing consumers’ perceptions of technologies that provide traceability.

For more than 15 years the European Community has been interested in the support of local food products. The main aim of this strategy was local food products gain a respective market share, alongside with increasing consumer loyalty towards them. Although the results from many studies show high involvement and commitment from consumers towards local food products, the main issue which still exists is whether attributes such as designation of origin influence the actual purchase behaviour and, moreover, ...

During the last years, a strong consumer interest appears for food products with low caloric content (“light” products). Due to their popularity, the real success of these products in the marketplace is a worth-investigating issue. The creation of buyers that are loyal to ...

This paper investigates the reasons that have led to the growth of the organic food market in Denmark; a country with the highest market among countries in Europe. To fulfil this objective trends are explored in market performance and repeat purchase loyalty for a period of ten years (2001-2010) across nine product categories. The results show that growth during this period is primarily driven by penetration, whereas repeat purchase loyalty and purchase frequency remain almost stationary. Another important finding is that organic foods suffer in terms of repeat purchase loyalty, mainly due to lack of availability. Implications from this research suggest that in order to grow the organic food market more consumers need to be reached, rather than focusing on increasing purchase frequency of existing consumers. To achieve this aim, increased awareness of organic foods and successful implementation of quality assurance labelling schemes is a prerequisite; initiatives that took place successfully in Denmark during that period.

Extended Abstract Several studies have explored the relationship between product involvement and brand loyalty (e.g. Olsen, 2007; Quester & Lim, 2003). The main finding drawn is that product involvement has a positive effect on brand loyalty. In other words, if an individual is more involved in a product category this increases the propensity of the same individual to buy the same brand. The interpretation of such a finding is explained by the fact that increased product involvement creates higher psychological commitment, which further leads to increased behavioural loyalty. However, amongst the drawbacks in these studies is that they have operationalized loyalty as an attitudinal construct, rather than as a behavioural response. In fact, loyalty is a rather complex construct and a debate has been offered as to whether it should be operationalized as a behavioural response or as an attitudinal response (Bandyopadhyay & Martell, 2007).

Within the European project so-called TYPIC Typical Food Products in Europe: Consumer Preference and Objective Assessment, supported by the European Commission, DG Research, Quality of Life, www.typic.org which intends to cross-tabulate consumer responses and instrumental analysis of the same origin labelled products: Spanish and French dry-cured hams and German and French red wines. We will present the French results focusing on consumer purchasing behaviour and a descriptive analysis with respect to brand effect for dry-cured ham.

ABSTRACT This paper examines the role of quality assurance labels as drivers of customer loyalty in the case of traditional food products. More specifically, it investigates whether quality assurance labels, such as the Designation of origin labels (DOLs), perform as better drivers of loyalty in comparison to other brand-related attributes, such as price and brand type, and if brands carrying a DOL exhibit higher loyalty levels in comparison to brands that do not carry any DOL label. Scanner data were collected from a panel of 789 French customers recording purchases over a year within a traditional food product category. The polarisation index u (phi) was used as a measure of loyalty. The findings show that in comparison with other extrinsic product attributes, DOLs constitute less important drivers of loyalty. However, brands carrying a DOL in comparison to brands that do not carry any DOL label exhibit higher levels of loyalty. The findings provide useful directions for the implementation of marketing strategies and management of product portfolios of product categories in which the marketing mix is often built on product attributes other than the brand name.

The ultimate goal of marketers is to achieve high loyalty toward their brands. However, there is a common belief that brand loyalty declines over time. In this paper we offer insight into this area by examining the evolution of brand loyalty and the reasons that lead to this (possible) decrease. We use purchase data from the GfK panel in Denmark and analyze loyalty evolution for 55 packaged good product categories over a period of six years (2006-2011). We show that on an aggregate level, brand loyalty has not evolved. However, we observe that evolution is product category specific with some product categories showing an increase as well. We further explore the role of certain product category characteristics, such as number of brands and SKUs, private labels, and consumers' repertoire size on influencing brand loyalty evolution.

Packaging plays a significant role in consumers' everyday decision making and in forming their choices. On the one hand, earlier research suggests that 70% of purchasing decisions are made in store. On the other hand, the proliferation of e-commerce has impacted shoppers' traditional purchasing habits by increasing their online purchasing behavior and shifting their product selections from " local " to " global ". These changes are evident among the Millennial Generation, the first generation with access to internet since childhood, which is hypothesized to significantly affect their perceived relationships with packaging. This paper presents an international packaging survey aimed at the Millennial Generation (people between the ages of 18-30). The aim of the study was to explore the relationship between the Millennials and their perceptions of packaging. The study was carried out by several IAPRI member institutes. The survey data (N=802) was collected ...

Access to this paper is restricted to registered delegates of the EMAC 2014 Conference. Abstract Sales promotions' effectiveness for short-term sales is proven. However, for long-term sales, possible adverse effects have been suggested. To bridge this gap, we apply stochastic models (BG/NBD model) in 74 packaged good categories of a Danish consumer panel and measure the cumulated long-term effects of promotions at the customer portfolio level by computing purchase frequencies, attrition and customer equity. Promotions have a mitigated impact: while the effect on purchase frequencies is overall positive, the impact on retention and lifetime duration is only positive in half of the categories. Finally, the effect on customer equity is positive in 62% and negative in 38% of the product categories analyzed.

This paper aims at exploring issues related to rural tourism destination image focusing on TDI cognitive components. By means of empirical research addressing tourists visiting the Lake Plastiras area, Central Greece, the cognitive components of the area’s TDI were identified along with their effect on destination attractiveness. Furthermore, the influence of tourists’ characteristics on their cognitive TDI was explored. The results indicate that: (1) the area’s TDI can be delineated in six cognitive factors; (2) the area’s attractiveness is significantly influenced by three of these factors; (3) visitors can be classified in four clusters according the cognitive factors; (4) tourists’ clusters differ in terms of age, education and income as well as number of visits and perception of the area’s attractiveness. Such findings point towards the need of both a new strategy for the area’s placement within the tourist market and further research.

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to explore the differences in behaviour between heavy and light wine buyers. This is conducted by comparing heavy and light buyers of wine in terms of their repertoires including the size, purchase frequency and market shares across brands, as well as loyalty exhibited towards particular wine attributes.