Anne C. Bech

Food-Related Lifestyle: A Segmentation Approach to European Food Consumers

Ever since Levitt’s (1983) controversial article on the globalization of markets, there has been a standing discussion on which degree of standardisation versus adaptation of marketing parameters is appropriate under which circumstances (e.g., Jain 1989; Samiee and Roth 1992; Wind 1986). Levitt’s forceful argument was that, driven by developments in technology and mass communication, consumers tend to develop homogeneous preferences around the world, and that marketers’ attempts to adapt locally is a waste of resources which were better spent bringing down costs and make products obtainable to more people. The more refined argument is that certain marketing parameters may be standardised to varying degrees, depending on characteristics of the market, the product, the company and the environment as such.

Quality guidance and quality formation

Abstract This paper presents an extension of the quality guidance model of Steenkamp and Van Trijp that includes consumer quality formation processes. Quality expectations and quality experiences are seen as antecedents of perceived overall product quality. The conceptual model is applied using LIS-REL to a data set on Danish butter cookies. Five plausible models of the relation between expectation, experience and perceived product quality are estimated. Finally one model is selected on the basis of three criteria: chi-square, RMSEA and AIC. The results show a model where expectations are indirectly related to perceived quality through experience.

Consumers’ Quality Perception

Much has been said about food quality, and the discussion is endless because the notion of quality changes along with the changes in our life and society. This underlines the complexity of the issue of food quality. Today food production in Europe is highly concentrated, and the global market is rapidly becoming a reality. On the other hand, still many consumers are in favour of local production, resulting in fierce competition between the multinational suppliers and the local producers of food.