Antonio Stasi

Italian wine demand and differentiation effect of geographical indications

Purpose – Geographical indications (GIs) provide a strong differentiation tool for firms. Whether this statement is confirmed at aggregate level in terms of market independence of different GIs is not tested yet. The purpose of this paper is to provide demand estimates and elasticities (own‐price and substitution) in order to test this hypothesis and verify the differentiation effect of GIs at aggregate level.Design/methodology/approach – The analysis consists of the application of a quadratic almost ideal demand on a four equation system. Estimates are obtained through an iterated version of a generalized method of moments, which corrects for endogeneity determined by expenditure and prices in case of promotional activities.Findings – Estimates prove the existence of a differentiation effect of GIs in terms of magnitude of elasticities and substitution effects. GIs corresponding to higher quality generate lower price sensitiveness and product substitution, contrarily to wine without GI. Controlled origin...

Visualization and purchase: An analysis of the Italian olive oil grocery shelves through an in-situ visual marketing approach

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to present an attempt to evaluate Italian olive oil brand competition thought the analysis of consumers’ visual perspective. Design/methodology/approach – Through the implementation of a new information technology system called “Visual Marketing REL”, which furnishes eye-tracking measures, the authors were able to produce important information relative to the layout organization of to the Italian olive oil shelf, a strategic product of the agro-food chain. The research uses the “in situ” testing of the software developed. Findings – The research, following up the thesis of sensorial marketing affecting choices, intends to identify an IT tool to facilitate the design of the shelf by increasing the efficiency of the retail mix. Results highlight that specific positioning could impact the differentiation effect and orientate consumers’ choices, thus increasing the efficiency of the retail mix. Research limitations/implications – To generalize the results would require m...

How does the search for knowledge drive firms’ eco-innovation? Evidence from the wine industry

Abstract The importance of eco-innovations to food manufacturing has risen exponentially in recent years. In this paper we investigate the drivers of different types of eco-innovation in the Italian wine industry, a particularly relevant sector both in terms of its economic performance and its use of natural resources. We focus on the internal knowledge sourcing of firms and on the ‘breadth’ and ‘depth’ of their engagement with external agents when performing eco-innovation activity. We test our research hypotheses in the context of cleaner processes, end-of-pipe technologies and the use of organic input factors. The empirical evidence is based on a questionnaire survey administered to 334 Italian wine producers. The econometric exercise provides mixed results: both internal R&D and engagement with external agents have a significant effect on eco-innovations depending on the type of eco-innovation taken into account. Moreover, we find a non-linear relationship between external knowledge sourcing and eco-innovation activity.

Quality preferences and pricing of fresh-cut salads in Italy: new evidence from market data

Purpose In Europe fresh-cut fruit and vegetables, is one of the major growing segments in agro-food sector. Current literature reports a limited number of studies about consumers’ preferences towards these products. In particular, it lacks of studies focussed on fresh-cut salads and based on market data. In this paper, a study on consumer preferences towards the main attributes of Italian fresh-cut salads is proposed. More specifically the investigation is focussed on attributes assessable by consumers before purchase such as assortment, tenderness, product preparation and vegetable variety together with brand, size and type of packaging, presence of organic certification, promotion and product price. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate how much Italian consumers pay for those attributes with the aim to understand how much profitable could be different strategies in the sector. Design/methodology/approach The analysis is based on IRI-Infoscan scanner data, consisting of 881 fresh-cut products. The impact of each attributes on pricing is measured by means of a hedonic price model. Findings Main results show that, in Italy, fresh-cut salad price is greatly affected by tenderness, product preparation, assortment, brand, presence of organic certification, packaging attributes and vegetable variety. Practical implications Findings offer to producers the possibility to set up products by composing the mix of attributes that gives back the highest price. In addition, they provide some insights to define manufacturer’s strategies. Originality/value This paper represents a novelty in economic literature because it can be considered an example of consumer preferences analysis towards the different attributes of fresh-cut vegetables based on real market data.

Strategie di prezzo e profittabilità nel mercato degli oli extra-vergine di oliva:un modello di analisi attraverso gli scanner data.

The paper proposes a quantitative analysis of extra-virgin olive oils market designed to study the intra-sectoral competition and to analyze the profitability of pricing strategies for different types of companies: small produces, large manufactures, private label. The analysis focuses on trade within the modern grocery sector, which represents the first distribution channel of extra virgin olive oils at the national level. The study refers to the theory of industrial organization and, through the demand estimation, comes to the measurement of price-cost margins. The most important results relate to the concerns of the smaller producers respect to private label, big and international companies in the event of a further fall of extra virgin olive oils prices.

Valutazione economica di una politica di riorientamento dei consumi alimentari finalizzata alla riduzione dell’obesità

Modern lifestyle is one among the most relevant causes of alimentary disorder and environmental problems. Preventing both of them implies a win-win strategy for the improvement of social wellness (i.e. health and environmental benefits). A suitable strategy could be addressed to the partial substitution of caloric food (e.g. beef meat), which is also responsible for a large amount of greenhouse gas (ghgs) emissions, with less caloric food (e.g. vegetables), which is proved of exerting a lower impact on climate change. The analysis is referred to the Italian case study, based on data from the Italian Statistical Institute (istat). The relationship between obesity and ghgs emissions is here explained experimentally through a 5-stage methodology. In the first step, a regression model (ols method) is adopted to explain obesity rate in terms of ratio of people consuming meat more than once a week, and the ratio of people consuming vegetables less than once a day. The outcome of this analysis allows simulating a policy target in terms of obesity abatement, provided by a reasonable change in food demand. In the third step, a meta-analysis of Life Cycle Assessment (lca) studies has been performed in order to calculate the CO2 emissions of the food types we considered. In the fourth step, the observed change in food demand from the previous step is combined with lca indicators, in order to evaluate the impact of food industry on climate change. Finally, in the fifth step, the benefits of the obesity reduction are calculated considering the cost saving for health care of the obesity, which amounts to 1.700 Eur per person. In addition, the value of the CO2 emission have been compared with the value of the European Union Allowance (eua) of CO2 emissions, which was evaluated in 2009 in terms of 21.45 eur/t CO2. Consequently, we found that the effect of the policy can be estimated in terms of 1,032 Million eur, of which the impacts on human health is the most important (about 1.020 Million eur). The study shows the evidence that the consumption of food with low content of calories has a most relevant effect in the reduction of obesity, but very limited economic effect in terms of CO2 emissions.

Supplements consumption, health oriented behaviour and beyond

The dietary supplements use is constantly growing as proof that people pay always more attention to their diet and their physical status. Italy recorded the highest growth in the European market within 2008 and 2012. The reasons and the factors behind the consumption of dietary supplements are complex, combining social, psychological, knowledge and economic factors. In order to provide consumers’ profiles and to estimate the following relationship between them and the socio-demo, lifestyle, health-related behaviour, a survey study was conducted on a sample of 400 Italian consumers. The main results highlight the presence of four different profiles, distinguished mainly by different lifestyle, health needs and self-perceived health status. Through a logit regression it was also estimated the probability to consume the different categories of supplements for each profile. In this way, this study could provide useful hints to implement public health guidelines and to avoid a no-proper use of supplements.

Crescita nei consumi di IV gamma. Un’applicazione del modello AIDS alla domanda italiana di ortofrutta

Fresh-cut and ready to eat products are gaining market shares over fruits and vegetables. Dining habits and cooking time are changing over time and life styles are modifying the food preparation and the time used for eating. In the meanwhile, prices could be playing an important role in the substitution between fresh products and ready-to-eat alternatives. Therefore, the present paper tests the following hypotheses: - measuring the direct price effect on ready-to-eat and fresh cut product in order to verify market stability and price war probability; - measuring the substitution effect between fresh and ready-to-eat categories; The hypotheses have been verified throughout the estimation of a la/aids model that considers a system of 10 equations. The data used for the analysis have been collected by iri-Infoscan and represent the total Italian grocery sales for the years 2008-2010. Results provide evidence that the market is price sensitive and that substitution effect is negligible. Therefore, past, present and future evolutions of fresh-cut and ready-to-eat products should be attributed to price wars. Promotional activities, private label strategies and other price reduction strategies could be winning strategies in order to gain market shares within fruits and vegetable market.

Il ruolo degli stili alimentari nella determinazione dell’obesità in età evolutiva

Obesity is one of Europe’s most serious public health challenges. The prevalence of obesity and overweight is reaching considerable levels especially in the South of Italy. There is a large body of literature about the determinants of obesity and political tools for its prevention and reduction. This paper aims to analyse the obesity phenomenon through the study of teenagers’ eating habits. Unhealthy lifestyles, in particular alcohol, snack and junk food are investigated. The study is based on a case study referred to a population of 900 students (age 11-19) in the city of Foggia. Results of cluster analysis show three segments Sedentary people (47%), Dynamic people (26%) and Moderate people (27%); results of regression show that BMI increases in each cluster for different causes and the effect of the same food product is different for the three segments. These results suggest that an integrated approach of marketing and public health may have a positive impact on the prevention of obesity and overweight.

Economics of obesity: Nutrition and physical activities substitution effect

from children and parents for obesity and taste gene testing. Results: The first stage of the follow-up will cover early childhood development from the prenatal period until the age of 3 years. The ongoing analysis will study how mothers weight gain during pregnancy affects child’s weight and whether the environmental and genetic influences in development of obesity can be separated. The effect of genetic variation in bitter taste receptor on child feeding, eating patterns and weight gain will also be examined. Conclusions: The research aims not only at gaining information about the correlations between different factors affecting childhood obesity, but also at producing results having more practical applications for use of childhood obesity prevention in children and families. Funding: The STEPS study is funded by Academy of Finland, Paivikki and Sakari Sohlberg Foundation, Turku University Foundation, Juho Vainio Foundation and Finnish Cultural Foundation: Varsinais-Suomi Regional Fund.