Athanasios Krystallis

Consumers' willingness to pay for organic food: Factors that affect it and variation per organic product type

Purpose – Seeks to provide answers to two questions: is willingness to pay (WTP) for organic products influenced by the same set of factors that affect purchasing of conventional foods? Does WTP for organic products vary according to different food categories?Design/methodology/approach – Purchasers were approached during their food shopping in retail chains in Athens in July 2003. Sample inclusion is based on real awareness of the term “organic”. The questionnaire included in its first part a number of criteria that influence consumers when buying food. In the second part respondents were asked to indicate if any food products they buy were organic and to state how much more they were willing to pay. Information from the first part was analysed with factor analysis. With the help of t‐value analysis, it was examined whether there is a statistically significant difference per product category between consumers who are willing to pay and consumers who are unwilling to pay in terms of the factors identified...

Purchasing motives and profile of the Greek organic consumer: a countrywide survey

The present study attempts to offer more insights into the Greek organic market. It examines the organic products as “eco‐products”, suitable for “green” consumers, who are ecologically/environmentally ecology‐aware and who are concerned with health and quality‐of‐life issues. Analysing a countrywide sample, the survey concludes that three consumer types exist in terms of attitude towards, purchase intention and awareness of organic products: the “unaware”, the “aware non‐buyers”, and the “(aware) buyers” (or simply buyers) of organic food products. After developing a detailed profile of the first two, the “aware buyers” type is segmented in terms of five groups of personality and behavioural factors, defined in the international literature as the driving forces of organic purchasing.

Organic product avoidance

The present study attempts to offer more insights into the Greek organic market. It examines the organic products as “eco‐products”, suitable for “green” consumers, conscious in matters of ecology‐environment, who follow a wider health and quality‐sensitive stance of life. Analyzing a countrywide sample, the survey concludes that three consumer types exist in terms of attitude towards, purchase intention and awareness of organic products: the “unaware”, the “aware non‐users”, and the “aware users” (or simply users) of organic food products. After developing a detailed profile of the other two, the “aware non‐users” type is segmented in terms of five groups of personality and behavioral factors defined in the international literature as the driving forces of organic purchase. Then, organic products’ rejection reasons and potential organic buyer segments are revealed and their profile is fully described.

Quality labels as a marketing advantage

The adoption of different quality assurance schemes, such as the Protected Denomination of Origin/Geographical Indication (PDO/PGI) by the European Union, has been a response to the growing demand for certified quality food products among consumers. Tries to offer some more insights into the effectiveness of the PDO scheme and its acceptance by the consumer. The use of conjoint analysis in exploring Greek consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for PDO apples from the area of Zagora, Central Greece, has been selected as one of the most appropriate approaches to that target. Opens with a brief theoretical background presentation on the concepts of food quality and labelling. Proceeds with a detailed description of the research methodology, focusing on the WTP measurement method through the use of conjoint analysis, the identification of segments based on the importance consumers attach to the PDO label and the development of their profiles. Finally, concludes with some thoughts regarding the managerial implications of the findings, the limitations of the survey and the suggested research extensions.

Food Choice Questionnaire (FCQ) revisited. Suggestions for the development of an enhanced general food motivation model.

Recognising the need for a more statistically robust instrument to investigate general food selection determinants, the research validates and confirms Food Choice Questionnaire (FCQs) factorial design, develops ad hoc a more robust FCQ version and tests its ability to discriminate between consumer segments in terms of the importance they assign to the FCQ motivational factors. The original FCQ appears to represent a comprehensive and reliable research instrument. However, the empirical data do not support the robustness of its 9-factorial design. On the other hand, segmentation results at the subpopulation level based on the enhanced FCQ version bring about an optimistic message for the FCQs ability to predict food selection behaviour. The paper concludes that some of the basic components of the original FCQ can be used as a basis for a new general food motivation typology. The development of such a new instrument, with fewer, of higher abstraction FCQ-based dimensions and fewer items per dimension, is a right step forward; yet such a step should be theory-driven, while a rigorous statistical testing across and within population would be necessary.

Is food-related lifestyle (FRL) able to reveal food consumption patterns in non-Western cultural environments? Its adaptation and application in urban China

Research related to food-related behaviour in China is still scarce, one reason being the fact that food consumption patterns in East Asia do not appear to be easily analyzed by models originating in Western cultures. The objective of the present work is to examine the ability of the food related lifestyle (FRL) instrument to reveal food consumption patterns in a Chinese context. Data were collected from 479 respondents in 6 major Chinese cities using a Chinese version of the FRL instrument. Analysis of reliability and dimensionality of the scales resulted in a revised version of the instrument, in which a number of dimensions of the original instrument had to be omitted. This revised instrument was tested for statistical robustness and used as a basis for the derivation of consumer segments. Construct validity of the instrument was then investigated by profiling the segments in terms of consumer values, attitudes and purchase behaviour, using frequency of consumption of pork products as an example. Three consumer segments were identified: concerned, uninvolved and traditional. This pattern replicates partly those identified in Western cultures. Moreover, all three segments showed consistent value-attitude-behaviour profiles. The results also suggest which dimensions may be missing in the instrument in a more comprehensive instrument adapted to Chinese conditions, most notably a broader treatment of eating out activities.

Public trust in institutions and information sources regarding risk management and communication: towards integrating extant knowledge

The present article attempts an integrative review of knowledge on public trust in institutions and information sources regarding risk management and communication. The review is based on 27 empirical studies, and is organised around four groups of trust‐related factors. The empirical studies reveal that this field of research suffers from a lack of consistency in conceptualising ‘trust’. Based on the review, a ‘layering’ of four different aspects of trust, from more general to more specific, has been designed, reflecting the identified layers of trust‐related factors vis‐à‐vis: (1) socio‐cultural and individual personality characteristics; (2) perceived attributes of institution or information source; (3) risk aspects; (4) information‐specific aspects. This layered conceptualisation of trust demonstrates that trust in those managing and communicating risk is a complex phenomenon operative simultaneously in and interplaying across a number of levels.

Generation Y Preferences for Wine: An Exploratory Study of the US Market Applying the Best-Worst Scaling

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore differences in wine preferences between Generation Y and older cohorts in the USA.Design/methodology/approach – A total of 260 US consumers participated in a web‐based survey that took place in April 2010. The best‐worst scaling method was applied measuring the level of importance given by participants to a list of most common attributes used in choice of wine. Independent sample t‐tests were applied to compare the best‐worst scores between Generation Y and older cohorts.Findings – Differences were found in the level of importance that Generation Y gives to wine attributes in comparison to older cohorts. Generation Y was found to attach more importance to attributes such as “Someone recommended it”, “Attractive front label” and “Promotional display in‐store”, whereas older cohorts gave more importance to attributes such as “I read about it” and “Grape variety”. This suggests that Generation Y preferences for wine are driven by marketing added‐value activit...

Testing and Validation of a Hierarchical Values-Attitudes Model in the Context of Green Food in China

Purpose – Values-attitudes hierarchical models are quite frequent in the consumer behaviour literature. In attitudinal models specific to food produced in an environmentally friendly way (i.e. “green” food), past research evidence mainly originating in Western cultures posits that the strongest path of the model can be found among collectivistic consumer values, general environmental attitudes, and attitudes specific to green food. On the other hand, in non-Western cultures (i.e. China), green food (e.g. organic) is perceived by consumers as safer to consume. With this as point of departure, the present paper aims to examine whether attitudes towards green food in a values-attitudes model in China are determined as postulated in past Western research. Design/methodology/approach – A “typical” (i.e. Western research evidence-based) values-attitudes hierarchical model was developed and a questionnaire comprising 34 items reflecting the conceptual model was designed. Data collection was focused on six major ...

Health claims as communication tools that enhance brand loyalty: The case of low-fat claims within the dairy food category

During the last decade a strong consumer interest has emerged for food products with health protecting or enhancing properties. In this connection, health claims are used as communication tools conveying the health message of a product and further constituting the means of a brands differentiation strategy. Brands carrying a health claim are thus expected to have an advantage over their counterparts. In this study, we aim to investigate whether health claims, with emphasis on the low-fat claims, can act as a means to improve the performance of brands and further enhance their loyalty levels. Based on stated preference data using a purchase intention scale (i.e. Juster Scale), a set of Brand Performance Measures (BPMs) are empirically estimated to describe the market structure of two dairy product categories and their respective sub-categories that were defined according to health-related attributes: (a) fat content; (b) enrichment; and (c) way of processing. Then, the Dirichlet models fit to the empirical data is examined, leading to the theoretical estimation of loyalty measures. Findings suggest that, on average, brands with a low-fat claim perform better in the market compared with their high-fat counterparts. Moreover, in comparison with other health-related attributes the fat content attribute exhibits slightly higher loyalty, signifying the importance of the ‘low-fat’ claim as a means of communication.