Elton Li

Wine-Related Lifestyle (WRL) Market Segmentation: Demographic and Behavioural Factors

ABSTRACT The primary objectives of this research were to further strengthen the wine-related lifestyle (WRL) instrument and to compare and contrast the composition and nature of the wine market segments with the earlier studies. Data collection took place by means of the computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) method among wine drinking residents in South Australia, resulting in a final randomized sample size of 401 households. People who were the primary wine buyer of their household and had consumed wine in the six-month period prior to the survey, were interviewed. The South Australian wine market consists of five wine-related lifestyle (WRL) segments, each differing in size and level of involvement with wine. This segmentation structure is relatively stable but continues to evolve as two new market segments were identified, namely ‘mature time-rich wine drinkers’ and ‘young professional wine drinkers’. The WRL-instrument is a domain-specific segmentation tool that is suitable for identifying and measuring wine market segments, but needs to undergo further testing on both a cross-cultural and data collection method basis. The research reconfirms that there are five lifestyle-related segments in the South Australian wine market and that this is of an evolving nature. The findings are somewhat tentative as the study was conducted in South Australia only.

The Role of Perceived Risk in Wine Purchase Decisions in Restaurants

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the level of perceived risk and implementation of risk-reduction strategies (RRS) regarding the consumer wine purchase decision in the fine dining restaurant environment. The study seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of elements within the control, or influence of the restaurant (staff, reputation, previous visitation and previous consumption) on reducing the perceived risk of consumers. Design/methodology/approach – Data are collected through the use of a self-administered, highly structured questionnaire in a well established fine dining restaurant in central Adelaide, South Australia over a three week period in April and May 2008. The sample consists of restaurant consumers who made a wine purchase decision at the restaurant during the collection period. A response rate of 85 per cent is achieved resulting in 105 useable questionnaires. Findings – A low overall level of perceived risk is noted in the wine purchase decision-making process in the fine dining environment. The restaurant’s reputation and advice from staff are found to be important RRS with a high incidence of utilisation. The reputation of the restaurant, incidence of previous visitation and previous consumption of the wine ordered in the restaurant, are all found to reduce the level of perceived consumer risk. A significant incidence of customers engaging in riskseeking behaviour through selecting wines with which they are unfamiliar, is also noted. Research limitations/implications – The findings of this research suggest that the overall level of risk associated with the consumer wine purchase decision may be lower than previously observed and can be reduced through measures within the restaurant management’s control. Although tentative due to the exploratory nature of this study, these findings may provide useful insights to the wine and restaurant industries and would benefit from further investigation on a larger scale. Originality/value – This study is of value to academic researchers, restaurant managers/sommeliers and the wine industry as it highlights important aspects of consumer behaviour with regard to wine purchases in a growing and lucrative sector of the on-premise trade.

Region of Origin and its Importance Among Choice Factors in the Wine-Buying Decision Making of Consumers

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the importance of wine’s region of origin in the consumer wine-buying decision-making process in the Australian domestic market. Design/methodology/approach – Data collection takes place by means of a self-administered and online approach in tandem utilising a highly structured questionnaire completed by wine consumers. The sample is limited to three groups of wine consumers – patrons of a wine bar in Sydney and two online wine communities unlocking access to a cross-section of on-premise trade and online consumers. The active memberships of the online communities amount to 3,600. In total, 352 usable surveys are obtained. Findings – Region of origin is an important choice factor in the wine-buying decision making process of consumers, but particularly so in terms of its multi-dimensional nature (region name, wine type and grape variety). The most important choice factors in consumers’ wine-buying decisions are quality, price, grape variety, wine style and region of origin. Region of origin varies in degree of influence within different segments. Higher ratings for region of origin are given by female wine consumers, high involvement wine consumers and consumers who have participated in wine tourism to a greater degree. Research limitations/implications – The findings of this research suggest that wine’s region of origin is a significant choice factor in the Australian consumer’s wine-buying decision making process. More than half of the respondents are residents of Sydney and the findings are therefore tentative due to the geographical limitation. Originality/value – This study is of value to academic researchers, wine industry practitioners, and on- and off-premise operators alike as it furthers the understanding of the importance of various choice factors in the consumer’s wine-buying decision-making process and in particular the relative importance of region of origin within the main choice factors. It also highlights the specific market segments (geodemographic, behavioural and involvement level) and conditions under which the relative importance of region of origin varies.

Region of Origin as Choice Factor: Wine Knowledge and Wine Tourism Involvement Influence

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify and examine key areas of the wine consumer’s interaction with region of origin, specifically through access to wine information, wine knowledge, the auxiliary relationship with wine tourism involvement and the impact this has on the wine buying decision-making process.Design/methodology/approach – A conceptual research ‘‘model’’ was developed to set the direction for the development of the research hypotheses and questions. A highly structured questionnaire was administered at a high-end independent wine retail shop in Sydney, Australia using a convenience sample of 100 randomly selected respondents, all of whom were in the basic wine drinker category or higher. A series of quantitative and qualitative datasets were collected during timeslots spanning 8-15 minutes per questionnaire.Findings – The results confirm that as wine knowledge increases together with wine involvement, it develops into a greater understanding of a wine’s region of origin, impacting positively on the consumer’s wine decision-making process. A consumer’s willingness to interact with wine-related motivations through wine tourism visitation has a profound effect on the importance of a wine’s region of origin, therefore attributing to greater recall of wine region in the wine buying decision- making process.Research limitations/implications – Wine education and access to wine information have a strong relationship with increasing a consumer’s awareness of wines’ region of origin and offer scope to further investigate the importance of in-store assistance and cellar door staff interaction with consumers. Although both these aspects are considered positively by a statistically significant percentage of the sample study, a relationship does not coexist with the importance of wine region as an aid or attribute for consumers when purchasing wine.Originality/value – Wine marketing strategies in Australia are beginning to incorporate a complementary product brand relationship with region of origin and the use of regional branding, not only as a point of difference, but as an extension of a wine product’s attributes. This study aids in further identifying information regarding regional branding and its relative importance, which could lead to subsequent comprehensive research studies. The research findings may be utilized to provide small- to medium-sized wineries an overview of how they may consider closer interaction between their individual brand and regional branding.

The underlying motivations of Chinese wine consumer behaviour

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discover the underlying motivations of Chinese wine consumption.Design/methodology/approach – Qualitative focus group interviews were performed on 36 Chinese wine consumers and four focus groups were performed, with participants segmented into groups based on age and gender.Findings – The main findings were that Chinese wine consumers are influenced by face and status. These issues may be affecting their wine consumption behaviours, particularly related to anomalous behaviours such as mixing red wine with lemonade and the rationale for the preference of cork‐closed wine bottles. Furthermore, the notion of wine consumption for health‐related purposes was uncovered and a linkage found with traditional Chinese medicine.Originality/value – While research has been conducted on Chinese wine consumers, this paper attempts to uncover the underlying motivations for consumption and finds a linkage between wine consumption and traditional Chinese medicine. Furthermore, this ...

The purchasing behaviour of Shanghai buyers of processed food and beverage products: implications for research on retail management

Examines empirically the purchasing behaviour of Shanghai buyers of processed food and beverage products. An average of only 3.66 product items are purchased on each shopping occasion. Explains the value or weight of purchases by various geographic, demographic and behavioural factors, specifically: the distance travelled to the shop (closely related to the frequency of shopping), the gender of shopper, whether the shopping was undertaken on the main shopping day of the week, and income (by far the dominant explanator). However, because of the limited quantities purchased on each shopping occasion, and the low numerical variation in purchases, the question for future research is whether some combination of low value attached to shopping time, logistical limitations, and storage constraints operate to limit the purchases of shoppers. Such research findings would support a decentralized retail strategy for sales maximization.

Farmers’ assessments of private adaptive measures to climate change and influential factors: a study in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam

AbstractAdaptation to climate change in agricultural settings depends on understanding farmers’ perceptions of the nature of climate change, their agency in adapting and the efficacy of adaptive measures themselves. Such knowledge can improve mitigation and adaptation strategies. This study addresses the limited understanding of how farmers appraise their private adaptive measures and influential factors. It uses data from structured interviews with 598 rice farmers in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Based on protection motivation theory, farmers’ assessments of private adaptive measures were measured by perceived self-efficacy, perceived adaptation efficacy and perceived adaptation cost. Multiple regressions were used to understand significant factors affecting those assessments. Some demographic and socio-economic factors, belief in climate change, information and objective resources were found to influence farmers’ adaptation assessments. It is shown that the sources and quality of information are particularly important. The improvement of both the accessibility and usefulness of local services (e.g. irrigation, agricultural extension, credit and health care) is deemed a necessity for successful adaptation strategies in the Mekong Delta. The paper also shows the application of PMT in measuring farmers’ appraisals of private adaptive measures to climate change, thereby opening this area for further research.

Exploring consumer motivations towards buying local fresh food products: A means-end chain approach

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate how consumers from a developing country background such as Indonesia make local fresh food decisions for daily eating. Design/methodology/approach – The use of the means-end chain approach is utilized as a measure of attributes, consequences and values of locally produced products. Findings – For Javanese ethnic group in Indonesia, “save money” and “health benefits” are identified views that motivate consumers purchasing their local foods. Research limitations/implications – Although investigating the largest ethnic groups in Indonesia, the results of this study cannot be generalized to all Indonesian consumers and a larger sample needs to be studied to generalize the results to the wider population of Indonesia. Practical implications – It is better for the Government to promote local food policies that is based on identified motivations of consumers. “Save money” and “health benefits” themes can be used as the central messages for the development of ...

Enhancing long‐term grape grower/winery relationships in the Australian wine industry

Purpose – There are many factors which may influence the ability of wineries to build and maintain long‐term relationships (LTR) with their suppliers of grapes. The aim of this paper is to identify the most important factors which enhance LTR between Australian wineries and grape growers.Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative in‐depth interview technique was employed with 13 Australian grape growers.Findings – The relational dimensions of communication, goal compatibility and use of power were found to influence the relationship quality dimensions of trust and satisfaction, which are also linked to the level of commitment and hence long‐term relationship.Practical implications – The Australian wine industry is currently suffering economic instability which has resulted in the demise of some relationships between grape growers and winemakers. However, economic misfortunes will no doubt change and inefficiencies will result if LTR are not maintained. These inefficiencies could prove detrimental as the ...

The relative importance of factors influencing the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices: a factor approach for Malaysian vegetable farmers

This study develops the understanding of the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices (SAPs) by investigating the relative importance of a set of multidimensional factors in the Malaysian vegetable production sector. A factor approach is deployed to identify explanatory indicators within an integrative framework that is synthesized from the theory of interpersonal behavior and the theory of diffusion of innovation. We achieved this by analyzing a logistic regression model for the adoption of six individual SAPs (conservation tillage, intercropping, cover crops/mulches, crop rotation, organic fertilizers/composts, and integrated pest management). The findings indicate that adoption depends on a range of socio-economic, agro-ecological, institutional, informational, and psychological factors, as well as the perceived attributes of SAPs. Fundamental policy understanding of the issue should, therefore, be multidisciplinary. In addition, standardized coefficients reveal that the impact of statistically significant factors on adoption is unequal. In general, the most influential factor is the asymmetric distribution of resources across geographical locations. This is followed by financial capital and a number of factors, including the workforce size, the usefulness of information, Chinese ethnicity, and the perceived relative advantage of SAPs. Guided by this prioritization understanding, future SAPs promotion now has a better opportunity to target the more important areas. Similar research effort should be made to steer sustainable agriculture internationally.