J.C.M. van Trijp

Monitoring consumer confidence in food safety: an exploratory study

In response to the potential for negative economic and societal effects resulting from a low level of consumer confidence in food safety, it is important to know how confidence is potentially influenced by external events. The aim of this article is to describe the development of a monitor that enables changes in consumer confidence in food safety and consumer food choice behaviour to be assessed in conjunction with changes in institutional activities and food safety incidents. Results of the first assessment of longitudinal data on consumer perceptions of food safety will be presented to provide the basis for the development of such a monitor. A better understanding of the interrelationships between antecedents and behavioural consequences of changes in consumer confidence in food safety over time will improve understanding of the effectiveness of public policy, and allow the development of best practice in risk communication and risk management.

How trust in institutions and organizations builds general consumer confidence in the safety of food: A decomposition of effects

This paper investigates the relationship between general consumer confidence in the safety of food and consumer trust in institutions and organizations. More specifically, using a decompositional regression analysis approach, the extent to which the strength of the relationship between trust and general confidence is dependent upon a particular food chain actor (for example, food manufacturers) is assessed. In addition, the impact of specific subdimensions of trust, such as openness, on consumer confidence are analyzed, as well as interaction effects of actors and subdimensions of trust. The results confirm previous findings, which indicate that a higher level of trust is associated with a higher level of confidence. However, the results from the current study extend on previous findings by disentangling the effects that determine the strength of this relationship into specific components associated with the different actors, the different trust dimensions, and specific combinations of actors and trust dimensions. The results show that trust in food manufacturers influences general confidence more than trust in other food chain actors, and that care is the most important trust dimension. However, the contribution of a particular trust dimension in enhancing general confidence is actor-specific, suggesting that different actors should focus on different trust dimensions when the purpose is to enhance consumer confidence in food safety. Implications for the development of communication strategies that are designed to regain or maintain consumer confidence in the safety of food are discussed.

Successful Development of Satiety Enhancing Food Products: Towards a Multidisciplinary Agenda of Research Challenges

In the context of increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity in societies worldwide, enhancing the satiating capacity of foods may help people control their energy intake and weight. This requires an integrated approach between various food-related disciplines. By structuring this approach around the new product development process, this paper aims to present the contours of such an integrative approach by going through the current state of the art around satiety enhancing foods. It portrays actual food choice as the end result of a complex interaction between internal satiety signals, other food benefits, and environmental cues. Three interrelated routes to satiating enhancement are to change the food composition to develop stronger physiological satiation and satiety signals, anticipate and build on smart external stimuli at the moment of purchase and consumption, and improve palatability and acceptance of satiety enhanced foods. Key research challenges in achieving these routes in the field of nutrition, food technology, consumer, marketing, and communication are outlined.

Product-related determinants of variety-seeking behavior for foods

Abstract Food consumers do not seek variety across all products to the same extent. This suggests that the intensity of variety-seeking behavior is under the joint control of personality variables, such as intrinsic desire for variety, and product-related factors. The results of the present study indicate that variety-seeking behavior is more likely to occur for products for which sensory variation among the alternatives in larger and consumer knowledge is greater. Furthermore, variety seeking is more likely to occur for food products which have a relatively large number of well-liked alternatives available and evoke a relatively high degree of involvement.

The emergent demand chain management: key features and illustration from the beef business

Purpose – The paper seeks to delineate the emergence of demand chain management (DCM) from a theoretical perspective and to illustrate its occurrence in practice.Design/methodology/approach – The DCM concept is examined empirically through a case study with retailers involved in the beef chain in the state of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil).Findings – The paper reveals that the DCM concept derives from the supply chain management (SCM) concept, but with a strong emphasis on demand management due to the incorporation of the market orientation perspective. In the beef business in the Rio Grande do Sul, two distinct practices were observed: SCM and DCM practice. The SCM practice is tightly related to the traditional beef market, whereas the DCM practice emphasizes understanding customers and the sequential capabilities for responding to their requirements.Originality/value – By establishing the evolutionary development from SCM to DCM, businesses will certainly gain insights about how to become more responsive, a...

Hedonic responses, variety-seeking tendency and expressed variety in sandwich choices

The relationships between liking, variety-seeking tendency and choices were examined in six experimental lunch occasions, in which 26 young subjects freely chose sandwiches from a selection of eight fillings. Subjects rated their liking for the sandwiches during the first and sixth sessions and, among other attitude questionnaires, filled in the VARSEEK-scale which measures variety-seeking tendency. The choices were very strongly connected to hedonic responses. Contrary to expectations, the variety-seeking tendency was not related to expressed variety in sandwich choices nor did it interact with hedonic responses. The variety-seeking tendency was, however, to some extent related to appropriateness of sandwich fillings. In experimental situations where most of the externally derived variety is removed, the meaning of liking may be emphasized instead of the internal need for variety. The choice frequencies of some fillings could be explained by both liking and variety-seeking tendency, and they seem to influence choices independently.

Consumer acceptance of nutrigenomics-based personalised nutrition

Nutrigenomics is a new and promising development in nutritional science which aims to understand the fundamental molecular processes affected by foods. Despite general agreement on its promise for better understanding diet-health relationships, less consensus exists among experts on the potential of spin-offs aimed at the consumer such as personalised nutrition. Research into consumer acceptance of such applications is scarce. The present study develops a set of key hypotheses on public acceptance of personalised nutrition and tests these in a representative sample of Dutch consumers. An innovative consumer research methodology is used in which consumers evaluate short films which are systematically varied scenarios for the future of personalised nutrition. Consumer evaluations of these films, which are pre-tested in a pilot study, allow a formal test of how consumer perceptions of personalised nutrition drive consumer acceptance and through which fundamental psychological processes these effects are mediated. Public acceptance is enhanced if consumers can make their genetic profile available free at their own choice, if the actual spin-off products provide a clearly recognisable advantage to the consumer, and are easy to implement into the daily routine. Consumers prefer communication on nutrigenomics and personalised nutrition by expert stakeholders to be univocal and aimed at building support with consumers and their direct environments for this intriguing new development. Additionally, an exploratory segmentation analysis indicated that people have different focal points in their preferences for alternative scenarios of personalised nutrition. The insights obtained from the present study provide guidance for the successful further development of nutrigenomics and its applications.

Benefit-feature segmentation: A tool for the design of a supply-chain strategy

Purpose – This paper aims to assess the effectiveness of different segmentation schemes as the basis of marketing strategy, with particular respect to supply‐chain decisions, and to propose a new procedure capable of combining benefits sought and features available.Design/methodology/approach – In a study of buyers and consumers of beef in Brazil, segments based on three approaches were derived by hierarchical cluster analysis, fine‐tuned by K‐means cluster analysis. The outcome was evaluated for the viability and actionability of the preferred procedure, both objectively and through interviews with managers in the beef‐supply business.Findings – The results revealed that a segmentation scheme combining benefits sought and features available yields more homogeneous and actionable segments, and has real promise as an input to the formulation and implementation of supply‐chain strategy.Research limitations/implications – This promising innovation in market segmentation requires further study, and testing in...

Buyer social responsibility: a general concept and its implications for marketing management

Abstract The inclusion of sustainability concerns in consumer decision-making poses new challenges to marketing. The existing literature contains a variety of concepts and definitions that pertain to social issues in consumption but lacks an overarching conceptualisation of buyer social responsibility (BSR) that identifies its basic features. This article proposes a general BSR concept as a problem-solving consumer-decision process. It draws from the social dilemma and social issue literature streams to develop a conceptual framework on consumers’ consideration of social issues in purchase decisions, its potential consequences and boundary conditions. The article formulates propositions and elaborates on how companies, governments and non-governmental organisations can strengthen BSR and draw on it to relieve social issues and create profitable market offerings.

Sustainability labelling as a challenge to legitimacy: spillover effects of organic Fairtrade coffee on consumer perceptions of mainstream products and retailers

Purpose – This study aims to better understand the impact of norm-challenging products on consumers’ perceptions of mainstream products and retailers. By showing that sustainable market offerings are feasible, products with sustainability labels, such as Fairtrade and organic products, implicitly question the legitimacy of mainstream brands in the market. Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses an experiment, based on scenarios that portray the consumer in a shopping situation for their usual coffee brand when they encounter an organic Fairtrade coffee. The paper distinguishes a situation in which the sustainable and the mainstream products compete, from a situation in which the two brands collaborate. Findings – The results show that norm-challenging products deteriorate perceptions of mainstream products and the companies that produce them but improve the image of retailers that include these products in their assortment. If labelled products are sold under the heading of mainstream brands, they s...