Karen Brunsø

Consumer perception of meat quality and implications for product development in the meat sector—a review

In the first part of the paper, the Total Food Quality Model is used as a frame of reference for analysing the way in which consumers perceive meat quality, drawing mainly on European studies involving beef and pork. The way in which consumers form expectations about quality at the point of purchase, based on their own experience and informational cues available in the shopping environment, is described, as well as the way in which quality is experienced in the home during and after meal preparation. The relationship between quality expectations and quality experience and its implications for consumer satisfaction and repeat purchase intent is addressed. In the second part of the paper, and building on the insights obtained on subjective quality perception, possibilities for consumer-oriented product development in the meat sector are addressed. Issues dealt with here are branding, differentiation by taste, healthiness and convenience, and by process characteristics like organic production and animal welfare.

Closing the gap between values and behavior--a means-end theory of lifestyle

Abstract Means–end chain theory and lifestyle are reconstructed within a dual-process framework, incorporating bottom–up and top–down information processing routes. The bottom–up route is defined as a hierarchical categorization process, and the top–down route as goal-directed action. Lifestyle, then, is a system of individual differences in the habitual use of declarative and procedural knowledge structures that intervene between abstract goal states (personal values) and situation-specific product perceptions and behaviors. Access to the intervening knowledge structures is considered a necessary condition for both information processing routes to reach their ends, predicting a strict mediation model. The model is tested on survey data gathered in France in 1998, using the list of values as a measure of abstract goal states, the food-related lifestyle instrument as a measure of intervening knowledge structures, and a newly constructed behavior list as a measure of behavior. Data were analyzed by means of structural equation modeling. Compared against five alternative model structures, the strict mediation model fitted the data best, thus confirming the predictions derived from the reconstructed theory.

Exploring the Relationship between Convenience and Fish Consumption: A Cross-Cultural Study

The purpose of the present study is to explore cultural differences in the meaning of convenience and the relationships between convenience, attitudes and fish consumption in five European countries. The results suggest that the meaning of meal convenience is not culture specific, whilst the absolute levels of convenience orientation and the perceived inconvenience of fish differ between cultures. Convenience orientation was highest in Poland, followed by Spain, and was lowest in the Netherlands. The relationships between convenience orientation and attitudes towards fish, and convenience orientation and fish consumption, were insignificant in most countries. However, convenience orientation was positively related to the perceived inconvenience of fish. Perceived inconvenience of fish was negatively related to both attitudes towards fish and to fish consumption. Together, these results confirm some earlier findings that fish is generally perceived as a relatively inconvenient type of food. This study suggests that convenience orientation can be crucial to understanding food choice or behaviour only when critical mediating constructs are explored.

Cross-cultural validity of the food-related lifestyles instrument (FRL) within Western Europe

The food-related lifestyle instrument (FRL) was tested for its validity across food cultures in Western Europe. First, responses from samples of 1000 or more consumers from each of Denmark, France, Germany, Spain and the UK were compared using multi-sample confirmatory factor analysis with structured means. The loadings, covariances and variances of the factors were invariant across countries, although item intercepts and error variances were not. In the second part of the analysis, replication samples (also Ns of 1000 or more) from France, Germany and the UK were examined for intra-cultural stability using the same statistical models. The factorial structure was completely invariant over time in three of five FRL domains, and subject to only minor variations in the other two domains. In the third part of the analysis, a revised version of the FRL was tested for cross-cultural validity, using consumer samples of 1000 each from France and the UK. This version of the FRL was also cross-culturally valid in factor loadings, covariances and variances, but still subject to variation between countries in item intercepts and error variances.

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.

Cross-Cultural Similarities and Differences in Shopping for Food

Abstract This study deals with a concept called food-related lifestyle. We defined the concept of food-related lifestyle as a mental construct explaining behavior in relation to the product class “foods,” and describe the concept as a system of cognitive categories, scripts, and their associations, which relate a set of products to a set of values. On the basis of these theoretical assumptions, a measurement instrument has been developed, applied, and tested in a cross-culturally valid way.

Motives, barriers and quality evaluation in fish consumption situations: Exploring and comparing heavy and light users in Spain and Belgium

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate motives and barriers for eating fish among light users and heavy users, to discuss consumer evaluation of fish quality, and to explore the existence of cross‐cultural fish consumer segments.Design/methodology/approach – Qualitative data were collected through six focus group discussions, three in Spain and three in Belgium. In each country, one group consisted of heavy users while two groups included light users.Findings – The same attitudinal motives and barriers for fish consumption can be found in both countries and across user groups, even though fish consumption levels differ considerably. The main motives for eating fish are health and taste, while the main barriers are price perception, smell when cooking fish, and that fish does not deliver the same level of satiety as compared to meat. Big differences are found between countries and user groups with respect to preparation skills and the use of quality cues. Heavy users are very skilled in eval...

Fish Consumption and its Motives in Households with Versus Without Self-Reported Medical History of CVD: A Consumer Survey from Five European Countries

BackgroundThe purpose of this study was to explore the cross-cultural differences in the frequency of fish intake and in motivations for fish consumption between people from households with (CVD+) or without (CVD-) medical history of cardiovascular disease, using data obtained in five European countries.MethodsA cross-sectional consumer survey was carried out in November-December 2004 with representative household samples from Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Poland and Spain. The sample consisted of 4,786 respondents, aged 18–84 and who were responsible for food purchasing and cooking in the household.ResultsIndividuals from households in the CVD+ group consumed fish more frequently in Belgium and in Denmark as compared to those in the CVD- group. The consumption of fatty fish, which is the main sources of omega-3 PUFA associated with prevention of cardiovascular diseases, was on the same level for the two CVD groups in the majority of the countries, except in Belgium where CVD+ subjects reported to eat fatty fish significantly more frequently than CVD- subjects. All respondents perceived fish as a very healthy and nutritious food product. Only Danish consumers reported a higher subjective and objective knowledge related to nutrition issues about fish. In the other countries, objective knowledge about fish was on a low level, similar for CVD+ as for CVD- subjects, despite a higher claimed use of medical information sources about fish among CVD+ subjects.ConclusionAlthough a number of differences between CVD- and CVD+ subjects with respect to their frequency of fish intake are uncovered, the findings suggest that fish consumption traditions and habits – rather than a medical history of CVD – account for large differences between the countries, particularly in fatty fish consumption. This study exemplifies the need for nutrition education and more effective communication about fish, not only to the people facing chronic diseases, but also to the broader public. European consumers are convinced that eating fish is healthy, but particular emphasis should be made on communicating benefits especially from fatty fish consumption.

Consumer Preferences for Retailer Brand Architectures: Results from a Conjoint Study

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate how three dimensions of retailer brand architecture – share or retailer brands, quality of retailer brands and visibility of retailer brands – affect consumer intention to shop at storesDesign/methodology/approach – A conjoint analysis is conducted with a sample of 599 Danish consumers, which rated intention to shop at hypothetical new shops based on profiles derived from an orthogonal designFindings – Two segments of consumers emerge, one price conscious and one more differentiated. Consumers prefer shops with lower price levels, with dominantly manufacturer brands, with quality of retailer brands at the same level as manufacturer brands, and with good visibility of retailer brands.Research limitations/implications – The results are based on the evaluation of hypothetical stores, and many additional factors affect store choice in the real world.Practical implications – Results suggest that we may be heading towards a polarized retail market, mainly di...

Translating barriers into potential improvements: the case of new healthy seafood product development

Purpose – The aim of this study is to explore potential barriers to seafood consumption by young adults and the parents of young children. Knowledge of these barriers will be used to assist the development of new seafood product concepts that fulfil the needs of consumers.Design/methodology/approach – To gather this information, 28 infrequent consumers of seafood participated in three semi‐structured two‐hour focus group discussions in Denmark, Norway, and Iceland. The results were then linked to the Stage‐Gate model for consumer‐based new product development (NPD).Findings – The participants thought of seafood as either healthy or convenient, although there were concerns about the amount of effort required to prepare it. These concerns resulted in an expression of their need for products that are attractive, healthy, palatable, and convenient. In particular, the newly developed products should be accompanied by clear advice on preparation methods and materials. An increase in seafood availability coupled...