Konstantinos Polymeros

The role of food quality certification on consumers' food choices

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine consumer attitudes and behavior towards organic products and products produced under the system of integrated management (SIM) and to compare the socioeconomic characteristics and attitudes that affect consumers willingness to pay (WTP) a premium for these two different certification systems.Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on cross‐sectional data collected through a questionnaire survey. Respondents attitudes towards the organic and SIM certification systems are examined. A principal component analysis (PCA) with varimax rotation was primarily applied to provide a more manageable set of variables relevant to attitudes. Those attitudes together with socioeconomic factors and variables relevant to respondents motivations to food consumption were used for the estimation of the WTP for organic and SIM products.Findings – Findings suggest that consumers level of awareness and information towards the studied certification systems is rather l...

Fish market prices drive overfishing of the 'big ones'.

The relationship between fish market price and body size has not been explored much in fisheries science. Here, the mean market prices and fish body size were collected in order to examine the hypothesis that large fish, both among- and within-species, are being selectively targeted by fisheries because they may yield greater profit. Trophic levels, vulnerability to fishing and global landings were also collected because these variables may also be related to the market fish price. These relationships were examined using generalized additive models (GAM), which showed that, among species, fish market price was positively dependent on maximum total length (P = 0.0024) and negatively on landings (P = 0.0006), whereas it was independent of trophic level (P > 0.05) and vulnerability to fishing (P > 0.05). When the fish price vs. size relationship was tested within-species, large individuals were consistently attaining higher market prices compared to their medium and small-sized counterparts. We conclude that the selective removal of the larger fish, which is driven by their market price and to a lesser extent by their availability, may contribute to their overfishing.

THE DETERMINANTS OF CONSUMPTION FOR ORGANIC AQUACULTURE PRODUCTS—EVIDENCE FROM GREECE

This study investigates Greek consumers behavior towards organic aquaculture products, identifying possible distinct consumer groups and examining possible linkages between consumer characteristics and marketing aspects of organic aquaculture. Using data from an in-person field survey, a two-step cluster analysis demonstrated different attitudes among consumers with different profiles and also identified two distinct consumer groups differentiated primarily by income: the low-potential consumers and the high-potential consumers, representing 34% and 66% of the total sample, respectively. This study provides evidence that consumers socioeconomic and demographic characteristics are key factors determining the consumers purchasing behavior for organic aquaculture products. Thus, a market segmentation strategy is needed to allow organic aquaculture production to take advantage of the significant potential for growth in the near future.

Positive effects of the Greek economic crisis on livestock farmer behaviour

The repercussions of the economic crisis have been severe upon the foundations of the Greek economy and society, and the margins for future development are more than ever strict and urgent. Within an economically turbulent period, agricultures role is reexamined and is called to play an enhanced role, particularly the livestock sector that comprises a key growth element for the economy, bearing in mind the number of people and industries employed in the production and processing of dairy products. The present study is a classification approach regarding small ruminant farmers (sheep and goat), examining their reaction strategies against the economic crisis and its economic consequences to their farming systems. Primary quantitative data were collected through administrative (structured questionnaire) personal interviews from 110 small ruminant farmers, in the remote region of Anatoliki Macedonia and Thraki. A combination of exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, cluster and discriminant analysis was employed to identify potentially distinct groups among the farmers. Results accrued reveal three clusters of farmers: the active entrepreneurs (47.2xa0% of the sample) who adopted more dynamic and cost-effective management practices, the complacent farmers (38.1xa0% of the sample) who followed a passive path of management decisions and the non-active farmers (14.7xa0% of the sample) who incorporate a static behaviour in the struggle against the economic crisis. The study is a first attempt to measure response to an ongoing economic crisis that has changed normal behaviour and expectations, and increased risk and uncertainty. In this sense, it demonstrates (with the use of the appropriate methodologies) the adaptation practices implemented by farmers from a significant economic sector (small ruminants), in a remote and less favourite Greek region, in order to persist and effectually respond to the current economic downturn.

Analysing consumers’ perceived differences in wild and farmed fish

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate consumers’ attitudes and behaviours towards wild and farmed fish, in order to identify possible distinct consumer groups, and to examine potential linkages between characteristics of the consumers’ demographic and socio-economic status and marketing aspects in wild and farmed fish. Design/methodology/approach – Using data from an in-person field survey, a TwoStep cluster analysis was employed in order to detect perceived differences among consumers with different profiles. Findings – The analysis identified two distinct consumer groups differentiated primarily by income: the low-potential aquaculture consumers and the high-potential aquaculture consumers, representing 67 and 33 per cent of the total sample, respectively. The study provides evidence that there is a lesser preference towards farmed fish. Therefore, more efficient marketing strategies are probably needed in order to promote awareness in aquaculture consumption, and potentially contribute ...

Investigating export performance and competitiveness of Balkan and eastern European fisheries sector

Abstract As foreign markets tend to be more diverse and competitive, export performance of fisheries exporting sector has been gaining increasing attention by policy makers, business managers and marketing researchers. Consequently, the aim of this paper is the investigation of export performance and competitiveness in fisheries sector among Balkan and Eastern European countries. Using Eurostat data, the export trade is described for each country, regarding exports of fisheries products in the market of EU - 27. In specific, Greece presents a significant export trade in fresh or chilled Gilt-head sea bream, while Bulgaria in frozen sprats and snails (live, fresh, chilled, frozen, salted dried with or no shell). Czech Republic exports mainly live carp, while Hungary portrays a significant export trade in live freshwater fish. Finally, Poland shows a significant export trade in smoked fillets of pacific salmon, while Slovenia in fresh or chilled fillets of freshwater fish. The estimated Revealed Competitive Advantage (RCA) indices reveal a wide range of competitiveness among the countries examined. Therefore, the results of this study could help policy makers to probably reallocate the natural resources, reinforcing the national production activities in those species and potentially to develop a national strategic plan for the export marketing of the fisheries products involved.

A path analysis approach in investigating the performance of the Greek fisheries market

Abstract The present study attempts to empirically investigate the main factors affecting market performance in the Greek fisheries industry, through the implementation of the Structure–Conduct and Performance methodological framework. Primary data were collected from Greek fisheries firms through personal interviews and analyzed embodying the path analysis modeling approach. Two possible relationships have been investigated: the causal relationship of industry structure on firm conduct and the causal relationship of industry structure and firm conduct, on market performance. Results reveal that firm conduct is influenced by industry structure and both affect either directly or indirectly the market performance. Specifically, the most important determinants directly affecting the market performance are quality assurance and competitive advantage, while the international competition and the Common Fisheries Policy Measures cause indirect effects. Regarding the estimations of the total effects, findings demonstrate that the industry structure has greater impact on market performance, than the firm conduct.