Marcia Dutra de Barcellos

Consumer buying motives and attitudes towards organic food in two emerging markets

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate if consumer buying motives regarding organic food in emerging economies China and Brazil are culture bound or determined by key characteristics of the product. Design/methodology/approach – A survey was collected in Guangzhou, China, and Porto Alegre, Brazil. Data were analyzed by means of structural equation modeling, checking for measurement invariance between samples. Findings – The reasons why Brazilian and Chinese consumers buy organic food are strikingly similar to what is found in Europe and North America. Consumers’ attitude toward buying organic food is strongly linked to beliefs about its healthiness, taste and environmental friendliness. Also, consumer attitudes toward buying organic food are positively related to what Schwartz’s “Universalism” values in all studied cultures. Research limitations/implications – Correlational (survey) data do not allow conclusions about causality and conclusions are limited by the covered countries and produc...

Willingness to try innovative food products: a comparison between British and Brazilian consumers

In this study we investigate the consumers willingness to try innovative food products in the context of the metropolitan area of Porto Alegre in Brazil and Cirencester in England, UK. Innovation in the food industry is an important source of differentiation and a value-adding opportunity for managers to develop new products. Therefore, the adoption or rejection of innovative food products becomes strategic from a market point-of-view. Using the Domain Specific Innovativeness [DSI] scale and the Food Neophobia Scale [FNS], two surveys were carried out in Brazilian and British universities with 279 and 101 respondents, respectively. Consumers were not the most inclined to adopt innovations, but they were not afraid of new foods either, especially in the UK. Managers in the food industry could be missing out on opportunities to innovate more. The results provide strategic and unique information about consumers for the food industry, aiming at supporting the development of innovative food products.

Consumer behaviour towards organic food in porto alegre: an application of the theory of planned behaviour

The aim of this study was to investigate consumers’ decision-making process, attitudes and values towards organic food throughout the employment of the Theory of Planned Behaviour, adapting the methodology from a European project. 450 consumers were interviewed at supermarkets and farmers’ markets in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Results indicate a high penetration level and very positive attitude towards organic products. Organics are believed to be healthier, tastier, more natural and environmental friendly, although being less attractive and more expensive than conventional food. Respondents from the farmers’ market represent a specific segment whose values are more oriented toward society. The findings showed an alignment between positive attitude and consumption behaviour among the surveyed consumers. The study finally contributes to the stakeholders in general, since the knowledge of the attributes more valued by consumers can help retailers to play the role of coordinators of this supply chain, stimulating producers to adhere to organic certification, helping them to upgrade their production practices and improve their income. Consumers are also benefiting from this offer in the market.

Why food companies go green? The determinant factors to adopt eco-innovations

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse how internal and external factors can influence on the adoption of eco-innovation by food companies. Although innovation and sustainability are relevant concepts, they are not being considered together in the literature. Hereof, eco-innovation encloses both approaches. Design/methodology/approach – A survey with 581 Brazilian companies was conducted. The structure of influential internal and external factors was analysed by an exploratory factor analysis, and the relations between groups of variables identified in the study were verified through regression analysis. Environmental capability, environmental managerial concern and human resources were internal factors investigated in this study, and regulatory and normative pressures, cooperation and government support were the external factors. Findings – Human resources was the most important internal factor, followed by environmental managerial concern and environmental capability. Collaboration was the mo...

Consumer perception of dry-cured sheep meat products: Influence of process parameters under different evoked contexts

The development of high-quality air-dried cured sheep meat products adapted to meet consumer demands represent an interesting option to add value to the meat of adult animals. The present study aimed to evaluate the influence of process parameters on consumer choice of two products from sheep meat under different evoked contexts, considering product concepts. A total of 375 Brazilian participants completed a choice-based conjoint task with three 2-level variables for each product: maturation time, smoking, and sodium reduction for dry-cured sheep ham, and natural antioxidant, smoking, and sodium reduction for sheep meat coppa. A between-subjects experimental design was used to evaluate the influence of consumption context on consumer choices. All the process parameters significantly influenced consumer choice. However, their relative importance was affected by evoked context.

INFORMAÇÃO E QUALIDADE NA COMPRA DE CARNE BOVINA

As transformacoes ocorridas na economia mundial nos ultimos anos tem se refletido no comportamento do consumidor de alimentos, particularmente em relacao ao seu processo decisorio de compra. A crescente preocupacao com o consumo de produtos de origem animal, em especial de carne bovina, posicionou a qualidade como um diferencial competitivo. Nesse sentido, informar ao consumidor sobre a qualidade do produto torna-se um desafio. Em carne bovina, a qualidade pode ser inferida pelas caracteristicas intrinsecas do produto (cor, sabor, aroma), mas tambem pelas informacoes disponibilizadas. Este artigo objetiva, entao, identificar o grau de importância de informacoes diretamente relacionadas a qualidade de carne bovina, a partir de uma amostra de 400 consumidores. Alem disso, utilizando-se a estatistica multivariada atraves da analise fatorial, foram identificados fatores relacionados a informacao como indicadores de qualidade. Os resultados sugerem que os consumidores em Porto Alegre apresentam interesse por informacoes ainda nao disponibilizadas pelos fornecedores de carne bovina, sinalizando que a oferta nao esta em acordo com a demanda. Assim, o produto oferecido no mercado nao fornece elementos suficientes para que o consumidor possa inferir sobre sua qualidade, com base nas informacoes disponiveis.

Pork in good company?: Exploratory analysis of side dishes, beverages, foodscapes and individual characteristics

The objective of this study is to explore the association between pork as the main meal component and the choice for side dishes and beverages depending on foodscape and individual characteristics, including overweight and obesity among fresh pork consumers (n=2156) in five European countries (Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece and Poland). Males were found to combine pork more with caloric drinking (odds ratio=1.32) and low levels of vegetable intake (odds ratio=1.32) compared to females. Younger consumers were more likely to combine pork with low levels of vegetable intake but less likely to combine pork with sauces or condiments. Heavy users of pork were more likely (odds ratio=1.43) to combine pork with sauces or condiments. The study also found an association between being overweight or obese and higher consumption of carbohydrate rich staple foods (odds ratio=1.30) and caloric drinks (odds ratio=1.30) as side dishes to pork meat. Substantial cross-cultural differences were revealed in line with typical pork consumption and meal composition habits in the respective countries. Finally, this study found that the company of family plays a significant role when choosing side dishes for pork as meal center, thus constituting a relevant venue for the positioning and marketing of pork, as well as for future public health information about meals with pork as main meal component.

Perceived risk and intention to use internet banking: The effects of self-confidence and risk acceptance

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the moderating role of self-confidence and risk acceptance on the relationship between perceived risk and intention to use internet banking.,A survey was conducted with 180 Brazilian banking customers. The Johnson-Neyman test was used to verify the moderation and significant regions along self-confidence and risk acceptance levels.,Self-confidence and risk acceptance moderate the relationship between risk perception and intention to use internet banking. For individuals with high self-confidence, the effect of perceived risk on intention to use internet banking is lower than it is for individuals with low self-confidence. In the same way, for individuals with high risk acceptance, the effect of perceived risk on intention to use internet banking is lower than it is for individuals with low risk acceptance.,This research contributes to the understanding of the conditions (two personal factors) under which risk perception does not influence intention to use a technological tool.,This paper provides insights for marketing managers to encourage customers to develop greater risk acceptance and self-confidence to minimize the negative effects of perceived risk of the adoption of internet banking.,Although risk perception can contribute to customers’ avoidance of internet banking, this is the first paper to verify how acceptance of risk and self-confidence can moderate the effects of perceived risk on intention to use internet banking.

Food Retailing in Brazil: A General View

The aim of this report is to give an overview and present the main trends of the four largest and most important food retail chains in Brazil, an emerging country from Latin America. We took this specific approach motivated by the fact that Brazil is a major world food producer and consumer. Food retailing represents 70% of the total gross revenue of the top 500 supermarket firms and the sector is rapidly expanding in the country. In this study, we present the four largest groups and their strategies for the Brazilian market. Next, through a SWOT analysis, we discuss the main challenges for the food retailers.

A inovação pela diversificação: o caso da Estância Guatambu

Este artigo trata da capacidade de uma fazenda, a Estância Guatambu, de Dom Pedrito, Regiao da Campanha Gaucha, ultrapassar a fronteira da pecuaria com sua criacao de gados e producao genetica para se tornar tambem, uma vinicola respeitada e reconhecida pela excelente qualidade dos seus vinhos. Este resultado e alcancado com uma gestao familiar qualificada, a aplicacao de conceitos de inovacao, o contato e a sinergia com o meio academico e a busca por um desenvolvimento sustentavel do ambiente da fazenda e entorno.