Stefan Behrens

Tasting green: an experimental design for investigating consumer perception of organic wine

Purpose – There is empirical evidence that the image of organic products has a stronger effect on consumer perception than the intrinsic characteristics. Against this background, the aim of this paper is twofold; first, to ascertain if the stimulus “organic food”, placed by storytelling, influences the perception of wine. Based on this, the study tries to discover wherein a positive perception of organic wine might be reflected (e.g. willingness to pay premium prices, better taste perception). Design/methodology/approach – Focusing on the consumer perception and evaluation of conventional versus organic wine, it was decided to use an experimental design with a blind taste test procedure. The prediction was that subjects would rank a wine described as organic higher than a conventional wine – even if there is no objective difference. Consumer perceptions and attitudes toward the wines were assessed using a questionnaire including wine preference, buying and recommendation intention, and willingness to pay....

The complexity of value in the luxury industry

Purpose – In an attempt to satisfy the rising demand for luxury in the era of the “democratisation of luxury” or the “luxurification of society” without threatening the uniqueness and exclusivity of luxury brands, a profound understanding of the luxury concept and its deeper values is essential. As the complexity of luxury value and the assessment of effects on individual luxury value perception and related behavioral outcomes are still poorly understood and widely unexplored, the purpose of this paper is to fill this research gap. Design/methodology/approach – In the exploratory study context of examining the antecedents and outcomes of individual luxury value perception, PLS path modeling was used for the empirical tests of the hypotheses. Findings – The results support the assumption that the desire for luxury brands involves several dimensions of luxury value including financial, functional, individual and social consumer perceptions. Besides, the individual luxury value perception is significantly re...

Brand extensions: A successful strategy in luxury fashion branding? Assessing consumers’ implicit associations

Purpose – Although the investigation of brand extension strategies has gained importance, existing research focusses primarily on consumer attitudes to brand extensions, and to date, little research has been made on the luxury market. Moreover, studies on the impact of brand extensions have been limited to explicit measurement methods. Therefore, the aim of this study is to provide new insights by focussing on the change of consumers’ brand perception related to downgrading and upgrading brand extensions strategies in the luxury market based on an implicit association test (IAT). Design/methodology/approach – In this exploratory study context of examining the spontaneous reaction time with reference to the luxury concept by confronting respondents with adequate verbal brand extension stimuli, a ST‐IAT was considered for the empirical tests of these hypotheses. Findings – The study results give evidence that consumers’ perception of an upgrading or downgrading strategy of a brand varies in accordance to these hypotheses. Hence, the reaction time of the H&M subjects decreased after having read the upgrading stimulus whereby, in the case of Karl Lagerfeld, the ST‐IAT reaction times showed that the downgrading information resulted in a weaker association of Karl Lagerfeld with luxury. Originality/value – The use of implicit measurement methods is becoming increasingly important for assessing consumer reaction to the new product line. Particularly, when luxury brands apply a downgrading strategy, the risks of possible damages to the core brand are much higher than in the case of an upgrade of a basic brand to the luxury or premium segment.

Customer value perception of organic food: cultural differences and cross-national segments

Purpose – Due to consumer concerns about food-related diseases and an increase in the use of genetically modified food, more and more “green consumers” integrate environmental considerations into daily purchases, asking for healthier, safer and higher quality food. Marketing managers still face the challenge of broadening the understanding of how and why consumers purchase organic food. Specifically, a deeper understanding of the value dimensions consumers perceive in the context of organic food products is required to develop and implement successful management strategies which might transfer positive consumer perceptions to actual buying behavior and satisfaction. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – Drawing on theoretical and empirical insights on organic food consumption in different markets, this research investigates antecedents of organic food products and differences regarding the relative importance of the value-based drivers across two Western nations. Findings –...

Customer value perception: cross-generational preferences for wine

Purpose – A deeper understanding of the key drivers of consumer wine perception is a major challenge in the domain of wine marketing. The purpose of this paper is to examine the various dimensions of customer-perceived value that lead the customers – in general and divided into different age groups – to choose and consume a certain wine. Design/methodology/approach – In the exploratory study context of examining value-related consumer attitudes and behavioural effects, the drivers and outcomes of wine consumption based on a cross-generation sample, PLS path modelling was considered for the empirical tests of our hypotheses. Findings – Though there exist differences between Generation X and Generation Y consumers, the empirical results are supportive of the hypothesized positive relations between financial, functional, individual and social perceptions that influence the desire for and the consumption of wine. Research limitations/implications – For future research, the findings presented in the paper supp...

The Luxury of Sustainability: Examining Value-Based Drivers of Fair Trade Consumption

Green consumption has evolved into consumption that also addresses ethical factors. The twenty-first century is perceived to reflect the emancipation of the ethical consumer, who is “shopping for a better world” (Low and Davenport in J Consum Behav 6(5):336–348, 2007). The rising consumer demand for ethical alternatives is present in all product categories, and—reasoning that the concept of sustainability with aspects such as exclusivity and rareness shares similar values with the concept of luxury—the aim of our study is to examine the luxury of sustainability against the backdrop of the research questions concerning a proposed similarity of consumer associations between luxury and ethical products. As specific context, we have chosen the orientation to and acceptance of Fair Trade products. In detail, the present study empirically investigates a multidimensional framework of intrapersonal Fair Trade orientation, fair-trade-oriented luxury perception, and fair-trade-oriented customer perceived value with reference to the recommendation of Fair Trade products. The first contribution of our research is to provide a conceptual framework of value-based drivers of Fair Trade product perception against the backdrop of the luxury concept. Second, the empirical findings of the applied partial least squares equation modeling (PLS-SEM) contribute to the understanding of consequences of Fair-Trade-based perception. Customers who reveal a high luxury perception of Fair Trade products are strengthened in the Fair Trade idea which results in higher customer perceived value as well as the willingness to recommend Fair Trade products. Third, the data analysis of the applied PLS-SEM approach demonstrates that positive Fair Trade behavior is influenced by direct and indirect effects. With reference to the conducted study, being an active promoter of Fair Trade products is directly determined by the customers’ perceived product value (benefit in relation to cost), but also directly and indirectly affected by the overall luxury product perception as well as the intrapersonal level of Fair Trade orientation.

What is the Perceived Value of Wine? A Cross-Generation Study of Consumer Wine Perception and Consumption Behavior

As a consequence of the highly complex nature of wine as a product, a deeper understanding of the key drivers of consumer wine perception and consumption behavior is a major challenge for practitioners and researchers in the domain of wine marketing. The desire for and the consumption of wine seems to involve several dimensions of customer perceived value perceptions. Additionally, situational determinants, consumer characteristics like product involvement, experience and needs or demographic variables such as gender and age might affect the wine purchase.

Consumer Desire for Luxury Brands: Individual Luxury Value Perception and Luxury Consumption

Along with the rising global appetite for luxury brands, luxury brand managers have to balance the tremendous demand for their goods in the global marketplace without threatening the key characteristics of exclusivity and uniqueness that are necessary preconditions of luxury. With respect to the serious challenges inherent in luxury brand management such as the risks of brand over-extensions and counterfeiting, an integrative understanding of luxury and the multifaceted desires an individual seeks through luxury consumption are key success factors in luxury brand management. Recent research gives evidence that the desire for and the consumption of luxury brands involves several dimensions of customer perceived value including financial, functional, individual, and social consumer perceptions. Nevertheless, to date, the interplay of the customer perceived value dimensions and the assessment of their effects on individual luxury value perception and related behavioral outcomes are poorly understood and widely unexplored.

CUSTOMER VALUE PERCEPTION: CROSS-NATIONAL PREFERENCES FOR ORGANIC FOOD

During the last decades more and more consumers worldwide, started integrating environmental considerations into daily purchases what leads the so-called ‘green consumer’ to ask for healthier, safer, and better quality food. Nonetheless, a deeper understanding of value dimensions consumers across nations perceive in the context of organic food products is still required to develop successful management strategies which might transfer positive consumer perceptions to satisfaction and resulting buying behavior. Against this backdrop, the present study focuses on a) the antecedents leading to the consumption of organic food products and b) the identification of differences regarding the relative importance of the value-based drivers across US and German consumers

Wine as Luxury Experience: A Taxonomy of Consumers Based on Best-Worst Scaling

Due to the ever-growing internationalisation of traditional eating habits – including menus with more courses combined with premium drinks – wine has become an integral component of culture in many countries [7]. Particularly in widespread areas of Asia and in Middle and Eastern Europe, wine consumption has obtained socio-cultural significance and hedonistic value [43]. Hence, world consumption of wine slowly began to rise from 224 million hl in the early 1990s to an estimated 232 to 242 million hl in 2010 [49], [51].