Segmenting the organic food market in Lebanon: an application of k-means cluster analysis

2017 ◽  
Vol 119 (7) ◽  
pp. 1423-1441 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malak Tleis ◽  
Roberta Callieris ◽  
Rocco Roma
Keyword(s):  
Cluster Analysis ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Organic Food ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Marketing Strategies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Organic Products ◽  
Food Market ◽  
Promotional Strategies ◽  
And Cluster Analysis

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discover profiles of organic food consumers in Lebanon by performing a market segmentation based on lifestyle and attitude variables and thus be able to propose appropriate marketing strategies for each market segment. Design/methodology/approach A survey, based on the use of closed-ended questionnaire, was addressed to 320 organic food consumers in the capital Beirut, in February and March 2014. Descriptive analysis, principal component analysis and cluster analysis (k-means method) were performed upon collected data. Findings Four clusters were obtained and labelled based on psychographic characteristics and willingness to pay for the most purchased organic products. “Localist” and “Health conscious” clusters were the largest proportion of the selected sample, thus these were the most critical to be addressed by specific marketing strategies, emphasising the combination of local and organic food and the healthy properties of organic products. “Rational” and “Irregular” cluster were relatively small groups, addressed by pricing and promotional strategies. Originality/value This is the first study attempting to segment organic food consumers into different categories in a developing country as Lebanon.

Organic food consumer profile in the Republic of Serbia

2016 ◽  
Vol 118 (1) ◽  
pp. 164-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksandar Grubor ◽  
Nenad Djokic
Keyword(s):  
Cluster Analysis ◽  
Market Segmentation ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Organic Food ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Food Market ◽  
The Republic ◽  
And Cluster Analysis

Purpose – Having the discrepancies between different descriptions of an organic food consumer profile in various researches worldwide as well as the causes of their emergence as a starting point, the purpose of this paper is to apply the method of preference-based market segmentation (by means of conjoint and cluster analysis) to Serbian organic food market, searching for advantages of using that methodological approach and deepening knowledge about specific organic food market. Design/methodology/approach – The research was conducted from May to July 2014 with 400 respondents participating (aged 18-30). Primary data were gathered by means of focus groups and a survey – structured personal interviews by using a questionnaire. Findings – When applying conjoint and cluster analysis to data about Serbian consumers’ preferences towards researched product, it is possible to identify a segment that prefers organic food the most. Compared to other segments, these consumers are predominantly female, somewhat more mature, with the highest proportion of employed and near the top by the percentage of respondents who are married and have children. They strongly value the importance of diet for health, a number of them have experience with a disease of a close person, which is believed that could be prevented by proper diet, but they do the least sports. Practical implications – The authors give managerial recommendations to actors operating at domestic organic food market. Originality/value – According to the authors’ knowledge, the first application of preference-based market segmentation by conjoint and cluster analysis to organic food market, performed in Serbia, generally characterised by scarce food consumer research.

Lifestyle segmentation of Czech food consumers: how sustainability and listening to music correspond to consumer lifestyles

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Renata Hrubá ◽  
Tomáš Sadílek
Keyword(s):  
Cluster Analysis ◽  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Personal Characteristics ◽  
Total Sample ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Food Market ◽  
And Cluster Analysis ◽  
Attitudes Toward Music ◽  
Consumer Lifestyles

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to segment Czech consumers based on their sustainable food consumption and their relationship with listening to music. Specifically, the authors attempt to answer the following question: is the relationship to music a segmentation difference for young consumers in the case of sustainability? The food-related lifestyle (FRL) concept is used as a framework; little attention has been paid to the FRL profile in the context of certain types of consumer orientations toward sustainability as a social value among consumers in Czechia.Design/methodology/approachIn this research, the authors used 22 items related to sustainability (identify sustainability-oriented and health-oriented variables and socially and ethically oriented variables). The statistical data analysis techniques included factor analysis and cluster analysis. The results of the cluster analysis are the market segments. The total sample consists of 331 university students from Czechia. These data are from a continuous research project. A factor analysis identified six factors with satisfactory reliability coefficients. Using factor scores, a cluster analysis was run, resulting in four segments. These segments were further analyzed and described toward their sustainability orientation.FindingsFRL concept was used to evaluate whether there are differences in the profiles of consumer orientations. Results emphasize the importance of personal characteristics and attitudes toward music, which in turn affect strategies to communicate with different segments to promote sustainable foods. Each segment has statistically significant differences in terms of its FRL.Originality/valueThis study explores the link between attitudes and behavior and suggests strategies to better understand the effect of information on consumer behavior. The results can help practitioners develop labeling strategies for fair-trade and sustainable foods to better focus on specific segments of consumers. This can be relevant when a sustainable food market is just starting, but hopes to reach more maturity in Czechia should be of the utmost importance for investors making long-term investments.

scholarly journals Variation in Stress Resistance Patterns amongstxGenotypes and Genetic Lineages of Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli O157

2012 ◽  
Vol 78 (9) ◽  
pp. 3361-3368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ken-ichi Lee ◽  
Nigel P. French ◽  
Geoff Jones ◽  
Yukiko Hara-Kudo ◽  
Sunao Iyoda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Cluster Analysis ◽  
Shiga Toxin ◽  
Stress Resistance ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Genetic Lineages ◽  
Resistance Patterns ◽  
And Cluster Analysis ◽  
Resistance To Heat

ABSTRACTTo evaluate the relationship between bacterial genotypes and stress resistance patterns, we exposed 57 strains of Shiga toxin-producingEscherichia coli(STEC) O157 to acid, freeze-thaw, heat, osmotic, oxidative, and starvation stresses. Inactivation rates were calculated in each assay and subjected to univariate and multivariate analyses, including principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis. Thestxgenotype was determined for each strain as was the lineage-specific polymorphism assay (LSPA6) genotype. In univariate analyses, strains of thestx1stx2genotype showed greater resistance to heat than strains of thestx1stx2cgenotype; moreover, strains of thestx1stx2genotype showed greater resistance to starvation than strains of thestx2orstx2cgenotypes. LSPA6 lineage I (LI) strains showed greater resistance to heat and starvation than LSPA6 lineage II (LII) strains. PCA revealed a general trend that a strain with greater resistance to one type of stress tended to have greater resistance to other types of stresses. In cluster analysis, STEC O157 strains were grouped into stress-resistant, stress-sensitive, and intermediate clusters. Instxgenotypes, all strains of thestx1stx2genotype were grouped with the stress-resistant cluster, whereas 72.7% (8/11) of strains of thestx1stx2cgenotype grouped with the stress-sensitive cluster. In LI strains, 77.8% (14/18) of the strains were grouped with the stress-resistant cluster, whereas 64.7% (11/17) of LII strains were grouped with the stress-sensitive cluster. These results indicate that the genotypes of STEC O157 that are frequently associated with human illness, i.e., LI or thestx1stx2genotype, have greater multiple stress resistance than do strains of other genotypes.

Segmenting elder German grocery shoppers based on shopping motivations

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 129-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald Oeser ◽  
Tanju Aygün ◽  
Claudia-Livia Balan ◽  
Rainer Paffrath ◽  
Marcus Thomas Schuckel
Keyword(s):  
Cluster Analysis ◽  
Analysis Of Variance ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Grocery Store ◽  
Grocery Shopping ◽  
Store Choice ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Shopping Motivations ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
And Cluster Analysis

Purpose Elder German grocery shoppers are a growing, heterogeneous, and highly relevant and attractive, but under-researched market segment. In order to understand them and their grocery shopping motivations better and target them efficiently and effectively, the purpose of this paper is to identify dimensions of their shopping motivations and segment them based on these dimensions. Design/methodology/approach In total, 26 grocery store-choice criteria were identified in a thorough literature review and focus-group interviews with 36 elder German consumers aged 65 and older. In a subsequent survey, the importance of these criteria was rated by 1,288 German shoppers of the same age group. A principal component and cluster analysis were performed to identify dimensions of store-choice criteria and segments of elder German grocery shoppers. Multivariate analysis of variance, analysis of variance and discriminant analysis were used to test for statistically significant differences between the clusters. Findings Basic quality considerations, shopping experience and social interaction, service and assistance, price consciousness, product orientation, convenient location and quick service and packaging requirements influence the grocery store choice of elder German consumers in decreasing order of variance explained. The cluster analysis revealed indifferent, leisure, convenience, assistance-oriented, no frills, product-oriented and service-oriented elder German shoppers, which differ in their shopping motivations statistically and significantly. These clusters are described and contrasted in detail to derive managerial implications. Originality/value This research provides the first store-choice component analysis and cluster analysis for elder German grocery shoppers. This can help food retail to reach this attractive target group more efficiently and effectively and improve the food supply of elder German consumers.

EU organic logo and its perception by consumers

2015 ◽  
Vol 117 (5) ◽  
pp. 1506-1526 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrin Zander ◽  
Susanne Padel ◽  
Raffaele Zanoli
Keyword(s):  
Organic Farming ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Organic Food ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Organic Certification ◽  
Demographic Indicators ◽  
Efficient Communication ◽  
Food Market ◽  
And Cluster Analysis ◽  
The Eu

Purpose – With the introduction of the mandatory European Union (EU) organic logo for all organic food products in 2010, the European Commission aimed at fostering the internal organic food market. This needs consumers’ knowledge of the logo. According to earlier research consumers’ knowledge of the EU organic logo is low. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to elicit consumers’ attitudes towards organic certification and labelling and to develop recommendations on how to improve consumers’ knowledge of the EU organic logo. Design/methodology/approach – By means of an online survey with 3,000 participants in six European countries, knowledge of the logo and attitudes towards organic farming and European labelling, as well as organic food purchase behaviour and socio-demographic indicators were elicited. Factor and cluster analysis based on several statements on the test persons’ attitudes towards organic farming and corresponding EU legislation were conducted in order to segment consumers. Findings – The results indicate that knowledge of the logo is low. Only about 15 per cent of all respondents knew its meaning. Four clusters of consumers could be identified: “Committed organics”, “Pragmatic organics”, “Organic sceptics” and Organic disinterested’. With reference to the EU organic legislation’s aim of promoting the organic market, particularly “Organic sceptics” should be addressed by emphasising the trustworthiness of the organic certification and labelling system. Originality/value – Segmenting consumers according to their attitude towards organic farming, its labelling and certification allows for targeted and efficient communication and organic market development.

scholarly journals Use of Highly Discriminating Morphological Characters and Isozymes in the Study of Spanish Chestnut Cultivars

2006 ◽  
Vol 131 (6) ◽  
pp. 770-779 ◽  
Author(s):  
Santiago Pereira-Lorenzo ◽  
María Belén Díaz-Hernández ◽  
Ana María Ramos-Cabrer
Keyword(s):  
Principal Component Analysis ◽  
Cluster Analysis ◽  
Multivariate Analysis ◽  
Castanea Sativa ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Market Value ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Minor Importance ◽  
Breeding Programs ◽  
And Cluster Analysis

Morphological characters (six traits) and isozymes (four systems, five loci) were used to discriminate between Spanish chestnut cultivars (Castanea sativa Mill.) from the Iberian Peninsula. A total of 701 accessions (representing 168 local cultivars) were analyzed from collections made between 1989 and 2003 in the main chestnut growing areas: 31 were from Andalucía (12 cultivars), 293 from Asturias (65 cultivars), 25 from Castilla-León (nine cultivars), four from Extremadura (two cultivars) and 348 from Galicia (80 cultivars). Data were synthesized using multivariate analysis, principal component analysis, and cluster analysis. A total of 152 Spanish cultivars were verified: 58 cultivars of major importance and 94 of minor importance, of which 18 had high intracultivar variation. Thirty-seven cultivars were clustered into 14 synonymous groups. Six of these were from Galicia, one from Castilla-León (El Bierzo), four from Asturias, one from Asturias and Castilla-León (El Bierzo), and two from Asturias, Castilla-León (El Bierzo), and Galicia. The chestnut cultivars from Galicia and Asturias were undifferentiated in genetic terms, indicating that they are not genetically isolated. Overall, chestnut cultivars from southern Spain showed the least variation. Many (58%) of Spanish cultivars produced more than 100 nuts/kg; removing this low market-value character will be a high priority. The data obtained will be of use in chestnut breeding programs in Spain and elsewhere.

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