Quality preferences and pricing of fresh-cut salads in Italy: new evidence from market data

2017 ◽  
Vol 119 (7) ◽  
pp. 1473-1486 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vittoria Pilone ◽  
Antonio Stasi ◽  
Antonio Baselice

Purpose In Europe fresh-cut fruit and vegetables, is one of the major growing segments in agro-food sector. Current literature reports a limited number of studies about consumers’ preferences towards these products. In particular, it lacks of studies focussed on fresh-cut salads and based on market data. In this paper, a study on consumer preferences towards the main attributes of Italian fresh-cut salads is proposed. More specifically the investigation is focussed on attributes assessable by consumers before purchase such as assortment, tenderness, product preparation and vegetable variety together with brand, size and type of packaging, presence of organic certification, promotion and product price. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate how much Italian consumers pay for those attributes with the aim to understand how much profitable could be different strategies in the sector. Design/methodology/approach The analysis is based on IRI-Infoscan scanner data, consisting of 881 fresh-cut products. The impact of each attributes on pricing is measured by means of a hedonic price model. Findings Main results show that, in Italy, fresh-cut salad price is greatly affected by tenderness, product preparation, assortment, brand, presence of organic certification, packaging attributes and vegetable variety. Practical implications Findings offer to producers the possibility to set up products by composing the mix of attributes that gives back the highest price. In addition, they provide some insights to define manufacturer’s strategies. Originality/value This paper represents a novelty in economic literature because it can be considered an example of consumer preferences analysis towards the different attributes of fresh-cut vegetables based on real market data.

2019 ◽  
Vol 122 (8) ◽  
pp. 2551-2567 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Dominici ◽  
Fabio Boncinelli ◽  
Francesca Gerini ◽  
Enrico Marone

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate preferences for wine made from hand-harvested grapes, and the interactive effect between this attribute and organic certification. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected via an online choice experiment involving a sample of 408 Italian wine consumers. A random parameter logit was performed to estimate consumer preferences for wine attributes: harvest type, organic and the interaction between these. The experiment also includes geographical indications and price. Furthermore, a latent class model (LCM) is performed to investigate taste heterogeneity for the included wine attributes. Findings On average, consumers prefer the wine produced with hand-harvested grapes. The hypothesis of an interaction between organic and hand-harvested attributes is rejected. Using the LCM, the authors identify three segments with significant taste heterogeneity in terms of the magnitude and the sign of the parameters. Moreover, consumer attitudes towards food naturalness differ according to their belonging to the segments. Originality/value The novelty of this article is twofold. First, this study investigates, for the first time, the impact of the hand-harvested method on consumer wine preferences. Second, hand-harvesting and organic have independent values.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  

Purpose The authors assumed PSM would be higher in the public sector, but they set up a trial to find out if this was the case. Design/methodology/approach To test their theories, the authors conducted two independent surveys. The first consisted of 220 usable responses from public sector employees in Changsha, China. The second survey involved 260 usable responses from private sector employees taking an MBA course at a university in the Changsha district. A questionnaire was used to assess attitudes. Findings The results found no significant difference between the impact of public sector motivation (PSM) on employee performance across the public and private sectors. The data showed that PSM had a significant impact on self-reported employee performance, but the relationship did not differ much between sectors. Meanwhile, it was in the private sector that PSM had the greatest impact on intention to leave. Originality/value The authors said the research project was one of the first to test if the concept of PSM operated in the same way across sectors. It also contributed, they said, to the ongoing debate about PSM in China.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 222-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Rosson ◽  
Lorenzo Zirulia

Purpose Different, alternative or complementary strategies have been advanced for the rejuvenation of the ski tourism product, thus favoring its economic and environmental sustainability. This paper aims to provide new suggestions by looking at the determinants of ski lift ticket prices in the Dolomites. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses a hedonic price model approach, which allows the identification of the relative importance of different attributes on the determination of a product price. Findings The model shows that a higher level of investment in modern lifts and snowmaking equipment undertaken by the resort pays off in terms of customers’ perceived value-for-money relationship. The same is not true for investments in the enlargement of the skiable surface or the introduction of night skiing options and illuminated slopes. The authors found evidence that non-participatory activities, such as different winter sports and on-slope entertainment, can improve the customer’s perception of resorts’ quality. Finally, reputation plays an important role in determining the customers’ perception of good value-for-money destinations and deals. Originality/value With respect to previous works, the research expands the range of attributes possibly impacting ski lift ticket prices. Identifying crucial elements consumers would be willing to pay for allows managers to re-think and adjust their products and prices accordingly, improving the economic sustainability of the ski tourism product.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Spognardi ◽  
Domenico Vistocco ◽  
Lucio Cappelli ◽  
Patrizia Papetti

PurposeInvestigate the behaviour and the habits of the consumers from central-southern Italy in relation to extra olive oil consumption, focussing on the impact of protected designation of origin (PDO) and EU–organic certification on purchase intention and quality perception.Design/methodology/approachA specific questionnaire was submitted to 160 consumers; a subsample of ten experts, ten semi-experts and ten habitual consumers of olive oil tested, through a blind test first and a normal one then, three Italian samples: an extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) without certification, an organic EVOO and a PDO EVOO, which were characterised also from a chemical-physical point of view. The answers provided during the tastings were statistically analysed and compared.FindingsPeople interviewed prefer local olive oils; they are positively influenced by PDO/organic certification, while price is not a decisive factor on the purchasing choices. According to tasting panel results: experts gave consistent answers preferring organic olive oil, semi-experts are positively influenced by the PDO brand contrary to what they claimed; non-experts would buy EVOO, although they are positively influenced by the PDO brand and negatively by the organic certification.Practical implicationsOnly knowledge and experience can aid consumers make consistent and aware choices. Information campaigns could help them to distinguish products, correctly identify food attributes and overcome their scepticism towards quality of organic products.Originality/valueFew works investigated the impact of quality and sustainability labelling on perception of olive oils, valuing the consistency between answers provided before and after sensory assessments.


2013 ◽  
Vol 79 (20) ◽  
pp. 6407-6413 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Lambrecht ◽  
J. Baré ◽  
I. Van Damme ◽  
W. Bert ◽  
K. Sabbe ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTFree-living protozoa play an important role in the ecology and epidemiology of human-pathogenic bacteria. In the present study, the interaction betweenYersinia enterocolitica, an important food-borne pathogen, and the free-living amoebaAcanthamoeba castellaniiwas studied. Several cocultivation assays were set up to assess the resistance ofY. enterocoliticatoA. castellaniipredation and the impact of environmental factors and bacterial strain-specific characteristics. Results showed that allY. enterocoliticastrains persist in association withA. castellaniifor at least 14 days, and associations withA. castellaniienhanced survival ofYersiniaunder nutrient-rich conditions at 25°C and under nutrient-poor conditions at 37°C. Amoebae cultivated in the supernatant of oneYersiniastrain showed temperature- and time-dependent permeabilization. Intraprotozoan survival ofY. enterocoliticadepended on nutrient availability and temperature, with up to 2.8 log CFU/ml bacteria displaying intracellular survival at 7°C for at least 4 days in nutrient-rich medium. Transmission electron microscopy was performed to locate theYersiniacells inside the amoebae. AsYersiniaandAcanthamoebashare similar ecological niches, this interaction identifies a role of free-living protozoa in the ecology and epidemiology ofY. enterocolitica.


Author(s):  
Srabasti Chatterjee

Purpose The major focus in the current scenario in organizational settings has shifted from individual performance to team performance. The current study investigates team performance and its antecedents from both social and cognitive dimensions and hence provides a qualitative and synopsis of the same. There is one such antecedent transactive memory which collectively looks into both the facets. For more than a decade after the very emergence of this concept, a plethora of work has been done to relate team performance and transactive memory. In an attempt to understand both these multi-dimensional constructs, and to comprehend the interrelationships in a better way, this paper aims to analyze the impact of transactive memory on team performance and how to improve it in organizations. Design/methodology/approach The paper is purely conceptual. So it uses other earlier studies to make necessary propositions. Findings The present study tries to qualitatively analyze the impact of transactive memory on team performance with respect to the various dimensions of team performance both task process and relational performance. The results of the study show a positive relationship between the three dimensions of transactive memory – credibility, consensus and specilaization and team performance. The study also provides recommendations to improvise transactive memory in organizations. Research limitations/implications The paper is not empirical, so further empirical analysis could enrich the results. Originality/value The paper is original in terms of giving solutions to increase transactive memory in organizational set up.


2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis Enrique Ibarra-Morales ◽  
Monica Blanco-Jimenez ◽  
Beatriz Alejandra Hurtado-Bringas

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to boost the internationalization of companies by implementing key factors that will help them to increase their exports in a context of an emerging country such as Mexico, where very few small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) achieve internationalization. Design/methodology/approach According to different theories on the internationalization of companies, five independent variables were designed to measure their effect on the export performance using a multiple regression model on a sample of 95 Mexican industrial SMEs. In this context, the objective of this study is to investigate the impact of the product price, product quality, installed capacity, innovation capacity and financial capacity on the export performance of SMEs; and to identify the factors that are more significant. Findings The results indicate that innovation has a positive relationship, while the price of the product has a negative relationship with the internationalization of small- and medium-sized enterprises, showing that there is a possibility of overemphasizing the role of both variables in export performance of SMEs, at least in the Mexican context. The rest of the variables were not statistically significant to the generated model, perhaps because they are implicitly considered at the time of exporting and entering international markets. Originality/value These results will help companies to focus their efforts on obtaining resources to maintain and expand exports and find new opportunities in foreign markets to grow. They also show that companies can implement different types of internationalization strategies with the study’s variables to achieve better performance.


2015 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 95-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirsty Yates

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to offer a number of recommendations that will enable you to get your hands around the coaching that is taking place inside your organisation so that you can manage it better and, moreover, calculate the commercial and cultural returns your organisation is achieving from the coaching in light of research presented in the author's previous article. Design/methodology/approach – This research is based on a case study. Findings – Although not an easy task, it is possible to evaluate the impact of coaching and, in turn, calculate the return on investment (ROI). Key to doing this is that each relationship should be set up correctly; the coach should be fully qualified, experienced and in supervision and information regarding the volume, status and expenditure of each coaching contract must be kept up to date and, along with evaluation data for each contract, used to measure the impact of coaching to the organisation and to calculate the ROI. Originality/value – The case study included shows how coaching has been transformed in E.ON UK since outsourcing all aspects of its coaching, resulting in a clear and robust process generating valuable data on the impact of individual contracts and the programme as a whole, as well as an ROI.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ling Zhang ◽  
Minghui Zheng ◽  
Zheyan Zhang

PurposeThis paper aims to study the impact of land options on the land transfer behaviour of Chinese city governments.Design/methodology/approachBased on the institutional environment of Hangzhou, China, the option pricing model is used to measure the option value of the trading plots. The effect of the option value on the land transfer price and the timing of transfers are estimated respectively, using the hedonic price model and the survival analysis models.FindingsThe results show that the option value has a significant explanation on land price and timing of land transfers. Under the effect of option value, the positive impact of fiscal pressure on the possibility of land transfer weakens. From the perspective of the annual option premium rate, the option premium is closely related to the real estate cycle. Option premiums are higher during booms but lower during recessions and in new urban areas.Practical implicationsBy revealing the distinction of land option premiums in different places and times, this paper provides a reference for city governments seeking a balance between real estate regulation and obtaining more land revenue.Originality/valueBy introducing policy variables that reflect the degree of tightness of real estate regulation and indicators of local government financial pressure, the paper discusses the impact of options on the transfer behaviour of local governments in different situations.


Subject Food security and obesity. Significance President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) announced on August 16 that his government would set up a new public body dedicated to food security. Mexican Food Security (Segalmex) will merge two existing state companies that sell subsidised food in deprived areas and distribute fortified milk to vulnerable groups. AMLO’s announcement was followed by the release on September 11 of a UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) report showing that while 11.3 million Mexicans were severely food insecure in 2015-17, 24.3 million adults were obese in 2016, up from 20.5 million in 2012. Impacts Boosting local production may be insufficient to reduce the country’s reliance on imported foodstuffs. The OECD estimates that 40% of Mexicans could be obese by 2030, exacerbating pressures on the public health system. Failure to address obesity will have financial costs owing to the impact of associated illnesses such as diabetes on worker productivity.


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