scholarly journals Food literacy and food choice – a survey-based psychometric profiling of consumer behaviour

2021 ◽  
Vol 123 (13) ◽  
pp. 124-141
Author(s):  
Leopoldo Trieste ◽  
Andrea Bazzani ◽  
Alessia Amato ◽  
Ugo Faraguna ◽  
Giuseppe Turchetti

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the associations between food literacy, consumer profiling and purchasing behaviour in a sample of Italian consumers.Design/methodology/approachParticipants (N = 194) completed an online survey including personal data, two questionnaires on purchase behaviour and food consumption, the General Trust Scale (GTS), a questionnaire assessing individual chronotype and two scales about food literacy: one investigating nutritional knowledge (short food literacy questionnaire, SFLQ) and the other focussing on procedural skills (self-perceived food literacy scale, SPFL). Associations between food literacy, consumer profiling and purchase behaviour were analysed with linear regression models.FindingsParticipants with specific education in nutrition reported higher scores in food literacy. The final score of food literacy was predicted by a greater attention to nutritional content and nutritional properties of products. Women paid more attention to nutritional properties than men, and they obtained higher scores in SFLQ. Evening types obtained lower scores in SFPL compared to intermediate and morning chronotypes. Body mass index (BMI) was negatively correlated to SPFL score, while it was associated with the easy availability of a product, so that obese (BMI ≥ 30) subjects considered the easy availability of a product more important compared to non-obese ones (BMI < 30).Originality/valueThis study investigates the influence of personal and psychometric variables of consumer profiling on food literacy and consequently on purchase behaviour, paving the way for implementing healthier food consumption policies. These findings reinforce the primacy of specific education in building healthy eating habits.

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohd Hafiz Hanafiah ◽  
Nurul Alia Aqilah Hamdan

Purpose The demand for Muslim friendly tourism industry has been gaining momentum from the increasing number of Muslim travellers globally. This paper aims to examine the role of religiosity in Muslim travellers Halal food consumption attitude and behaviour while travelling to the non-Muslim destination. Design/methodology/approach A total of 384 respondents participated in this study through an online survey. This study used the partial least square structural equation modelling to assess the survey measurements and hypotheses testing. Findings This study asserts that the Muslim travellers’ Halal consumption attitude relies heavily on their level of religiosity, subjective norms and perceived control behaviour. Besides, the results provide evidence that consumption attitude mediates the relationship between religiosity, subjective norm, perceived behavioural control and intention in consuming Halal food products while travelling abroad. Practical implications This study highlighted the critical aspects of an emerging Muslim market that travel for leisure with the urge to comply with their Islamic teachings and religiosity. It is vital for non-Muslim tourism destination marketers to tailor their marketing strategies and consider promoting Islamic dietary rules when planning their travel packages. Originality/value This study is one of the few that focus on Muslim-friendly tourism and the role of religiosity in Muslim traveller’s Halal food consumption behaviour. This study confirms that the theory of planned behaviour model can be used to explain Muslim travellers Halal food consumption attitude while travelling to a non-Muslim destination.


2015 ◽  
Vol 117 (9) ◽  
pp. 2282-2299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Constanza Bianchi ◽  
Gary Mortimer

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to empirically explore antecedents of local food purchase intention in two food producing countries with different cultural backgrounds. Design/methodology/approach – An online survey was employed to collect data from consumers located in Chile (n=283) and Australia (n=300). A proposed model is tested with structural equation modelling. Findings – Attitude towards consuming local food is a strong and direct driver of intentions to purchase local food in both countries. Attitude towards supporting local agri-businesses and consumer ethnocentrism are found to positively impact attitude towards consuming local food in both countries. Attitude towards local agri-businesses also has a direct effect on intentions to purchase local food in Australia, but not in Chile. Interestingly, subjective norms are not found to affect intentions to consume local food in either country. Research limitations/implications – The paper examines factors affecting the attitude towards and behavioural intention regarding local food consumption and develops an extended model of local food consumption. An outcome of this new model is the inclusion of personal variables, which influence local food purchasing behaviour. Practical implications – Producers and retailers need to develop campaigns explaining how consuming local food supports local businesses and farmers, which will reinforce personal values associated with local consumption. Originality/value – This is the first study to demonstrate that positive attitudes towards local foods are important drivers of local food purchase behaviour, independent of the cultural characteristics or level of economic development within a country.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tarek Ben Hassen ◽  
Hamid El Bilali ◽  
Mohammad S. Allahyari ◽  
Laurence Charbel

PurposeRight after announcing the first cases, several governments worldwide have implemented stringent measures to stop the spread of COVID-19. This disruption in individuals' daily routines transformed food consumption habits. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on food consumption, diet and food shopping behaviors in Lebanon.Design/methodology/approachThe paper draws upon an online survey in Lebanon administered in Arabic and English through the Survey Monkey platform in the period of July 15—August 5, 2020, with 201 adults. The survey findings were analyzed using descriptive statistics, a paired sample t-test and a Phi correlation test.FindingsThe research underlined numerous key consumer tendencies that are currently affecting diet and food behavior in Lebanon. Indeed, the study outcomes suggested (1) a move toward healthier diets; (2) a rise in the consumption of domestic products due to food safety concerns; (3) a change in the grocery shopping behaviors (with a rise in online shopping); (4) a surge of food stockpiling; and (5) a decrease in household food wastage. Surprisingly, COVID-19 seems to generate several positive changes toward more sustainable and healthier consumption patterns in Lebanon.Research limitations/implicationsThese findings contribute to the clarification and critical analysis of the impacts of COVID-19 on food behaviors in Lebanon, which would have several policy implications.Originality/valueThe findings of this first study contribute to the clarification and critical analysis of the impacts of COVID-19 on food behaviors in Lebanon, which would have several policy implications.


2018 ◽  
Vol 120 (10) ◽  
pp. 2411-2424 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ursa Golob ◽  
Mateja Kos Koklic ◽  
Klement Podnar ◽  
Vesna Zabkar

Purpose Despite numerous scholarly attempts, there is a lack of consensus regarding the relevance of various factors used to promote organic food consumption. The purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of environmentally conscious purchase behaviour (ECPB) and green scepticism on organic food consumption. Moreover, the paper examines the indirect impact of attitudinal and contextual forces on organic food consumption (through ECPB). Design/methodology/approach The paper develops a conceptual model of organic food consumption. Data were collected through an online survey on a sample of 462 consumers in Slovenia. Structural equation modelling was used to test the hypothesised relationships. Findings The findings indicate that ECPB positively and green scepticism negatively affects organic food consumption. In addition, ECPB is positively influenced by personal and social norms, perceived availability and consumer sustainability orientation. Interestingly, the social norms exert the strongest indirect effect on organic food consumption. Research limitations/implications This study informs organic food producers and policy makers about the relative importance of ECPB and scepticism for increasing organic food consumption. It also highlights the role of general attitudinal and contextual factors for ECPB and organic food consumption. Originality/value The proposed model enables a better understanding of the relevance of ECPB, its antecedents and green scepticism as (direct or indirect) determinants of organic food consumption.


2018 ◽  
Vol 120 (10) ◽  
pp. 2236-2249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hatice Aydin ◽  
Zeliha Eser ◽  
Sezer Korkmaz

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the arousal of negative consumer emotions as a consequence of fast food consumption among individuals with restrained food consumption. Furthermore, a moderating effect of socio-cultural pressure to buffer these relationships is positioned for the first time.Design/methodology/approachThe field study is completed with data collected through an online survey among 353 customers by employing a random sampling technique. The collected data are analyzed through confirmatory factor analysis procedures.FindingsThe hypotheses related to the effects of fast food consumption on body image guilt and shame, body image guilt on planning diet and shame, moderator role of socio-cultural, in terms of shame, are accepted.Research limitations/implicationsA key limitation is data collected from individuals with restrained food consumption in Turkey which limits the generalizability of results to other countries and contexts.Practical implicationsThe results call for paying attention to socio-cultural pressures that enhance shame.Originality/valueThe primary contribution of this paper lies in the fact that fast food consumption is scantly related to the arousal of negative consumer emotions. Furthermore, moderating effects of social pressures and Turkish context are also unique to this study.


2019 ◽  
Vol 121 (8) ◽  
pp. 1670-1685 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa Anne Fernandez ◽  
Sophie Desroches ◽  
Marie Marquis ◽  
Alexandre Lebel ◽  
Mylène Turcotte ◽  
...  

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore associations between different food literacy dimensions and diet quality among a sample of Canadian parents and examine differences in the prevalence of food literacy items between mothers and fathers. Design/methodology/approach Parents responsible for food preparation (n=767) completed an online survey including dietary intakes and 22 items across five dimensions of food literacy (knowledge, planning, cooking, food conceptualisation and social aspects). Differences between genders for each item were analysed with χ2 tests. The healthy eating index (HEI) adapted to the Canadian Food Guide (CFG) was computed from a food frequency questionnaire. Associations between HEI scores and each item were analysed with linear regression models, controlling for sociodemographic variables and multiple testing. Findings Of parents responsible for food preparation, 81 per cent were mothers. The mean HEI score was 76.6 (SD: 10.6) and mothers reported healthier diets in comparison to fathers (p=0.01). More mothers than fathers used CFG recommendations, selected foods based on nutrition labels, made soups, stews, muffins and cakes from scratch and added fruits and vegetables to recipes (p<0.05). More fathers reduced the salt content of recipes than mothers (p=0.03). Two knowledge items and seven food conceptualisation items were significantly associated with better HEI, after controlling for covariates and multiple testing. Planning items, cooking skills and social aspects were not significantly associated with HEI. Originality/value This study investigates multiple dimensions of food literacy and identifies knowledge and food conceptualisation as potential targets for future interventions involving parents responsible for household meal preparation. This study highlights the importance of considering gender differences in food literacy.


2019 ◽  
Vol 121 (2) ◽  
pp. 603-615 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dawn Birch ◽  
Kåre Skallerud ◽  
Nicholas A. Paul

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to profile the consumers who are likely to eat seaweed products in Australia. Design/methodology/approach The study was conducted as an online survey among 521 Australian consumers. Binary logistic regression modelling was used to profile the consumers. Findings The paper identifies education, familiarity, food neophobia (FNeo), symbolic value of food consumption, health consciousness, as well as snacking behaviour as significant predictors of likelihood to eat seaweed products. Consumers with a university degree (i.e. undergraduates and postgraduates) are four times more likely to eat seaweed products, and those familiar with seaweed products have a 7.6 higher likelihood to eat seaweed products. FNeo makes the largest contribution to the consumer’s likelihood to eat seaweed. A one unit increase in the FNeo score is associated with a 77 per cent decrease in the predicted odds of eating seaweed products in the next 12 months. The symbolic value of food consumption and health consciousness both doubled the likelihood of eating seaweed products. Snacking behaviour increases the likelihood by 185 per cent. The study reveals that early adopters of seaweed food products in western societies are people with higher educational levels, who are adventurous in their food choices and perceive seaweed consumption to have symbolic value. They are also health conscious “snackers”. Originality/value This study is one of the first attempts to provide insights about consumption of seaweed products; and also reveals the consumer groups in western societies that are most likely to eat seaweed products and who can be targeted as potential early adopters.


2018 ◽  
Vol 70 (5) ◽  
pp. 498-517 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yongqiang Sun ◽  
Yan Zhang ◽  
Xiao-Liang Shen ◽  
Nan Wang ◽  
Xi Zhang ◽  
...  

Purpose Although the impacts of trust on information disclosure have been well recognized, the trust building mechanisms in social media are still underexplored. To fill this gap, the purpose of this paper is to explore two trust building mechanisms, namely, institution-based and transference-based trust building and identify how these two mechanisms vary across gender. Design/methodology/approach An online survey was conducted to collect data. The partial least squares method was used to examine the relationships among regulatory effectiveness, three trusting perceptions and disclosure intention. A cross-group path coefficient comparison method was used to test gender differences. Findings The results suggest that regulatory effectiveness affects competence- and character-based trust and these impacts are stronger for males than for females. Both competence- and character-based trust influence general trust in members while their impacts vary. Competence-based trust is more important for males while character-based trust is more important for females. Originality/value This study contributes to social media literature by identifying the two trust building mechanisms with special attention to the role of regulatory effectiveness and trust transfer. Further, this study also sheds light on how these two mechanisms vary across gender.


2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 446-463 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wilmar B. Schaufeli

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to integrate leadership into the job demands-resources (JD-R) model. Based on self-determination theory, it was argued that engaging leaders who inspire, strengthen, and connect their followers would reduce employee’s levels of burnout and increase their levels of work engagement. Design/methodology/approach – An online survey was conducted among a representative sample of the Dutch workforce (n=1,213) and the research model was tested using structural equation modeling. Findings – It appeared that leadership only had an indirect effect on burnout and engagement – via job demands and job resources – but not a direct effect. Moreover, leadership also had a direct relationship with organizational outcomes such as employability, performance, and commitment. Research limitations/implications – The study used a cross-sectional design and all variables were based on self-reports. Hence, results should be replicated in a longitudinal study and using more objective measures (e.g. for work performance). Practical implications – Since engaged leaders, who inspire, strengthen, and connect their followers, provide a work context in which employees thrive, organizations are well advised to promote engaging leadership. Social implications – Leadership seems to be a crucial factor which has an indirect impact – via job demands and job resources – on employee well-being. Originality/value – The study demonstrates that engaging leadership can be integrated into the JD-R framework.


Author(s):  
José Vítor Gonçalves ◽  
Luísa Castro ◽  
Guilhermina Rêgo ◽  
Rui Nunes

Nurses working in palliative care are at risk of burnout. The Copenhagen Burnout Inventory was used to determine burnout levels of nurses working in the Portuguese national network of palliative care. We evaluated the contribution of personal, work, and COVID-19 variables in three burnout subclasses: personal, work, and patient-related. A cross-sectional, exploratory, and quantitative design was employed and participants were sampled using convenience and snowball technique. An online survey was conducted and 153 nurses participated in our study. Socio-demographic characterization was conducted, levels of burnout and determinants were explored through multiple linear regression models for its three dimensions. High levels of personal, working, and patient burnout were present in 71 (46%), 68 (44%), and 33 nurses (22%), respectively. Most of them agreed that COVID-19 had an impact on their activities. Significant personal and work related burnout factors found were specialization in palliative care, self-perceived health status, unit type, weekly hours of work, and allocation to COVID-19 units. Gender was found to be a significant factor in patient-related burnout. There is a high level of burnout among nurses working in the Portuguese national network of palliative care. Measures for identification and mitigation of burnout are necessary to protect health care professionals.


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