No Palm Oil or Certified Sustainable Palm Oil? Heterogeneous Consumer Preferences and the Role of Information

Public concerns about the adverse effects of palm oil production and consumption have contributed both to the development of certification standards for sustainable palm oil and to the promotion of palm-oil-free products. While research on consumer preferences for palm oil is growing, potential trade-offs between these two options—products containing certified palm oil versus palm-oil-free products—are still largely unexplored. Focusing on this research gap, a discrete choice experiment involving chocolate cookies was implemented as part of a web survey among consumers in Germany. Results indicate that consumers on average prefer palm-oil-free cookies, although a latent class analysis identifies several consumer segments that differ in terms of preferences, attitudes, and characteristics. Many respondents are highly price-sensitive. After the provision of additional information, stated preferences for certified palm oil increase, but four out of five consumer segments still prefer palm-oil-free products. Prevailing health concerns and a potential lack of trust in certification might explain this choice behavior. As alternatives to palm oil are not necessarily more sustainable, initiatives supporting the uptake of certified sustainable palm oil should be further strengthened. Targeted information campaigns might be a suitable instrument to raise awareness and increase knowledge about palm oil.

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Clean Label Trade-Offs: A Case Study of Plain Yogurt

Frontiers in Nutrition ◽

10.3389/fnut.2021.704473 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Author(s):

Sara Maruyama ◽

Juyun Lim ◽

Nadia A. Streletskaya

Keyword(s):

Willingness To Pay ◽

Consumer Choice ◽

Food Industry ◽

Latent Class ◽

Corn Starch ◽

Consumer Preferences ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Mixed Logit ◽

Logit Analysis ◽

Trade Offs

Consumer demand for clean label has risen in recent years. However, clean label foods with simple and minimalistic ingredient lists are often expensive to produce and/or may possess less desirable sensory qualities. Accordingly, understanding consumer preferences regarding the clean label trend would be of great interest to the food industry. Here we investigate how ingredient lists and associated sensory quality descriptions may influence consumer preferences using a hypothetical choice experiment. In particular, we test the impacts of four common stabilizers (carrageenan, corn starch, milk protein concentrate, and pectin) and textural characteristics on preferences and willingness to pay for plain yogurt. A total of 250 yogurt consumers participated in the study. The results of a mixed logit analysis suggest that clean labeling significantly increases the likelihood of consumer choice, while poor texture reduces consumer choice. More importantly, the negative impact of poor texture seems to be less significant for clean label yogurts compared to that for yogurts with longer ingredient lists. Among all stabilizers, corn starch in particular has a significant negative impact on consumer choice. The estimated average consumer willingness to pay for clean labels is between $2.54 and $3.53 for 32 oz yogurt formulations. Furthermore, clean labels minimize the negative impact of textural defects with consumers willing to pay an estimated premium of $1.61 for the family size yogurt with a simple ingredient list. Results of latent class modeling reveal two classes of consumers with similar patterns of demand who prefer clean labels and, on average, would rather purchase a yogurt with a textural defect than opt out of purchasing a yogurt entirely. Implications for the food industry are discussed.

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Examining the trade-offs of palm oil production and consumption from a sustainable diets perspective: lessons learned from Myanmar

Public Health Nutrition ◽

10.1017/s1368980021004353 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-13

Author(s):

Shauna M Downs ◽

Khristopher Nicholas ◽

Kay Khine Linn ◽

Jessica Fanzo

Keyword(s):

Focus Groups ◽

Palm Oil ◽

Oil Palm ◽

Edible Oils ◽

Economic Viability ◽

Lower Income ◽

Sustainable Diets ◽

Trade Offs ◽

Key Stakeholders ◽

Production And Consumption

Abstract Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the trade-offs related to the production and consumption of palm oil in Myanmar from a sustainable diets perspective. Design: We used an enhanced value chain analysis approach that included semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders; market analyses to assess edible oils in markets and focus groups as well as surveys with consumers to ascertain their perceptions and practices related to edible oils. Setting: Four settings in Myanmar (upper income urban; lower income urban; middle-income urban; lower income rural). Participants: Key stakeholders (n 12) from government, trade bodies and civil society organisations were included in the interviews. Women from each of the regions participated in four focus groups (n 32), and a convenience sample of male and female consumers participated in the surveys (n 362). Results: We found mistrust of the oil sector overall. Poor production practices, leading to low yields, limit the economic viability of oil palm production in Myanmar and contribute to negative environmental (e.g. deforestation) and social outcomes (e.g. land conflicts). Consumers demonstrated low preferences for palm oil as compared with traditional oils from a taste, health and transparency perspective; however, they indicated that its relative low cost led to its purchase over other oils. Conclusions: The Burmese example suggests that there may be limited benefits, and significant costs, of investing in palm oil production in regions where there are coordinating disincentives from a sustainable diets perspective. However, if oil palm cultivation is to continue, there are opportunities to improve its economic viability and environmental sustainability.

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Engineering Product Design Optimization for Retail Channel Acceptance

Journal of Mechanical Design ◽

10.1115/1.2898874 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 130 (6) ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

N. Williams ◽

S. Azarm ◽

P. K. Kannan

Keyword(s):

Product Design ◽

Latent Class ◽

Consumer Preferences ◽

Marketing Channels ◽

Engineering Product ◽

Design Decisions ◽

Trade Offs ◽

Slotting Allowances ◽

Engineering Designs ◽

Design Selection

Significant recent research has focused on the marriage of consumer preferences and engineering design in order to improve profitability. The extant literature has neglected the effects of marketing channels, which are becoming increasingly important. At the crux of the issue is the fact that channel dominating retailers, like Wal-Mart, have the ability to unilaterally control manufacturer’s design decisions as gatekeepers to the consumers or market. In this paper, we propose a new methodology that accounts for this power asymmetry. A chance constrained optimization framework is used to model retailer acceptance of possible engineering designs and accounts for the important effect on the profitability of the retailer’s assortment through a latent class estimation of demand from conjoint surveys. Our approach allows the manufacturer to optimize a product design for its own profitability while reliably ensuring that the product will make it to market by making the retailer more profitable with the addition of the new product to the assortment. As a demonstrative example, we apply the proposed approach for product design selection in the case of an angle grinder. For this example, we analyze the market and are able to improve expected manufacturer profitability while simultaneously presenting the designer with trade-offs between slotting allowances, market share, and risk of retailer acceptance.

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Consumers’ Sense of Farmers’ Markets: Tasting Sustainability or Just Purchasing Food?

10.20944/preprints201608.0061.v1 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Elisa Giampietri ◽

Dieter Koemle ◽

Xiaohua Yu ◽

Adele Finco

Keyword(s):

Agricultural Production ◽

Choice Experiment ◽

Food Systems ◽

Consumer Preferences ◽

Environmental Benefits ◽

Sustainable Food ◽

Alternative Food Systems ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Production And Consumption

Sustainable food consumption has attracted a widespread attention during last decades by scholars, policy makers and consumers. In line with this, farmers’ markets (FMs) have the potential to encourage sustainable agricultural production and consumption. By reducing the number of actors and distances along the food chain, these alternative food systems foster the reconnection between farmers and consumers and contribute to different social, economic and environmental sustainable goals. This paper provides insights on the role of consumers' sustainability concerns related to their motivation for shopping at FMs. By means of a choice experiment, we analyze the determinants of consumers’ WTP for buying apples at FMs. We are particularly interested in understanding how attitudes towards the three sustainability dimensions are related to consumer preferences in this context. We find that consumer attitudes towards direct contact with producers, contributing to farmers’ income, and environmental benefits can be directly related to product characteristics that are specific to FMs.

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Original brands in competition against high quality copycats

European Journal of Marketing ◽

10.1108/ejm-08-2017-0536 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 52 (7/8) ◽

pp. 1574-1597 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Hang Nguyen ◽

Kunter Gunasti

Keyword(s):

Consumer Preferences ◽

Experimental Studies ◽

Brand Identity ◽

Product Attributes ◽

Content Type ◽

Product Features ◽

Trade Offs ◽

The Face ◽

Cue Diagnosticity

Purpose Copycat brands offering improved product quality pose serious challenges to original brands. This paper aims to provide a better understanding of why consumers prefer copycat brands with superior product attributes and how original brands can shift this preference back by strategically leveraging brand identity cues. Design/methodology/approach Four experimental studies test different types of brand identity cues that original brands can use to influence consumer preferences. Logistic and linear regression analyses analyze the effects. Findings The results systematically show the power of brand identity cues in helping original brands reduce share loss to copycat brands using superior product attributes. They also reveal the role of brand equity, conspicuous consumption and consumers’ tendency of using brands as status symbols in enhancing the effect of brand identity cues in the face of superior copycats. Research limitations/implications This paper extends cue diagnosticity theory and the brand identity literature by showing the power of brand identity cues in predicting consumer choices of original brands. Practical implications This paper provides useful guidelines for managers of original brands on how to effectively use brand identity cues to compete against copycats. Originality/value Prior research focuses on how copycat brands’ characteristics influence consumers’ evaluations of copycats. These studies are limited, however, by their focus on cheap and low-quality copycats. The current paper examines the effects of brand identity cues and draws attention to the trade-offs consumers make when choosing between original brands and copycats offering superior product features.

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Identity Cues in Product Rating Distributions: The Role of Self-Concept Clarity in Consumer Preferences

PsycEXTRA Dataset ◽

10.1037/e570052013-077 ◽

2013 ◽

Author(s):

Bella Rozenkrants ◽

S. Christian Wheeler

Keyword(s):

Consumer Preferences ◽

Self Concept ◽

Product Rating

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Organizational Justice and Employee Sustainability: The Mediating Role of Organizational Commitment

SEISENSE Journal of Management ◽

10.33215/sjom.v3i3.334 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 3 (3) ◽

pp. 12-22

Author(s):

Mehreen Fatima ◽

Zeeshan Izhar ◽

Zaheer Abbas Kazmi

Keyword(s):

Organizational Commitment ◽

Organizational Justice ◽

Developing Country ◽

Design Methodology ◽

Direct Relationship ◽

Banking Sector ◽

Mediating Role ◽

Research Gap ◽

The Impact

Purpose- The primary purpose of the study is to determine the impact of organizational justice (OJ) on employee sustainability. Along with that, it also describes how organizational commitment mediates this direct relationship. This study includes all dimensions of OJ which are distributive, procedural and interactional (interpersonal & informational) within the context of a developing country (Pakistan). Design/Methodology- This study has considered employees working in the banking sector of Pakistan. Two hundred ten questionnaires were received back from employees. Regression analysis was used to analyze direct relationships between variables, while smart partial least squares (PLS) were used for mediation analysis. Findings- Results demonstrated that all hypothesis were accepted and it was also confirmed that organizational commitment (OC) mediates the direct relationship between OJ and employee sustainability (ES). Originality/value- Multidimensional construct of organizational justice was tested in this study, in the context of a developing country (Pakistan), to address the research gap.

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