Maria Luisa Scalvedi and Anna Saba
The purpose of this paper is to identify sustainability aspects that overlap with local and organic consumer profiles in order to provide evidence that can be used to promote both…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify sustainability aspects that overlap with local and organic consumer profiles in order to provide evidence that can be used to promote both kinds of foods in a sustainable food consumption (SFC) integrated framework.
Design/methodology/approach
Discriminant analysis was applied to a national sample of 3,004 respondents in Italy to separately depict local and organic consumers’ profiles based on personal values, eating habits, food purchase motivations, and involvement.
Findings
Organic consumption showed a lower penetration compared to local consumption. However, organic consumers adhered to more sustainable consumption principles. Adopting healthy diets and sharing self-transcendence values emerged as common traits of both consumers. Regular consumption made both consumers’ profiles look similar by sharing more sustainability-related traits.
Research limitations/implications
Only two out of the different types of foods promoted as sustainable were considered. Further insights could be made regarding fair trade foods and food promoted by voluntary sustainability standards.
Practical implications
The overlapping motivations of the two consumer profiles provided evidence of the potential efficacy of joint promotion in favour of sustainability and demonstrated that a synergic approach among food systems could foster more sustainable consumption.
Originality/value
This study identified common sustainability motivations among different consumer groups, based on sustainable food categories, adopting a holistic vision of SFC.
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Fiorella Sinesio, Anna Saba, Elisabetta Moneta, Marina Peparaio, Eleonora Saggia Civitelli and Flavio Paoletti
The study aimed to investigate consumers’ views on criteria to be claimed for organic processed foods and information to be communicated.
Abstract
Purpose
The study aimed to investigate consumers’ views on criteria to be claimed for organic processed foods and information to be communicated.
Design/methodology/approach
An online survey was carried out among 439 adults living in Italy, users of processed organic food, to gather opinions on criteria that processing of organic food should meet and on the terms that best define “careful” processing. Next, a conjoint design was applied to examine the effects of five independent factors on consumers' ideal concept of “organic”; these were potential information on packaging, processing, additives and product quality, and the type of food product. Three products with different processing level were selected: an ultra-processed and multi-ingredient product (vegetable burger), a processed product preserved by canning (peas in glass jar) and a minimally processed product (bagged salad).
Findings
The findings highlight that consumers attach more importance to the organic food carrier than the informational messages. Information on the processing and packaging follows, with messages on quality and on additives seemingly of minor importance. Three clusters of respondents were identified: those driven primarily by the type of organic food (24.6%), those placing more emphasis on product processing (21.3%), and a third larger cluster (54.1%) who expressed almost equal importance to all the factors considered. As for the processing of organic products, “eco-friendly” was the best message.
Originality/value
This paper offers insights into what best outlines the ideal concept of “processed organic food” as seen by organic food consumers, to be communicated to better guide their purchasing decisions.
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Anna Saba, Simona Rosati and Marco Vassallo
This paper presents the findings of an empirical work on attitudes towards the application of the gene technology to food production in Italy. It focuses on the importance of…
Abstract
This paper presents the findings of an empirical work on attitudes towards the application of the gene technology to food production in Italy. It focuses on the importance of perception of risks, benefits and uncertainty in determining general attitude to foods produced by genetic engineering. Also, the role of general attitudes and perceived moral obligation in influencing the expectation of consuming foods produced by gene technology was analysed. A mail survey was organised and 434 subjects completed the questionnaires. The results revealed that more people had unfavourable attitudes towards the application of genetic engineering to food production than favourable. More people indicated low benefits than high, more people reported high risks than low risks. Also, more people agreed that there is high uncertainty about potential consequences by genetic engineering than certainty. The findings of regression analyses showed that the perception of benefits outweighed perception of risks in the impact on general attitudes towards the applications of genetic engineering to food production, whereas the perception of uncertainty contributed marginally to the prediction of attitudes. General attitudes appeared to be an important determinant of the expectation of consuming food produced by genetic engineering.
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Anna Saba, Anna Moles and Lynn J. Frewer
Public opinion regarding the application and development of genetic engineering is likely to be an important factor influencing the future development of the technology, and its…
Abstract
Public opinion regarding the application and development of genetic engineering is likely to be an important factor influencing the future development of the technology, and its subsequent application within the commercial sector. Recent studies have been carried out which have assessed public attitudes to biotechnology, and in particular genetic engineering, but there is little empirical work to understand cross‐cultural differences in attitudes, other than that using an opinion poll methodology, particularly in a cross‐cultural context. This study seeks to compare public concerns assessed by a combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis in the UK and Italy. The results show that, despite the fact that Italians used a poorer vocabulary to describe their concerns compared to the British respondents, both samples clustered the applications in a similar way. Perceptions of need and benefit were important in both Italy and the UK as determinants of acceptance of particular applications. However, while negative constructs in Italy were predominantly focused on ethical issues, respondents in the UK focused on both risk‐related issues and ethical considerations; nevertheless, the pattern of concern regarding different applications were similar in both countries.
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Federico Messina, Anna Saba, Aida Turrini, Monique Raats, Margaret Lumbers and Food in Later Life Team
The aim of this study is to investigate older people's perceptions, across eight European countries (the UK, Denmark, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Italy), towards…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to investigate older people's perceptions, across eight European countries (the UK, Denmark, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Italy), towards functional foods.
Design/methodology/approach
The repertory grid method was used to elicit reasons underlying preferences of five yoghurts with different functional properties and two conventional ones.
Findings
Familiarity was the key driver in products' separation. For the Italian case, as well as the Spanish, Portuguese, Danish and Swedish the first principal axis could be interpreted as novel‐common axis, whilst it was not in the UK, Germany and Poland.
Research limitations/implications
Behavioural intention to buy functional yoghurts was more strongly predicted and moderated by single item perceived need (PN) than single item affective and/or cognitive attitude (AA, CA), even though PN, AA and CA could be consistently assessed within the same latent measure (in all countries but Denmark). Nevertheless, beliefs/attitudes towards a novel category of products such as functional foods may be reasonably keeping moving.
Originality/value
In this study, preference instructions pertaining to beneficial and imagery attributes, revealed idiosyncratic properties associated with functional yoghurts across eight European samples of older people.
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Vivekanandan D., Sakthivel M., Srinivasa Moorthy S. and Ajith Arul Daniel S.
In this study, TiO2 is used to enhance the mechanical properties of the composite material containing agave Americana fiber and polyester resin.
Abstract
Purpose
In this study, TiO2 is used to enhance the mechanical properties of the composite material containing agave Americana fiber and polyester resin.
Design/methodology/approach
Agave Americana fiber was first treated with 5% of NaOH, and the composition of treated and untreated fiber was kept constant, whereas the particulate and resin were alternatively used. The handlay method is used to fabricate the composite plates. The morphology of the composites was studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM).
Findings
The composite was composed of 30% treated agave Americana, 10% of TiO2 particulates and 60% of a polyester resin for better and enhanced mechanical properties.
Practical implications
The composite can be used for aero-structural components, automobile components and other areas where light-weight components are required.
Originality/value
A new type of agave Americana fiber with TiO2 and polyester resin composite was fabricated and investigated.
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Chengzhi Wang and Zao Liu
The past two decades have witnessed the rapid developments in distance education. Though debates surrounding issues related to distance education have yet abated, more and more…
Abstract
The past two decades have witnessed the rapid developments in distance education. Though debates surrounding issues related to distance education have yet abated, more and more institutions, entrepreneurs, educators, and learners embrace distance education with the aid of improved information technologies. The present guide introduces the historical development, major theories, and leading agencies and organizations associated with the discipline. Furthermore, it provides an annotated selection of resources including periodicals, books and monographs, and Internet sites. Though emphasis is placed on representative resources and information of distance education of the USA, important international resources are also analytically introduced.
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Veronica Marozzo, Alessandra Costa, Antonio Crupi and Tindara Abbate
This study aims to examine the most influential drivers, both product-specific and consumer-specific, affecting Asian consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) for organic olive oil.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the most influential drivers, both product-specific and consumer-specific, affecting Asian consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) for organic olive oil.
Design/methodology/approach
To individuate the most influential drivers of WTP for organic products and to assess their effect, in terms of configurational paths and consumer profiles, this study sequentially employs explorative factor analysis approach and a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis method. The survey is carried out in different areas of Asia (e.g. Pakistan, Vietnam and China).
Findings
The results suggest that Asian consumers' WTP for organic products is described by consumer-specific drivers (gender, occupation and household size) as well as product-specific drivers (product authenticity and sustainability, consumer ethnocentrism and food fraud risk perception).
Originality/value
The findings of the study permit the identification of different drivers that move consumers' WTP for organic olive oil. The study contributes to setting the ground for companies to propose and implement efficacious marketing strategies for organic olive oil in importing countries, such as Asia.