Sarah Kühl, Gesa Busch and Matthias Gauly
Local origin of meat acts as a key quality indicator for consumers. How an ideal local meat production should look like is rather unknown. The purpose of this study is to…
Abstract
Purpose
Local origin of meat acts as a key quality indicator for consumers. How an ideal local meat production should look like is rather unknown. The purpose of this study is to comprehensively analyse how an ideal local beef production should be constituted.
Design/methodology/approach
432 consumers from a North Italian province (South Tyrol) were questioned online about their views regarding (local) beef production. 12 attributes, from calf rearing to transport times, were presented with different options. Participants selected the most ideal options from their perspective. Further, willingness to pay for local beef and for the ideally produced local beef as well as the importance of local production for different food categories were assessed.
Findings
The results are quite heterogeneous but show that local production is especially of importance for eggs, dairy products and beef. Traceability to the farms, daily access to a paddock and access to pasture during summer, silage-free feeding, low transport times and suckler cow husbandry are aspects that are mostly selected as ideal. A price premium of 35% for locally produced beef and up to 50% for this ideal production seems reasonable for most consumers.
Research limitations/implications
The study only includes South Tyrolean consumers and thus the validity is limited to this area. Although transferability to other regions can be assumed, future studies are necessary to confirm this assumption.
Originality/value
This is the first study analysing consumers expectations towards local beef production considering several production levels.
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Keywords
Sarah Kühl, Aurelia Schütz and Gesa Busch
The use of multi-level labels can enhance product visibility by enabling labeling of various items. Moreover, it can better accommodate the diversity on both the producer and…
Abstract
Purpose
The use of multi-level labels can enhance product visibility by enabling labeling of various items. Moreover, it can better accommodate the diversity on both the producer and consumer sides. However, studies on the willingness to pay (WTP) for premium levels of those animal welfare labels are scarce.
Design/methodology/approach
We investigate consumers’ WTP for a four-level animal husbandry label introduced to the market by German retailers in 2019 by conducting an online survey with 1,223 German meat consumers using Van Westendorp’s price sensitivity meter (PSM).
Findings
There is a significant increase in WTP for level 3 of the husbandry label, but only a slight increase for level 4. One explanation is that consumers may have the mistaken belief that level 3 already includes outdoor access for animals. As a result of this expectation, consumers may not perceive much added value in level 4, which is reflected in their reluctance to pay a higher price. This is reinforced by the finding that once informed of the criteria, 18% of the participants reduced their WTP for level 3, whereas only 6% considered a discount for level 4. Furthermore, 40% were prepared to pay more for level 4 after being informed of the respective criteria than they had previously stated.
Originality/value
To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to analyze and emphasize the importance of clear label communication, particularly for multi-level animal husbandry labels.
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Elisa Bayer, Gesa Busch, Achim Spiller and Sarah Kühl
The purpose of this study is to investigate consumers' attitudes towards alternative slaughter methods (ASMs). ASMs present more animal-friendly and stress-free slaughter…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate consumers' attitudes towards alternative slaughter methods (ASMs). ASMs present more animal-friendly and stress-free slaughter practices. However, these practices are not yet widespread due to strict regulations, high labor efforts and costs. Therefore, the market for meat products from ASMs is still small, and less is known about consumers' awareness, assessment and willingness to pay (WTP) for these products.
Design/methodology/approach
This study aims to close the research gap using a standardized and representative online survey among 1,604 German participants. To identify target groups for these kinds of meat products, a factor and cluster analysis was conducted.
Findings
The results show that ASMs are not widely known among consumers. Overall, participants evaluated ASMs positively, but about 1/3 of the participants stated to also have concerns related more to hygiene than to animal welfare issues. The cluster analysis reveals two out of four clusters found that are interested in ASMs. These clusters are characterized by high trust in small butcheries and organic meat consumption.
Originality/value
The slaughtering sector has hardly been examined from an economic point of view in the animal welfare debate so far. This study identifies potential target groups for products originating from ASMs based on possible consumption drivers and barriers. Therewith, products from particular animal welfare friendly slaughter methods can be promoted purposefully to suitable target groups.
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Birgit Schulze-Ehlers, Nina Steffen, Gesa Busch and Achim Spiller
The paper aims to advance the conceptual understanding of supply chain orientation (SCO) in small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) as a general attitude and to empirically…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to advance the conceptual understanding of supply chain orientation (SCO) in small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) as a general attitude and to empirically measure the link between SCO and willingness to implement supply chain management (SCM). Coordination among supply chain stages is widely considered important for competitiveness in all sectors. Recently, SCO of the actors has been discussed as a precondition for successful implementation of SCM.
Design/methodology/approach
SCO is operationalized as a two-dimensional attitudinal construct. In all, 279 German dairy farmers participated in an online-survey. By means of factor and cluster analysis and one-way analysis of variance, the relation between the two SCO dimensions and their link with willingness to implement several currently discussed SCM measures is analysed.
Findings
The SCO dimensions are not purely linearly related, as shown by three clusters with different patterns of vertical cooperation orientation and common goal orientation. No differences occur in terms of socio-economic characteristics, but the share of cooperative members varies. SCO is related to the intention to implement SCM. However, the greater the (monetary) efforts required by farmers, the lower their acceptance of an SCM measure. Trust and perception of the power relation play an important role, revealing patterns of coopetitive behaviour.
Originality/value
SCO is a relatively new and little investigated construct. To the authors' best knowledge, this is the first time that a purely attitudinal measure was used, and that SMEs and the milk supply chain were investigated with respect to SCO and implementation of concrete SCM measures.