Fabio Musso, Annarita Colamatteo, Laura Bravi, Maria Anna Pagnanelli, Federica Murmura and Marcello Sansone
The aim of this study is to determine how the different age of consumers impacts on some factors that drive consumers to the purchasing of private label products, considering…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to determine how the different age of consumers impacts on some factors that drive consumers to the purchasing of private label products, considering differences and similarities of behaviors.
Design/methodology/approach
The research was conducted through the administration of a questionnaire to evaluate consumers' perceptions about private label food products. To collect data, the convenience sampling method has been used. The valid answers collected and analyzed are 358.
Findings
The results of this study highlight that the response of different age groups to the Private Label Brands (PLBs) must be considered in the light of the positioning adopted by the individual retailers. Value for money and satisfaction on previous consumption are relevant for purchasing decisions regardless of the retailer's strategy and the age of consumers. A third factor, price, is important for the whole sample. Focusing on the specific age clusters, the younger respondents seem to be attentive to factors such as healthy and in-store promotion, while the more experienced consumer are attentive to the origin and traceability of products.
Originality/value
An analysis of the main literature on Private Labels showed that the results of research about the role of consumer age in PLB choices are contrasting. This study aims at integrating the literature, measuring how the factors influencing the purchase of PLB products vary for different age groups of consumers.
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Marcello Sansone, Fabio Musso, Annarita Colamatteo and Maria Anna Pagnanelli
This research paper aims to understand which factors influence the purchase of private label food products, by measuring the importance of 14 variables for purchasing frequency.
Abstract
Purpose
This research paper aims to understand which factors influence the purchase of private label food products, by measuring the importance of 14 variables for purchasing frequency.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected through questionnaires to a sample of consumers. They have been analysed according to the extra tree classifier methodology, which allows providing a more reliable classification – compared to previous studies – of factors affecting consumers' choices of private label products.
Findings
Results show that consumers' choices related to private label food products are influenced by groups of heterogeneous variables related to their perception on products, satisfaction of post-consumption, store's role and trust built over time by retailers.
Research limitations/implications
Data have been collected through an online survey, which could generate the bias of self-selection; the sampling method is non-probabilistic.
Practical implications
The study provides useful indications on the role of private labels in retailer management policies and on marketing competences and skills that are necessary for managing retailers' assortments.
Originality/value
The existing literature lacks clarity on the factors that influence the frequency of purchasing private label food products. By considering a higher number of variables than previous studies, it has been possible to classify and measure the importance of each variable included in the analysis framework adopted, also in case of correlation between variables.
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Maria Anna Pagnanelli, Annarita Colamatteo, Fabio Cassia and Marcello Sansone
This study aims to extend the Technology Acceptance Model 2 (TAM2) by incorporating hedonic motivation and service quality and exploring their collective impact on users’…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to extend the Technology Acceptance Model 2 (TAM2) by incorporating hedonic motivation and service quality and exploring their collective impact on users’ continuance intention in the context of e-grocery. The purpose is to provide a comprehensive understanding of the factors influencing e-grocery technology acceptance.
Design/methodology/approach
The empirical analysis follows a cross-sectional design, using data collected in Italy from January to March 2023. The survey, utilizing the convenience sampling method, focuses on users who have made online grocery purchases in the previous six months. Data analysis employs partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM), which enables causal-predictive model assessment.
Findings
The research reveals significant relationships among hedonic motivation, service quality, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness and continuance intention. Hedonic motivation positively impacts perceived usefulness but not perceived ease of use. Service quality significantly influences both perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness. Additionally, perceived ease of use positively influences perceived usefulness and continuance intention, while perceived usefulness significantly impacts continuance intention.
Research limitations/implications
The cross-sectional design could limit the study’s ability to capture the evolution of users’ continuance intention over time. Cultural influences on users’ perceptions could be explored further to develop context-specific strategies.
Practical implications
The findings emphasize the importance of hedonic motivation, service quality, ease of use and perceived usefulness in shaping users’ intentions to continue using online grocery services. Practitioners are encouraged to focus on enhancing hedonic elements for increased user loyalty and invest in service quality, particularly in customer care and checkout processes, to improve user perception and ease of use.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the existing literature by integrating hedonic motivation and service quality into TAM2, offering a novel perspective on their combined impact on technology acceptance. The inclusion of these factors enhances the model’s applicability in understanding user behaviour in the adoption of technology, specifically in the e-grocery sector.
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Annarita Colamatteo, Marcello Sansone and Giuliano Iorio
This paper aims to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the private label food products, specifically assessing the stability and changes in factors influencing…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the private label food products, specifically assessing the stability and changes in factors influencing purchasing decisions, and comparing pre-pandemic and post-pandemic datasets.
Design/methodology/approach
The study employs the Extra Tree Classifier method, a robust quantitative approach, to analyse data collected from questionnaires distributed among two distinct consumer samples. This methodological choice is explicitly adopted to provide a clear classification of factors influencing consumer preferences for private label products, surpassing conventional qualitative methods.
Findings
Despite the profound disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, this research underscores the persistent hierarchy of factors shaping consumer choices in the private label food market, showing an overall stability in consumer behaviour. At the same time, the analysis of individual variables highlights the positive increase in those related to product quality, health, taste, and communication.
Research limitations/implications
The use of online surveys for data collection may introduce a self-selection bias, and the non-probabilistic sampling method could limit the generalizability of the results.
Practical implications
Practical implications suggest that managers in the private label industry should prioritize enhancing quality control, ensuring effective communication, and dynamically adapting strategies to meet evolving consumer preferences, with a particular emphasis on quality and health attributes.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the existing body of literature by providing insights into the profound transformations induced by the COVID-19 pandemic on consumer behaviour, specifically in relation to their preferences for private label food products.
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Annarita Colamatteo, Fabio Cassia and Marcello Sansone
Driven by the disruptive effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the ongoing debate about the international location of firms' manufacturing activities has increasingly highlighted the…
Abstract
Purpose
Driven by the disruptive effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the ongoing debate about the international location of firms' manufacturing activities has increasingly highlighted the specific benefits and costs of near-shoring versus far-shoring. However, the effects of near-shoring versus far-shoring on customer perceived quality and purchase intention have not been examined. Thus, this study aims to develop a conceptual model and provide new evidence to fill this gap. In particular, the study explores the roles of brand familiarity and corporate social responsibility (CSR) to explain the different levels of perceived quality and purchase intention in relation to near-shoring versus far-shoring.
Design/methodology/approach
This study includes two analyses of data collected from a sample of Italian customers. The first analysis consists of a 2 (high/low brand familiarity) × 3 (domestic insourcing, near-shoring, far-shoring) factorial design, and data are assessed via analyses of variance (ANOVA). The second analysis evaluates the suggested model in the two scenarios (near-shoring and far-shoring) via partial least squares–structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) multigroup analysis.
Findings
Results showed that customer perceived quality and purchase intention were significantly higher for near-shoring than for far-shoring, but only when brand familiarity was low. No significant difference was found for participants with a high level of brand familiarity. In addition, the level of a brand's pre-offshoring perceived CSR was negatively related to perceived quality, and this was conceptually justified by the CSR-washing effect. Again, this effect was found only when brand familiarity was low.
Research limitations/implications
The findings contribute to advancing the current understanding of the multiple effects of the offshoring decision and clarify that near-shoring and far-shoring have different effects for customers with low brand familiarity. The findings also emphasise that the far-shoring decision can elicit the perception of decoupling between the firm's CSR claims and CSR actions, thus decreasing perceived quality.
Practical implications
This study provides managers with additional inputs to make more informed decisions regarding offshoring. While the post-pandemic scenario seems to favour near-reshoring over far-shoring due to agility considerations, this study also provides additional evidence of the superiority of near-reshoring from the customer's perspective.
Originality/value
This is the first study to examine and prove the differential effects of near-shoring versus far-shoring on the customer's perceptions and behaviours.
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Maria Angela Perito, Antonella Di Fonzo, Marcello Sansone and Carlo Russo
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the market potential of food obtained from olive by-products. The marketing of such by-products (e.g. olive leaves and pulp) is a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the market potential of food obtained from olive by-products. The marketing of such by-products (e.g. olive leaves and pulp) is a challenging opportunity for the sustainable development of the sector. Yet, consumer demand is still poorly understood. The paper contributes to filling the knowledge gap with an empirical survey of a sample of Italian consumers.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors provide an assessment of consumers’ willingness to accept (WTA) food from olive by-products. The authors collected structured questionnaire from a sample of 289 Italian consumers. The authors asked to consumers their willingness to try a variety of food products containing olive by-products, as a proxy for their WTA the products. In order to investigate the drivers of the average WTA, the authors used the information in the questionnaire to build four constructs of interest: technophobia, neophobia, perception of benefits and awareness about sustainable consumption. The choice of the constructs and the variables was driven by the existing literature.
Findings
The paper shows how the WTA food with olive by-products is a general attitude of the consumer, rather than product-specific choice. The results suggest that consumers perceive the use of olive by-products as a new technology for preparing well-known food products. The authors did not find statistical evidence of the wariness of olive by-products as new food products. Technophobia is the most important factor hampering the marketing of olive by-products.
Originality/value
The paper is a first attempt of exploring the topic of WTA food with olive by-products.
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This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.
Design/methodology/approach
This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. 10;
Findings
Organizational decisions to offshore manufacturing are increasingly being questioned by consumers who feel that quality and ethical expectations are being sacrificed to slash costs. Those who still favour this approach should consider basing operations within nations from the same region or provide justifiable reasons and assurances why far-shoring is preferred.
Originality/value
The briefing saves busy executives and researchers’ hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.