Pirjo Honkanen and Svein Ottar Olsen
The primary purpose of this study is to investigate whether welfare issues are important to consumers also relating to fish. Second, it aims to identify segments based on animal…
Abstract
Purpose
The primary purpose of this study is to investigate whether welfare issues are important to consumers also relating to fish. Second, it aims to identify segments based on animal and fish welfare issues, environmental concerns and ambivalence about farmed fish.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire was designed to investigate consumers' concern for environmental and animal and fish welfare issues together with variables used in profiling segments in the study. The measurement scales used here are adapted from validated scales in previous studies. The survey was conducted in Valencia, Spain, among 450 randomly‐chosen respondents.
Findings
Animal welfare issues related to farmed fish do not seem to be important for the consumers in Valencia. There are, however, differences among the consumers relating to general environmental and animal welfare concern, and ambivalence. Three segments were identified: the unconcerned (27 per cent), the wild fish concerned (34.5 per cent) and the ambivalent (38.5 per cent). Attitudes toward farmed fish, the importance of natural food and social class were most important in profiling differences between clusters.
Practical implications
The findings indicate that the animal welfare issue has not yet become a barrier for farmed fish in Valencia. The results may help fish‐farming companies to find their target group among the consumers, based on environmental and animal welfare issues. The results also indicate that there are consumers who are somewhat ambivalent about farmed fish. For this group, more information and knowledge can change their attitudes so they become more positive toward farmed fish in the future.
Originality/value
The paper provides useful information for fish‐farming companies or the authorities planning healthy‐eating campaigns targeting fish.
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Nina Veflen Olsen, Themistoklis Altintzoglou, Valérie Lengard Almli, Margrethe Hersleth, Aase Skuland and Pirjo Honkanen
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how vegetable side components (carrot and broccoli) influence children’s associations and expected liking of two common Norwegian…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how vegetable side components (carrot and broccoli) influence children’s associations and expected liking of two common Norwegian dishes (meatballs and salmon).
Design/methodology/approach
Children aged 11-12 years old were recruited to complete an adapted free association test (n=89). Each participant was exposed to four pictures of dishes that included combinations of the experimental food items served with potatoes and sauce. Participants stated their immediate associations and how much they liked each meal on a five-point smiley face scale for children. Evoked associations were coded and categorized before the relationship between the expected liking of the dishes and the associations were visualized based on correspondence analysis.
Findings
The authors found that the expected liking of the dishes was significantly affected by the composition of the dish, that the associations related to the meal changed when the vegetable component changed, and that children’s associations to food are quite similar to what previous studies have found for adults.
Originality/value
How children categorize complex dishes and how their mental representation explains expected liking has rarely been investigated before. By investigating how dishes with different components activate different associations and how these associations co-occur with children’s expected liking of the dishes, the authors gain knowledge that can help us develop strategies for improved dietary change.
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Pirjo Honkanen and James A. Young
– The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of determinants of consumers’ buying intentions for sustainable seafood.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of determinants of consumers’ buying intentions for sustainable seafood.
Design/methodology/approach
Survey data from 755 representative respondents in the UK were collected. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse the data. The theory of planned behaviour was used as a framework for the analysis, with an additional variable, personal norm, which seems to be especially relevant for environmental behaviour.
Findings
The results confirmed the expected relationships: the motivation to buy sustainable seafood is increased by a positive attitude towards buying sustainable seafood, perceived pressure from important others such as family, friends and colleagues, and by a strong moral obligation. Attitude towards buying sustainable seafood was the strongest predictor of intention found in the study. To reach a goal of consumers placing greater emphasis upon purchasing more sustainable seafood, both attitudinal and normative messages could be used. Further implications of the findings and the scope for further research are discussed.
Research limitations/implications
The study is correlational in nature, thus limiting the causal inferences that can be made from the results. It does, however, help to explain the relationships in explored in the model.
Originality/value
This paper addresses the issue of motivation to buy sustainable seafood which has not received much attention in literature, but is an important issue for anyone trying to increase consumer sustainable behaviour.
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Kristian Ellingsen, Kristine Grimsrud, Hanne Marie Nielsen, Cecilie Mejdell, Ingrid Olesen, Pirjo Honkanen, Ståle Navrud, Christian Gamborg and Peter Sandøe
The purpose of this paper is threefold: first, to assess how concerned Norwegians are about fish welfare; second, to investigate Norwegians’ willingness to pay for salmon filet…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is threefold: first, to assess how concerned Norwegians are about fish welfare; second, to investigate Norwegians’ willingness to pay for salmon filet made from welfare-assured farmed fish with high levels of welfare; and third, to examine Norwegian opinions about the appropriate way to pay for better welfare standards in fish production.
Design/methodology/approach
On the basis of two focus group sessions, a survey questionnaire was developed and distributed to a representative sample of 2,147 Norwegian households via e-mail.
Findings
Results showed that the Norwegian public is concerned about fish welfare and is willing to pay a price premium for products made from welfare-assured fish. Norwegian consumers do not, however, want to be the only ones paying for fish welfare, as the main responsibility for fish welfare lies with producers and the Government.
Research limitations/implications
In this study willingness to pay is measured using a hypothetical choice experiment. Values people express as citizens, however, may not accurately predict true consumer behaviour. This is generally referred to as “citizen-consumer duality” and may have affected the results.
Practical implications
The study shows that there is a national market for welfare-assured fish products, but education initiatives focusing on fish farming and fish welfare issues would further influence the attitudes and purchasing habits of Norwegian consumers.
Originality/value
Although concern about animal welfare is growing in the western world, very little attention has been given to the welfare of fish. This paper aims to make up for this by presenting a study of how Norwegians view the welfare of farmed salmon.
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Talha Harcar and Erdener Kaynak
In view of the existing void in the current international and cross‐national/cultural marketing literature, the purpose of this paper is to look into the similarities and…
Abstract
Purpose
In view of the existing void in the current international and cross‐national/cultural marketing literature, the purpose of this paper is to look into the similarities and differences of life‐style orientations prevalent among US and Canadian consumers. The AIO (Activities, Interest, and Opinions) and VALS (Values, Attitudes, and Life‐Styles) statements adapted from the current cross‐cultural marketing literature were utilized to determine different US and Canadian consumer market segments. The research tools and techniques used in this study help retail businesses as well as manufacturing companies of the two countries to develop and execute more effective target marketing strategies.
Design/methodology/approach
The data for this study were collected through self‐administered questionnaires. The questionnaires were administered in two different locations. First, in Brandon, Canada and second, in the rural part of south central Pennsylvania (York and Lancaster counties). Both regions are similar to each other, each having a flourishing agricultural industry and a significant number of companies in the service and manufacturing industries. The data were collected through a drop‐off and pick‐up method among a sample of 300 Canadian married or common‐law families and 400 in the USA.
Findings
The study results show that there are, indeed, differences among the consumers’ life‐styles in the two countries which were similar in demographics and as such may have been previously treated the same way by marketers, but in reality have very different lifestyles. Based on the survey findings, managerial and/or public policy implications are offered for orderly marketing decision‐making purposes.
Research limitations/implications
A study of total urban consumers may produce different life‐style profiles than the ones presented here. This study only examined North American consumer life‐styles within the framework of product group (form). Additional studies may look at consumer life‐styles by use of product brands and even product options.
Originality/value
This empirical research study presents cross‐cultural comparisons of life‐styles, value orientations of consumers in the purchase of a variety of goods and services in the similar environments of North America, namely rural areas of the USA and Canada.