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A limited number of studies have aimed at understanding behavior towards animal welfare. However, there are indications that consumers make an important distinction between land animals and fish. As no studies have attempted to explain the factors that influence consumer behavior towards the welfare of fish, this study aims to explain the behavior using the value–belief–norm (VBN) model. In addition, we extend the model by using empathy as a factor influencing the formation of personal norms. This study argues that by adding empathy to the model, we will improve the ability of the VBN to explain moral behavior.

The study is based on survey data from 416 Norwegian consumers. A structural equation modeling analysis with latent constructs is used to test the hypotheses.

The findings validate the ability of the VBN model to explain consumer intention to buy products containing fish with better welfare. We also showed that empathy and beliefs strongly influence personal norms. The extended VBN model increased the explained variance of personal norm by 11,54%. Consumers with biospheric values are strongly likely to have empathetic feelings towards fish suffering and believe that fish can feel pain. However, consumers with hedonistic values are significantly negatively related to beliefs and empathy.

By understanding the role of empathy, companies can develop marketing strategies that appeal to consumers' values, empathy and beliefs and ultimately encourage them to make purchases that support fish welfare.

Practically, this study explores consumers' beliefs towards fish welfare and identifies consumers who are more likely to purchase products containing fish with better welfare based on their values.

The purpose of this study was to investigate how a consumer’s intention to purchase a premium or luxury product influences the anticipated regret and guilt.

A 2 × 2 × 2 between-subjects design (label: premium versus luxury × prior event: success versus failure × product type: hedonic versus utilitarian) on guilt and regret was implemented.

Following a successful event, the anticipated regret and guilt are lower for a hedonic product compared to a primarily utilitarian one. The effect was valid when the consumers were looking to buy both luxury and premium. In a situation following a failure, the anticipated levels of regret and guilt were lower for a product that was primarily utilitarian in nature; however, this effect only appeared when the participants were looking to buy both luxury and not premium.

People may feel more licensed to indulge in a hedonic premium or luxury product after a success and more licensed to indulge in a utilitarian luxury product after a failure.

The results can be used to understand how to optimize a marketing message of indulgence whether or not one deserves it.

The study provides novel insight into how anticipated guilt and regret may be evoked by the goal of buying a premium versus luxury product in combination with the product type and a consumer’s experience of a prior event.

Combining sensory evaluations and hypothetical valuation mechanisms, this study aims to investigate the impact of consumers' product sensory attributes on willingness to pay (WTP) and overall liking for a new apple cultivar.

A sample of non-expert participants (n = 122) evaluated the overall liking and just-about-right (JAR) attributes. A variable transformation approach was applied to make linear and interval regression models between the JAR attributes, overall liking scores and participants' WTP.

The study reveals the high consumer appreciation for the new apple in both hedonic and economic terms. After controlling the anchoring effect's bias, the predicted mean WTP for the new apple cultivar was €3.26 per kilogramme. Crunchiness and flavour significantly affect both participants' overall liking and WTP.

The main limitation is the non-probabilistic sampling procedure, which does not allow for the generalisation of the results. Penalty analysis for JAR attributes in monetary and hedonic terms is beneficial for optimising the product and evaluating its potential in the marketplace.

The findings provide helpful directions for product optimisation in future breeding programmes to ensure the long-term sustainability of the new apple cultivars in the marketplace.

This study provides evidence of the beneficial synergy of mixing sensory-oriented research with the behavioural economics field of study.

The purpose of this study was to explore whether consumers' confidence in cooking skills related to seafood differed across genders, and if such difference could be explained by the identity-relevance of seafood cooking for men.

Survey data was collected from a balanced sample of 515 Norwegian consumers.

The results showed that men (versus women) with high confidence in their seafood cooking skills have a lower preference for convenient seafood solutions, indicating that these men may be more reluctant to use food products that could hinder the cooking outcome being attributed to their cooking skills.

This study adds nuance to the understanding of male consumers as highly reliant on convenience products when cooking. More specifically, this study provides novel insight into how men function differently than women in relation to preparing seafood, suggesting that some men resist using convenient seafood solutions in order to express an identity as skillful in the kitchen.

The aims of this study were: to identify consumer segments in France, based on their use of and trust in information sources regarding the freshness of fish, to examine differences between the segments regarding use of and interest in information cues and objective and subjective knowledge, to compare the consumer segments regarding their fish consumption and fish storage behaviour and to discover how different consumer segments reacted to labels regarding the processing of cod fillet products.

This paper describes how French consumers (n=485) of fish were clustered in three segments based on their use of and trust in information sources regarding the freshness of fish and then compared by means of use of and interest in various information cues, knowledge, fish consumption behaviour, age and parenthood.

Information regarding thawed cod fillet products should be carefully communicated. Fresh fish remains at the top of consumers' aspirations, regarding fish. However, a short label indicating that fish was frozen directly after catch and thawed directly before they were put on the retailers' displays may lead to an improvement of the image of previously frozen cod fillet products.

This survey based study could be confirmed in a real-life experimental setting.

The results can be direct advice for the development of communication strategies for the successful launching of fresh and thawed cod fillet products in the market.

This manuscript expands the segmentation presented by Pieniak et al. to France. Using this segmentation as a starting point, this study demonstrates the benefits of its use in the development of directed communication strategies.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how Norwegian consumers consider information during making the decision to buy and consume fish products.

Validated questionnaires, adapted based on a pre-study, were completed by Norwegian volunteers. Participants were randomly recruited by telephone and were at least 50 per cent responsible for the food in the household. The survey included questions about: first, use of and trust in information sources; second, use of and interest in information cues; third, objective and subjective knowledge; and fourth, fish consumption and buying behaviour.

The results of this study (n=713) led to three consumer segments: “Label trusters” (40 per cent), “Info skippers” (19 per cent) and “Info seekers” (41 per cent) with significant (p<0.001) differences in use of and trust in information sources and reactions to information cues. Particular needs of these clusters regarding product labelling were identified.

Increased product visibility and simplified product packaging with selective and targeted information for each consumer group will lead to a better differentiation of fish products in a competitive market and hence to an increased consumption of health-promoting fish by the Norwegian population.

This manuscript is one of the few that shows how particular types of labelling could be summarised, minimised or moved in order to reach potential consumers with a better presented product that carries information in more strategic placement than what one can find on current seafood packaging.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of information on English consumers' evaluation of fresh and thawed cod fillets which in English retail stores is referred to as “chilled” seafood.

After the exploration of consumers' impressions of thawed fish, this study followed a pair‐wise comparison approach in a central location consumer test. Fish fillets were evaluated on liking, smell and texture by means of a questionnaire with additional behavioural and attitudinal questions.

This study showed that consumers in England may prefer thawed over fresh cod fillets without information. However, consumers' evaluations increased for labelled fresh cod fillets and decreased for thawed. Finally, consumers reported positive expectations about fillets labelled “fresh” or “frozen at sea”.

This study involved testing cod fillets in a central location test. Consumers do not usually evaluate cod fillets in this way in their daily life. The quality of the two types of fillets made especially for this test may vary compared to the ones usually sold and consumed.

This study can inform producers and retailers about what to expect by means of sales of fresh and thawed cod products with or without information.

It was shown that consumers are positively influenced by information and are willing to consume more fish if they know that the fish is fresh or thawed properly.

This is the first paper to present English consumers' evaluations of thawed cod.

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).

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.

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.

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.

Food is an important element of a holiday. An in depth understanding of factors that influence tourists’ perception of food is central in increased tourist satisfaction and repurchase intentions. However, tourists may differ in innovativeness and thus in their willingness to buy unfamiliar food and food souvenirs. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the special context in which tourists choose food during holidays and the associated food-cultural distance involved in this context.

This study was based on data collected by using a questionnaire completed by 277 tourists on board a small Norwegian cruise ship sailing along the coast of Norway. The main focus in the questionnaire was on factors that influence tourists when considering buying food in general and food souvenirs in particular.

The main finding was that food souvenirs should be adapted to the needs of tourists with high and low innovativeness to fulfil the needs of the whole target tourist population. Even though highly innovative tourists were more willing to buy food souvenirs that are characteristic of the country visited, tourists with low innovativeness may have been more comfortable with the purchase of food that is less innovative, within a different food-culture. The main factors influencing tourists in choosing and buying food and food souvenirs on holiday are quality, taste, local origin and the perceived authenticity of the food.

This paper provides data that reveal similarities and most interestingly differences in food choice behaviour of consumers in the context of being tourists. It describes the relationship of choice with innovativeness, which may vary while being at home vs being a tourist and exposed to a distant food culture. It brings together perspectives on local food, authenticity, familiarity, innovativeness, budget management/price and their interaction during a real life situation that is rarely studied in the consumer research literature. This study adds a refreshing sample to the existing literature about food choice; tourists.

Portugal is a country with one of the highest seafood consumption per capita in the world. The purpose of this paper is to understand the Portuguese knowledge and attitudes towards seafood and relate it to consumers’ environmental conscious.

Using an internet-based survey the authors investigated the relation of socio-demographic variables to consumption frequency and how knowledge about seafood is associated with interest in different information when purchasing seafood products.

Results demonstrate consumption of a high diversity of species. Tuna and cod are the top species related to convenience and food traditions. There is a preference to consume seafood mostly at home and prepared grilled. Differences between higher and lower knowledgeable consumers’ related to seafood, show that the first ones have a more diversified use of species and high prevalence of small pelagic fish.

The findings are influenced by the sample obtained, which over-represents well-educated and higher income people. Moreover the self-reported consumption can be biased by individuals own perceptions and different seafood products. Better estimations of consumption frequency could result from asking more detailed information, as such as by species or meal occasions.

Portuguese consumers have high knowledge about seafood but it is not necessarily related to sustainable choices. To help in sustainable seafood choices it might be more effective to promote existing habits based on Portuguese traditions that still are good alternatives for the marine environment.

A higher consumer’s knowledge does not necessarily mean more sustainability.