Shopping for a sustainable future: Two case studies on consumer perception of organic cotton and wine
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Shopping for a sustainable future : Two case studies on consumer perception of organic cotton and wine. / Wang, Qian Janice; Dalsgard, Julie; Giacalone, Davide.
In: Food Quality and Preference, Vol. 96, 104405, 2022.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Shopping for a sustainable future
T2 - Two case studies on consumer perception of organic cotton and wine
AU - Wang, Qian Janice
AU - Dalsgard, Julie
AU - Giacalone, Davide
N1 - Funding Information: The authors would like to thank Aarhus Food Festival and volunteers from the Department of Food Science for helping with data collection for Study 1B and 2B. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Author(s)
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - Grape and cotton are agricultural products with high pesticide usage. With an eye towards sustainability, regions are looking towards organic farming to protect soil health. However, given the higher prices associated with organic products, it is crucial to understand consumer attitudes and perception towards such products in order to shift consumer behaviour. To this end, we conducted two sets of studies focusing on organic cotton (in the form of stuffed toys) and wine (Chianti DOCG). For both products, two studies were carried out using (unbeknownst to the participants) identical samples. In Study 1, participants were told which of the two products was “organic” and which was “conventional”. Liking, willingness to pay (WTP), and evaluation of product properties (textural or flavour pleasantness for cotton and wine, respectively) were then collected. In Study 2, participants were only told which product was organic only after they had made their initial preference decision. They then evaluated product properties and WTP. For stuffed toys, all consumers (N = 59) were willing to pay more for the organic toy, even though only consumers with high tendency to buy organic products found it more pleasant to touch. Furthermore, consumers (N = 33) were willing to pay more for the organic toy regardless of their original preference. For wine, consumers (N = 128) were also willing to pay more for the “organic” wine, but only if they had high tendency to buy organic products. Moreover, consumers (N = 57) were only willing to pay more for organic wine if they had preferred it initially. Overall, this work highlights that consumers are willing to pay more for organic products; however, this stems from concern for environmental sustainability in the case of cotton, but from taste preference in the case of wine. Moreover, organic labelling led to a more positive perceptual evaluation of cotton toys, while this halo effect did not carry over to wine.
AB - Grape and cotton are agricultural products with high pesticide usage. With an eye towards sustainability, regions are looking towards organic farming to protect soil health. However, given the higher prices associated with organic products, it is crucial to understand consumer attitudes and perception towards such products in order to shift consumer behaviour. To this end, we conducted two sets of studies focusing on organic cotton (in the form of stuffed toys) and wine (Chianti DOCG). For both products, two studies were carried out using (unbeknownst to the participants) identical samples. In Study 1, participants were told which of the two products was “organic” and which was “conventional”. Liking, willingness to pay (WTP), and evaluation of product properties (textural or flavour pleasantness for cotton and wine, respectively) were then collected. In Study 2, participants were only told which product was organic only after they had made their initial preference decision. They then evaluated product properties and WTP. For stuffed toys, all consumers (N = 59) were willing to pay more for the organic toy, even though only consumers with high tendency to buy organic products found it more pleasant to touch. Furthermore, consumers (N = 33) were willing to pay more for the organic toy regardless of their original preference. For wine, consumers (N = 128) were also willing to pay more for the “organic” wine, but only if they had high tendency to buy organic products. Moreover, consumers (N = 57) were only willing to pay more for organic wine if they had preferred it initially. Overall, this work highlights that consumers are willing to pay more for organic products; however, this stems from concern for environmental sustainability in the case of cotton, but from taste preference in the case of wine. Moreover, organic labelling led to a more positive perceptual evaluation of cotton toys, while this halo effect did not carry over to wine.
KW - Consumer perception
KW - Cotton
KW - Halo effect
KW - Organic
KW - Willingness to pay
KW - Wine
U2 - 10.1016/j.foodqual.2021.104405
DO - 10.1016/j.foodqual.2021.104405
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85116004702
VL - 96
JO - Food Quality and Preference
JF - Food Quality and Preference
SN - 0950-3293
M1 - 104405
ER -
ID: 375015249