Acceptability of goat's,sheep's and cow's milk in Malawi

Two sets of questionnaires were administered to 206 individuals at three locations in Salima District, central Malawi, in order to evaluate and compare consumers' attitudes to and acceptance of goat's and sheep's milk relative to identically prepared cow's milk. One hundred and seventy-two goat farmers around Bunda College, Lilongwe, central Malawi, were also included in the study to assess their general attitude towards the consumption of goat's milk. About 62% and 96% of consumers in Salima have never consumed goat's and sheep's milk respectively. Unavailability was the major factor (P < 0.D001) influencing the attitudes of the people towards consumption of goat's and sheep's milk, followed by the fact that it is not traditional to milk goats and sheep and consume their milk, a major reason (P < 0.D001) in Lilongwe. Strong flavour and taste was a tertiary factor in the study. Respondents failed to associate coded milk samples with actual sources. Mean taste scores (based on a five-point scale of 1 = like very much, 5 = dislike very much) for goat's, sheep's and cow's milk were 1.81, 2.12 and 2.77, respectively. There were no significant differences among milk sources in these scores. The results indicate that goat's and sheep's milk is just as acceptable as cow's milk.     

AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE MEAT PREFERENCES OF MALAWIANS

A questionnaire sent to 155 individuals was used to determine the meat preferences of families in three different socio-economic groups within the capital city of Malawi. Beef was the most strongly preferred meat, followed by chicken. When these two meats were unavailable differences between groups became apparent; high income families preferring pork and sheep, and low income families preferring goat, rabbit and ‘other’ meats. These results were influenced by the method of marketing of particular meats, but show that meat preferences of Malawians are different from those of individuals of Western European origin. Total meat production and consumption could be increased by an improvement in the production and marketing of goat meat; the second most popular species in farm holdings.     

Gender-Driven Food Choice: Explaining School Milk Consumption of Boys and Girls

The literature on the factors influencing children’s consumption behaviour is vast; however, gender-specific consumption behaviour and the determinants driving these discriminative decisions are largely unknown. This article contributes insights to the role of gender in food preferences using the example of school milk consumption by German primary school children. Study subjects included pupils, their parents, teachers, and other school personnel. The results of the multilevel model reveal that there are various factors influencing the probability that a child will decide to order school milk. In addition to individual factors such as socio-economics, eating habits, and preferences, consumption behaviour is also affected by social environmental factors. These factors include the preferences of parents, the consumption behaviour of teachers, teachers’ attitudes, and the attitude of the school principal. Additionally, policy-driven aspects (e.g., school milk price, product range) were included in the analysis and proved to have an impact on a child’s decision to order school milk. Although the results are limited to consumption behaviour for school milk, they can be used in the development of new or the revision of existing school food programmes. The example of school milk may shed light on how specific measures affect boys’ and girls’ consumption, e.g., how they react to price reductions or specific school settings.     

Factors affecting households’ seafood purchasing decisions in Auckland,New Zealand: an empirical analysis

This paper uses the binary choice model to identify the factors that are significantly influencing the household purchase decisions of seafood products for home consumption in Auckland, New Zealand. It is found that ‘quality’ and ‘cooking easiness’ are the main product attributes that significantly influence households’ choices of seafood in Auckland. Also, the representative household has shown a strong preference for fresh and other alternative seafood products, including processed, smoked and canned, over frozen products. Retail outlets are found to be more attractive to the household purchasing seafood for home consumption. The New Zealand seafood industry may find this baseline study useful as a guide to developing future research structure on the domestic market.     

Consumer preference among fluid milks: low‐fat vs. high‐fat milk consumption in the United States

The present study uses data from the Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals 1994–1996, 1998 in order to analyse milk consumption by type, specifically high‐fat milk vs. low‐fat milk. Whereas trend analysis displays an overall increase in low‐fat milk consumption over the last few decades in the United States, a number of individuals still consume high‐fat milk varieties, and overall dietary intakes have yet to achieve recommended levels. In light of recent research regarding fat intakes, it is important to understand what factors might cause consumers to purchase high‐fat options given the number of low‐fat options available in the market. Through the use of Logistic regression, key socio‐economic and demographic variables are analysed in order to determine their impacts on the probability of consuming low‐fat milk vs. high‐fat milk. The results indicate that a number of factors do influence probability of low‐fat milk consumption as compared with high‐fat milk consumption. Most notably, probability of low‐fat milk consumption appears to be positively related to age, education level, and income level. African Americans and other minorities had a lower probability of consuming low‐fat milk when compared with White people in the sample population. Also, those respondents designated as low income or living in the South were less likely to consume low‐fat milk.     

我国羊肉产品国际竞争力之分析

本文对我国和其他主要羊肉出口国的羊肉产品的国际市场占有率、贸易竞争指数(TC)和显示性比较优势指数(RCA)进行了定量分析。研究发现,我国羊肉产品在国际市场上基本不具有国际竞争力,究其原因,我国羊肉虽然具有价格上的比较优势,但没有由质量、品质和安全水平等因素决定的非价格竞争优势。并据此提出了一些发展对策和建议。     

我国农产品的国际竞争力评价及实证分析

随着我国进入世贸组织后过渡期以及农业发展进入新阶段,市场竞争日趋激烈,提升农产品国际竞争力已成为我国农业发展的必然选择。本文首先从理论上阐述了农产品国际竞争力主要取决于价格竞争力、质量竞争力和营销竞争力三个方面,分析了影响国际竞争力的主要因素和农产品国际竞争力的评价方法。在此基础上,对我国农产品的国际竞争力进行了实证分析,并指出提升我国农产品国际竞争力的现实路径     

An Analysis of Assortment Choice in Grocery Retailing

Consumers in grocery retailing commonly buy bundles of products to accommodate current and future consumption. When all products in a particular bundle share common attributes (and are selected from the same product category), the consumer is said to assemble an assortment. This research examines the impact of assortment variety on the assortment choice process. In particular, we test the prediction that consumers demand less variety for higher quality items. To investigate this relationship, we employ a flexible choice model, suitable for the analysis of assortment choice. The model, based upon the assumption that the utility of purchase of one item in an assortment depends upon the set of items already selected, allows for a general utility structure across the assortment items. We apply the model to household assortment choice histories from the yogurt product category. Substantively, we show that yogurt choice is affected by brand quality perceptions (quality-tier competition). Moreover, we show that reaction to reductions in variety (number of yogurt flavors) is mediated by brand quality perceptions. Taken together, these empirical facts paint a picture of a consumer who is willing to trade-off variety against product quality in assortment choice.     

Factors Affecting Retailer Acceptance of New Packaged Goods:

Packaged goods manufacturers develop and introduce several different types of new products including innovations, "me-too" prodcuts, and line extensions. The authors build a theoretical model to help understand the retailer new product acceptance process for different types of new products. Factors influencing retailer acceptance of new packaged goods were identified and tested. Statistical comparisons of factors were performed across different types of new products and within a particular type of new product to develop a relative ranking of the most influential factors. The results show that many of the factors affecting retailer acceptance of different types of new products are under the control of the manufacturer. The results also show that the retailer new product acceptance process varied significantly from one type of new product to another. Implications for theory and practice, and directions for future research, are discussed.     

Culture,consumption and choice: towards a conceptual relationship

Abstract Manufacturers and retailers are continually extending the geographical scope of their activities, and the degree of acceptance by local consumer cultures is integral to the success or failure of their operations. It is, therefore, important that cultural influences on consumption behaviour are fully conceptualized and understood. Central to this understanding is a need to address how consumers prioritize their own principles and set them against other criteria, bringing these to bear in the process of choosing particular products. This paper attempts to address the paucity of research in this respect by attempting to integrate areas of literature on culture, consumption and product choice. These relationships are explored through a simple conceptual framework, which is then used to discuss the influence of culture on one particular type of behaviour —‘ethical consumption’— the degree to which consumers prioritize their own ethical concerns when making product choices. The paper concludes by highlighting the general implications of the framework for research.     

The role of dietary information in women's whole milk and low‐fat milk intakes

This study examines the effects of dietary information on women's whole and low‐fat milk intakes. The sample is 1928 female meal planners aged 20 years or over who provided information on their milk intake for 2 days in the 1994–96 Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals and who completed the 1994–96 Diet and Health Knowledge Survey in the follow‐up interview. The nested Tobit model was used to handle the sequentially censored data. Women's dietary information contributed to reduced whole milk consumption and increased low‐fat milk consumption indicating different effects on whole milk and low‐fat milk consumption.     

Analysis of Snack Food Purchasing and Consumption Behavior

This exploratory research examines the purchasing and consumption behavior of snack food consumers. A structured questionnaire and intercept interviews were used to collect quantitative data from respondents inside supermarket stores. For marketers, a key contribution of this study is the importance of the price attribute and certain product claims. Sugar and total fat were found to be the most important nutritional factors that consumers consider when making a purchase decision, but it was also found that only around one half of all consumers actually read product labels when purchasing snack foods. Matters of particular concern that are highlighted by this study are that one third of consumers do not consider their snacking behavior to be healthy, and one quarter of consumers choose to snack in secret. This study addressed a number of gaps in current knowledge by identifying the snack food products that are most frequently consumed, the reasons for consuming snacks, whether consumers read snack food product labels, the importance of various attributes and product claims, whether consumers regard their snacking behavior to be healthy, and whether they snack in secret.     

Determinants of Visitors’ Intentions to Consume and Recommend Local Agro-Food Products

Previous research has revealed the relevance of consuming local food products in the visitor experience and in maintaining the sustainable development of tourism destinations. By reviewing the available studies in the field of tourism, attempts have been made to identify those factors influencing the consumption of local food products during a trip. However, few studies have analysed visitors’ behaviour in terms of their intentions to search for and recommend these products after returning to their home countries. The present study addresses this gap by analysing the factors that influence visitors’ intentions. A total of 500 international tourists in Portugal were interviewed and several linear regression models were used. The evaluation shows that the attributes of local agro-food products, food-related personality traits, and the motivations behind consuming these kinds of products emerge as the most important factors that influence visitors’ intentions to consume these products and to recommend them after a trip. However, the results also show differences in the determinants in terms of type of local agro-food product under analysis, as well as differences between the intention to consume and the intention to recommend. The theoretical and managerial implications of the findings are also presented.     

Consumer Decision Making Regarding a “Green” Everyday Product

One of the techniques marketers use to convert low‐involvement products into high‐involvement ones is adding an important product feature. A case in point is the common practice of adding a “green” or environmentally friendly product feature to an everyday product, something which is often assumed to elevate consumer involvement in the choice of the product. However, there is a lack of research investigating whether adding such a “green” product attribute actually makes any difference to how consumers make choices. Does the way in which consumers make decisions about groceries change when both “green” and conventional alternatives are available? Does it make them deliberate more or do they just develop another, simple choice heuristic? Based on observation and follow‐up interviews of consumers at the milk counter in two supermarkets which stock both organic (a “green” attribute) and conventional milk, it is concluded that, rather than changing the way consumers make decisions when buying this type of product, the availability of a “green” alternative seems to make “green” consumers develop a new, simple choice heuristic that allows them to do their shopping as effortless and time‐efficient as consumers buying conventional products.     

浅析乳品变质与微生物污染

我国乳及乳制品消费量逐年增加,但由腐败变质引起的损失巨大。基于此,针对乳品腐败变质的问题,综述微生物污染对乳及乳制品的影响,并对其原因进行分析。     

The role of taxonomic and goal‐derived product categorization in,within, and across category judgments

Consumers can face two types of judgment and choice situations: They may be considering products that are classified in a single product category, or products that may belong to several different product categories. This article compares these within‐ and across‐category judgments on the basis of the distinction between taxonomic and goal‐derived categorization. The first study examines how products that belong to taxonomic and goal‐derived categories are represented in memory. The findings support the view that taxonomic categories differ from goal‐derived categories in terms of the ease with which the features shared between members of the category are accessible and the type of features that are used to represent the members. In turn, these differences influence consumer beliefs, judgments, and choice sets when consumers make within‐ and across‐category product comparisons. A second study examines how consumers' familiarity with consumption situations influences the construction of choice sets. Results indicate that as familiarity with consumption situations increases, consumers construct more narrowly defined, within‐category choice sets, whereas in less‐familiar situations consumers construct broader, across‐category choice sets. The implication of these findings on marketing action is discussed. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

When the frugal become wasteful: An examination into how impression management can initiate the end-stages of consumption for frugal consumers

Premature disposal of functional products is a global problem adding to waste and feeding a consumer culture. Contrary to this, frugal consumers take care and extend the life of their products, elongating the usage and value obtained from their possessions. Despite this, little is known about frugal consumers and the factors that eventually initiate their actions towards the end-stages of consumption (e.g., declined usage). The present research explores one such psychological factor that may dictate frugal consumers’ willingness to discontinue usage of their products; impression management. Three studies demonstrate that when the marketplace's opinion of an owned product is negative (e.g., inferior value), then the well-accepted frugality-usage intentions relationship diminishes. This effect is due in part to the undesirable image that owning such a product portrays, that of a consumer who makes poor choices. By examining what can initiate the end-stages of consumption for frugal consumers, this study broadens our understanding of anticonsumption lifestyles postpurchase, exploring factors beyond functionality, and obsolescence that influence decisions to continue or discontinue using products consumers already own.     

Diversity in product symbolism: The case of female executive clothing

Many social roles are associated with and identified by product symbols. Yet, frequently, there is much ambiguity among consumers regarding which products denote a given role, and the specific products which communicate desired role attributes. The study examines factors influencing the diversity of clothing symbols associated with the female executive role. A conceptual framework focusing on role-related variables, aesthetic versus instrumental attitudes towards clothing, and information sources consulted in relation to clothing choice is developed and tested on data from a national survey of female executives.     

Classifying Consumer Purchasing Decision for Imported Ready-to-Eat Foods in China Using Comparative Models

This study aims to identify factors influencing consumer purchasing decision for imported ready-to-eat foods by investigating marketing factors and lifestyles in China (Beijing and Shanghai) using comparative models. Consumers in each city showed different specific lifestyles but shared consumption culture and traditions in common. Regarding lifestyles, consumers who usually buy instant food products face long commutes to work and prefer less cooking time were more likely to buy imported ready-to-eat foods. Findings suggest that product development, labelling with quality guarantees, packaging design, the production process, and multichannels are the prominent factors persuading Chinese consumers to purchase imported ready-to-eat products.