The Impact of Sustainability Aspects in the Meat Sector: A Cluster Analysis Based on Consumer Attitudes and Store Format Choice

Several consumer studies have shown considerable market potential for sustainable meat products, however, their markets shares are still marginal. In Germany, the sustainable aspects “organic,” “local origin,” and “animal welfare” are of special interest. To obtain a precise overview of potential target groups for these meat categories and their choice of store format, 620 German consumers were surveyed on their attitudes toward sustainable meat production and their shopping behavior. First, target groups based on consumers’ attitudes were identified by cluster analysis, taking into account possible overlaps. Consumers were also clustered by their store format choice and their preferred type of meat packaging. A cross tabulation of the results then provided insights into which store format and type of meat packaging is preferred by the target groups for sustainable meat products. Due to overlaps found in the target groups, the existence of important subgroups was shown. Amongst the target groups, only a slight preference for unpackaged meat products was found. Basically, the offer of sustainable meat products appears of interest for all store formats, with particular emphasis on supermarkets. The results of this study can support producers and retailers developing new and tailored marketing strategies for sustainable meat products.     

Circular business model implementation: A capability development case study from the manufacturing industry

Circular business models (CBMs) have huge potential to deliver economic, social, and environmental benefits, but CBMs have yet to be implemented widely in industrial settings. One reason is that they are often presented as one-size-fits-all solutions, but this is misplaced because product-specific criteria and company capabilities determine the correct choice and implementation of CBMs. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate how CBM selection and capability development facilitates the implementation of CBMs. For this purpose, we have adopted a qualitative research approach and undertaken 25 explorative interviews in three large Swedish manufacturing companies. In this paper, a CBM implementation framework consisting of two parts has been developed. The first part addresses the choice of the appropriate CBM based on tactical configurations. The second part provides a capability development path by explicating underlying routines that need to be progressively developed in order to move smoothly to more advanced CBMs.     

Beate Schneider 60 Jahre

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Entgrenzung des Journalismus: empirische Evidenzen ohne theoretische Basis?

»De-differentiation« has become a kind of standard diagnosis in defining the state of current media communication. Especially social systems theory, which used to focus on the differentiation of systems, nowadays increasingly discusses phenomena of de-differentiation. Journalism research in particular is concerned that functional de-differentiation might result in a gradual loss of the social function of journalism. However, the question remains widely unsolved of how empirically observed indicators for de-differentiation processes relate to (systems) theory, or whether the idea of de-differentiation and social systems theory are, in principle, compatible. The paper discusses the relation between differentiation and de-differentiation, and tries to define the term of de-differentiation, which seems to be used in relation to diverse kinds of phenomena and at different levels. All in all it shows that de-differentiation and social systems theory are absolutely compatible. On the other hand, it also becomes clear that the theoretical debate about the strict focus on system boundaries and binary codes, which prevailed in the early stages of social systems theory in journalism research, has to be revisited in light of de-differentiation processes.     

Gender diversity in academic publishing—comment on Galak and Kahn (2021)

Marketing Letters - Galak and Kahn (Marketing Letters, 2021) report that females and underrepresented minorities face a less favorable organizational climate within academic marketing as compared...     

Buchbesprechung

Buchbesprechung

Buchbesprechung     

There is nothing permanent except change—analyzing individual price dynamics in “pay-what-you-want” situations

This study is examines the dynamics in prices paid in “pay-what-you-want” situations over multiple customer–seller transactions on an individual customer level. The analysis of potential dynamism in prices paid allows for an assessment of the profitability of pay-what-you-want pricing for sellers of frequently bought products and services. To empirically validate the framework, the authors conduct a field study that focuses on the aggregate and individual dynamics in prices paid over customers’ multiple purchases. Using latent growth modeling, the authors find significant but declining decreases in prices paid. Further, they identify stable individual and relational difference factors which predict steeper or more gradual declines in prices paid. Customers’ individual preferences for fairness and price consciousness as well as their overall satisfaction with the seller alleviate price declines. The authors discuss the practical and theoretical implications of these findings.