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Sample records for schnackenberg discuss consumer

  1. [Discussion on logistics management of medical consumables].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deng, Sutong; Wang, Miao; Jiang, Xiali

    2011-09-01

    Management of medical consumables is an important part of modern hospital management. In modern medical behavior, drugs and medical devices act directly on the patient, and are important factors affecting the quality of medical practice. With the increasing use of medical materials, based on practical application, this article proposes the management model of medical consumables, and discusses the essence of medical materials logistics management.

  2. "It's often liberating": consumers discuss causal beliefs in the treatment process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larkings, Josephine S; Brown, Patricia M; Scholz, Brett

    2017-12-19

    Causal beliefs are thought to influence consumers' perceptions of their mental illness and self-stigma, and may impact treatment and recovery. Understanding consumers' perspective on causes being addressed in treatment is vital to help guide future research and improve services. This study aimed to explore consumers' views on causes of mental illness being addressed in treatment, along with their subjective experiences of how causes were focused on in their treatment. Using a qualitative approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 23 consumers who self-identified as having a mental illness. A thematic analytic framework was used to identify and analyse themes that emerged within the data. Consumers believed that causes were important and should be addressed in treatment, and identified several associated benefits including increased insight/personal understanding of their illness, symptom management and relapse prevention and reduced self-blame. Negative consequences and considerations were also identified. Causes help consumers make sense of their illness, and consumers would like causes to be addressed in treatment. More research is needed on how mental health professionals can address causes effectively as consumers are currently dissatisfied with how causes were discussed in their treatment.

  3. What do Polish and Dutch consumers think about dried fruit and products with them - creaiwe group discussions as a means of recognittion consumers'perception

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jesionkowska, K.; Konopacka, D.; P¿ocharski, W.; Sijtsema, S.J.; Zimmermann, K.L.

    2007-01-01

    The main aim of the study was to get insight into consumers' perception towards dried fruit and products with them, thus the exploratory study designed as a group discussion took place. While group discussions association (as one of the projective technique) and Kelly repertory grid were used to

  4. The collection and interpretation of domestic accident data. A discussion on some aspects of the British consumer safety system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, J R

    1979-06-01

    This article discusses the workings of a Consumer Safety System and identifies the problems of collecting and using domestic accident data. In the light of proposed changes in the civil law on product liability, particular consideration is given to the difficulties of providing evidence of consumer product involvement in domestic accidents. The paper is based on one read at the CBI Conference "Product Liability in Perspective", held at the Hilton Hotel, London, 30-31 March, 1977. The views expressed are those of the Institute for Consumer Ergonomics and are not necessarily those of the Department of Prices and Consumer Protection.

  5. A discussion of recent methodologies for combining sensory and extrinsic product properties in consumer studies

    OpenAIRE

    Asioli, Daniele; Varela, Paula; Hersleth, Margrethe; Almli, Valerie Lengard; Olsen, Nina Veflen; Næs, Tormod

    2016-01-01

    - Understanding the interaction of sensory and extrinsic product attributes in consumer preferences has been identified as one of the key pillars for raising the likelihood of food products’ success in the market. Over the course of the last decade there has been increased attention on research emphasizing a combination of these food-choice driving parameters. This paper discusses progress made in the field focusing on three groups of methods: (i) conjoint hedonic methods (ii) “classic” he...

  6. Making sense of the "clean label" trends: A review of consumer food choice behavior and discussion of industry implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asioli, Daniele; Aschemann-Witzel, Jessica; Caputo, Vincenzina; Vecchio, Riccardo; Annunziata, Azzurra; Næs, Tormod; Varela, Paula

    2017-09-01

    Consumers in industrialized countries are nowadays much more interested in information about the production methods and components of the food products that they eat, than they had been 50years ago. Some production methods are perceived as less "natural" (i.e. conventional agriculture) while some food components are seen as "unhealthy" and "unfamiliar" (i.e. artificial additives). This phenomenon, often referred to as the "clean label" trend, has driven the food industry to communicate whether a certain ingredient or additive is not present or if the food has been produced using a more "natural" production method (i.e. organic agriculture). However, so far there is no common and objective definition of clean label. This review paper aims to fill the gap via three main objectives, which are to a) develop and suggest a definition that integrates various understandings of clean label into one single definition, b) identify the factors that drive consumers' choices through a review of recent studies on consumer perception of various food categories understood as clean label with the focus on organic, natural and 'free from' artificial additives/ingredients food products and c) discuss implications of the consumer demand for clean label food products for food manufacturers as well as policy makers. We suggest to define clean label, both in a broad sense, where consumers evaluate the cleanliness of product by assumption and through inference looking at the front-of-pack label and in a strict sense, where consumers evaluate the cleanliness of product by inspection and through inference looking at the back-of-pack label. Results show that while 'health' is a major consumer motive, a broad diversity of drivers influence the clean label trend with particular relevance of intrinsic or extrinsic product characteristics and socio-cultural factors. However, 'free from' artificial additives/ingredients food products tend to differ from organic and natural products. Food

  7. The Consumer Science of Sharing: A Discussant's Observations

    OpenAIRE

    Rudmin, Floyd Webster

    2016-01-01

    This discussant’s response to the collected articles on the consumer behavior of sharing draws on a 1983–99 record of research on the psychology of ownership and property. The major recommendations here are: (1) that sharing be defined as the simultaneous or sequential use of an object (e.g., car), a space (e.g., living room), or an intangible (e.g., identity) by more than one individual; (2) that sharing be better described and analyzed by the naive phenomenology methods used by Ichheiser, H...

  8. Some more evidence in the discussion of the ambiguities surrounding consumer perceived value and consumer satisfaction: A new perspective on the role of mass communication theories

    OpenAIRE

    Spais, George S.; Vasileiou, Konstantinos Z.

    2008-01-01

    The major objective of this study is to test two alternative models in order to investigate whether customer value and satisfaction represent two theoretically and empirically distinct concepts. We address the core research themes of our study using a survey. This paper contributes to marketing research by introducing a new parameter (the examination of the mass communication theories) at the growing discussion about the ambiguities surrounding marketing constructs, such as consumer perceived...

  9. Panel discussion : contract design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vallas, A.; Vegh, G.; McGee, M.; Zaremba, T.; Seshan, A.; Harricks, P.; Bertoldi, L.; Taylor, R.

    2003-01-01

    This session presented highlights of the comments of 8 panelists who discussed the issue of contract design. The new electricity market in Ontario has introduced the energy trader, who enters into a contract with the consumer, based on the spot price set by the Independent Electricity Market Operator. Every contract has a fixed price payer as well as floating-price payers. If the floating price for a given amount of energy is higher than the fixed price, then the consumer gets the difference. Confusion, however, arises with the purchase of retail physical power in the market, particularly in deciding a fixed rate that the consumer will be paying. Different billing options were also discussed with emphasis on mid to large retail customers that have portfolios in the tens of MW and up to 100 MW or more. figs

  10. Panel discussion : contract design

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vallas, A. [Sempra Energy Trading, Toronto, ON (Canada); Vegh, G. [MacLeod Dixon, Toronto, ON (Canada); McGee, M. [Energy Profiles Ltd., Etobicoke, ON (Canada); Zaremba, T. [Direct Energy Marketing, Calgary, AB (Canada); Seshan, A. [Larson and Toubro Information Technology, Toronto, ON (Canada); Harricks, P. [Gowlings, Toronto, ON (Canada); Bertoldi, L. [Borden Ladner Gervais, Toronto, ON (Canada); Taylor, R. [Hydro One Networks Inc., Markham, ON (Canada)

    2003-05-01

    This session presented highlights of the comments of 8 panelists who discussed the issue of contract design. The new electricity market in Ontario has introduced the energy trader, who enters into a contract with the consumer, based on the spot price set by the Independent Electricity Market Operator. Every contract has a fixed price payer as well as floating-price payers. If the floating price for a given amount of energy is higher than the fixed price, then the consumer gets the difference. Confusion, however, arises with the purchase of retail physical power in the market, particularly in deciding a fixed rate that the consumer will be paying. Different billing options were also discussed with emphasis on mid to large retail customers that have portfolios in the tens of MW and up to 100 MW or more. figs.

  11. Facilitating consumer participation: an approach to finding the 'right' consumer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Happell, Brenda

    2010-01-01

    Contemporary health care increasingly dictates that consumers of services should become active participants in the health care system. This has placed responsibility on administrators, managers and clinicians to include consumers in key strategic and decision making initiatives. However, this direction has not been accompanied by clear policies or guidelines. Consequently confusion about selecting consumers able to provide valuable input is identified as a barrier to active consumer involvement. The purpose of this paper is to address some concerns raised in the quest to find the "right" consumer, including: finding a consumer without an axe to grind; ensuring the consumer is representative of broader views; health professionals as consumer representatives. While these concerns are common they have not yet been extensively debated and discussed in the broader Literature. Strategies necessary to support consumers in participatory roles are also considered and the controversial subject of financial remuneration for consumers is also explored.

  12. Ordered Consumer Search

    OpenAIRE

    Armstrong, Mark

    2016-01-01

    The paper discusses situations in which consumers search through their options in a deliberate order, in contrast to more familiar models with random search. Topics include: network effects (consumers may be better off following the same search order as other consumers); the use of price and non-price advertising to direct search; the impact of consumers starting a new search with their previous supplier; the incentive sellers have to merge or co-locate with other sellers; and the incentive a...

  13. Radurization : the consumer perspective

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Foster, J.W.

    1989-01-01

    A three part study in which a number of consumer groups were involved was conducted. The study examined the views of South African consumers concerning radurization. The results of the study are discussed and recommendations are made with regard to possible greater consumer acceptance of radurization in South Africa. 2 figs

  14. The Meaning of Happiness in Consumer Research

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brandi Sørensen, Elin; Uth Thomsen, Thyra

    2016-01-01

    In this study we investigate the meaning of happiness in a consumption context. We employ an inductive approach and present the results of an exploratory pilot study with eight consumers. The study is based on a Multi-Sensory-Sculpting (MSS) procedure in which we asked consumers to build sculptures...... that represent consumer happiness. Following the MSS guidelines, consumers were interviewed about the meanings of their sculpture in order to elicit embodied cognition about the topic at hand. In this paper we present the meanings of consumer happiness in the participants‟ accounts and discuss implications...... for consumer research. Further, we discuss the applicability of the MSS-procedure to the topic of consumer happiness, and how to optimize it for later studies on consumer happiness....

  15. LOW INCOME CONSUMERS AND ONLINE SHOPPING: APPREHENSIONS IN CONSUMING THROUGH THE INTERNET

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juan Pablo da Silva Dias

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available The growth in access of low income consumers to the internet has taken them to use the net in search of entertainment, education and relationships. However, consuming online is still an activity surrounded by distrust. The present study aims to discuss the reasons why low income consumers have apprehension in consuming through the internet. For this, in depth interviews were conducted with 23 low income consumers. The collected data shows that the internet is still seen by the interviewees as being, mainly, for leisure and entertainment. Online shopping still is a task they fear, because of different motives. Initially, one can point the preference to consume in physical stores, since the consumers can touch the desired product, enjoy the trip to the store as a moment of pleasure and the possibility of interacting with salesmen, who help them in their choice. The apprehensions in buying online are also influenced by the perception that sites are not safe, because they offer threats, such as viruses or theft of personal information. Furthermore, interviewees believe that online stores are not compromised with their customers, since they permit problems to occur in the delivery of merchandise, are not clear about the shopping process, and create difficulties in payment method. Another reason for them not to buy online is the perception that if a negative consuming episode of online shopping happened to someone they know, it is also bound to happen with them. Despite this reasoning, these consumers point the importance of help from a third party in their reference group as main incentive for them to face the obstacles to consuming through the internet. In conclusion, it is possible to consider that low income consumers have apprehensions that are similar to their higher income peers, but, also, show different feelings, which are seldom discussed in the literature about online shopping.

  16. A History of Drug Advertising: The Evolving Roles of Consumers and Consumer Protection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Donohue, Julie

    2006-01-01

    Direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of prescription drugs in the United States is controversial. Underlying the debate are disagreements over the role of consumers in medical decision making, the appropriateness of consumers engaging in self-diagnosis, and the ethics of an industry promoting potentially dangerous drugs. Drug advertising and federal policy governing drug advertising have both responded to and reinforced changes in the consumer's role in health care and in the doctor-patient relationship over time. This article discusses the history of DTCA in the context of social movements to secure rights for health care patients and consumers, the modern trend toward consumer-oriented medicine, and the implications of DTCA and consumer-oriented medicine for contemporary health policy debates about improving the health care system. PMID:17096638

  17. A history of drug advertising: the evolving roles of consumers and consumer protection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Donohue, Julie

    2006-01-01

    Direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of prescription drugs in the United States is controversial. Underlying the debate are disagreements over the role of consumers in medical decision making, the appropriateness of consumers engaging in self-diagnosis, and the ethics of an industry promoting potentially dangerous drugs. Drug advertising and federal policy governing drug advertising have both responded to and reinforced changes in the consumer's role in health care and in the doctor-patient relationship over time. This article discusses the history of DTCA in the context of social movements to secure rights for health care patients and consumers, the modern trend toward consumer-oriented medicine, and the implications of DTCA and consumer-oriented medicine for contemporary health policy debates about improving the health care system.

  18. Behavioural Economics, Consumer Behaviour, and Consumer Policy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Reisch, Lucia A.; Zhao, Min

    2017-01-01

    . In particular, we discuss the impacts of key principles such as status quo bias, the endowment effect, mental accounting and the sunkcost effect, other heuristics and biases related to availability, salience, the anchoring effect and simplicity rules, as well as the effects of other supposedly irrelevant...... factors such as music, temperature and physical markers on consumers’ decisions. These principles not only add significantly to research on consumer behaviour – they also offer readily available practical implications for consumer policy to nudge behaviour in beneficial directions in consumption domains...... including financial decision making, product choice, healthy eating and sustainable consumption....

  19. Federal consumer protection regulation: disclosures and beyond

    OpenAIRE

    Mark Furletti

    2005-01-01

    On June 10, 2005, the Payment Cards Center hosted a symposium entitled “Federal Consumer Protection Regulation: Disclosures and Beyond.” The symposium brought together credit card industry leaders, legal scholars, consumer advocates, economists, and federal regulators to discuss standardized credit card disclosures and other means of protecting credit card consumers. This paper summarizes the day’s discussion and details the recommendations of symposium participants. In general, these recomme...

  20. Consumer attitude toward food irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bruhn, C.M.M.

    1986-01-01

    Consumer attitudes toward food irradiation were evaluated. The influence of educational efforts on consumer concern for the safety of irradiated products and willingness to buy irradiated foods were measured. Demographic and psychological factors were studied in relation to attitudes. An educational leaflet describing current scientific information regarding the safety, advantages, and disadvantages of food irradiation was developed and used in two studies evaluating attitude change. In the first study, attitude change among two groups of consumers with different philosophic orientations was measured. In a second study, the effectiveness of an educational leaflet received through the mail and a poster display were examined. In a third study response to food irradiation was related to value hierarchy, locus of control, innovativeness, and demographic parameters. Initially, subjects showed a higher concern for other areas of food safety, particularly the use of chemicals and sprays on food, than toward food irradiation. After educational efforts, conventional consumers expressed minor concern toward irradiation whereas ecologically sensitive alternative consumers obtained from a food cooperative expressed major concern. A knowledgeable discussion leader lowered irradiation concern among conventional consumers. In contrast, concern among alternative consumers did not diminish when given the opportunity to discuss safety issues with a knowledgeable person

  1. Consumer Behavior Research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kaveh Peighambari

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available This article analyzes 12 years of recent scholarly research on consumer behavior published in the five leading international journals in this field. Analyzing academic contributions to a specific area of research provides valuable insights into how it has evolved over a defined period. The approach was to briefly discuss content analysis and its application in scholarly literature review studies. The methodology used here involves the classification of topics to evaluate key trends in consumer behavior literature. It includes a ranking of topics published, typology of the published articles, the research classification in terms of methodologies, and analysis techniques. The most cited articles in the field and within each journal are also examined. The comprehensive literature review of consumer behavior research undertaken in this article could advance the discipline of consumer behavior research by elucidating the evolution of consumer behavior literature in the studied period.

  2. Consumer in insurance law

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Čorkalo Milena

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper analyses the notion of consumer in the European Union law, and, in particular, the notion of consumer in insurance law. The author highligts the differences between the notion of consumer is in aquis communautaire and in insurance law, discussing whether the consumer can be defined in both field in the same way, concerning that insurance services differ a lot from other kind of services. Having regarded unequal position of contracting parties and information and technical disadvantages of a weaker party, author pleads for broad definition of consumer in insurance law. In Serbian law, the consumer is not defined in consistent way. That applies on Serbian insurance law as well. Therefore, the necessity of precise and broad definition of consumes is underlined, in order to delimit the circle of subject who are in need for protection. The author holds that the issue of determination of the circle of persons entitled to extended protection as consumers is of vital importance for further development of insurance market in Serbia.

  3. Consumer-driven food product development

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Linnemann, A.R.; Benner, M.; Verkerk, R.; Boekel, van M.A.J.S.

    2006-01-01

    Food product development needs to be based on consumers' needs and wishes to be successful. Factors that have become relevant in this respect are presented and their impact discussed, like mass-individualization, globalization and an altered interpretation of the food quality concept by consumers.

  4. Consumer attitudes and olive oil acceptance: The potential consumer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    McEwan, Jean A.

    1994-04-01

    Full Text Available       This paper outlines the results of consumer research to investigate consumer attitudes towards olive oil, and to evaluate selected experimental samples for acceptability.
          Consumer focus group discussions were used to investigate consumer attitudes to and awareness of olive oil, in relation to other culinary oils. A wide range of information was obtained, indicating the increasing importance of olive oil in the UK.
           Product use was examined to investigate the different types of olive oils consumers use, and the importance of different attributes for purchase. Price, quality and colour were the most important considerations for purchasing an olive oil, whilst package design, package material and brand were the least important.       Eight samples of virgin olive oil were evaluated for acceptability of appearance, odour, flavour and mouthfeel. These data indicated clear differences in acceptability between the samples, particularly on flavour, mouthfeel and overall acceptability. These data were then linked to sensory information to determine the characteristics of oil associated with liking for the product.

  5. Consumer acceptance of irradiated foods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Feenstra, M.H.; Scholten, A.H.

    1991-01-01

    Although the first experiments on food irradiation were carried out in 1916 in Sweden, food irradiation, is for consumers, a relatively new technology. From the sixties food irradiation has been applied more and more, so that the consumer movement has become alert to this technology. Since then a lot of controversies have arisen in the literature about wholesomeness, safety, effects, etc. Food irradiation is currently permitted on a small scale in about 30 countries; in some countries or states food irradiation has been put under a ban (e.g. Australia, New Zealand, New Jersey). The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) have, however, chosen food irradiation as a safe and sound method for preserving and improving the safety of food. Reactions on the part of the consumer organizations of many countries are however not in favour of or are even opposed to food irradiation. In this chapter consumer acceptance related to technological developments is described, then the convergence of the consumer movement on public opinion and concern on food irradiation is discussed. The need for labelling of irradiated food products is discussed and finally recommendations are given of ways to change consumers attitudes to food irradiation. (author)

  6. Issue Papers To Consumer Protection in Postsecondary Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1974

    This document is intended to present background information on the basic consumer protection issues in postsecondary education. Topics discussed are: (1) recruitment practices of postsecondary schools; (2) the role of a state agency in consumer protection; (3) consumer rights, responsibilities and redress of consumer protection; (4) advertising…

  7. Consumer behavior: a quadrennium.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacoby, J; Johar, G V; Morrin, M

    1998-01-01

    Consumer behavior continued to attract additional researchers and publication outlets from 1993 through 1996. Both general interest and domain-specific scholarly contributions are discussed, along with limitations and suggested areas for future research. A concluding section observes that the integrity of consumer research is unnecessarily compromised by the failure of the major scholarly association in the field to develop and adopt a code of researcher ethics.

  8. Consumer Behavior Research Methods

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chrysochou, Polymeros

    2017-01-01

    This chapter starts by distinguishing consumer behavior research methods based on the type of data used, being either secondary or primary. Most consumer behavior research studies phenomena that require researchers to enter the field and collect data on their own, and therefore the chapter...... emphasizes the discussion of primary research methods. Based on the nature of the data primary research methods are further distinguished into qualitative and quantitative. The chapter describes the most important and popular qualitative and quantitative methods. It concludes with an overall evaluation...... of the methods and how to improve quality in consumer behavior research methods....

  9. European consumers and beef safety

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Van Wezemael, Lynn; Verbeke, Wim; Kügler, Jens Oliver

    2010-01-01

    European beef consumption has been gradually declining during the past decades, while consumers' concerns about beef safety have increased. This paper explores consumer perceptions of and interest in beef safety and beef safety information, and their role in beef safety assessment and the beef...... consumption decision making process. Eight focus group discussions were performed with a total of 65 beef consumers in four European countries. Content analysis revealed that European consumers experienced difficulties in the assessment of the safety of beef and beef products and adopted diverging uncertainty...... reduction strategies. These include the use of colour, labels, brands and indications of origin as cues signalling beef safety. In general, consumer trust in beef safety was relatively high, despite distrust in particular actors....

  10. Educating the Consumer about Advertising: Some Issues. ERIC Digest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gottlieb, Stephen S.

    Providing a basic overview of issues related to advertising and the consumer, this digest discusses the omnipresence of advertisements, suggesting ways for consumers to recognize advertising appeals. Deceptive advertising is discussed, with particular attention paid to financial advertising. (RS)

  11. Do attitudes predict consumer's behavior?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Đelošević Ivana

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available There are many themes in marketing to analyze the psychological and marketing aspect of research. The survey of consumer attitudes is one of them. The consumer attitudes have long been discussed and written about. For this purpose, numerous theories, models and researches have emerged. The research of powerful feelings of consumers towards products is something that marketers are constantly trying to achieve. Therefore it is very important for them to understand the factors affecting the attitudes of consumers. Issues related to consumers' attitudes have always been subject matter of the marketers who are trying to keep and maintain the positive and minimize negative attitudes towards the products and services of company. Bearing in the mind that attitudes play a central role in purchase decision, marketers are trying to explore the relation between attitudes and behavior of consumers.

  12. Under consumers' scrutiny - an investigation into consumers' attitudes and concerns about nudging in the realm of health behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Junghans, Astrid F; Cheung, Tracy T L; De Ridder, Denise D T

    2015-04-09

    Nudging strategies have recently attracted attention from scholars and policy makers for their potential in influencing people's behaviors on large scales. But is the fact that nudges do not forbid any choice-options or significantly alter people's economic incentives sufficient to conclude that nudges should be implemented? While this is discussed amongst scholars from various disciplines the voices of consumers, the target-group of nudges, remain unheard. Since understanding their knowledge about nudging and their opinions on being nudged are crucial for the evaluation of the moral appropriateness of nudging, the current study examines consumers' knowledge of and attitudes toward nudging in general and the realm of health behavior. In this qualitative investigation in-depth semi-structured interviews with UK consumers were conducted to examine consumers' attitudes to four domains of inquiry around which the scholarly discussions about nudging have revolved: consumers' approval of nudging, consumers' views on the origin of nudges, consumers' perceived effectiveness of nudging, and consumers' concerns about manipulative aspects of nudging. Interviews revealed that consumers are largely unfamiliar with the concept of nudging altogether. Once defined and explained to them most consumers approve of the concept, especially in the realm of health behavior, given particular conditions: 1. Nudges should be designed for benefiting individuals and society; 2. consumers comprehend the decision-making context and the reasoning behind the promotion of the targeted behavior. Interviews revealed very limited concerns with manipulative aspects of nudges. These findings call for better information-management to ensure consumers knowledge of nudges and awareness of their current implementation. Under that condition the findings encourage the implementation of nudges benefitting individuals and society in domains that consumers comprehend, such as health behaviors. Further research

  13. PARADIGMS IN CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sabrina Oktoria Sihombing

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available A paradigm influences what we see and conceive about certain facts. Paradigm can also influence what we accept as a truth. Yet, the debate over which paradigm and methodology is best suit for marketing and consumer behavior has begun since 1980s. Many researchers criticized the domination of logical empiricism paradigm and offered alternative paradigm to understand marketing and consumer behavior. This article discusses several paradigms and methodology, which are part of qualitative paradigm, and compares them with positivism paradigm. This article will also point to the importance of reconciliation between qualitative and quantitative paradigm in order to improve marketing and consumer behavior studies.

  14. PARADIGMS IN CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

    OpenAIRE

    Sabrina Oktoria Sihombing

    2011-01-01

    A paradigm influences what we see and conceive about certain facts. Paradigm can also influence what we accept as a truth. Yet, the debate over which paradigm and methodology is best suit for marketing and consumer behavior has begun since 1980s. Many researchers criticized the domination of logical empiricism paradigm and offered alternative paradigm to understand marketing and consumer behavior. This article discusses several paradigms and methodology, which are part of qualitative paradigm...

  15. Consumer Protection Strategies: A Literature Review and Synthesis. Improving the Consumer Protection Function in Postsecondary Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Helliwell, Carolyn B.; Jung, Steven M.

    Summarized are the findings of an American Institutes for Research (AIR) project to field test a data capture and dissemination system that would provide information for improving consumer protection in postsecondary education. Presented is a discussion of the methodology used, examples of consumer abuses cited in the literature, an analysis of…

  16. Consumer preferences for automobile energy-efficiency grades

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koo, Yoonmo; Kim, Chang Seob; Hong, Junhee; Choi, Ie-Jung; Lee, Jongsu

    2012-01-01

    Recently, increases in energy prices have made energy conservation and efficiency improvements even more essential than in the past. However, consumers experience difficulty in obtaining reliable information regarding energy efficiency, so that many countries have implemented regulations to enforce energy-efficiency grade labeling. In this study, consumer preferences regarding energy efficiency grades are analyzed by the mixed logit and MDCEV model based on the revealed preference data of past automobile purchases. Findings show that consumers rationally apply information on energy efficiency grades when purchasing automobiles. However, they tend to show inefficiency in automobile usage patterns. This study discusses political implications of energy efficiency policies as they might impact consumer behaviors of automobile purchase and usage. - Highlights: ► We model discrete choice model to evaluate energy-efficiency grade regulation. ► Consumers apply information on energy efficiency grades when purchasing automobiles. ► However, they tend to show inefficiency in automobile usage patterns. ► The policies for efficient automobile usage are discussed.

  17. Consumer protection in energy law

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    De Krom, H.; Van Leeuwen, E.T.W.M.; Schaap, A.R.

    2009-01-01

    This article provides an overview of the protection that energy consumers are entitled to in the framework of the energy law. First we provide an overview of the parties operating in the energy market that consumers deal with directly or indirectly. Next the supply permit is addressed, which provides an important safeguard for consumers against unreliable suppliers. In part 4 we address the protection of the consumer prior to and while closing an agreement. Part 5 addresses the supplier's obligations. Part 6 discusses the judicial processes that are available to the consumer in case of (partial) non-observance of the agreement. We also pay attention to the compensation schemes and emergency supply in case a supplier is permanently unable to fulfill his obligations. Finally, we address the termination of the agreement. [nl

  18. Consumer values and eco-fashion in the future

    OpenAIRE

    Niinimäki, Kirsi

    2009-01-01

    This paper discusses the consumer values, attitudes and expectations regarding sustainable textiles and clothing. Consumers' interest in ethical issues is currently raising ethical questions in the mass market. What does a consumer expect from sustainable products in the apparel industry? and what is future eco-fashion?

  19. Consumer health information seeking in social media: a literature review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Yuehua; Zhang, Jin

    2017-12-01

    The objective of this literature review was to summarise current research regarding how consumers seek health-related information from social media. Primarily, we hope to reveal characteristics of existing studies investigating the health topics that consumers have discussed in social media, ascertaining the roles social media have played in consumers' information-seeking processes and discussing the potential benefits and concerns of accessing consumer health information in social media. The Web of Science Core Collection database was searched for existing literature on consumer health information seeking in social media. The search returned 214 articles, of which 21 met the eligibility criteria following review of full-text documents. Between 2011 and 2016, twenty-one studies published explored various topics related to consumer information seeking in social media. These ranged from online discussions on specific diseases (e.g. diabetes) to public health concerns (e.g. pesticide residues). Consumers' information needs vary depending on the health issues of interest. Benefits of health seeking on social media, in addition to filling a need for health information, include the social and emotional support health consumers gain from peer-to-peer interactions. These benefits, however, are tempered by concerns of information quality and authority and lead to decreased consumer engagement. © 2017 Health Libraries Group.

  20. A Consumer's Guide to the Federal Trade Commission.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Elizabeth

    This publication presents consumer information designed to encourage and facilitate active citizen involvement in Federal Trade Commission (FTC) proceedings. Nine chapters are included, covering (1) the FTC and its impact on consumers (discusses the authority of FTC, the Bureau of Competition, the Bureau of Consumer Protection, and lists FTC…

  1. Free medical care and consumer protection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agrawal, Aniket Deepak; Banerjee, Arunabha

    2011-01-01

    This paper will examine the question of whether patients, who receive free medical care, whether from private charitable or governmental hospitals, can claim rights as 'consumers' under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. The issue will be discussed from a constitutional perspective as well as that of the law of torts.

  2. Consumer Education in the States: A Blueprint for Action.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonner, Patricia A., Comp.

    This document is designed to assist in development of state plans for action for consumer education. Its purpose is to serve as a catalyst for new and expanded public-private partnerships among state and local leaders that strengthen consumer education in the schools. Section 1 defines consumer education, discusses consumer concepts, and lists…

  3. Consumer protection: how much and who decides

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cowgill, C.A.

    1975-01-01

    Some topics discussed are: safety characteristics of electronic products such as color television sets and microwave ovens; impossibility of lay consumer determining frequency, severity, and probability of injury from radiation emissions; leakage of x radiation from color television sets; costs of safety standards to consumer; user habits and attitudes such as ignoring directions in instruction booklets; and consumer participation such as Consumers Union petition to amend the federal microwave standard and meetings of the technical electronic products radiation safety standards committee

  4. CONSUMER BEHAVIOR VIEW FROM THREE DIFFERENT THEORIES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iván Salvador Romero A.

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, the subject is discussed from neoclassical concepts that explain consumer behavior by a utility function, taking into account budgetary constraints that determine it, as consumer behavior as revealed preferences are based on the transitivity also addresses variables to explain consumer final choice. It also integrates the innovative neuroeconomics approach, which explains the issue beyond budgetary constraints, delegating special interest in the study of cognitive aspects or brain impulses, as finally determined by consumer behavior.

  5. Tourists consuming distance

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Gunvor Riber

    The environmental impact of tourism mobility is linked to the distances travelled in order to reach a holiday destination, and with tourists travelling more and further than previously, an understanding of how the tourists view the distance they travel across becomes relevant. Based on interviews...... contribute to an understanding of how it is possible to change tourism travel behaviour towards becoming more sustainable. How tourists 'consume distance' is discussed, from the practical level of actually driving the car or sitting in the air plane, to the symbolic consumption of distance that occurs when...... travelling on holiday becomes part of a lifestyle and a social positioning game. Further, different types of tourist distance consumers are identified, ranging from the reluctant to the deliberate and nonchalant distance consumers, who display very differing attitudes towards the distance they all travel...

  6. Neuromarketing and consumer neuroscience: contributions to neurology

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-01

    Background ‘Neuromarketing’ is a term that has often been used in the media in recent years. These public discussions have generally centered around potential ethical aspects and the public fear of negative consequences for society in general, and consumers in particular. However, positive contributions to the scientific discourse from developing a biological model that tries to explain context-situated human behavior such as consumption have often been neglected. We argue for a differentiated terminology, naming commercial applications of neuroscientific methods ‘neuromarketing’ and scientific ones ‘consumer neuroscience’. While marketing scholars have eagerly integrated neuroscientific evidence into their theoretical framework, neurology has only recently started to draw its attention to the results of consumer neuroscience. Discussion In this paper we address key research topics of consumer neuroscience that we think are of interest for neurologists; namely the reward system, trust and ethical issues. We argue that there are overlapping research topics in neurology and consumer neuroscience where both sides can profit from collaboration. Further, neurologists joining the public discussion of ethical issues surrounding neuromarketing and consumer neuroscience could contribute standards and experience gained in clinical research. Summary We identify the following areas where consumer neuroscience could contribute to the field of neurology: First, studies using game paradigms could help to gain further insights into the underlying pathophysiology of pathological gambling in Parkinson’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, epilepsy, and Huntington’s disease. Second, we identify compulsive buying as a common interest in neurology and consumer neuroscience. Paradigms commonly used in consumer neuroscience could be applied to patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease and frontotemporal dementia to advance knowledge of this important behavioral symptom

  7. Formación de patrones de turing para sistemas de reacción-convección-difusión en dominios fijos sometidos a campos de velocidad toroidal

    OpenAIRE

    Carlos Humberto Galeano; Diego Alexander Garzón; Juan Miguel Mantilla

    2010-01-01

    El presente artículo estudia el efecto de la incorporación del término de transporte en las ecuaciones de reacción-difusión de dominio fijo, a través de campos de velocidad toroidal. Se estudia específicamente la formación de patrones de Turing en problemas de difusión-advección-reacción, considerando los modelos de cinética de reacción de Schnackenberg y de glucólisis. Se analizan tres casos, los cuales se solucionan numéricamente empleando elementos finitos. Se encuentra que, para los model...

  8. Design of resilient consumer products

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Haug, Anders

    2016-01-01

    Consumer product sustainability is a topic that has been of increasing interest to practice and academia in recent decades. In this context, a widely discussed means of achieving sustainability is to design more durable products, thereby reducing the need for the production of new products....... In particular, the emotional perspective on product durability has received attention in recent design literature, since consumer products are often replaced long before they become physically non-functioning. However, the literature does not provide a full account of the causes of product replacement...... for designers to design resilient consumer products and for researchers to engage in further studies....

  9. Consumer Protection in the Electronic Market Place

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Falch, Morten; Henten, Anders

    1999-01-01

    This paper identifies the most important areas for regulation of consumer protection in relation to electronic commerce, such as marketing, contractual issues and privacy. Furthermore, different approaches for regulation of these issues in a global market is discussed......This paper identifies the most important areas for regulation of consumer protection in relation to electronic commerce, such as marketing, contractual issues and privacy. Furthermore, different approaches for regulation of these issues in a global market is discussed...

  10. Enacting Green Consumers: The Case of the Scandinavian Preppies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christian Fuentes

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to develop and illustrate an analytic approach that brings the active making and makings of green consumer images to the fore. Efforts to "know" the green consumers have generated multiple representations. Enactments of the green consumer are not innocent but also play a role in shaping how we understand and approach sustainable consumption. Because of this it is important to examine and critically discuss how green consumers are enacted today. This paper develops an approach that allows us to examine how green consumers are enacted and discuss the consequences these constructions might have for sustainability. Theoretically, a performativity approach drawing on theories from Science and Technology Studies (STS and economic sociology is used to discuss the enactment of green consumers. Empirically, focus is on Boomerang � a Swedish fashion retailer, brand, and producer � and its marketing practices. The analysis shows how the marketing work of the Boomerang Company leads to the enactment of the Green Scandinavian Preppy. This specific version of the green consumer is a combination of the knowledgeable green connoisseur - a consumer that knows quality when he/she sees it - and the green hedonist in search of the good life. The Green Scandinavian Preppy wants to enjoy nature, go sailing, and do so wearing fashionable quality clothes. This is a consumer that knows quality, appreciates design, and has the means to pay for both. While this is a version of the green consumer that might be appealing and thus have the potential to pro-mote a version of green consumption, it is also a green consumer image that has lost much of its political power as green consumption is framed as simply another source of pleasure and identity-making.

  11. Connecting cognition and consumer choice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bartels, Daniel M; Johnson, Eric J

    2015-02-01

    We describe what can be gained from connecting cognition and consumer choice by discussing two contexts ripe for interaction between the two fields. The first-context effects on choice-has already been addressed by cognitive science yielding insights about cognitive process but there is promise for more interaction. The second is learning and representation in choice where relevant theories in cognitive science could be informed by consumer choice, and in return, could pose and answer new questions. We conclude by discussing how these two fields of research stand to benefit from more interaction, citing examples of how interfaces of cognitive science with other fields have been illuminating for theories of cognition. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Gianluigi Zenti, President, Academia Barilla SpA - The Changing Consumer: Demanding but Predictable

    OpenAIRE

    Hartl, Jochen

    2006-01-01

    It is crucial to understand and predict consumers' behaviour to meet future consumer demands. This report contributes to the discussion by giving an insight into consumers' behaviour from the perspective of Gianluigi Zenti, executive director of Academia Barilla. It is discussed how consumers' choice has changed in particular with regard to Italian food in the US and how Barilla has responded to that challenge.

  13. Direct-to-consumer (DTC) antidepressant advertising and consumer misperceptions about the chemical imbalance theory of depression: the moderating role of skepticism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Jin Seong; Ahn, Ho-Young Anthony

    2013-01-01

    Based on a survey with members of an online consumer panel (N= 699), this study revealed that: (a) a substantial percentage of consumers held misperceptions about the chemical imbalance theory of depression; (b) personal and interpersonal experiences with depression positively related to such misperceptions; (c) overall, exposure to direct-to-consumer (DTC) antidepressant advertising did not significantly relate to misperceptions; and (d) DTC exposure magnified misperceptions when consumers were highly trustful of DTC advertising, whereas exposure diluted misperceptions when consumers were highly skeptical. Theoretical and practical implications of the research are discussed, especially in light of the social responsibility of DTC advertising.

  14. Consumer energy conservation policy. An analytical approach

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McDougall, G.H.G.; Ritchie, J.R.B.

    1984-06-01

    To capture the potential energy savings available in the consumer sector an analytical approach to conservation policy is proposed. A policy framework is described and the key constructs including a payoff matrix analysis and a consumer impact analysis are discussed. Implications derived from the considerable amount of prior consumer research are provided to illustrate the effect on the design and implementation of future programmes. The result of this analytical approach to conservation policy - economic stability and economic security - are goals well worth pursuing.

  15. Consumer sexual relationships in a forensic mental health hospital: perceptions of nurses and consumers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quinn, Chris; Happell, Brenda

    2015-04-01

    The management of consumer-related risk is paramount in a secure forensic mental health facility. However, the consequent risk aversion presents a major barrier to consumers forming sexual relationships in a manner that is open and accepted. Investigation of the views of nurses working in forensic mental health settings on this topic is limited, and even more so for consumers of services. This qualitative exploratory study was undertaken to elicit the views of consumers and nurses about forming sexual relationships within this long-term and secure setting. Individual in-depth interviews were conducted with 12 nurses and 10 consumers. The benefits of, and barriers to, sexual relationships was identified as a major theme, and these findings are the focus of this paper. Nurse responses included the subthemes 'supportive factors' and 'potential dangers', reflecting their qualified support. Consumer responses included the subthemes 'therapeutic', 'feeling normal', 'restrictions and barriers', and 'lack of support and secrecy'. The importance of sexual relationships was clearly articulated, as was the difficulties in forming and maintaining them within the forensic setting. More open discussion about this commonly-avoided issue and the education of nurses and other health professionals is required. © 2014 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

  16. Consumer energy - conservation policy: an analytical approach

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McDougall, G.H.G.; Ritchie, J.R.B.

    1984-06-01

    To capture the potential energy savings available in the consumer sector an analytical approach to conservation policy is proposed. A policy framework is described, and the key constructs including a payoff matrix analysis and a consumer impact analysis are discussed. Implications derived from the considerable amount of prior consumer research are provided to illustrate the effect on the design and implementation of future programs. The result of this analytical approach to conservation policy (economic stability and economic security) are goals well worth pursuing. 13 references, 2 tables.

  17. Hermeneutics and Consumer Research.

    OpenAIRE

    Arnold, Stephen J; Fischer, Eileen

    1994-01-01

    This article reviews the nature of hermeneutic philosophy and the assumptions and features of a textual interpretation consistent with this perspective. The relationship of hermeneutic philosophy to the interpretive and critical theory traditions in consumer research is also discussed. Copyright 1994 by the University of Chicago.

  18. Consumer Handbook to Credit Protection Laws.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Washington, DC.

    The five sections of this consumer handbook are The Cost of Credit, Applying for Credit, Credit Histories and Records, Correcting Credit Mistakes, and Complaining about Credit. Each section discusses relevant legislation: Truth in Lending, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, and the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Topics discussed in section I include…

  19. Breaking through the Glass Ceiling: Consumers in Mental Health Organisations' Hierarchies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scholz, Brett; Bocking, Julia; Happell, Brenda

    2017-05-01

    Contemporary mental health policies call for consumers to be engaged in all levels of mental health service planning, implementation, and delivery. Critical approaches to traditional healthcare hierarchies can effectively challenge barriers to better engagement with consumers in mental health organisations. This qualitative exploratory study analyses how particular strategies for consumer leadership facilitate or hinder relationships between consumers and mental health services, and how these strategies influence hierarchical structures. Fourteen participants from a range of mental health organisations were interviewed. These interviews were analysed using thematic analytic and discursive psychological techniques. The findings highlight several benefits of having consumers within mental health organisational hierarchies, and elaborate on ways that employees within mental health services can support integration of consumers into existing hierarchies. Specific barriers to consumers in hierarchies are discussed, including a lack of clarity of structures and roles within hierarchies, and resistance to consumers reaching the highest levels of leadership within organisations. Alternative hierarchical models which privilege consumers' control over resources and power are also discussed. Mental health organisations are encouraged to integrate consumer leaders into their hierarchical structures to improve their organisational offerings, their reputation, and their service innovation.

  20. Consumer perception and the role of science in the meat industry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Troy, D J; Kerry, J P

    2010-09-01

    The relationship between consumer perception of quality and the food industry's drive to satisfy consumer needs is complex and involves many different components. Science and innovation play a major role in equipping the industry to respond to consumer concerns and expectations. This paper examines the main elements of consumer perception of meat with focus on the red meat sector. Emphasis is placed on perception at point of sale particularly the intrinsic quality cues of colour, packaging and degree of visual fat. The state of the art developments in increasing consumers' perception at this point are discussed. Experienced quality cues such as tenderness and flavour are well known as being of immense importance to consumers at point of consumption. The latest technological developments to enhance the quality experienced by consumers are discussed. The use of pre-rigor restraining techniques offers the industry a method for changing its conventional procedures of processing beef for instance. Background cues of safety, nutrition, animal welfare and sustainability are also discussed. Finally opportunities and challenges facing the industry are outlined. It is concluded that the meat industry needs to invest in and embrace an innovation agenda in order to be sustainable. It must utilise emerging scientific knowledge and take a more proactive role in setting out a research agenda.

  1. Young Consumers and their Brand Love

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iivi Riivits-Arkonsuo

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Although consumers’ emotional attachments to brands have been measured and written about in several contexts, little is known about where a “love” type consumer-brand relationship is rooted and what meaning the consumer gives to such deep experience. The current study aims to extend the discussion of the brand experience dimensions and to form the brand love, focusing on the members of the youngest consumer segment. Based on the introspective written narratives using an international sample of young consumers, this qualitative study offers a holistic view of forming brand love. The findings underscore the relevance of a first encounter with a brand. Adapting the ecological systems theory, the authors identified three social systems from where the informants got impulses to reach their loved brands.

  2. Consumer interest in fish information and labelling

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pieniak, Zuzanna; Verbeke, Wim; Vermeir, Iris

    2007-01-01

    of information cues with regard to fish. Qualitative exploratory research was performed in May 2004 through focus group discussions in two European countries: Belgium and Spain. Personal sources are found as the most important information sources with regard to fish. Although a majority of consumers use......Consumers' cognitive mechanisms and their perception of product properties are markedly affected by information. This paper focuses on consumers' information needs and interests related to fish. The objective is to explore consumers' use of internal and external information sources and their use...... mandatory information cues on fish labels, they express doubts whether information provided on the labels can be trusted. People who are more experienced and have higher familiarity with fish, seem to be more efficient in searching and using information. Instead of providing one message for the consumers...

  3. Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Consumer Research

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Reimann, Martin; Schilke, Oliver; Weber, Bernd

    2011-01-01

    of prior fMRI research related to consumer behavior and highlights the features that make fMRI an attractive method for consumer and marketing research. The authors discuss advantages and limitations and illustrate the proposed procedures with an applied study, which investigates loss aversion when buying......Although the field of psychology is undergoing an immense shift toward the use of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), the application of this methodology to consumer research is relatively new. To assist consumer researchers in understanding fMRI, this paper elaborates on the findings...... and selling a common product. Results reveal a significantly stronger activation in the amygdala while consumers estimate selling prices versus buying prices, suggesting that loss aversion is associated with the processing of negative emotion. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc....

  4. A Consumer-Driven Approach To Increase Suggestive Selling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rohn, Don; Austin, John; Sanford, Alison

    2003-01-01

    Discussion of the effectiveness of behavioral interventions in improving suggestive selling behavior of sales staff focuses on a study that examined the efficacy of a consumer-driven approach to improve suggestive selling behavior of three employees of a fast food franchise. Reports that consumer-driven intervention increased suggestive selling…

  5. The DCFR and consumer protection: an economic assessment

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Luth, H.A.; Cseres, K.; Larouche, P.; Chirico, F.

    2010-01-01

    This paper will discuss consumer protection in the DCFR. It will screen the DCFR and its model of consumer protection through the lens of economic analysis. The assessment will examine the general role of mandatory rules, which justification grounds they are based on and how this general model is

  6. The Unfair Commercial Practices Directive and Vulnerable Consumers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Trzaskowski, Jan

    the economic behaviour of consumers ‘below 1 average’ even though the practice does not meet the requirements of professional diligence. The Directive’s adoption of the European Court of Justice’s ‘average consumer’ entails that protection is generally provided only for those who are far from vulnerable......Consumer protection is deeply anchored in EU law, including the Treaty and the Charter of Fundamental Rights. This article discusses the concept of consumer vulnerability and how vulnerable consumers are protected in the context of commercial practices which is fully harmonised by the Unfair....... The Directive’s Article 5(3) concerning vulnerable consumers protects only—and to a limited extent—groups who are vulnerable due to mental or physical infirmity, age or credulity. Even though consumers make many good choices, all consumers are vulnerable in certain situations—often due to time constraints...

  7. Helping consumers make more healthful food choices: consumer views on modifying food labels and providing point-of-purchase nutrition information at quick-service restaurants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lando, Amy M; Labiner-Wolfe, Judith

    2007-01-01

    To understand consumer (1) interest in nutrition information on food labels and quick-service restaurant menu boards and (2) reactions to modifying this information to help highlight calories and more healthful choices. Eight consumer focus groups, using a guide and stimuli. Focus group discussions in 4 US cities. A total of 68 consumers, with 7 to 10 per focus group. Authors prepared detailed summaries of discussions based on observation. Video recordings and transcripts were used to cross-check summaries. Data were systematically reviewed, synthesized, and analyzed. Consumer views on alternative presentations of nutrition information on packaged food items and quick-service restaurant menu boards. Participants (1) were interested in having nutrition information available, but would not use it at every eating occasion; (2) thought that food products typically consumed at 1 eating occasion should be labeled as a single serving; and (3) indicated that an icon on labels and menu boards that signaled more healthful options could be helpful. Findings provide a basis for the development of more systematic studies to better understand whether alternative presentations of nutrition information would help consumers.

  8. Approval of radioactive consumer goods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paynter, R.A.

    1992-01-01

    The 1980 Euratom Directive obliges the UK to draw up a system of prior authorization for the use of radioactive substances in a range of consumer products, and the Government intends to make regulations to fulfil the requirements of the Directive. These regulations will empower NRPB to approve such products prior to their supply to the public. In this brief article, the NRPB reviews the criteria against which to consider any proposed use of radioactive substances, considers radiological production standards for products and discusses the questions of the labelling of radioactive consumer goods. (UK)

  9. Ethical issues in consumer genome sequencing: Use of consumers' samples and data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niemiec, Emilia; Howard, Heidi Carmen

    2016-03-01

    High throughput approaches such as whole genome sequencing (WGS) and whole exome sequencing (WES) create an unprecedented amount of data providing powerful resources for clinical care and research. Recently, WGS and WES services have been made available by commercial direct-to-consumer (DTC) companies. The DTC offer of genetic testing (GT) has already brought attention to potentially problematic issues such as the adequacy of consumers' informed consent and transparency of companies' research activities. In this study, we analysed the websites of four DTC GT companies offering WGS and/or WES with regard to their policies governing storage and future use of consumers' data and samples. The results are discussed in relation to recommendations and guiding principles such as the "Statement of the European Society of Human Genetics on DTC GT for health-related purposes" (2010) and the "Framework for responsible sharing of genomic and health-related data" (Global Alliance for Genomics and Health, 2014). The analysis reveals that some companies may store and use consumers' samples or sequencing data for unspecified research and share the data with third parties. Moreover, the companies do not provide sufficient or clear information to consumers about this, which can undermine the validity of the consent process. Furthermore, while all companies state that they provide privacy safeguards for data and mention the limitations of these, information about the possibility of re-identification is lacking. Finally, although the companies that may conduct research do include information regarding proprietary claims and commercialisation of the results, it is not clear whether consumers are aware of the consequences of these policies. These results indicate that DTC GT companies still need to improve the transparency regarding handling of consumers' samples and data, including having an explicit and clear consent process for research activities.

  10. Ethical issues in consumer genome sequencing: Use of consumers' samples and data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emilia Niemiec

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available High throughput approaches such as whole genome sequencing (WGS and whole exome sequencing (WES create an unprecedented amount of data providing powerful resources for clinical care and research. Recently, WGS and WES services have been made available by commercial direct-to-consumer (DTC companies. The DTC offer of genetic testing (GT has already brought attention to potentially problematic issues such as the adequacy of consumers' informed consent and transparency of companies' research activities. In this study, we analysed the websites of four DTC GT companies offering WGS and/or WES with regard to their policies governing storage and future use of consumers' data and samples. The results are discussed in relation to recommendations and guiding principles such as the “Statement of the European Society of Human Genetics on DTC GT for health-related purposes” (2010 and the “Framework for responsible sharing of genomic and health-related data” (Global Alliance for Genomics and Health, 2014. The analysis reveals that some companies may store and use consumers' samples or sequencing data for unspecified research and share the data with third parties. Moreover, the companies do not provide sufficient or clear information to consumers about this, which can undermine the validity of the consent process. Furthermore, while all companies state that they provide privacy safeguards for data and mention the limitations of these, information about the possibility of re-identification is lacking. Finally, although the companies that may conduct research do include information regarding proprietary claims and commercialisation of the results, it is not clear whether consumers are aware of the consequences of these policies. These results indicate that DTC GT companies still need to improve the transparency regarding handling of consumers' samples and data, including having an explicit and clear consent process for research activities.

  11. Consuming the Exotic Other.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lalvani, Suren

    1995-01-01

    Explores the multiple and heterogeneous deployment of the Other within discourses that intersect and contest each other. Shows how the 19th century discourse of "le femme orientale," which informed the Romantic critique of capitalism, was recuperated in a hegemonic manner to promote an expanding consumer culture. Discusses the colonial…

  12. Neuromarketing and consumer neuroscience: contributions to neurology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Javor, Andrija; Koller, Monika; Lee, Nick; Chamberlain, Laura; Ransmayr, Gerhard

    2013-02-06

    'Neuromarketing' is a term that has often been used in the media in recent years. These public discussions have generally centered around potential ethical aspects and the public fear of negative consequences for society in general, and consumers in particular. However, positive contributions to the scientific discourse from developing a biological model that tries to explain context-situated human behavior such as consumption have often been neglected. We argue for a differentiated terminology, naming commercial applications of neuroscientific methods 'neuromarketing' and scientific ones 'consumer neuroscience'. While marketing scholars have eagerly integrated neuroscientific evidence into their theoretical framework, neurology has only recently started to draw its attention to the results of consumer neuroscience. In this paper we address key research topics of consumer neuroscience that we think are of interest for neurologists; namely the reward system, trust and ethical issues. We argue that there are overlapping research topics in neurology and consumer neuroscience where both sides can profit from collaboration. Further, neurologists joining the public discussion of ethical issues surrounding neuromarketing and consumer neuroscience could contribute standards and experience gained in clinical research. We identify the following areas where consumer neuroscience could contribute to the field of neurology:First, studies using game paradigms could help to gain further insights into the underlying pathophysiology of pathological gambling in Parkinson's disease, frontotemporal dementia, epilepsy, and Huntington's disease.Second, we identify compulsive buying as a common interest in neurology and consumer neuroscience. Paradigms commonly used in consumer neuroscience could be applied to patients suffering from Parkinson's disease and frontotemporal dementia to advance knowledge of this important behavioral symptom.Third, trust research in the medical context lacks

  13. Consumer Education for the Mentally Handicapped

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alperstein, Neil M.

    1977-01-01

    Discusses community placement of mentally handicapped people and remedial procedures for encouraging independent decision making and behavior. Intertwines this behavior change with an alternative method of consumer education. (Author/RK)

  14. The Meaning of Happiness in Consumer Research: Results from an Inductive Exploratory Pilot Study

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Elin Brandi; Thomsen, Thyra Uth

    2016-01-01

    In this study we investigate the meaning of happiness in a consumption context. We employ an inductive approach and present the results of an exploratory pilot study with eight consumers. The study is based on a Multi-Sensory-Sculpting (MSS) procedure in which we asked consumers to build sculptures...... that represent consumer happiness. Following the MSS guidelines, consumers were interviewed about the meanings of their sculpture in order to elicit embodied cognition about the topic at hand. In this paper we present the meanings of consumer happiness in the participants‟ accounts and discuss implications...... for consumer research. Further, we discuss the applicability of the MSS-procedure to the topic of consumer happiness, and how to optimize it for later studies on consumer happiness....

  15. 75 FR 32469 - Consumer Advisory Council; Notice of Meeting of the Consumer Advisory Council

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-06-08

    ... will discuss whether the 2002 revisions to Regulation C, which required lenders to report mortgage pricing data, helped provide useful and accurate information about the mortgage market; the need for...'s responsibilities under various consumer financial services laws and on other matters on which the...

  16. Accreditation and Student Consumer Protection. An Occasional Paper.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jung, Steven M.

    The role of postsecondary accreditation and its relation to student consumer protection are discussed in this monograph. The importance of this concept is examined in light of increased marketing efforts on the part of higher education institutions. It is emphasized that students are consumers and their rights should be protected. Possible areas…

  17. Consumer Psychology: Not necessarily a manipulative science

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ølander, Folke

    1990-01-01

    Although definitions and discussion of disciplinary borderlines are tedious and often not that useful, it has to be mentioned that in this paper, a distinction is made between consumer psychology and economic psychology, with the former regarded as a subfield of the latter. Traditionally, economic...... psychology has indeed to a large extent been identified with consumer behavior research (for an account of the historical development of economic psychology, see Wärneryd, 1988). But what most writers seem to agree about today is to regard not only consumer behavior proper, but also the way individuals...... of worker/producer as in the role of consumer. Thus, although such phenomena are undoubtedly relevant topics of economic psychology, it seems appropriate to restict the term consumer psychology, as a subfield of economic psychology, to studies of the determinants and impacts of (a) saving/spending patterns...

  18. Consumer Psychology: Not necessarily a manipulative science

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ølander, Folke

    1990-01-01

    psychology has indeed to a large extent been identified with consumer behavior research (for an account of the historical development of economic psychology, see Wärneryd, 1988). But what most writers seem to agree about today is to regard not only consumer behavior proper, but also the way individuals......Although definitions and discussion of disciplinary borderlines are tedious and often not that useful, it has to be mentioned that in this paper, a distinction is made between consumer psychology and economic psychology, with the former regarded as a subfield of the latter. Traditionally, economic...... of worker/producer as in the role of consumer. Thus, although such phenomena are undoubtedly relevant topics of economic psychology, it seems appropriate to restict the term consumer psychology, as a subfield of economic psychology, to studies of the determinants and impacts of (a) saving/spending patterns...

  19. OPINION GIVING SERVICES AS A SOURCE OF CONSUMER INFORMATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joanna Wyrwisz

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available The goal of the article is to determine the place and role of opinion giving services in consumer behaviours. The discussion is conducted around the thesis saying that in the information society, opinion giving services constitute an important source of information for consumers in the process of selecting and purchasing both products and services. In the article the research approach based on the theoretical and empirical examinations was presented. The discussion starts with presenting a defi nition and types of opinion giving services which constitute the base for the characteristics of activities and usefulness of web portals collecting consumers opinions. The use of opinion giving services provided in the purchase process was evaluated. An essential interest in other consumers opinions, placed in Internet, was observed together with perceiving them as credible. Positive assessment of the functionality of opinion giving services was noticed.

  20. Development of Consumer Credit Laws in Malaysia

    OpenAIRE

    Rahman, Ahmad Saufi Abdul

    2007-01-01

    Consumer Credit is a branch of Commercial Law, which has been developing in recent years inMalaysia. The purpose of this paper is to summarize the latest amendments in the consumer credit laws inMalaysia and to highlight its significance. The discussion will be limited to the three most important laws ofconsumer credit in Malaysia: the hire-purchase, money lending and pawn broking laws.

  1. Consumer perception of risk

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Scholderer, Joachim

    2001-01-01

    Scientists and regulators are regularly baffled by public responses to risk, especially when the issue at stake seemed unproblematic or at least technocratically solvable as long as it was only discussed within the expert community. In terms of such polarizations, the 1970s were the age of dissen...... these perceptions related to consumers' attitudes and choice behavior....... over nuclear power, while the 1990s saw the emergence of gene technology as an issue of public debate. The first decade of the new millennium aspires to become the age of food safety, and once again, a major research effort is made to find out how consumers' confidence can be restored. Brewing......, as a particular branch of food manufacturing, has in the past been able to dodge implication in major risk debates. The latest crisis in a related industry was the temporary banning of several brands of the Coca-Cola Co. in 1999 in Belgium following symptoms of nausea and vomiting amongst people who had consumed...

  2. Direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising: history, regulation, and issues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huh, Jisu; DeLorme, Denise E; Reid, Leonard N; An, Soontae

    2010-03-01

    Direct-to-consumer advertising has changed the way prescription drugs are marketed in the United States. This article traces the history of direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription and over-the-counter medications and describes how drug advertising is regulated and by whom. It also discusses the controversies that surround direct-to-consumer marketing of prescription drugs.

  3. Consumer Issues and Consumer Protection in Asia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Widdows, Richard; And Others

    1995-01-01

    Looks at themes of consumer interests in Asia and comments on the directions consumer policy is taking in that region. Outlines issues facing the region's consumers, describes evolving consumer protection mechanisms, and presents a model for promoting consumer interests in the region. (JOW)

  4. Fundamental Consumer Rights Under the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008: A Critical Overview and Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R van Niekerk

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available South Africa was in need of a comprehensive framework of legislation, policies and government authorities to regulate consumer-supplier interaction. The Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008, which was signed by the President of the Republic of South Africa on 29 April 2009 and published in the Government Gazette on 29 April 2009, now provides an extensive framework for consumer protection and aims to develop, enhance and protect the rights of consumers and to eliminate unethical suppliers and improper business practices. Certain areas of the common law regarding consumer rights have been codified by the Act and certain unfair business practices that were previously unregulated are now governed by the Act. The Act has a wide field of application. It applies to every transaction occurring within South Africa for the supply of goods or services or the promotion of goods or services and the goods or services themselves, unless the transaction is exempted from the application of the Act. The Act also specifically regulates aspects of franchise agreements. In terms of the Act, consumers obtain several new rights and some existing rights are broadened and reinforced. These rights are: the right to equality in the consumer market; privacy; choice; disclosure and information; fair and responsible marketing; fair and honest dealing; fair, just and reasonable terms and conditions; and fair value, good quality and safety. The last right in terms of the Act deals with a supplier's accountability to consumers. The authors critically analyse and discuss these rights. It is clear that the Act is written in favour of the consumer.

  5. Optimizing the efficacy of multimedia consumer health information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Monkman, Helen; Kushniruk, Andre W

    2015-01-01

    Using two or more communication methods (e.g., text, narration, pictures, animation, video) is known as multimedia. Multimedia has been used in a broad range of domains. Not surprisingly, multimedia is gaining popularity in the field of consumer health information as its benefits are being recognized. However, there is a large body of evidence in the cognitive literature that could be used to inform and optimize multimedia presentation of consumer health information. This paper outlines the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning (CTML) and presents the application of this model for consumer health informatics. The CTML is a valuable resource for the development and revision of consumer health information to optimize its efficacy. Current research on multimedia and consumer health information is described. Finally, the outstanding opportunities to leverage the CTML for consumer health information are discussed.

  6. Rational Choice, Consumer Vulnerability and Empowerment: Diverging Economic Perspectives and Issues for Debate

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mădălina Bălău-Ariton

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available This paper discusses the issue of consumer choice seen from two quite diverging perspectives: rational choice theory and consumer empowerment as it is currently measured by available research at European Union level. The question we try to answer is: In what manner do the assumptions on consumer rational choice influence the actual understanding of choice and the improvement of the fairness of the choice? To this aim we review the basic theoretical ideas on rational choice and consumer empowerment, as well as the conclusions of previous research on Romanian consumers’ empowerment current situation. The main finding of this analysis is that Romanian consumer choice needs more awareness, an increase of consumer skills and more active individual involvement in discussing these issues.

  7. CONSUMER BIOTECHNOLOGY FOOD AND NUTRITION INFORMATION SOURCES: THE TRUST FACTOR

    OpenAIRE

    Ekanem, Enefiok P.; Muhammad, Safdar; Tegegne, Fisseha; Singh, Surendra P.

    2004-01-01

    Although much has been written on consumer attitudes toward genetically modified foods, not much is known about how or where consumers get the information for the decisions they make about genetically modified foods. This paper reports on the media used by consumers in acquiring information about biotech food and nutrition issues, and examines how much trust consumers put in selected information sources. The paper also discusses how socio-economic variables affect level of trust in selected s...

  8. Developing consumer involvement in rural HIV primary care programmes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mamary, Edward M; Toevs, Kim; Burnworth, Karla B; Becker, Lin

    2004-06-01

    As part of a broader medical and psychosocial needs assessment in a rural region of northern California, USA, five focus groups were conducted to explore innovative approaches to creating a system of consumer involvement in the delivery of HIV primary care services in the region. A total of five focus groups (n = 30) were conducted with clients from three of five counties in the region with the highest number of HIV patients receiving primary care. Participants were recruited by their HIV case managers. They were adults living with HIV, who were receiving health care, and who resided in a rural mountain region of northern California. Group discussions explored ideas for new strategies and examined traditional methods of consumer involvement, considering ways they could be adapted for a rural environment. Recommendations for consumer involvement included a multi-method approach consisting of traditional written surveys, a formal advisory group, and monthly consumer led social support/informal input groups. Specific challenges discussed included winter weather conditions, transportation barriers, physical limitations, confidentiality concerns, and needs for social support and education. A multiple-method approach would ensure more comprehensive consumer involvement in the programme planning process. It is also evident that methods for incorporating consumer involvement must be adapted to the specific context and circumstances of a given programme.

  9. Electronic Contracts and the Personal data Protection of the Consumer: Sources Dialogue Between the Consumer Protection Code and the Internet Civil Mark.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rosane Leal Da Silva

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available This paper analyzes the personal data protection of the consumer and your vulnerability in interactive electronic contracts, aiming to point means of defense. For this, uses the deductive approach and starts of the electronic contracting to discuss the legal protection of the consumer in light of the capturing and processing of personal data by the furnisher. Considering the absence of law about personal data, concludes that electronic contracting expands the consumer vulnerability, which requires the principles application of the Consumer Protection Code, adding the Internet Civil Mark in relation to the privacy protection.

  10. A model of service quality perceptions and health care consumer behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Connor, S J; Shewchuk, R M; Bowers, M R

    1991-01-01

    Analysis of covariance structures (LISREL) was used to examine the influence of consumer held perceptions of service quality on consumer satisfaction and intentions to return. Results indicate that service quality is a significant predictor of consumer satisfaction which, in turn, predicts intention to return. Health care marketing implications are discussed.

  11. What Factors are Associated with Consumer Initiation of Shared Decision Making in Mental Health Visits?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matthias, Marianne S; Fukui, Sadaaki; Salyers, Michelle P

    2017-01-01

    Understanding consumer initiation of shared decision making (SDM) is critical to improving SDM in mental health consultations, particularly because providers do not always invite consumer participation in treatment decisions. This study examined the association between consumer initiation of nine elements of SDM as measured by the SDM scale, and measures of consumer illness self-management and the consumer-provider relationship. In 63 mental health visits, three SDM elements were associated with self-management or relationship factors: discussion of consumer goals, treatment alternatives, and pros and cons of a decision. Limitations, implications, and future directions are discussed.

  12. Direct-to-consumer antidepressant advertising and consumers' optimistic bias about the future risk of depression: the moderating role of advertising skepticism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Jin Seong; Ju, Ilwoo; Kim, Kenneth Eunhan

    2014-01-01

    Although exposure to direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising (DTCA) is reported to influence the public's beliefs about diseases, no research has investigated how DTCA may affect the extent of consumers' optimistic bias about the future risk of diseases. Based on a survey with members of an online consumer panel (n = 699), the current study revealed that: (a) Consumers exhibited a tendency to believe they were at less risk of developing clinical depression in the future than their peers, demonstrating an optimistic bias. (b) Exposure to antidepressant DTCA acted to reduce the extent of such bias, especially when consumers were less skeptical of prescription drug advertising. When consumers were highly skeptical, DTCA exposure did not significantly relate to the extent of optimistic bias. (c) Once formed, the extent of optimistic bias negatively related to consumers' intention to seek information about depression. Implications of the research for the theory and practice of DTCA were discussed.

  13. Facts about food irradiation: Irradiated foods and the consumer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1991-01-01

    This fact sheet discusses market testing of irradiate food, consumer response to irradiated products has always been positive, and in some countries commercial quantities of some irradiated food items have been sold on a regular basis. Consumers have shown no reluctance to buy irradiated food products. 4 refs

  14. Understanding consumer preferences for communication channels to create consumer-directed health promotion efforts in psychiatric rehabilitation settings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    DiFranco, Evelina; Bressi, Sara K; Salzer, Mark S

    2006-01-01

    People with serious mental illnesses experience increased rates of physical illnesses. Drop-in centers and psychosocial rehabilitation programs can serve as important settings for health promotion efforts, but such efforts should utilize communication strategies that are used by consumers and are perceived to be reliable. Focus groups involving 23 consumers at drop-in centers in Philadelphia were conducted to assess the perceived usefulness of health information from a variety of sources. Consumers especially liked getting information from other people, including health care professionals, friends, and family, and found the information to be reliable and useful. Print literature, the Internet, and a library had various limitations. Respondents were generally unfamiliar with community health fairs and related events. Consumers considered trustworthiness, proximity and availability, and the specificity and depth of information provided by a communication source when getting health information. Implications for health promotion efforts are discussed.

  15. Consumers` Attitude towards Consumer Protection in the Digital Single Market, as Reflected by European Barometers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Doru Alexandru Pleşea

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available The European Single Market is an ongoing project that will continue to further develop and adapt to changing realities. Traditional economic activities, and the administrative rules governing them, face the challenge of adapting to developments that blur the dividing lines, for example, between shop and online sales or between traditional media and Internet communication. Convergence of this type will lead to a European Digital Single Market. A genuine Digital Single Market would generate new types of growth and also sustainable economic and social benefits for all European citizens. There are still a number of barriers which impose obstacles for the development of the digital market in Europe. Obstacles which can be identified include national differences regarding data protection rules, e-commerce rules, consumer protection rules and other legislation pertaining to information flows. The paper brings in discussion the advantages of a Digital Single Market, the obstacles in developing it in connection with e-commerce regulations, consumer protection and information flows legislation and also the premises for implementing a Digital Single Market. Consumers’ trust in on-line commerce results as one of the driving factors in implementing a Digital Single Market. These are some of the main obstacles for the boosting consumers’ confidence in the European Single Market. Improving consumer confidence in cross-border shopping online by taking appropriate policy action could provide a major boost to economic growth in Europe. Empowered and confident consumers can drive forward the European economy. Starting from the results of the Flash Euro-barometer survey „Consumer attitudes towards cross-border trade and consumer protection this study analyzes consumer`s readiness for the European Digital Single Market

  16. Teaching Consumer-Oriented Ethnographic Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, Andrew D.; Wu, Lan

    2012-01-01

    Despite an increasing demand for marketing researchers familiar with ethnographic methods, ethnographic consumer research has received little coverage in current marketing curricula. The innovation discussed in the present paper addresses this problem: it introduces the notion of "cultural relativism" and gives students hands-on experience in…

  17. The emergence of diverse organic consumers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lund, Thomas Bøker; Andersen, Laura Mørch; Jensen, Katherine O'Doherty

    2013-01-01

    as positively oriented segments that differ in their food involvement, shopping behaviour and levels of ethical concern have appeared, while marketing and distribution strategies have co-developed with these trends. We discuss our findings in the light of the attitude-behaviour gap that is said to exist......This study uses qualitative and quantitative data as well as household panel data regarding actual purchases of organic food in order to make a psychographic profiling of organic consumers and examine recent developments of organic demand in Denmark. It is shown that contemporary organic consumers...... in regard to organic consumption and the consequences that are thought to follow from the detachment of consumers from organic producers according to the much debated conventionalisation thesis....

  18. Food quality and safety: Consumer perception and demand

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Grunert, Klaus G.

    2005-01-01

    choice and consumer demand, addressing questions of price perception and the validity of willingness-to-pay measurements. It is concluded that food quality and safety are central issues in today's food economics, though many research questions remain to be addressed. Udgivelsesdato: SEP 1......Research on consumer quality perception is reviewed using the Total Food Quality Model as a structuring device. The relationship between food safety and quality is addressed, and is discussed in the context of research on consumer risk perception. Quality and safety perception is linked to food...

  19. Food quality and safety: Consumer perception and demand

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Grunert, Klaus G.

    2005-01-01

    Research on consumer quality perception is reviewed using the Total Food Quality Model as a structuring device. The relationship between food safety and quality is addressed, and is discussed in the context of research on consumer risk perception. Quality and safety perception is linked to food...... choice and consumer demand, addressing questions of price perception and the validity of willingness-to-pay measurements. It is concluded that food quality and safety are central issues in today's food economics, though many research questions remain to be addressed. Udgivelsesdato: SEP 1...

  20. Consumers' price awareness at the point-of-selection

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Birger Boutrup

    This paper focuses on consumers' price information processing at the point-of-selection. Specifically, it updates past results of consumers' price awareness at the point-of-selection - applying both a price-recall and a price-recognition test - and tests hypotheses on potential determinants...... of consumers' price awareness at the point-of-selection. Both price-memory tests resulted in higher measured price awareness than in any of the past studies. Results also indicate that price recognition is not the most appropiate measure. Finally, a discriminant analysis shows that consumers who are aware...... of the price at the point-of-selection are more deal prone, more low-price prone, and bought a special-priced item. Implications are discussed....

  1. "Totally Different Standards": Consumer Orientation in Study Abroad Contexts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jaeger, Kirsten; Gram, Malene

    2017-01-01

    The paper takes an interest in consumer behavior in international higher education (HE). It takes qualitative narratives of international student experience as a point of departure for a discussion of the degree to which students conceive of their experience in consumer terms when they evaluate their stays abroad. Intentionally, the group of…

  2. Gender and internet consumers' decision-making.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Chyan; Wu, Chia-Chun

    2007-02-01

    The purpose of this research is to provide managers of shopping websites information regarding consumer purchasing decisions based on the Consumer Styles Inventory (CSI). According to the CSI, one can capture what decision-making styles online shoppers use. Furthermore, this research also discusses the gender differences among online shoppers. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to understand the decision-making styles and discriminant analysis was used to distinguish the differences between female and male shoppers. The result shows that there are differences in purchasing decisions between online female and male Internet users.

  3. The effects of dogmatism and social class variables on consumer ethnocentrism in Malta

    OpenAIRE

    Caruana, Albert; Magri, Emanuel

    1996-01-01

    Explores the effects of dogmatism and social class variables on consumer ethnocentrism and formulates hypotheses linking these variables. Also considers the effects of a number of classificatory variables on consumer ethnocentrism. Reports the findings from a survey of consumers in Malta which show not only that dogmatism and age are positively related to consumer ethnocentrism but also that consumer ethnocentrism is lower among consumers with higher levels of education. Discusses the implica...

  4. Online Consumer Ethnocentrism of Danish Consumers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bujac, Andreea Ioana

    2017-01-01

    No doubt that consumer ethnocentrism is an important phenomenon in international marketing. However, not much attention has been paid to consumer ethnocentrism in an online context. The current study aims to fill in this gap. Specifically, the ethnocentric tendency of Danish online consumers...

  5. Consumer adverse drug reaction reporting - A new step in pharmacovigilance?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Grootheest, K; de Graaf, L; de Jong-van den Berg, LTW

    2003-01-01

    The direct reporting of adverse drug reactions by patients is becoming an increasingly important topic for discussion in the world of pharmacovigilance. At this time, few countries accept consumer reports. We present an overview of experiences with consumer reporting in various countries of the

  6. The impact of choice context on consumers' choice heuristics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mueller Loose, Simone; Scholderer, Joachim; Corsi, Armando M.

    2012-01-01

    Context effects in choice settings have received recent attention but little is known about the impact of context on choice consistency and the extent to which consumers apply choice heuristics. The sequence of alternatives in a choice set is examined here as one specific context effect. We compare...... how a change from a typical price order to a sensory order in wine menus affects consumer choice. We use pre-specified latent heuristic classes to analyse the existence of different choice processes, which begins to untangle the ‘black box’ of how consumers choose. Our findings indicate...... that in the absence of price order, consumers are less price-sensitive, pay more attention to visually salient cues, are less consistent in their choices and employ other simple choice heuristics more frequently than price. Implications for consumer research, marketing and consumer policy are discussed....

  7. Consumer Economics and Consumer Mathematics Textbooks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eastern Michigan Univ., Ypsilanti. National Inst. for Consumer Education.

    This publication lists a selection of consumer economics and consumer mathematics textbooks available for review from the National Institute for Consumer Education. Twenty-six textbooks for the secondary level are cited. Nine advanced level texts are also listed. These texts are generally considered college level texts but could be adapted for…

  8. Consumer-Related Food Waste

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Aschemann-Witzel, Jessica; Hooge, Ilona de; Normann, Anne

    2016-01-01

    Food waste has received increasing attention in recent years. As part of their corporate social responsibility strategies, food supply chain actors have started to act towards avoiding and reducing food waste. Based on a literature review, an expert interview study, and example cases, we discuss...... food marketing and the role and responsibility of retail. Food marketing and retailing contribute to consumer-related food waste via decisions on date labeling, packaging sizes and design elements, and pricing strategies encouraging overpurchase, as well as communication shifting consumer priorities...... to the disadvantage of food waste avoidance. Potential actions to tackle food waste relate to improved packaging and information, altering pricing strategies, and cooperation with other actors across the supply chain. Three cases highlight the extent to which moral and strategic motives are interlinked...

  9. Consumers' environmental and ethical consciousness and the use of the related food products information: The role of perceived consumer effectiveness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghvanidze, Sophie; Velikova, Natalia; Dodd, Tim H; Oldewage-Theron, Wilna

    2016-12-01

    Consumers can be important active contributors to a sustainable society by selecting food choices that are both healthy and produced respecting environmental and socially ethical standards. The current study investigates five consumer behavioural factors - namely, perceived consumer effectiveness (PCE); environmental conscious behaviour; concerns for ethical food production; health conscious lifestyle; and healthy dietary patterns. The key interest of the study lies in exploring the moderating role of PCE - the extent to which the consumer believes that his/her own efforts can make a difference - in these interrelationships. The empirical analysis was conducted through an online survey of food consumers implemented in three markets - the US, the UK and Germany. Findings indicate that for individuals with higher levels of PCE, who are environmental conscious and ethically concerned, information on food labels relating to environmental and social issues represents value by itself. Interestingly, health and nutrition information on food labels was not perceived valuable by consumers with high PCE. The predictive effects of various socio-demographic variables on PCE, consumer environmental and health consciousness are discussed. Cross-cultural differences are also outlined. The results of this research may contribute to the development of environmental policies and communication strategies of the food industry to enhance perceived consumer effectiveness among consumers. Improved PCE, in turn, may catalyze consumers' environmental behaviour and ethical concerns in relation to consumption of food products with environmental and social information. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Industrial consumers and electricity sector deregulation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jukic, A.

    1999-01-01

    The paper presents the electricity sector deregulation from the point of view of major industrial consumers (MIC). Possibilities and limitations of MIC's impact on the introduction and development of an open power market in some European countries, the USA and Croatia are discussed. (author)

  11. Hierarchical production planning for consumer goods

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kok, de A.G.

    1990-01-01

    Abstract In this paper the mathematical logic behind a hierarchical planning procedure is discussed. The planning procedure is used to derive production volumes of consumer products. The essence of the planning procedure is that first a commitment is made concerning the production volume for a

  12. Three issues in consumer quality perception and acceptance of dairy products

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Grunert, Klaus G.; Bech-Larsen, Tino; Bredahl, Lone

    2000-01-01

    in communication provided. Drawing on five different empirical studies on consumer quality perception of dairy products, three issues related to the communication on credence quality dimensions are discussed: providing credible information, the role of consumer attitudes, and inference processes in quality......It is argued that consumer quality perception of dairy products is characterised by four major dimensions: hedonic, health-related, convenience-related and process-related quality. Two of these, viz. health and process-related quality, are credence dimensions, ie, a matter of consumer trust...

  13. CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ilie BUDICA

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available The study of consumers helps firms and organizations improve their marketing strategies by understanding issues such as: the psychology of how consumers think, feel, reason, and select between different alternatives; the psychology of how the consumer is influenced by his or her environment; the behavior of consumers while shopping or making other marketing decisions; limitations in consumer knowledge or information processing abilities influence decisions and marketing outcome; how consumer motivation and decision strategies differ between products that differ in their level of importance or interest that they entail for the consumer; and how marketers can adapt and improve their marketing campaigns and marketing strategies to more effectively reach the consumer.

  14. [A medical consumable material management information system].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Guoping; Hu, Liang

    2014-05-01

    Medical consumables material is essential supplies to carry out medical work, which has a wide range of varieties and a large amount of usage. How to manage it feasibly and efficiently that has been a topic of concern to everyone. This article discussed about how to design a medical consumable material management information system that has a set of standardized processes, bring together medical supplies administrator, suppliers and clinical departments. Advanced management mode, enterprise resource planning (ERP) applied to the whole system design process.

  15. Legal Regulation and Consumers: The RFID Industry's Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ronzani, Daniel

    Many journal articles have presented research on the adoption and diffusion of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) from a regulatory or consumer perspective. This research takes a reverse viewpoint. It researches the industry's experience with regulation by law and its experience with consumers. First, semi-structured interviews with RFID industry stakeholders are conducted on the topics of (UHF) frequency law, database law, and privacy law. Second, the industry's experience with (i) regulation by law and (ii) the consumers is collected in a worldwide online survey with companies and organisations that research, produce, sell, and consult on RFID technology. Third, empirical data is evaluated by different territories and industries to discuss four observations about legal regulation and consumers made by the authors with four feedback observations from the online survey. Given the evaluation of the empirical data, this article recommends that the RFID industry engage in better constructive dialogue with the legal regulator , strengthen its knowledge on applicable legislation, and re-evaluate its information policy to the consumer.

  16. A predictive model for e-commerce consumer expenditure in EC countries

    OpenAIRE

    Kovačić, Zlatko

    2004-01-01

    Describing and predicting consumer expenditure on a country or cross-national level has a long tradition in theoretical and applied economics and econometrics. This paper is a first attempt in describing aggregate eCommerce consumer expenditure among European Commission (EC) countries. After brief introduction of possible theoretical models which explain the variation in eCommerce consumer expenditure among observed countries, a list of important predictors has been discussed. The results gen...

  17. Consumers in mental health service leadership: A systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scholz, Brett; Gordon, Sarah; Happell, Brenda

    2017-02-01

    Contemporary mental health policies call for greater involvement of mental health service consumers in all aspects and at all levels of service planning, delivery, and evaluation. The extent to which consumers are part of the decision-making function of mental health organizations varies. This systematic review synthesizes empirical and review studies published in peer-reviewed academic journals relating to consumers in leadership roles within mental health organizations. The Cochrane Library, Medline, and PsycINFO were searched for articles specifically analysing and discussing consumers' mental health service leadership. Each article was critically appraised against the inclusion criteria, with 36 articles included in the final review. The findings of the review highlight current understandings of organizational resources and structures in consumer-led organizations, determinants of leadership involvement, and how consumer leadership interacts with traditional mental health service provision. It appears that organizations might still be negotiating the balance between consumer leadership and traditional structures and systems. The majority of included studies represent research about consumer-run organizations, with consumer leadership in mainstream mental health organizations being less represented in the literature. Advocates of consumer leadership should focus more on emphasizing how such leadership itself can be a valuable resource for organizations and how this can be better articulated. This review highlights the current gaps in understandings of consumer leadership in mental health, including a need for more research exploring the benefits of consumer leadership for other consumers of services. © 2016 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

  18. Consumer perceptions of smart grid development: Results of a Hong Kong survey and policy implications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mah, Daphne Ngar-yin; Vleuten, Johannes Marinus van der; Hills, Peter; Tao, Julia

    2012-01-01

    Consumers have a major role to play in smart grid technologies which can be instrumental in addressing climate change and energy challenges. However, little is known about how consumers perceive, and how they might respond to the opportunities that smart grid technologies offer. This paper reports the results from a Hong Kong survey (n=505). It contributes to the literature by providing a better understanding of the perceptions and behaviour of electricity consumers about the possible deployment of smart grids. Our results indicate that Hong Kong consumers generally welcomed smart grid technologies and had a preference for energy saving, energy efficiency and renewable energy while they showed a high level of opposition to nuclear power. They displayed an interest in playing a much more informed and active role in energy decision-making, but they were sensitive to tariff increases. Motivations and barriers for consumers to support smart grid developments are also discussed. We conclude with a discussion of policy implications for effective consumer engagement. More policy attention is needed on demand-side measures, introducing institutional and regulatory changes, and modifying relationships between consumers, the government and utilities. - Highlights: ► Consumers have a major role in smart grid technologies. ► This paper reports findings of a Hong Kong survey on how consumers perceive and respond. ► Hong Kong consumers are interested in being informed and playing an active role in energy decision-making. ► Motivations and barriers are discussed. ► Policy recommendations for effective consumer engagement are suggested.

  19. Consumer perception versus scientific evidence of farmed and wild fish

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Verbeke, Wim; Sioen, Isabelle; Brunsø, Karen

    2007-01-01

    . Primary data were collected through a consumer survey (April 2003) and focus group discussions (May 2004) with Belgian consumers. The majority of the consumer sample reported no perceived differences between farmed versus wild fish. However, mean perception scores were slightly in favour of wild fish......The increasing number of marketable fish being supplied from aquaculture is a response to the increasing demand for healthy food and is filling the gap left by depleting natural fish stocks. Little is known about the awareness and perception of the consumer in terms of farmed fish versus fish from...... capture fisheries. The consumer's subjective point of view is of overriding importance for the production system and product acceptance as well as for future market success. In this paper consumer perception in Belgium is explored and compared against scientific evidence of farmed versus wild fish...

  20. On the Demand for Consumer Credit: an Islamic Setting (Research Paper)

    OpenAIRE

    Bendjilali, Boualem

    1995-01-01

    The study discusses the economic implication of the main axioms that govern the consumer credit in an Islamic framework. It derives the demand function for consumer credit, using the Murabaha modes. A simple econometric model is built to estimate the demand for credit in an Islamic setting.

  1. Attitude change toward food irradiation among conventional and alternative consumers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bruhn, C.M.; Schutz, H.G.; Sommer, R.

    1986-01-01

    A US survey assessed the extent of attitude change toward food irradiation when consumers were given the opportunity to read about and discuss food irradiation. Consumers showed a higher level of concern for preservatives and chemical sprays than for the use of food irradiation for ensuring food safety. The study further revealed that consumer attitudes toward food irradiation can be positively influenced by an educational effort, and that this influence is most effective when the consumer can interact with someone knowledgeable about food irradiation. Willingness to buy irradiated foods was based on the safety of the process rather than on the advantages of any specific food product

  2. CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

    OpenAIRE

    Ilie BUDICA; Silvia PUIU; Bogdan Andrei BUDICA

    2010-01-01

    The study of consumers helps firms and organizations improve their marketing strategies by understanding issues such as: the psychology of how consumers think, feel, reason, and select between different alternatives; the psychology of how the consumer is influenced by his or her environment; the behavior of consumers while shopping or making other marketing decisions; limitations in consumer knowledge or information processing abilities influence decisions and marke...

  3. Consuming technologies - developing routines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gram-Hanssen, Kirsten

    2008-01-01

    technologies and in this article these processes will be investigated from three different perspectives: an historical perspective of how new technologies have entered homes, a consumer perspective of how both houses and new technologies are purchased and finally, as the primary part of the article, a user...... perspective of how routines develop while these technologies are being used. In the conclusion these insights are discussed in relation to possible ways of influencing routines....

  4. The emergence of diverse organic consumers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lund, Thomas Bøker; Andersen, Laura Mørch; Jensen, Katherine

    polarised. It can also be said to have matured insofar as positively oriented segments that differ in their food involvement, shopping behaviour and levels of ethical concern have appeared, while marketing and distribution strategies have co-developed with these trends. We discuss the current relevance......This study uses qualitative and quantitative data as well as household panel data regarding actual purchases of organic food in order to examine organic consumer profiles and recent developments of organic demand in Denmark. Six different segments of Danish households are identified, of which three...... of segmenting organic consumers in mature markets with a view to improving strategies of production, distribution and marketing of organic foods....

  5. The Green Consumer Is Still Somewhat Pale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Labovitz, David

    1993-01-01

    Calls for consumer initiated education concerning environmentally ethical buying decisions. Presents a historical depiction of American Consumerism associated with food consumption, marketing strategies, fads, the environmental movement, and American buying habits. Discusses government definitions and ensuing ambiguity of product terminology. (MCO)

  6. Development of a Consumer Product Ingredient Database for ...

    Science.gov (United States)

    Consumer products are a primary source of chemical exposures, yet little structured information is available on the chemical ingredients of these products and the concentrations at which ingredients are present. To address this data gap, we created a database of chemicals in consumer products using product Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs) publicly provided by a large retailer. The resulting database represents 1797 unique chemicals mapped to 8921 consumer products and a hierarchy of 353 consumer product “use categories” within a total of 15 top-level categories. We examine the utility of this database and discuss ways in which it will support (i) exposure screening and prioritization, (ii) generic or framework formulations for several indoor/consumer product exposure modeling initiatives, (iii) candidate chemical selection for monitoring near field exposure from proximal sources, and (iv) as activity tracers or ubiquitous exposure sources using “chemical space” map analyses. Chemicals present at high concentrations and across multiple consumer products and use categories that hold high exposure potential are identified. Our database is publicly available to serve regulators, retailers, manufacturers, and the public for predictive screening of chemicals in new and existing consumer products on the basis of exposure and risk. The National Exposure Research Laboratory’s (NERL’s) Human Exposure and Atmospheric Sciences Division (HEASD) conducts resear

  7. The Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 and procedural fairness in

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    MJM Venter

    fair. In a South African context, procedural fairness and substantive fairness are therefore of equal importance. 5. The Consumer Protection Act and procedural fairness. In the discussion below, the special ..... actually read the terms, but standardisation in presentation may make it slightly easier for a consumer to understand ...

  8. Bringing the Consumer Back in—The Motives, Perceptions, and Values behind Consumers and Rural Tourists’ Decision to Buy Local and Localized Artisan Food—A Swedish Example

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paulina Rytkönen

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available This article highlights the motivational factors behind consumers’ and tourists’ decisions to buy local artisan cheese in Jämtland (Sweden. Empirically, the case itself diverts from the typical Franco-Mediterranean case in which both the actions of producers and consumers are embedded in historical, long-term culinary traditions and territorial features, nor is it the typical farmers’ market or another market-driven direct produce system. The main purpose is to shed light on the motivational factors behind the purchasing decision of consumers and tourists by studying the attributes that consumers embody in the products. The article is based on two consumer surveys/short interviews, the first conducted in June 2012 and the second in February 2017. The results were tested against/related to the wider local food discussion conceptualized through four types of attributes. Namely, intrinsic and extrinsic attributes; post-modernity and environmental attributes; geographical and territorial attributes; and local and rural development attributes. The results in this article clearly show that consumers value a combination of different attributes from both market-driven direct produce systems and close typicity systems. Therefore, the construction of proximity from the point of view of the consumer can be derived from a complex set of attributes and motivational factors not normally highlighted in the localized food discussion.

  9. Challenges and prospects for consumer acceptance of cultured meat

    OpenAIRE

    Verbeke , Wim; Sans , Pierre; Van Loo , Ellen J.

    2015-01-01

    International audience; Consumer acceptance of cultured meat is expected to depend on a wide diversity of determinants ranging from technologyrelated perceptions to product-specific expectations, and including wider contextual factors like media coverage, public involvement, and trust in science, policy and society. This paper discusses the case of cultured meat against this multitude of possible determinants shaping future consumer acceptance or rejection. The paper also presents insights fr...

  10. Ethical aspects of advertising in the struggle for consumer confidence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Galavtina Anna

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available This article discusses the issues associated with ethical aspects of advertising activities of the enterprise and consumer perception. The significance of this study is primarily due to the fact that in today's world, the realization of any products (goods is impossible without advertising support. The consumer has the right to receive the necessary, affordable, reliable and timely information about the product, which allows its conscious and informed choice. The purpose of this article is to reveal the problematic issues of ethics and truthfulness in advertising and to show their influence on consumer choice. The results of the study show that consumers tend to choose the product, which they are more informed about, even being aware of the shortcomings of this product. Companies, open to consumers, increasingly come into market leaders.

  11. Consumer Preferences Expressed via Shopping in Alternative Food Chains

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Simona Miškolci

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available In recent years an increasing consumer interest in shopping in alternative food chains can be observed also in the Czech Republic. For the successful development of alternative food networks, it is important to understand what motivates consumers to shop there. This paper is aimed to define and discuss the key aspects of the preference determinants of AFN shoppers. The empirical analysis was conducted on 333 shoppers at two alternative food chains in Brno, Czech Republic. The consumer survey was designed to examine cognitive, normative and affective determinants of preference for purchased food. First findings confirm, that by the shopping at alternative food chains consumers demonstrate preferences not only for fresh and tasty food, but also their normative position of willingness to support local production and community.

  12. Recycling of consumer waste: A behavioural science approach to environmental protection policy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thøgersen, John

    1994-01-01

    Evaluations of programs whose purpose is to increase recycling in Denmark through changing consumer waste handling practices are reviewed on the results discussed in a behavioural science framework Denmark is one of the fastest-moving European cou with regard to policies targeting consumer waste...

  13. Consumer Central Energy Flexibility in Office Buildings

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Billanes, Joy Dalmacio; Ma, Zheng; Jørgensen, Bo Nørregaard

    2017-01-01

    Energy flexibility in buildings will play an important role in the smart energy system. Office buildings have more potentials to provide energy flexibility to the grid compared to other types of buildings, due to the existing building management, control systems and large energy consumption....... Consumers in office buildings (building owners/managers and occupants) take a main role for adopting and engaging in building energy flexibility. In this paper provides a systematic review of consumer central energy flexibility in office buildings with the discussion of social, technical and business...... can boost energy flexibility in the office buildings....

  14. Correlating consumer perception and consumer acceptability of traditional Doenjang in Korea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Mina K; Lee, Kwang-Geun

    2014-11-01

    Doenjang is a traditional Korean food and is widely used for many Korean foods. Consumer perception and consumer acceptability on the typical sensory characteristics of traditional Doenjang remain unknown. The objective of the current study was to determine the consumer perception on traditional Doenjang characteristics and how preexisting consumer perception influenced the consumer liking for traditionally and commercially manufactured Doenjang. A consumer survey was conducted by presenting 26 sensory descriptions to consumers (n = 82) for check-all-that-apply measurement. Then, a consumer acceptance test was conducted over 2 d on 2 Doenjang samples representing commercially produced Doenjang and traditionally produced Doenjang: Day 1 consumers evaluated without any information (n = 182), and day 2 consumers evaluated samples informed that both samples were made by the "traditional" method (n = 109). Two-way ANOVA and multivariate analyses were conducted. Consumers' preexisting perceptions on the typical sensory characteristics of traditionally made Doenjang were similar in that they associate "gu-soo flavor," "dark color," "flavorful," and "well-fermented flavor" regardless of consumer demographics and Doenjang user status. However, these consumer perceptions on sensory attributes of traditional Doenjang did not agree with desirable sensory attributes for consumer liking, in that consumers preferred the commercially made Doenjang regardless of the evaluation condition and consumer user status. Findings from the current study therefore suggested a discrepancy between the preexisting current consumer perception and actual consumer acceptability of traditional Doenjang products. © 2014 Institute of Food Technologists®

  15. MEASUREMENT OF CONSUMER ETHNOCENTRISM OF SLOVAK CONSUMERS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janka Taborecka-Petrovicova

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available The conceptualization of consumer ethnocentrism is inferred from the general concept of ethnocentrism which assumes that ethnocentrism starts with the culture into which an individual is born. Over time, the individual will accept the values and behaviour of this particular culture as a norm. However, when the individual becomes aware of other cultures with different values and behaviours, there develops the need of belonging and identification with own culture rather than that of others. When analysing the consumer ethnocentrism, it is also essential to examine whether consumer ethnocentrism operates uniformly across all consumers or there exist some specific factors moderating their ethnocentric tendencies. A lot of studies researching these issues can be found in various cultural contexts, however in Slovakia we found certain gap since there is just a few of them. The aim of the paper is to investigate the level of consumer ethnocentricity of Slovak consumers in general and with the respect to chosen variables – age and gender. The results can serve as an information base for decision-making process of marketing managers focusing especially on local production of domestic products.

  16. Crowdfunding and new trends in consumer behaviour

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joanna Pieniążek

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper discusses social funding and how it affects consumer behaviour. Crowdfunding contributes to the support and development of interesting products and services. Consumers have become not only the recipients but also co-creators of new products.The changes also apply to the consumption model.So far, the customer has received product already formed by the manufacturers. Now, the customer may pre-order the product via a crowdfunding site, by financially supporting the manufacturing process of the product. Online community which the consumer belongs to has the power to market the products which might never be created or would be created after a long period of time. It may also have influence on their appearance and functionality. The purpose of this article is to present the phenomenon of crowdfunding and an attempt at defining consumer attitudes related to the new model of funding, promotion and sale of products online.The article provides an overview of the literature on the subject and an analysis of selected crowdfunding sites.

  17. Eyetracking and consumer decision research in marketing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Oppewal, Harmen; Mueller Loose, Simone

    friendliness of eyetracking equipment. Eyetracking, or the monitoring of eye movements, is of interest because eye movements indicate where consumers focus their attention when searching for information and making their purchase decisions. There are several marketing academics in Australia/ NZ who have started......This session will concentrate on the use of eyetracking for studying consumer decision making research in marketing. Eyetracking has been applied in marketing since the early 90s but only more recently the use of this technology has started to increase, due to lower cost and greater user....... The present session will discuss issues and recent progress in eyetracking studies in relation to studies of consumer decision making, especially in relation to decision making as studied in discrete choice experiments. The session will facilitate the sharing of experiences and thereby help develop the level...

  18. The patient as consumer: empowerment or commodification? Currents in contemporary bioethics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldstein, Melissa M; Bowers, Daniel G

    2015-01-01

    Discussions surrounding patient engagement and empowerment often use the terms "patient" and "consumer" interchangeably. But do the two terms hold the same meaning, or is a "patient" a passive actor in the health care arena and a "consumer" an informed, rational decision-maker? Has there been a shift in our usage of the two terms that aligns with the increasing commercialization of health care in the U.S. or has the patient/consumer dynamic always been a part of the buying and selling of health care in the American system? Recent discussions of the issue exist in the popular press and in social media forums such as TEDMED, but few direct analyses of the ethical, legal, and policy ramifications of this possible shift in terminology are available in the academic literature. This paper analyzes our usage of the terms and any recent changes in the dynamic and discusses the ethical, legal, and policy implications of this simple terminology for the physicianpatient relationship. © 2015 American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Inc.

  19. Considering consumer choice in the economic evaluation of mandatory health programmes: a review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parkinson, Bonny; Goodall, Stephen

    2011-08-01

    Governments are increasing their focus on mandatory public health programmes following positive economic evaluations of their impact. This review aims to examine whether loss of consumer choice should be included in economic evaluations of mandatory health programmes (MHP). A systematic literature review was conducted to identify economic evaluations of MHP, whether they discuss the impact on consumer choice and any methodological limitations. Overall 39 economic evaluations were identified, of which 10 discussed the loss of consumer choice and 6 attempted to place a value on the loss of consumer choice. Methodological limitations included: measuring the marginal cost of compliance, unavailability of price elasticity estimates, the impact of income effects, double counting health impacts, biased willingness-to-pay responses, and "protest" responses. Overall it was found that the inclusion of the loss of consumer choice rarely impacted on the final outcome of the study. The impact of MHP on the loss of consumer choice has largely been ignored in economic evaluations. Its importance remains uncertain due to its infrequent inclusion and significant methodological limitations. Further research regarding which methodology is best for valuing the loss of consumer choice and whether it is important to the final implementation decision is warranted. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Consumer attitudes and the benefits of smart grid technologies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ablondi, B. [Parks Associates, Dallas, TX (United States)

    2010-11-15

    This article discussed consumer attitudes regarding the benefits of smart grid technology. Understanding the motivations of consumers and how much they are willing to pay for smart grid technologies allows utilities to tailor their offerings to ensure market success. Surveys revealed that more than 80 percent of consumers are very interested in learning about ways to cut energy expenditures. Most consumers are only willing to pay less than the cost of the special equipment to participate in programs that guarantee cost savings, requiring innovation on the part of both utilities and their vendors to develop viable business models. Remote monitoring systems are a potential residential energy management solution that would increase consumer awareness of energy consumption, but adoption will occur slowly and only after consumer awareness is increased. The segmentation of consumers is necessary for providers to target those with both an interest in and a willingness to pay for an energy monitoring system. Most consumers want to see information on a thermostat with an enhanced display, and there is limited interest in other formats at this time. Consumers are willing to pay a premium for smart appliances, but the premium only amounts to a fraction of the actual cost, leaving no incentive for appliance manufacturers in the absence of tax or utility incentives. It was concluded that consumer attitudes toward smart grid technology are still being formed and that the consumer must be engaged to realize the full benefit of the smart grid in the residential market. 4 figs.

  1. The Development of Consumer Protection Policies in Malaysia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohamad Fazli Sabri

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available The Malaysian government envisions Malaysia as an inclusive and sustainable high-income nation by 2020. The definition of “high income” is per capita income of USD15, 000 or MYR48, 000, based on the World Bank’s current definition of “high income”. The objective is not merely a quantitative target; it is also about Malaysia being an advanced and developed nation with an economy having the characteristics of developed nations. Advancements in information and communication technology (ICT and globalization have resulted in the evolution of a more complex and challenging marketplace. As today’s consumers are constantly faced with a bewildering array of goods and services in the market, consumers must be equipped with an elevated level of consumerism knowledge and skills. Malaysian consumers thus need to be kept in touch with developments in the market, enabling them to act and decide effectively, to ensure that they develop as more empowered, savvy and resilient consumers now and after Malaysia transforms into a developed nation. However, without the government’s intervention to protect consumers through adequate legislations and enforcement, the aim of creating “empowered consumers” will not be realized. This paper aims to discuss the development of consumer protection policies in Malaysia.

  2. Consumer engagement: An insight from smart grid projects in Europe

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gangale, Flavia; Mengolini, Anna; Onyeji, Ijeoma

    2013-01-01

    This paper provides an insight into consumer engagement in smart grid projects in Europe. Projects analysed are those included in the catalogue annexed in the JRC Report “Smart Grid projects in Europe: lessons learned and current developments”. The analysis suggests an increase in the interest in consumer engagement projects at European level and a strong focus on the residential sector, and emphasises the key importance of public funding to support these projects. The study also reveals that projects involving consumers are characterised by the pursuit of two main objectives: gaining deeper knowledge of consumer behaviour (observing and understanding the consumer) and motivating and empowering consumers to become active energy customers (engaging the consumer). The paper reviews the main activities undertaken to obtain these objectives and highlights trends and developments in the field. Finally, the paper discusses obstacles to consumer engagement and the strategies adopted by the projects surveyed to tackle them, highlighting the need to build consumer trust and to design targeted campaigns taking into consideration different consumer segments. The conclusions are in line with findings and analyses presented in the literature and underscore the need for further research and action at European level. - Highlights: • Consumers' key role in the success of the future electricity system (smart grids). • Survey on consumer engagement experiences in European smart grid projects. • Focus is on observing and understanding the consumers and on engaging them. • Trust and confidence as central elements. • Need to take into consideration different consumer segments/motivational factors

  3. Implications of Motivating Operations for the Functional Analysis of Consumer Choice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fagerstrom, Asle; Foxall, Gordon R.; Arntzen, Erik

    2010-01-01

    The present article introduces the concept of Motivating Operation (MO) to the context of consumer choice and discusses the function of the concept of MO in the context of the Behavioral Perspective Model (BPM). Including MO as part of the consumer behavior setting leads to a more comprehensive analysis and, as a result, improves our understanding…

  4. Consumer involvement in dietary guideline development: opinions from European stakeholders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Kerry A; Hermoso, Maria; Timotijevic, Lada; Barnett, Julie; Lillegaard, Inger Therese L; Řehůřková, Irena; Larrañaga, Ainhoa; Lončarević-Srmić, Azra; Andersen, Lene Frost; Ruprich, Jiří; Fernández-Celemín, Laura; Raats, Monique M

    2013-05-01

    The involvement of consumers in the development of dietary guidelines has been promoted by national and international bodies. Yet, few best practice guidelines have been established to assist with such involvement. Qualitative semi-structured interviews explored stakeholders' beliefs about consumer involvement in dietary guideline development. Interviews were conducted in six European countries: the Czech Republic, Germany, Norway, Serbia, Spain and the UK. Seventy-seven stakeholders were interviewed. Stakeholders were grouped as government, scientific advisory body, professional and academic, industry or non-government organisations. Response rate ranged from 45 % to 95 %. Thematic analysis was conducted with the assistance of NVivo qualitative software. Analysis identified two main themes: (i) type of consumer involvement and (ii) pros and cons of consumer involvement. Direct consumer involvement (e.g. consumer organisations) in the decision-making process was discussed as a facilitator to guideline communication towards the end of the process. Indirect consumer involvement (e.g. consumer research data) was considered at both the beginning and the end of the process. Cons to consumer involvement included the effect of vested interests on objectivity; consumer disinterest; and complications in terms of time, finance and technical understanding. Pros related to increased credibility and trust in the process. Stakeholders acknowledged benefits to consumer involvement during the development of dietary guidelines, but remained unclear on the advantage of direct contributions to the scientific content of guidelines. In the absence of established best practice, clarity on the type and reasons for consumer involvement would benefit all actors.

  5. Consumer attitudes toward healthcare marketing practices: a comparison of hospitals vs. physicians.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lim, J S; Zallocco, R

    1997-01-01

    This study investigates consumer attitudes toward the use of marketing practices by the health care industry. The survey results show significant differences in consumers' attitude toward the use and effects of various marketing practices by the two types of provider (hospital and physician). Theoretical and empirical implications are discussed.

  6. Cross-National Applicability of a Parsimonious Measure of Acculturation to Global Consumer Culture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gupta, Nitin

    2016-04-01

    Durvasula and Lysonski's paper presented a shorter version of the Acculturation to Global Consumer Culture Scale (hereafter AGCC), which was developed by Cleveland and Laroche to address scarcity of measurements that determined how individuals acquired and became a part of the emerging global consumer culture. The following critique discusses a few concerns and three major shortcomings of the paper, including skewed sample frame and incorrect choice of countries for assessing cross-national applicability of the scale, not discussing the differences in the means of the seven distinct dimensions of AGCC across the four nations studied by the authors, and absence of any critical review of existing consumer acculturation scales vis-à-vis AGCC. © The Author(s) 2016.

  7. The Importance of Consumer Trust for the Emergence of a Market for Green products

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nuttavuthisit, Krittinee; Thøgersen, John

    2017-01-01

    Consumer trust is a key prerequisite for establishing a market for credence goods, such as “green” products, especially when they are premium priced. This article reports research on exactly how, and how much, trust influences consumer decisions to buy new green products. It identifies consumer t...... behavior. Implications for policy and future research are discussed....

  8. Instigating involvement through consumer-based brand equity : an attitudinal study of consumer-based brand equity and consumer involvement

    OpenAIRE

    Bredberg, David; Holmquist, Johan

    2009-01-01

    Recent research on links between dimensions of consumer-based brand equity, as well as links to consumer involvement, has shown that it is a significant predictor of purchase behavior. The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the affect brands have on consumer involvement. We attempt to investigate how consumer-based brand equity affects the level of consumer involvement. Based on consumer behavior theory and previous research of these areas, gathered primary data (an empirical investig...

  9. Health care consumer reports: an evaluation of consumer perspectives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Longo, Daniel R; Everet, Kevin D

    2003-01-01

    There has been a proliferation of health care consumer reports, also known as "consumer guides," "report cards," and "performance reports," which are designed to assist consumers in making more informed health care decisions. While there is evidence that providers use such reports to identify and make changes in practice, thus improving the quality of care, there is little empirical evidence on how consumer guides/report cards are used by consumers. This study fills that gap by surveying 925 patients as they wait for ambulatory care in several clinics in a midwestern city. Findings indicate that consumers are selective in their use of these reports and quickly identify those sections of the report of most interest to them. Report developers should take precautions to ensure such reports are viewed as credible sources of health care information.

  10. Redesigning a collection system for 'small' consumer electronics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Melissen, Frans W.

    2006-01-01

    This paper establishes that the collection system within the recycling scheme for consumer electronics in the Netherlands has not been entirely successful in convincing consumers to hand in their used appliances by means of dedicated collection routes. Particularly regarding small appliances, consumers are persisting in their habit of discarding their appliances by means of the refuse bag/bin for regular household waste. Therefore, the current collection system has been unable to direct consumer behavior in the desired direction. Consequently, the layout of the current system is reviewed and redesigned in order to tackle this problem. This design effort applies the Triad model (behavioral model) in the analysis stage and the Morphological Chart method (design tool) in the synthesis stage, and results in a concrete proposal for a new system. Finally, the applicability of this design approach beyond the specific circumstances of the case study presented in this paper is discussed. This case represents only one example of the broader, worldwide challenge to design appropriate collection systems to direct consumer behavior in desired directions. It is argued that the approach presented in this paper could be a valuable contribution to research dealing with this challenge

  11. Anxiety, Sadness, and Emotion Specificity: The Role of Music in Consumer Emotion and Advertisement Evaluation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Felix Septianto

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Although music could diversely influence consumer judgment process and behavior, it is still unclear whether music can evoke discrete emotions on consumers and influence consumer evaluation toward certain advertisements. This research proposes that music could evoke sad and anxious emotion on consumers; subsequently, consumers would regulate their negative emotions in accordance to their emotion orientations: Consumers who feel sad would show high evaluation toward happy-themed advertisement, while consumers who feel anxious would show high evaluation toward calm-themed advertisement. This paper concludes with the discussion of theoretical and practical implications and conclusion of this study.

  12. Natural gas heating. The energy saving concept. Topical tasks of consumer guidance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Windfeder, H

    1978-01-01

    Brief comments on natural gas, the technology of using natural gas for heating purposes, consumer psychology, and on energy policies are presented. It is concluded that the more natural gas heating is installed, the more primary energy can be saved. Some fundamental thoughts on consumer guidance are given for discussion.

  13. Social media in health--what are the safety concerns for health consumers?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lau, Annie Y S; Gabarron, Elia; Fernandez-Luque, Luis; Armayones, Manuel

    Recent literature has discussed the unintended consequences of clinical information technologies (IT) on patient safety, yet there has been little discussion about the safety concerns in the area of consumer health IT. This paper presents a range of safety concerns for consumers in social media, with a case study on YouTube. We conducted a scan of abstracts on 'quality criteria' related to YouTube. Five areas regarding the safety of YouTube for consumers were identified: (a) harmful health material targeted at consumers (such as inappropriate marketing of tobacco or direct-to-consumer drug advertising); (b) public display of unhealthy behaviour (such as people displaying self-injury behaviours or hurting others); (c) tainted public health messages (i.e. the rise of negative voices against public health messages); (d) psychological impact from accessing inappropriate, offensive or biased social media content; and (e) using social media to distort policy and research funding agendas. The examples presented should contribute to a better understanding about how to promote a safe consumption and production of social media for consumers, and an evidence-based approach to designing social media interventions for health. The potential harm associated with the use of unsafe social media content on the Internet is a major concern. More empirical and theoretical studies are needed to examine how social media influences consumer health decisions, behaviours and outcomes, and devise ways to deter the dissemination of harmful influences in social media.

  14. Supply Chain Coordination and Consumer Awareness for Pollution Reduction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bowon Kim

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available To understand the dynamics of the manufacturer’s effort to reduce pollution in a supply chain consisting of manufacturer, retailer, and consumers, we analyze four cases according to consumer awareness of the pollution’s harmful effect, i.e., environmentally aware versus ignorant, and supply chain coordination, i.e., competitive versus cooperative. Applying differential games, we derive managerial implications: the most significant is that the supply chain coordination strategy becomes irrelevant to reducing the pollution, if the consumers are not environmentally aware or sensitive enough. It highlights the critical role played by the consumer awareness in curbing the pollution in the supply chain. In addition, we find the transfer price and the potential market size are important factors to determine each case’s relative effectiveness. Under a regular condition, where the transfer price from the retailer to the manufacturer is sufficiently high, the consumer-aware and competitive case can generate a better outcome in reducing the pollution than those with ignorant consumers. However, the opposite might occur if the transfer price is excessively low, giving the manufacturer little motivation to make an effort to reduce the pollution. For the cooperative supply chain, it is the potential market size that determines whether the consumer-aware case is better than the consumer-ignorant. In fact, it turns out that there is a stronger result, i.e., the feasibility condition enforces that the market is always big enough to make the consumer-aware cooperative case better than the consumer-ignorant cases. We further discuss managerial as well as policy implications of these analysis outcomes.

  15. Using eye-tracking methodology in consumer science

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bialkova, S.; Mueller Loose, Simone; Scholderer, Joachim

    experimental designs will be discussed that can be recommended for eye-tracking studies in consumer science. The application potential will then be demonstrated in four case presentations, focusing on different product categories (from dairy products to alcoholic beverages), measurement contexts (laboratory...... versus point of purchase) and study goals (appearance studies, package design, identification of food choice motives). Furthermore, the presentations will discuss how different components of attention can be distinguished based on eye-tracking data (stimulus-driven versus task-driven processes) and how...

  16. Then and Now: Examining How Consumer Communication and Attitudes of Direct-to-Consumer Pharmaceutical Advertising Have Changed in the Last Decade.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wood, Kelly S; Cronley, Maria L

    2014-09-01

    This study examines changes over a 10-year period in consumer reports of communication with health care providers about direct-to-consumer advertised (DTCA) medications. Two rounds of survey data were collected in 2003 and 2012 using repeated cross-sectional procedures to examine consumer willingness to discuss DTCA medications, content and tone of those conversations, and attitudes about the advertisements. In total, 472 surveys were analyzed. Generally, we found physician-patient conversations, attitudes, and behaviors regarding DTCA have changed. Consumers in 2012 reported talking significantly less about the names of the advertised drug, comparing the advertised drug with their current medication, and sharing general information than consumers in 2003. Attitudes toward the advertisements were significantly more negative in 2012 compared to 2003. Of those who specifically asked for a prescription, the proportion of patients who received the prescription was significantly lower in 2012, despite research suggesting increased rates of prescriptions. These results are interpreted in light of previous research about the lack of research examining the actual communication between physicians and patients on this topic. Limitations of the study are provided along with directions for future research about DTCA and physician-patient communication.

  17. Consumer Behavior Classroom Exercises that Really Work.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kimmel, Allan J.

    1999-01-01

    Describes five in-class exercises for use in consumer behavior classes that encourage student involvement in group and class discussions, promote student interest in course material, and stimulate critical thinking. Explains that the exercises can be adapted for other related courses and are equally successful with students of varying abilities.…

  18. 75 FR 62127 - Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products: Decision and Order Granting a Waiver to...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-07

    ... requirements for covered consumer products when (1) the petitioner's basic model for which the petition for... petition, discussed below. Whirlpool claims that water softeners can prevent consumer behaviors that... Conservation Program for Consumer Products: Decision and Order Granting a Waiver to Whirlpool Corporation From...

  19. Incorporating Transformative Consumer Research into the Consumer Behavior Course Experience

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petkus, Ed, Jr.

    2010-01-01

    In contrast to understanding consumer behavior for the benefit of business organizations, transformative consumer research (TCR) seeks to understand consumer behavior for the benefit of consumers themselves. Following Mari's (2008) call for the incorporation of TCR in doctoral programs in marketing, this article outlines the relevance of TCR to…

  20. Energy conservation from a consumer perspective. Institut fuer marketing der Universitaet Muenster, Arbeitspapiere

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Katz, R

    1980-01-01

    A survey of the standard of energy research in the American Literature on consumer behaviour is given. After the discussion of the importance of consumer research for energy conservation the difficulties on determining ''energy conservation behaviour'' are described. Moreover, the study compiles past American Literature that has tried to explain energy conservation behaviour. A further chapter analyzes measures of influencing the consumer energy conservation behaviour carried out so far in the United States and Canada. Finally, still open problems in future American energy conservation research in the field of consumer behaviour are demonstrated.

  1. Exploring consumer values of comparative performance information for hospital choice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ketelaar, Nicole A B M; Faber, Marjan J; Westert, Gert P; Elwyn, Glyn; Braspenning, Jozé C

    2014-01-01

    In many countries, market orientation in healthcare has resulted in the publication of comparative performance information (CPI). Most of the research in this field is oriented towards the content and the presentation format of CPI while little is known about how consumers value CPI and the use of this information. The aim of this study was to clarify the perceived value that CPI brings for consumers of healthcare. Methods Qualitative research using six focus group interviews. Twenty-seven healthcare consumers were recruited using a mailing list and by personal invitation. Data from focus group interviews were transcribed and thematic analysis undertaken. Most participants were unaware of CPI, and valued alternative sources of information more than CPI. Through discussion with other consumers and by means of examples of CPI, respondents were able to express the values and perceived effects of CPI. Numerous underlying values hindered consumers' use of CPI, and therefore clarification of consumer values gave insights into the current non-usage of CPI. CPI is marginally valued, partly because of conflicting values expressed by consumers and, as such, it does not yet provide a useful information source on hospital choice beyond consumers' current selection routines in healthcare. Future research should be more focused on the values of consumers and their impact on the use of CPI.

  2. Family and Consumer Sciences: A Facility Planning and Design Guide for School Systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maryland State Dept. of Education, Baltimore.

    This document presents design concepts and considerations for planning and developing middle and high school family and consumer sciences education facilities. It includes discussions on family and consumer sciences education trends and the facility planning process. Design concepts explore multipurpose laboratories and spaces for food/nutrition…

  3. How consumers pick a hotel strategic segmentation and target marketing

    CERN Document Server

    Winston, William

    2013-01-01

    Venture through the pages of How Consumers Pick a Hotel to learn the steps of selecting a target and using consumer behavior applications to segment the market to reach your target. Much as a consumer goes through the process of selecting a satisfying hotel, you can choose to use the information provided to make your hospitality career relaxing and satisfying. When you finish this fantastic reading journey, you'll be prepared to offer services that meet the public's demands, and you'll possess the prerequisite knowledge and skills for developing your own strategic approach to a target market. As the many methods of segmentation are discussed in detail, you will also learn effective strategies for communicating with multiple segments. Ideal as a supplementary text for marketing and hospitality marketing courses, How Consumers Pick a Hotel provides a concise overview of consumer behavior and intertwines marketing theory with sound ways in which to implement the theory. This will both orient you and give you a s...

  4. Progress and challenges associated with halal authentication of consumer packaged goods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Premanandh, Jagadeesan; Bin Salem, Samara

    2017-11-01

    Abusive business practices are increasingly evident in consumer packaged goods. Although consumers have the right to protect themselves against such practices, rapid urbanization and industrialization result in greater distances between producers and consumers, raising serious concerns on the supply chain. The operational complexities surrounding halal authentication pose serious challenges on the integrity of consumer packaged goods. This article attempts to address the progress and challenges associated with halal authentication. Advancement and concerns on the application of new, rapid analytical methods for halal authentication are discussed. The significance of zero tolerance policy in consumer packaged foods and its impact on analytical testing are presented. The role of halal assurance systems and their challenges are also considered. In conclusion, consensus on the establishment of one standard approach coupled with a sound traceability system and constant monitoring would certainly improve and ensure halalness of consumer packaged goods. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

  5. How to Measure Consumer Awareness of Mass-Media Campaigns for Public Health Purposes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peetz-Schou, Mette

    1997-01-01

    The measurement of "consumer awareness" in health promotion campaigns is discussed. Seven effectiveness evaluations are reviewed. Problem areas, including interpretation of differently phrased awareness questions and response bias, are discussed. Recommendations for overcoming common problems are made, and an open discussion based on…

  6. Marketing strategies - consumers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Campbell, C.

    1985-01-01

    As Australia's largest consumer organisation, the Australian Consumers' Association (ACA) has a vital role in providing information, so consumers can make an informed choice, as well as participating in formulation of standards to increase the quality of products, including foods. The consumer movement is marketing the process of irradiation and will continue to give consumers information that allows them to make an informed choice

  7. Direct-to-consumer advertising and corporate social responsibility

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van de Pol, P.K.C.; de Bakker, F.G.A.

    2010-01-01

    Direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of prescription drugs has been a heavily contested issue over the past decade, touching on several issues of responsibility facing the pharmaceutical industry. Much research has been conducted on DTCA, but hardly any studies have discussed this topic from a

  8. Consumer participation in housing: reflecting on consumer preferences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Browne, Graeme; Hemsley, Martin

    2010-12-01

    Historically, people living with mental illness have had limited chance to participate in mental health services other than as patients. Following on from a recent review focusing on consumer participation in mental health services, this paper looks at consumer participation in housing. Housing is a critical element in recovery from mental illness. Without suitable housing, people have little chance of maintaining other resources in their lives, such as supportive social relationships and meaningful activities. Consumer participation is not a common topic in the recent literature, despite the significant public policy push to promote it. The importance of appropriate housing to the recovery of people living with mental illness cannot be underestimated. Even well-meaning and well-resourced housing initiatives can fall short of meeting consumers' recovery goals when they do not incorporate the expressed needs of consumers. These expressed needs include keeping units small in size and employing drop-in support models.

  9. Consumer engagement in alternative energy-Can the regulators and suppliers be trusted?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mumford, John; Gray, David

    2010-01-01

    The introduction of alternative energy requires collaboration between consumers, energy suppliers and regulators. A fundamental question is, will consumers engage with this agenda and, in particular, will they trust the institutions sufficiently to enable the collaborations that are needed. Present indications suggest that consumers have little trust in the established institutions and tend to reject such collaborations. This article presents two case studies which explore the way consumers, regulators and energy suppliers interact in relation to alternative energy projects. It analyses the inter-group interactions from the perspective of symbolic interactionism and discusses the aspects that undermine trust, leading to suggestions for improved trust.

  10. Consumer engagement in alternative energy. Can the regulators and suppliers be trusted?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mumford, John [Senior Visiting Fellow, School of Management, University of Surrey (United Kingdom); Gray, David [Professor of Management Learning, School of Management, University of Surrey, GU2 7XH (United Kingdom)

    2010-06-15

    The introduction of alternative energy requires collaboration between consumers, energy suppliers and regulators. A fundamental question is, will consumers engage with this agenda and, in particular, will they trust the institutions sufficiently to enable the collaborations that are needed. Present indications suggest that consumers have little trust in the established institutions and tend to reject such collaborations. This article presents two case studies which explore the way consumers, regulators and energy suppliers interact in relation to alternative energy projects. It analyses the inter-group interactions from the perspective of symbolic interactionism and discusses the aspects that undermine trust, leading to suggestions for improved trust. (author)

  11. Consumer engagement in alternative energy-Can the regulators and suppliers be trusted?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mumford, John, E-mail: John.Mumford@uk.bp.co [School of Management, University of Surrey (United Kingdom); Gray, David [School of Management, University of Surrey, GU2 7XH (United Kingdom)

    2010-06-15

    The introduction of alternative energy requires collaboration between consumers, energy suppliers and regulators. A fundamental question is, will consumers engage with this agenda and, in particular, will they trust the institutions sufficiently to enable the collaborations that are needed. Present indications suggest that consumers have little trust in the established institutions and tend to reject such collaborations. This article presents two case studies which explore the way consumers, regulators and energy suppliers interact in relation to alternative energy projects. It analyses the inter-group interactions from the perspective of symbolic interactionism and discusses the aspects that undermine trust, leading to suggestions for improved trust.

  12. Evidence-based patient choice and consumer health informatics in the Internet age.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eysenbach, G; Jadad, A R

    2001-01-01

    In this paper we explore current access to and barriers to health information for consumers. We discuss how computers and other developments in information technology are ushering in the era of consumer health informatics, and the potential that lies ahead. It is clear that we witness a period in which the public will have unprecedented ability to access information and to participate actively in evidence-based health care. We propose that consumer health informatics be regarded as a whole new academic discipline, one that should be devoted to the exploration of the new possibilities that informatics is creating for consumers in relation to health and health care issues.

  13. Consumer Perception and Buying Decisions(The Pasta Study)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kazmi, Syeda Quratulain

    2012-11-01

    The project ìconsumer perception and buying behavior (the pasta studyî) is basically measures the development of perception through different variables and identify those factors which stimulate buying decision of consumer. Among various variables which effect consumer buying pattern I choose AWARENESS and AVAILABILITY of the product as two main variables which have strong effect on popularity and sale of pasta product. As my research is totally based on qualitative method thatís why I choose quota sampling technique and collect data by interviewing house wives resides in different areas of Karachi. The reason of choosing only house wives as respondent is that house wives can give true insight factors which hinder the popularity of pasta products in Pakistan. Focus group discussions have been conducted to extract findings. 30 house wives have been interviewed and their responses have been analyzed.

  14. GMO Technology. Venezuelans' Consumers Perceptions: Situation in Caracas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David Antonio Pereira de Abreu

    2006-12-01

    Full Text Available The main benefits generated by the genetically modified organisms (GMO`s include greater yields harvested, foods with greater content of nutrients, vaccines, resistant plants to virus or plagues and resistant plant to high levels of salts in ground. However, there is a controversial discussion regarding its acceptation and welcoming and is missing information in regard the topic especially in developing countries. The purpose of this study is to measure the level of knowledge or acceptance towards GMO’s and biotechnology by consumer from Caracas, Venezuela. The researchers will use a survey that was previously applied to consumers from USA, Japan and some other South American countries. The results of the study demonstrated that Venezuelan’ consumers are misinformed about this topic; however, they are more informed about microbial contamination and pesticides than other topics.

  15. Educational Spaces of Cultural Capitalism: The Concept of Consumer Culture as a New Framework for Contemporary Educational Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knobloch, Phillip D. Th.

    2016-01-01

    This article introduces a specific concept of consumer culture into the international and European discussion about new concepts and categories in comparative education. Basic meanings of consumer culture are presented in reference to consumer research, consumer culture theory, and a revisited concept of world polity. In addition to general…

  16. Information quality, homophily, and risk propensity: Consumer responses to online hotel reviews

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sony Kusumasondjaja

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Searching through online review sites becomes an alternative for consumers to obtain product information. The efficiency and effectiveness in finding quality information on the online review sites contributes to the popularity of online review sites among consumers at the moment. There are some previous studies discussing consumer trust on hotels being reviewed on online review sites, but the roles of information quality, homophily, and consumer risk propensity as antecedents of trust and online purchase intention are still questionable. The purpose of this study is to investigate how information quality, homophily, and consumer risk propensity affect consumer trust on hotels being reviewed on online review sites and on intention to make a reservation. A survey involving 430 young travelers from 16 countries was conducted in popular tourist destination. Results confirm that information quality influences consumers’ trust on hotel being reviewed and intention to make reservation. Moreover, consumer online trust is also found to affect intention to make reservation.

  17. Consumer Health Informatics Aspects of Direct-to-Consumer Personal Genomic Testing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gray, Kathleen; Stephen, Remya; Terrill, Bronwyn; Wilson, Brenda; Middleton, Anna; Tytherleigh, Rigan; Turbitt, Erin; Gaff, Clara; Savard, Jacqueline; Hickerton, Chriselle; Newson, Ainsley; Metcalfe, Sylvia

    2017-01-01

    This paper uses consumer health informatics as a framework to explore whether and how direct-to-consumer personal genomic testing can be regarded as a form of information which assists consumers to manage their health. It presents findings from qualitative content analysis of web sites that offer testing services, and of transcripts from focus groups conducted as part a study of the Australian public's expectations of personal genomics. Content analysis showed that service offerings have some features of consumer health information but lack consistency. Focus group participants were mostly unfamiliar with the specifics of test reports and related information services. Some of their ideas about aids to knowledge were in line with the benefits described on provider web sites, but some expectations were inflated. People were ambivalent about whether these services would address consumers' health needs, interests and contexts and whether they would support consumers' health self-management decisions and outcomes. There is scope for consumer health informatics approaches to refine the usage and the utility of direct-to-consumer personal genomic testing. Further research may focus on how uptake is affected by consumers' health literacy or by services' engagement with consumers about what they really want.

  18. Hot water glows directly to the consumer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Decken; Fedders; Hohlein.

    1980-01-01

    The supply of industry and households with heat is a central problem of our economy. With the background of a crisis-affected oil supply the long term ensured heat supply with nuclear power plants is a discussible alternative. The long distance transfer of heat in the form of hot water, that is heated in nuclear power plants and led over a long-distance heating pipeline network to the consumers is limited by the inevitable heat losses. For the bridging of long distances between heat source and consumer and for the supply of heat at a high temperature level the long-distance transport by the Eva-Adam-principle has clear advantages. (orig.) [de

  19. Consumers' reports on the health effects of direct-to-consumer drug advertising.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weissman, Joel S; Blumenthal, David; Silk, Alvin J; Zapert, Kinga; Newman, Michael; Leitman, Robert

    2003-01-01

    We conducted a national telephone survey about health care experiences associated with direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of prescription drugs. Among the 35 percent of our sample who had a physician visit during which DTCA was discussed, 25 percent received a new diagnosis, of which 43 percent were considered high priority according to authoritative sources. More than half also reported actions taken by their physician other than prescribing the advertised drug. Despite concerns about DTCA's negative consequences, we found no differences in health effects between patients who took advertised drugs and those who took other prescription drugs.

  20. Dynamic electricity pricing—Which programs do consumers prefer?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dütschke, Elisabeth; Paetz, Alexandra-Gwyn

    2013-01-01

    Dynamic pricing is being discussed as one method of demand side management (DSM) which could be crucial for integrating more renewable energy sources into the electricity system. At the same time, there have been very few analyses of consumer preferences in this regard: Which type of pricing program are consumers most likely to choose and why? This paper sheds some light on these issues based on two empirical studies from Germany: (1) A questionnaire study including a conjoint analysis-design and (2) A field experiment with test-residents of a smart home laboratory. The results show that consumers are open to dynamic pricing, but prefer simple programs to complex and highly dynamic ones; smart home technologies including demand automation are seen as a prerequisite for DSM. The study provides some indications that consumers might be more willing to accept more dynamic pricing programs if they have the chance to experience in practice how these can be managed in everyday life. At the same time, the individual and societal advantages of such programs are not obvious to consumers. For this reason, any market roll-out will need to be accompanied by convincing communication and information campaigns to ensure that these advantages are perceived. - Highlights: • Little is known about consumer preferences on dynamic pricing. • Two studies are conducted to analyze this topic. • A survey shows that consumers without experience prefer conventional programs. • Test residents of a smart home were more open to dynamic pricing. • They also prefer well-structured programs

  1. Do consumers care about ethics? A cross-cultural study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexandra Malheiro

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available Discussion towards an understanding about ethical and social responsible corporate behaviours has increased over last two decades. Both marketers and academicians emphasize the interest of the topic. Developed research has been focusing the understanding of a few organizational practices, but consumer’s dyad of the problem calls for further investigation. This work presents some of the main theoretical contributions about consumer ethics, emphasizing the way how purchase attitude may be influenced by consumers’ perceptions about firms’ behaviour. The study aims to fill two important gaps in the burgeoning literature on marketing ethics: by looking at the consumer side of the marketing exchange dyad, and comparing consumer perspectives on ethics across cultures. As such, levels of consumer ethical awareness and expectations, and their impact on purchasing behaviours are measured in the contexts of Portugal and Cape Verde, one of its former colonies in Africa. Both qualitative and quantitative analyses were developed.

  2. Flemish consumer attitudes towards more sustainable food choices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vanhonacker, Filiep; Van Loo, Ellen J; Gellynck, Xavier; Verbeke, Wim

    2013-03-01

    Intensive agricultural practices and current western consumption patterns are associated with increased ecological pressure. One way to reduce the ecological impact could be a shift to more sustainable food choices. This study investigates consumer opinions towards a series of food choices with a lower ecological impact. The investigated food choices range from well-known meat substitutes to alternatives which are more radical or innovative and that require an adaptation of food habits and cultural patterns. Results are obtained through a survey among 221 Flemish respondents in Spring 2011. Many consumers underestimate the ecological impact of animal production. Well-known alternatives such as organic meat, moderation of meat consumption and sustainable fish are accepted, although willingness to pay is clearly lower than willingness to consume. Consumers are more reluctant to alternatives that (partly) ban or replace meat in the meal. Opportunities of introducing insects currently appear to be non-existent. Five consumer segments were identified based on self-evaluated ecological footprint and personal relevance of the ecological footprint. The segments were termed Conscious, Active, Unwilling, Ignorant and Uncertain. A profile in terms of demographics, attitudinal and behavioral characteristics is developed for each segments, and conclusions with respect to opportunities for sustainable food choices are discussed. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. How may consumer policy empower consumers for sustainable lifestyles?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thøgersen, John

    2005-01-01

    Consumer policy can empower consumers for changing lifestyles by reducing personal constraints and limitations, but it should also attempt to loosen some of the external constraints that make changes towards a more sustainable lifestyle difficult. In terms of reducing consumers' subjectively felt...... restrictions on their ability to change lifestyle, the two approaches are equivalent. Policies that increase a feeling of empowerment may also have a positive effect on consumers' motivation to make an effort, thus amplifying its effects. In this paper both types of constraints on lifestyle changes...

  4. The impact of youtube recommendations on consumer's decision-making process

    OpenAIRE

    Bom, Inês Sofia Inácio

    2016-01-01

    JEL Classification System: D81- Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty; M31- Marketing The development of the Internet allowed consumers to easily share their opinions about products and services, and discuss it with other consumers. In this context, online sources of recommendation became more reliable and relevant, specially among young people. New opinion leaders start to arise on the Internet, being in some cases more reliable and relatable to young people than trad...

  5. Valorisation of menu labelling at fast food restaurants: exploring consumer perceptions

    OpenAIRE

    Luis Miguel Cunha; Ana Pinto de Moura; Rui Costa Lima; Ana Frias

    2011-01-01

    The present study aimed to investigate Portuguese consumers' interestfor the provision of nutrition information at fast food restaurants and reactionsto alternative presentations of this information. Four focus groups, with 5 to8 consumers, were conducted in which participants were asked to look at threemock fast food restaurant menus that varied with respect to whether calorieinformation was provided and whether small portions and salads were available.Participants also discussed about fast ...

  6. How may consumer policy empower consumers for sustainable lifestyles?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thøgersen, John

    At least judged by its outcome, it seems that consumers in the rich parts of the world make less of an effort at changing their lifestyle in a sustainable direction than is desired by society and than is in their own collective long-term interest. Part of the explanations is that individual......'s striving for sustainability. The relevant external conditions are an extremely diverse set of factors, perhaps their only commonality being that, unless making an organized effort, consumers can do nothing about them. Because external conditions influence all or many consumers, making them more...... facilitating for sustainable consumption can be much more effective than anything an individual consumer can do. Many of the external constraints facing consumers who want to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle are of a relative nature and their impact depends on the individual's resources. For instance...

  7. Consumer Cost Differences for Traditional and Internet Markets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shaw, Michael J.; Strader, Troy J.

    1999-01-01

    Addresses research issues related to the economics of electronic, Internet-based markets. Discusses consumer cost-based differences for traditional and electronic markets; revenue implications for sellers and transaction intermediaries; and results of an empirical, survey-based study of an electronic market in the sports trading-card industry.…

  8. “Give Me Happiness” or “Take Away My Pain”: Explaining consumer responses to prescription drug advertising

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nithima Sumpradit

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available We examine how consumers react to direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA by investigating the role of goal compatibility between motivation to process advertisements and consumer self-concept. Specifically, we examine the interaction between self-regulatory (prevention versus promotion focus and self-construal orientation (independent versus interdependent and find that prevention (versus promotion focused consumers form stronger intentions to speak with physicians and are more likely to discuss an advertised drug, when the ad uses an interdependence self-construal theme, whereas promotion (versus prevention focused consumers form stronger intentions to speak with physicians and are more likely to discuss an advertised drug, when the ad uses an independent self-construal theme. The above two-way interaction was further found to be governed by attitudes toward DTCA. Under goal compatibility, consumers who had positive or neutral attitudes toward DTCA (versus negative had stronger (a intentions to speak with physicians about the advertised drug, (b stronger intentions to speak with physicians about high cholesterol, (c greater likelihood of discussing the drug with health professionals, and (d greater likelihood of requesting a prescription, yet did not differ in perceptions of drug benefits and risks. Hypotheses were tested on a sample of 197 female staff and retirees (aged 40–80 years at a large university.

  9. Consumer behaviour and the environment: Which role for information?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thøgersen, John

    My aim here is to present a broad-brush overview of some of the most important roles that information has been found to play as a tool for promoting environmentally responsible consumer behaviour. Because this workshop is organized by a network of economists, I will start with the importance...... of information for getting the full potential out of economic instruments. However, my main emphasis will be on the importance of information for creating and facilitating consumers' willing participation in solving environmental problems that are in some way related to their behaviour as consumers. Information...... may be even more important for furthering other important types of behaviour, such as voter behaviour or activist behaviour, but I won't discuss the specific issues about promoting these types of behaviour today....

  10. Relationship between sport commitment and sport consumer behavior

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Norberta Elisa Fernandes

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between sport commitment and three types of sport consumer behaviors: participation frequency, sporting goods and media consumption. A survey was conducted among sport participants of both individual and team sports, fitness and outdoor activities (n= 900. The survey included questions related to demographic information, measures of sport commitment and sport consumption behavior. The results analyzed trough structural equation modeling showed that the sport commitment influences positively the participation frequency, sporting goods consumption and media consumption. Implications of these results are discussed and suggestions for future research on sport consumers are provided.

  11. Integrating consumer engagement in health and medical research - an Australian framework.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Caroline L; Mott, Kathy; Cousins, Michael; Miller, Stephanie; Johnson, Anne; Lawson, Tony; Wesselingh, Steve

    2017-02-10

    Quality practice of consumer engagement is still in its infancy in many sectors of medical research. The South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) identified, early in its development, the opportunity to integrate evidence-driven consumer and community engagement into its operations. SAHMRI partnered with Health Consumers Alliance and consumers in evidence generation. A Partnership Steering Committee of researchers and consumers was formed for the project. An iterative mixed-method qualitative process was used to generate a framework for consumer engagement. This process included a literature review followed by semi-structured interviews with experts in consumer engagement and lead medical researchers, group discussions and a consensus workshop with the Partnership Steering Committee, facilitated by Health Consumer Alliance. The literature revealed a dearth of evidence about effective consumer engagement methodologies. Four organisational dimensions are reported to contribute to success, namely governance, infrastructure, capacity and advocacy. Key themes identified through the stakeholder interviews included sustained leadership, tangible benefits, engagement strategies should be varied, resourcing, a moral dimension, and challenges. The consensus workshop produced a framework and tangible strategies. Comprehensive examples of consumer participation in health and medical research are limited. There are few documented studies of what techniques are effective. This evidence-driven framework, developed in collaboration with consumers, is being integrated in a health and medical research institute with diverse programs of research. This framework is offered as a contribution to the evidence base around meaningful consumer engagement and as a template for other research institutions to utilise.

  12. Incorporation of Consumer Products in the Teaching of Analytical Chemistry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lieu, Van T.; Kalbus, Gene E.

    1988-01-01

    Describes eight experiments involving the use of common consumer products that could be incorporated into quantitative and instrumental analysis laboratories. Discusses these activities in terms of illustration of principles, awareness, and critical thinking. (CW)

  13. Mere exposure and the endowment effect on consumer decision making.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tom, Gail; Nelson, Carolyn; Srzentic, Tamara; King, Ryan

    2007-03-01

    Previous researchers (e.g., J. A. Bargh, 1992, 2002) demonstrated the importance of nonconscious processes on consumer choice behavior. Using an advertisement, the authors determined the effect of two nonconscious processes--the mere exposure effect, which increases object preference by increasing consumer exposure to an object, and the endowment effect, which increases object valuation by providing consumer possession of an object--on consumer behavior. Although the mere exposure effect and endowment effect did not produce an interaction, they produced independent effects. The endowment effect increased object valuation but not object preference. The mere exposure effect increased object preference but not object valuation. Thus, at the unconscious level, an increase in object preference does not lead to an increase in object valuation, nor does an increase in object valuation lead to an increase in object preference. The authors discuss the importance of developing measures of unconscious process in advertising effectiveness.

  14. The Role of Consumer's Identification in Consumer Behavior and Branding

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mana Razeghi

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to investigate relationships between congruity of consumer and brand values, brand identification, brand commitment, and word of mouth. In order to test the relationships between variables 600 questionnaire were distributed in Dubai Malls (Sun and Sand Sports and 334 of questionnaires were received and analyzed. To verify the validity of the questionnaire and to test the significance of observer variables (questionnaire and latent variables (factors, confirmatory factor analysis was used, and Cronbach's alpha was employed to test the reliability. To evaluate the association between variables, the Pearson correlation test is used, and then to verify the conceptual model test the structural equation modeling (SEM and LISREL software are deployed. The result shows that Value congruity positively influences consumers' identification with a brand and Value congruity positively influences consumers ‘commitment to brand. The result also shows that Consumer identification has a positive influence on brand commitment and mediating variable between value congruity and brand commitment and Consumers commitment to a brand has a positive influence on positive WOM and mediating variable between consumers' identification and WOM. The results also demonstrate that Consumer identification positively influences positive WOM.

  15. The Company : Consumer Trends and Business Ethics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adriano Fábio Cordeiro da Silva

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper analyzes the society, the market trends, and the business ethics applied to consumption. The methodology used in this study is the literature search, covering the different media, giving priority to the doctrine inherent in the concerned themes, the websites, the specialized magazines, and other sources for theoretical basis. This study discusses the difference among consumption, consumerism, and hyperconsumerism; conceptualizes the fads, trends, and megatrends in the market and raises questions about the future consumer profile; verifies that credit facilitates the phenomenon of hyper-consumption and over-indebtedness. It works the relation of marketing as propellant brands, advertisements, and advertising; addresses the Ethics applied to consumption as a science that relates to the economy and the consumer market.

  16. Cue-based decision making. A new framework for understanding the uninvolved food consumer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamlin, Robert P

    2010-08-01

    This article examines the processes that occur within the consumer's head as they make a choice between alternative market offers at a low level of involvement. It discusses recent research that indicates that the Theory of Planned Behaviour and its derivatives have restricted validity as a predictor of food consumers' evaluations and purchase patterns. This has significant implications as Planned Behaviour is the dominant paradigm within food industry research. The article demonstrates that Planned Behaviour has acquired this status more by default than by proven merit. The specific reasons for the failure of Planned Behaviour are discussed. An alternative paradigm, Cue-Based Decision Making is developed from an existing literature, and is proposed as a basis for increasing our understanding of the uninvolved food consumer in order to predict and influence their behaviour. 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Consumer Finance

    OpenAIRE

    Peter Tufano

    2009-01-01

    Although consumer finance is a substantial element of the economy, it has had a smaller footprint within financial economics. In this review, I suggest a functional definition of the subfield of consumer finance, focusing on four key functions: payments, risk management, moving funds from today to tomorrow (saving/investing), and from tomorrow to today (borrowing). I provide data showing the economic importance of consumer finance in the American economy. I propose a historical explanation fo...

  18. Information Requirements and Consumer Protection in Future M-Commerce

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cleff, Evelyne Beatrix; Henschel, Rene Franz

    2007-01-01

      The aim of this article is to discuss information requirements and consumer protection in mobile commerce. On the basis of a brief introduction to the characteristics of mobile commerce and the regulatory framework that governs mobile commerce in the European Union today, the article presents...... that the solution may be relaxed enforcement of the regulatory framework and/or self-regulation, e.g. by codes of conduct. However, the article argues that other possible solutions should be considered, e.g. the use of specific symbols and sounds that - like road traffic rules - could help the consumer to navigate...

  19. Bringing the DERP to consumers: 'Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs'.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Findlay, Steven D

    2006-01-01

    Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, has used the drug class reviews of the Drug Effectiveness Review Project (DERP) as one critical component of a free public information project on the comparative effectiveness, safety, and cost of prescription drugs. The project translates the DERP findings for consumers. Drawing on other sources and adding information on drug costs, the project chooses Best Buy drugs in each category it evaluates. This guidance can help consumers save up to thousands of dollars per year, and it has the potential to reduce overall drug spending.

  20. Consumer perceptions of beef healthiness: results from a qualitative study in four European countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Wezemael, Lynn; Verbeke, Wim; de Barcellos, Marcia D; Scholderer, Joachim; Perez-Cueto, Federico

    2010-06-15

    Consumer perception of the healthiness of beef is an important determinant of beef consumption. However, little is known about how consumers perceive the healthiness of beef. The aim of this study is to shed light on the associations between beef and health. Eight focus group discussions were conducted in four European countries (France, UK, Germany, Spain), each consisting of seven to nine participants. A content analysis was performed on the transcripts of these discussions. Although beef was generally perceived as healthful, focus group participants expected positive as well as negative effects of beef consumption on their health. Labelled, branded, fresh and lean beef were perceived as signalling healthful beef, in contrast with further processed and packaged beef. Consumers felt that their individual choices could make a difference with respect to the healthiness of beef consumed. Focus group participants were not in favour of improving beef healthiness during processing, but rather focussed on appropriate consumption behaviour and preparation methods. The individual responsibility for health implies that consumers should be able to make correct judgements about how healthful their food is. However, the results of this study indicate that an accurate assessment of beef healthiness is not always straightforward. The presented results on consumer perceptions of beef healthiness provide insights into consumer decision making processes, which are important for the innovation and product differentiation in the European beef sector, as well as for public health policy decisions related to meat consumption in general and beef consumption in particular.

  1. Information Requirements and Consumer Protection in Future M-Commerce

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cleff, Evelyne Beatrix; Henschel, Rene Franz

    2006-01-01

    The aim of this article is to discuss information requirements and consumer protection in mobile commerce. On the basis of a brief introduction to the characteristics of mobile commerce and the regulatory framework that governs mobile commerce in the European Union today, the article presents...

  2. Self-perceived Age and Attitudes Toward Marketing of Older Consumers in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ying, Bin

    2010-01-01

    Understanding consumer psychological characteristics and their impact on consumer behavior is an important foundation for business marketing strategies. Self-perceived age has a great impact on older consumers’ behavior. This article defines the gray market in China, investigates the factors that affect the differences between older consumers’ self-perceived age and life age, and analyzes the influence of self-perceived age on older Chinese consumers’ behavior. In this study, 1,120 older consumers were randomly selected from six cities in China. Findings show that over half of the respondents feel younger than their actual life age. Related marketing strategies are discussed. PMID:20835378

  3. Linking Consumer Rights with Citizen Roles: An Opportunity for Consumer Educators.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stevens, Georgia L.

    1994-01-01

    Consumer educators can help students develop consumer/citizen roles through curricula linking consumer rights with citizen responsibilities. Dialogue about issues, community needs assessment, and community volunteer service enable students to practice citizen roles. (SK)

  4. Effect of direct-to-consumer genetic tests on health behaviour and anxiety: a survey of consumers and potential consumers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Egglestone, Corin; Morris, Anne; O'Brien, Ann

    2013-10-01

    Direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic tests can be purchased over the internet. Some companies claim to provide relative genetic risks for various diseases and thus encourage healthy behaviour. There are concerns that exposure to such information may actually discourage healthy behaviour or increase health anxiety. An online survey was conducted (n = 275). Respondents were composed of individuals who had purchased a DTC genetic test and received their results (consumers, n = 189), as well as individuals who were either awaiting test results or considering purchasing a test (potential consumers, n = 86). Consumers were asked if their health behaviour or health anxiety had changed after receiving their results. Respondents' current health behaviour and health anxiety were queried and compared. In total, 27.3 % of consumers claimed a change in health behaviour, all either positive or neutral, with no reported cessation of any existing health behaviour. A change in health anxiety was claimed by 24.6 % of consumers, 85.3 % of which were a reduction. Consumers had significantly better health behaviour scores than potential consumers (p = 0.02), with no significant difference in health anxiety. This study points towards an association between receipt of DTC genetic test results and increased adoption of healthy behaviours for a minority of consumers based on self-report, with more mixed results in relation to health anxiety.

  5. Price Intransparency, Consumer Decision Making and European Consumer Law

    OpenAIRE

    Boom, Willem

    2011-01-01

    textabstractPrice comparison is a basic element of competition. For comparison to work, at least prices need to be transparent. Moreover, price is usually a focal point in consumer thinking and deciding on transactions. Hence, obfuscating prices can be detrimental to consumers. Therefore, it is vital for policymakers to know how transparent pricing is in reality. Commercial practices involving price intransparency can be detrimental to consumer decision making and may be associated with marke...

  6. Impulsive consumer behavior

    OpenAIRE

    Kovač Žnideršić, Ružica; Grubor, Aleksandar; Marić, Dražen

    2014-01-01

    Research into consumer behaviour features as the foundation of all the planned and implemented marketing activities of a company. Consumer behaviour is determined by numerous factors, and is therefore characterised as highly complex and difficult to predict. A particular challenge for marketing science and practice is to research impulse consumer behaviour in shopping – a behaviour that occurs when consumers experience a sudden, powerful and persistent urge to buy something immediately. This ...

  7. Consumer preferences for front-of-pack calories labelling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Kleef, Ellen; van Trijp, Hans; Paeps, Frederic; Fernández-Celemín, Laura

    2008-02-01

    In light of the emerging obesity pandemic, front-of-pack calories labels may be an important tool to assist consumers in making informed healthier food choices. However, there is little prior research to guide key decisions on whether caloric content should be expressed in absolute terms or relative to recommended daily intake, whether it should be expressed in per serving or per 100 g and whether the information should be further brought alive for consumers in terms of what the extra calorie intake implies in relation to activity levels. The present study aimed at providing more insight into consumers' appreciation of front-of-pack labelling of caloric content of food products and their specific preferences for alternative execution formats for such information in Europe. For this purpose, eight executions of front-of-pack calorie flags were designed and their appeal and information value were extensively discussed with consumers through qualitative research in four different countries (Germany, The Netherlands, France and the UK). The results show that calories are well-understood and that participants were generally positive about front-of-pack flags, particularly when flags are uniform across products. The most liked flags are the simpler flags depicting only the number of calories per serving or per 100 g, while more complex flags including references to daily needs or exercise and the flag including a phrase referring to balanced lifestyle were least preferred. Some relevant differences between countries were observed. Although participants seem to be familiar with the notion of calories, they do not seem to fully understand how to apply them. From the results, managerial implications for the design and implementation of front-of-pack calorie labelling as well as important directions for future research are discussed.

  8. Pesticide Residues in Food: Attitudes, Beliefs, and Misconceptions among Conventional and Organic Consumers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koch, Severine; Epp, Astrid; Lohmann, Mark; Böl, Gaby-Fleur

    2017-12-01

    Pesticide use and pesticide residues in foods have been the subject of controversial public discussions and media coverage in Germany. Against this background, a better understanding of public risk perceptions is needed to promote efficient public health communication. To this end, this study captures the German public's perception of pesticide residues in foods. A representative sample of the population aged 14 years and older (n = 1,004) was surveyed via computer-assisted telephone interviewing on their attitudes and knowledge with regard to pesticide residues. Based on questions regarding their typical consumer behavior, respondents were classified into conventional and organic consumers to identify differences as well as similarities between these two consumer types. As assessed with an open-ended question, both organic and conventional consumers viewed pesticides, chemicals, and toxins as the greatest threats to food quality and safety. Evaluating the risks and benefits of pesticide use, more than two-thirds of organic consumers (70%) rated the risks as greater than the benefits, compared with just over one-half of conventional consumers (53%). Concern about the detection of pesticide residues in the food chain and bodily fluids was significantly higher among organic compared with conventional consumers. Only a minority of respondents was aware that legal limits for pesticide residues (referred to as maximum residue levels) exist, with 69% of organic and 61% of conventional consumers believing that the presence of pesticide residues in foods is generally not permitted. A lack of awareness of maximum residue levels was associated with heightened levels of concern about pesticide residues. Finally, general exposure to media reporting on pesticide residues was associated with more frequent knowledge of legal limits for pesticide residues, whereas actively seeking information on pesticide residues was not. The possible mechanisms underlying these findings are

  9. Consumers as co-developers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jeppesen, Lars Bo; Molin, Måns J.

    Abstract: This study describes a process in which a firm relies on an external consumer communityfor innovation. While it has been recognized that users may sometimes innovate, little is known aboutwhat commercial firms can do to motivate and capture such innovations and their related benefits...... firms purposively can do to generate consumer innovation efforts. An explorative casestudy shows that consumer innovation can be structured, motivated, and partly organized by acommercial firm that lays out the infrastructure for interactive learning by consumers in a publicKeywords: Product Development......, Consumer-to-Consumer Interaction, Learning, Consumer Innovation, Community, User-toolkits. JEL code(s): L21; L23; O31; O32...

  10. Environmentally Friendly Consumer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Reijonen, Satu

    2011-01-01

    on the green consumer: cultural determinism, psycho-socio-demographic determinism and calculative determinism. An explanation of the green consumer in these terms, however, loses sight of the emergence and processuality of consumer behaviour. Process oriented constructionism, by contrast, is useful to recover...... these important aspects. This paper suggests a research agenda focused on socio-material processes and situated actions that lead to the emergence and stabilization of a particular type of consumer behaviour.......Several attempts have been made by academics in the past to explain the so-called ‘environmentally conscious’ consumer. These explanations share an important feature, namely determinism. This paper identifies three different sources of determinism that are distinguished in recent literature...

  11. Barriers to fruit consumption: Driving forces behind consumer behaviour

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Briz, T.; Sijtsema, S.J.; Jasiulewicz, A.; Kyriakidi, A.; Dolors Guàrdia, M.; Berg, van den I.; Lans, van der I.A.

    2008-01-01

    Abstract This study gives more insight in motives and barriers, i.e. positive and negative drivers, for European fruit consumption, as a basis to meet consumer requirements in developing new types of fruits and fruit products and to develop interventions. For that purpose, focus group discussions

  12. A theoretical framework for consumer Willingness to Adopt Novel

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kraszewska, M.; Bartels, J.

    2008-01-01

    This study gives more insight in motives and barriers, i.e. positive and negative drivers, for European fruit consumption, as a basis to meet consumer requirements in developing new types of fruits and fruit products and to develop interventions. For that purpose, focus group discussions were held

  13. Influence on consumer behavior: the impact of direct-to-consumer advertising on medication requests for gastroesophageal reflux disease and social anxiety disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khanfar, Nile M; Polen, Hyla H; Clauson, Kevin A

    2009-01-01

    A 68-question Internet survey was used to determine the impact of televised direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) on consumer-initiated medication changes for the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and social anxiety disorder (SAD). Of the 427 respondents, 10% that viewed DTCA for GERD and 6% that viewed DTCA for SAD reported that they subsequently initiated a conversation with their physician. Nearly half of respondents, 47.4% for GERD and 40% for SAD, reported that a change in therapy occurred as a direct result of these discussions. Televised DTCA for these two drug classes can have a significant impact on patient-initiated prescription requests.

  14. Consumer Information. NASFAA Task Force Report. Consumer Information

    Science.gov (United States)

    National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, 2014

    2014-01-01

    The National Association of Student Financial Aid and Administrators (NASFAA) Consumer Information Task Force was convened to conduct a thorough review of the current student consumer information requirements and propose ways to streamline both the content and delivery of those requirements. The proposals in the this report were produced for…

  15. Factors influencing purchase intention towards consumer-to-consumer e-commerce

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammad Dachyar

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: This study explores factors that influence consumer’s purchase intention at three consumer-to-consumer (C2C e-commerce companies in Indonesia. Design/methodology/approach: 5 Expert opinions are used to determine the indicators of each factor and the Structural Equation Modelling (SEM method is used to analyze the empirical data of  400 respondents for each company. Findings: It is found different significant factors that influence customer’s purchase intention in each company. Trust and risk are found to be significantly effect purchase intention in Company A. Meanwhile, the other two companies, perceived usefulness proved to be significant in Company B and benefit significantly effect consumer purchase intention in Company C. Originality/value: This study represents purchase intention in the consumer-to-consumer e-commerce by investigating three case study using technology acceptance model as a guiding theory.

  16. The European Consumers' Understanding and Perceptions of the "Organic" Food Regime

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Aarset, Bernt; Beckmann, Suzanne C.; Bigne, Enrique

    2004-01-01

    authorities considered. Focus groups in five countries (UK, Germany, Spain, Norway and France) consisting of 196 participants showed that most consumers are confused about the meaning of the term organic and are largely unaware of the organic certification and labelling process. Many consumers were unsure......, even sceptical about the concept of organic farmed salmon and display a large amount of distrust in the regulatory process. The implications for the concept of organic food and salmon production and directions for further research are discussed....

  17. The Relevance of Shopper Logistics for Consumers of Store-Based Retail Formats

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Teller, Christoph; Kotzab, Herbert; Grant, David B.

    2012-01-01

    influence consumers' perceptions of shopping related costs. Nevertheless, shopper logistics does not affect consumer behaviour in terms of the share of visits of a store. These results are moderated by age, hedonic shopping orientation, shopping frequency, average spending per trip and store format......This paper discusses and empirically evaluates the relevance of shopping-related logistics for consumers of store-based retail formats. Based on a literature review a conceptual model was developed and subsequently tested using a survey of more than six hundred consumers in the grocery retail...... sector. Respondents were those primarily responsible for grocery shopping in their households located in a highly concentrated European urban retail market. Variance based structural equation modelling reveals that shopper logistics has a major impact on the convenience of store-based shopping and partly...

  18. Life Insurance Basics: A Self-Help Workbook for Consumers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saskatchewan Consumer and Commercial Affairs, Regina.

    This booklet provides consumers with an overview of information about life insurance. Chapter 1, "Why Life Insurance?" outlines the primary purposes of life insurance coverage and presents basic facts about the Canadian life insurance industry. Chapter 2, "Do I Need Life Insurance?" discusses life insurance coverage at specific…

  19. Using Banks: Teaching Banking Skills to Low-Income Consumers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shurtz, Mary Ann; LeFlore, Ann Becker

    This module, one of six on teaching consumer matters to low-income adults, discusses banking skills. Topics include banking services (savings accounts, safety deposit boxes, Christmas clubs, loans, etc.), checking accounts (deposits, checkwriting, check registers, opening an account), how to use the check register (cancelled checks, deposits),…

  20. Consumer Protection in Managed Care: A Third-Generation Approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rother, John

    1996-01-01

    Discusses three generations of consumer protection issues related to managed care: (1) individual treatment decisions--individuals wanting treatment their plan does not cover or deems unnecessary; (2) insurance practices and risk selection--impact of health management organizations on the rest of the health insurance system; and (3) health plan…

  1. European citizen and consumer attitudes and preferences regarding beef and pork.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verbeke, Wim; Pérez-Cueto, Federico J A; Barcellos, Marcia D de; Krystallis, Athanasios; Grunert, Klaus G

    2010-02-01

    This paper presents the combined mid-term findings of the consumer research components of two EU Sixth Framework Programme integrated projects concerning meat, ProSafeBeef and Q-PorkChains. The consumer pillar of ProSafeBeef carried out eight focus group discussions in May 2008, in France, Germany, Spain and the UK. Q-PorkChains conducted a large-scale, web-based, consumer survey in January 2008 in Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece and Poland. The first project provides a set of qualitative data from a small cohort of focus groups and the second a set of quantitative data from a larger consumer sample. This paper draws together the main findings of both projects and provides a comprehensive overview of European citizens' and consumers' attitudes towards and preferences regarding beef and pork. In general, consumers consider meat to be a healthy and important component of the diet. Consumers support the development of technologies that can improve the health attributes of meat products and guarantee eating quality, but they have a negative view of what they see to be excessive manipulation and lack of naturalness in the production and processing of beef products. In the Q-PorkChains study consumer and citizen segments are identified and profiled. Consumer segments were built upon the frequency and variety of pork consumption. The citizen segments were built upon their attitudes towards pig production systems. Overall, the relationship between individuals' views as citizens and their behaviour as consumers was found to be quite weak and did not appear to greatly or systematically influence meat-buying habits. Future studies in both projects will concentrate on consumers' acceptance of innovative meat product concepts and products, with the aim of boosting consumer trust and invigorating the European beef and pork industries.

  2. Tariffing of energy measured consumers in the distribution network

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2006-01-01

    Criteria for socio-economic effective tariffing of energy-measured clients in the distribution network are discussed (i.e. households, leisure homes and smaller business clients), this means consumers that do not have hourly measurements or effect measurements. The tariffs should be based on variable segments that reflect short-term marginal costs in the network (in practice loss of transfer) and fixed segments that to the least extent possible influence the consumers' decisions in the choice of energy solutions, both in short term and long term. High-priced energy segments and effect based fixed segments may give unfortunate socio-economic price signals compared to the marginal long-term network costs. A fixed segment per measurement unit is in principle completely neutral, but it is to some extent vulnerable to strategic adjustments if the consumers choose collective measurement. This is not necessarily a big problem in practice (author)

  3. CO2-impacts of a small-scale consumers levy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1995-02-01

    Because of a number of developments (altered budgets of Dutch ministries and implementation of environmental policy plans of energy distribution companies in the Netherlands) the 1993 analyses of the effects of a small-scale consumer levy on the emission of CO 2 are updated. First, attention is paid to the conservation impetus as a result of an increase of the energy price for small-scale consumers. Next, the effects that can occur as a consequence of the presently suggested form of the levy (in particular, the exemption of renewable energy and waste heat) are discussed. Subsequently, the alterations of other policy tools, that are necessary in case a higher effectiveness of conservation measures is realized, are dealt with. The direct effect of a higher energy price on the saving behavior of the small-scale consumers is calculated by means of the CENECA-model. 4 tabs., 1 appendix, 8 refs

  4. Education – Determinant of Consumer`s Conditions in an Era of Technological Change

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cristina Burghelea

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available In the era of technological change, consumers face an environment increasingly complex, leading to significant challenges regarding buying and consuming choices and consumer protection. The most important and most influential technological changes in terms of the impact on the consumer, are iduced by internet, digitization and globalization. However, the era of technological change also means developing biotechnologies, nanotechnologies, new materials and new energy sources, all these changing people`s lives, living conditions, their needs and their behaviour as consumers. The literature highlights the factors that influence purchasing behaviour and changes manifested in terms of values, stressing the importance of promoting and protecting consumer`s rights and interests, The new responsible consumer can become a key driving force of sustainable development only if it is able to capitalize on new opportunities and to counter new risks of modern marketing technologies based on the Internet and mobile communications. This involves the assimilation of new knowledge throughout life to keep up with the accelerating pace of technological innovation and diffusion of e-commerce solutions and mobile commerce. We study the correlation between the composite index of consumer conditions and the level of participation in lifelong learning programmes in some Member States, based on secondary analysis of the data available at EU level,. The results confirm that the consumer`s situation is better in countries where the level of participation in lifelong learning programmes is higher. At the same time, however, the correlation is not linear. This shows that the consumer`s situation does not depend exclusively on formal continuing education but also other factors such as timeliness and severity of legal and institutional framework of consumer protection, the acquisition of knowledge through informal means, the requirement of different customers in different

  5. Journal of Consumer Sciences

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The Journal of Consumer Sciences is an official publication of the South African Association of Family Ecology and Consumer Sciences (SAAFECS). The Journal of Consumer Sciences (JCS) publishes articles that focus on consumer experiences in different places and from different perspectives and methodological ...

  6. Credibility and Consumer Behavior of Islamic Bank in Indonesia: A Literature Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Naufal BACHRI

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available The concept “credibility” has become significant attention from academics and practitioners because it played an important role in creating and maintaining consumer behavior. This study uses twenty- seven references relates to credibility, customer value, satisfaction, and loyalty. Several studies have discussed the relationship between credibility and consumer behavior and also elaborated dimensions of credibility. It also presented the shortcomings of current research and the trends for future study in Islamic banking.

  7. Consumer Fetish

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Arnould, Eric; Cayla, Julien

    2015-01-01

    in the organizational fetishization of consumers, that is, how in the process of understanding and managing markets, a quasimagical fascination with amalgams of consumer voices, images, and artefacts comes about. We offer several contributions. First, we demonstrate the pertinence of (primarily anthropological...

  8. Manufacturer Responsiveness to Consumer Correspondence: An Empirical Investigation of Consumer Perceptions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smart, Denise T.; Martin, Charles L.

    1992-01-01

    Evaluation of manufacturers' responses to 300 consumer letters of praise or complaint as well as consumer's reactions to responses concluded that (1) businesses should tell consumers their input is appreciated; (2) sincere, personal responses are preferred; and (3) coupons, refunds, or similar gifts should be sent with letters. (SK)

  9. [The realization way and lean management about medical consumable material in clinical use].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shang, Changhao; Cheng, Junpei; Xu, Hailin; Wang, Xiaoguang

    2015-01-01

    The medical consumable material management is an important part of logistic support in the management of hospital, but the hospital has many weak links in the management of supplies. This paper aims to explore the common problems (especially in clinical use) existing in the management of medical consumables and years of management experience in Changhai hospital's practice, then discusses lean management from the perspective of lean management

  10. Consumer Health-Related Activities on Social Media: Exploratory Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benetoli, Arcelio; Chen, Timothy F; Aslani, Parisa

    2017-10-13

    Although a number of studies have investigated how consumers use social media for health-related purposes, there is a paucity of studies in the Australian context. This study aimed to explore how Australian consumers used social media for health-related purposes, specifically how they identified social media platforms, which were used, and which health-related activities commonly took place. A total of 5 focus groups (n=36 participants), each lasting 60 to 90 minutes, were conducted in the Sydney metropolitan area. The group discussions were audiorecorded and transcribed verbatim. The transcripts were coded line-by-line and thematically analyzed. Participants used general search engines to locate health-related social media platforms. They accessed a wide range of social media on a daily basis, using several electronic devices (in particular, mobile phones). Although privacy was a concern, it did not prevent consumers from fully engaging in social media for health-related purposes. Blogs were used to learn from other people's experiences with the same condition. Facebook allowed consumers to follow health-related pages and to participate in disease-specific group discussions. Wikipedia was used for factual information about diseases and treatments. YouTube was accessed to learn about medical procedures such as surgery. No participant reported editing or contributing to Wikipedia or posting YouTube videos related to health topics. Twitter was rarely used for health-related purposes. Social media allowed consumers to obtain and provide disease and treatment-related information and social and emotional support for those living with the same condition. Most considered their participation as observational, but some also contributed (eg, responded to people's questions). Participants used a wide range of social media for health-related purposes. Medical information exchange (eg, disease and treatment) and social and emotional support were the cornerstones of their online

  11. The protection of a consumer during the providing of banking services in the Czech Republic

    OpenAIRE

    Haasová, Eva

    2010-01-01

    The Bachelor's thesis describes and analyses the protection of a bank client. In the beginning I discuss the necessity of the institution of consumer's protection define the basic terms and describe the structure of the system of consumer's protection. Then, I depict the basic elements of the consumer's protection, the requirements to banks, the duty to provide information, the protection of personal data, the bank secret and the deposit insurance. After these I concentrate on the analysis of...

  12. Consumer behavior research

    OpenAIRE

    Hašková, Lucie

    2010-01-01

    The major part of this work is a consumer behavior research in process of buying christmas presents. The goal of this work is to describe a consumer behavior of Prague's customers in process of buying christmas presents, also describe a a consumer behavior of different age and social groups, as well as the difference between men and women.

  13. Radioactivity in consumer products : radiation safety and regulatory appraisal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Murthy, B.K.S.; Venkataraman, G.; Subrahmanym, P.

    1993-01-01

    Use of radioactive materials in consumer products is in vogue almost since the discovery of radioactivity. There has been a rapid growth in the use of radioactive material in various consumer products such as Ionization Chamber Smoke Detectors (ICSD), Static eliminators, etc. In addition, there are certain manufacturing processes wherein the Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM) get incorporated in the consumer products. Certain phosphatic fertilizers, titanium dioxide pigments, phospho gypsum plaster boards are some examples in this category. The manufacture and use of these products result in radiation dose to the public apart from radiation exposure to the personnel involved in the manufacturing process. Appropriate radiation control measures have to be taken in the design, manufacture and use of consumer products to ensure that the radiation doses to the public and the population at large do not exceed the relevant limits. While appropriate regulatory controls and surveillance are established for manufacture and use of certain products, these are still to be recognised and established in respect of certain other processes and products. The current status of radiation safety and regulatory control and the lack of these in respect of some products are discussed in this paper. (author). 5 refs

  14. Effective methods of consumer protection in Brazil. An analysis in the context of property development contracts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Deborah Alcici Salomão

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available This study examines consumer protection in arbitration, especially under the example of property development contract disputes in Brazil. This is a very current issue in light of the presidential veto of consumer arbitration on May 26, 2015. The article discusses the arbitrability of these disputes based on Brazilian legislation and relevant case law. It also analyzes of the advantages, disadvantages and trends of consumer arbitration in the context of real estate contracts. The paper concludes by providing suggestions specific to consumer protection in arbitration based on this analysis.

  15. Consumer energy conservation options - professional and consumer perspectives

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ritchie, B.J.R.; Claxton, J.D.; McDougall, G.H.G.

    1980-01-01

    The objectives of this study were to: identify government policies for reducing Canadian consumption of home heating fuel, electricity, and gasoline; assess probable effectiveness of different policy alternatives as a means of reducing consumer energy consumption; and measure the acceptability to Canadian consumers of the different policy alternatives. Interviews were conducted with energy conservation professionals to identify and evaluate existing energy conservation programs, and interviews were conducted with consumers who had evaluated selected programs previously reviewed by the professionals. Information was also gathered on energy conservation activities of consumers surveyed. A directory of 34 energy conservation programs was also compiled. Some of the conclusions reached in this report are as follows. There is a need for an information system to gather data on existing conservation programs in order to increase the knowledge of relevant parties as to the outcomes of operating programs. This would help evaluation and improvement of current programs and suggest new program possibilities. The professionals rated six of the 34 programs highly, including the Energuide and the Canadian Home Insulation Program (CHIP). Retrofitting programs for houses are recommended for continuation and expansion, with some consideration given to linking these kinds of programs with home audit programs. In the private transport sector, any new conservation programs should be thoroughly tested on a small scale before widespread implementation, as evidence indicates that certain programs favorably evaluated by professionals may not be received favorably by consumers. 3 refs., 24 tabs.

  16. Consumer Generated Advertising and Brand Trust in The Consumer Experience

    OpenAIRE

    Reeves, C

    2010-01-01

    Increasing media clutter now exposes consumers to thousands of commercial messages every day (Gritten, 2007). The advent of the internet and technology over the past twenty years now means consumer-generated media such as blogs, podcasts, and online social networking sites are a further source (Gritten, 2007). Building brand trust remains, now more than ever, crucial to corporate marketers, in a world where consumers are losing faith in traditional marketing strategies. Social media has give...

  17. Food irradiation, will it bring more preventive consumer protection or rather threaten compliance with hygiene standards in food production?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schalch, B.; Stolle, A.; Eisgruber, H.

    1999-01-01

    The paper discusses consumer acceptance of irradiated food in Germany, where acceptance is particularly low compared to other countries, and examines the reasons for this attitude. One reason ascertained is the poor information of the consumers about the advantages and risks of food irradiation. Problems involved and available, proven irradiation techniques for enhanced safety of food are discussed. (orig./CB) [de

  18. Does Consumer Confidence Forecast Household Saving and Borrowing Behavior? Evidence for Poland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kłopocka, Aneta Maria

    2017-01-01

    Consumer confidence plays an important role in households' decision-making processes. This study investigates the effects of consumer confidence on household saving and borrowing behavior that are unsatisfactorily considered in previous discussions. The questions of interest are first, whether indexes of consumer confidence have any predictive power on their own for future household saving and borrowing rates, and second, whether they contain information about future household saving and borrowing rates aside from the information contained in other available indicators. In addition to aggregate confidence indicators, their components are used to provide more precise information. Overall, the multiple linear regression analysis (OLS technique) of Polish time-series data gives positive answers to both questions. This finding supports the recommendation of combining the strengths of objective indicators (such as economic fundamentals) and subjective indicators (such as consumer confidence) to improve household financial behavior forecasts.

  19. Price Intransparency, Consumer Decision Making and European Consumer Law

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    W.H. van Boom (Willem)

    2011-01-01

    textabstractPrice comparison is a basic element of competition. For comparison to work, at least prices need to be transparent. Moreover, price is usually a focal point in consumer thinking and deciding on transactions. Hence, obfuscating prices can be detrimental to consumers. Therefore, it is

  20. Consumer judgement and risk perception on availability of over-the-counter-drugs.

    OpenAIRE

    Brabers, A.E.M.; Dijk, L. van; Bouvy, M.L.; Jong, J.D. de

    2011-01-01

    Background: Over-the-counter (OTC)-drugs are available without a doctor’s prescription. Whereas this is convenient for consumers, it also makes consumers responsible for appropriate and safe use. European countries differ considerably when it comes to the availability of OTC-drugs. In the Netherlands, the availability of OTC-drugs changed in 2007. A limited number of OTC-drugs can now be sold outside pharmacies and chemistries, mainly in supermarkets. This had led to a discussion on whether c...

  1. Consumer-to-Consumer Electronic Commerce: A Distinct Research Stream

    OpenAIRE

    Kiku Jones; Lori N.K. Leonard

    2007-01-01

    Consumer-to-consumer (C2C) e-commerce is a growing area of e-commerce. However, according to a meta-analysis of critical themes of e-commerce, C2C e-commerce was only represented in the area of online auctions (Wareham, Zheng, & Straub, 2005). C2C e-commerce can encompass much more than just auctions. The question then becomes, “is C2C e-commerce a different research area that deserves its own stream of research?†This study adapts constructs from a business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce st...

  2. The new frontiers for CCT: Considering consumer-producer interaction in consumer culture

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    MSc Lotte Salome

    2010-01-01

    Previous investigations of consumer subcultures in the CCT tradition focused primarily on consumer behaviours, feelings, experiences and meanings of consumption. This paper advocates that in order to deeply understand and interpret a particular subculture, researchers in consumer culture should

  3. Consumer attitudes towards the use of routine outcome measures in a public mental health service: a consumer-driven study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guthrie, David; McIntosh, Mishka; Callaly, Tom; Trauer, Tom; Coombs, Tim

    2008-04-01

    In this study conducted by consumer consultants, 50 consumers who have a Barwon Health case manager (the majority of whom were nurses) were interviewed using a structured questionnaire to ascertain their attitudes towards the routine use of outcome measures. Forty participants (80% of those interviewed) reported they had been offered the Behaviour and Symptom Identification Scale (BASIS-32) to complete in routine care by their case managers and of those, 95% (n = 38) completed it. On those who completed the BASIS-32, 42% said their case manager had explained what the BASIS-32 would be used for, 45% said that the case manager had discussed their responses with them, 76% stated that completing the BASIS-32 had helped the case manager to understand them better and 66% believed that completing the BASIS-32 had led to them receiving better care. Only 30% of the group interviewed were aware that their case manager regularly completed a Health of the Nation Outcome Scales and Life Skills Profile. Feedback about the process of completing the BASIS-32 was obtained as well as suggestions on how the process may be improved. The results indicate that consumers see the benefit of routine outcome measurement and believe it leads to improved care. More information about outcome measures, including the clinician-rated outcome measures, needs to be provided to consumers if they are to be engaged constructively in this exercise.

  4. Consumer perceptions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ngapo, T. M.; Dransfield, E.; Martin, J. F.

    2004-01-01

    Consumer focus groups in France, England, Sweden and Denmark were used to obtain insights into the decision-making involved in the choice of fresh pork and attitudes towards today's pig production systems. Many positive perceptions of pork meat were evoked. Negative images of the production systems...... that there was no link between the negative images of production methods and their purchase behaviour. The groups were clearly confused and mistrusted the limited information available at the point of purchase. Careful consideration should be given to meat labelling, in particular taking account of the evident consumer...... ethnocentrism, to assure that such information is targeted to enhance consumer confidence....

  5. Teaching Consumers To Use the Internet To Make Consumer Decisions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Neill, Barbara

    1999-01-01

    An adult-education course familiarized participants with online consumer resources. Beyond teaching the mechanics of Internet use, it showed how to use the Internet as a tool for consumer decision making. (SK)

  6. Radioactivity of Consumer Products

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peterson, David; Jokisch, Derek; Fulmer, Philip

    2006-11-01

    A variety of consumer products and household items contain varying amounts of radioactivity. Examples of these items include: FiestaWare and similar glazed china, salt substitute, bananas, brazil nuts, lantern mantles, smoke detectors and depression glass. Many of these items contain natural sources of radioactivity such as Uranium, Thorium, Radium and Potassium. A few contain man-made sources like Americium. This presentation will detail the sources and relative radioactivity of these items (including demonstrations). Further, measurements of the isotopic ratios of Uranium-235 and Uranium-238 in several pieces of china will be compared to historical uses of natural and depleted Uranium. Finally, the presenters will discuss radiation safety as it pertains to the use of these items.

  7. True or False: Consumer Perception to Green Consumer Retail

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sergio Silva Braga Junior

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to analyze the influence of greenwshing in consumer awareness for green consumption in retail. Under this approach was evaluated if the greenwashing confuses consumers about what is to be green consumption and if it relies on green consumption. For the verification of the objective proposed by this work, an exploratory survey was conducted quantitative, through a survey with a sample of 359 respondents of São Paulo/Brazil. As for the justification of the method used, the exploratory research, with a non-probabilistic convenience sampling and quantitative nature, are characterized by a field approach seeking situational characteristics presented by respondents to generate quantitative measures of the attributes observed by them. For data collection was used a specialized company and market research and thus were collected data from real consumers. As a result it was observed that the greenwashing confuses consumed and does not influence the confidence of the green product.

  8. Field Report - Consumer Survey

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Kristian S.; Gwozdz, Wencke

    The present report outlines the purpose, scope, and methodology of a recently conducted four-country consumer survey that explored sustainable clothing consumption. The report also presents a sample of the descriptive findings from the survey (see Gwozdz, Nielsen & Müller, 2017 for further results...... foundation for upcoming deliverables relating to quality of life, acceptance of new business models, and consumer policy recommendations. The results presented in the report relate, specifically, to consumers’ general clothing consumption patterns, acceptance of new business models, and environmental...... purchasing outlets, and acceptance of new business models. Polish and American consumers purchased the most clothing items. Polish consumers also reported the lowest expenditures on clothing, whereas German consumers reported the highest expenditures. Only a limited proportion of consumers had previously...

  9. Optimal Consumer Electronics Product Take-Back Time with Consideration of Consumer Value

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yi-Tse Fang

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Rapid economic growth in recent years has transformed our lifestyle to massively produce, consume, and dispose of products, especially for consumer electronics. This change has put great threat to our environment and caused natural resource depletion. Moreover, short product life cycles and quick replacements of consumer electronics create enormous electronic wastes (e-wastes. Without proper waste management, immense environmental damage is expected. In this empirical study, we notice that lots of valuable materials that can still be recycled from these used consumer electronics are left unused at home instead of being recycled at the appropriate time, which causes a low collection rate and a decrease in residual value for the used products. Therefore, it is important for the government and the recyclers to handle them efficiently by increasing the used product take-back rate. Our study develops an assessment model for customer value based on the idea of value engineering and the perspective of product life cycle. We also explore the relationship between product value and the total cost of ownership with an evaluation of their time variation, considering different usage modes for various consumer groups and different recycling award schemes (fixed and variable recycling awards. Proper take-back management is likely to create a win-win situation both for consumers and environmental protection. This study regards the notebook computer as an example to determine the optimal time for recycling laptops based on usage patterns and provides consumers a reference for when to replace their used product. The results from our modeling firstly clearly indicate that consumers with higher frequency of usage have shorter take back times and higher maximum consumer value. Secondly, a variable recycling award scheme with higher maximum consumer value is more practical than a fixed recycling award scheme.

  10. Energy efficiency and appliance purchases in Europe: Consumer profiles and choice determinants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gaspar, Rui; Antunes, Dalila

    2011-01-01

    This study seeks to the following: (1) understand the factors/characteristics typically considered when purchasing electrical appliances, (2) analyse the differences between consumer profiles regarding these and (3) understand the factors driving the consideration of energy efficiency class by purchasers. Results indicate a preference for first considering cost, followed by quality and energy consumption considerations. These are correlated positively with the consideration of energy efficiency class in consumer choices. Also, regression analysis shows environmental attitudes to be negative predictors of energy efficiency class consideration, while specific environmental behaviours were positive predictors. Finally, consumer profiles were identified based on gender, age and whether or not the purchaser was accompanied when decisions were made. Implications for retail employee training and the development of persuasive messages for consumers based on established profiles are discussed. - Highlights: → We assessed factors typically considered by consumers in electrical appliances choice. → Characteristics identified as most important for choice were as follows: cost, quality and energy consumption. → These correlated positively with the consideration of energy efficiency class. → Differences between consumer profiles regarding the characteristics consideration were identified. → Differences imply persuasive messages adaption to these, to increase energy class consideration.

  11. Canadian consumer battery baseline study : final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2007-02-01

    This report provided information about the estimated number of consumer and household batteries sold, re-used, stored, recycled, and disposed each year in Canada. The report discussed the ways in which different batteries posed risks to human health and the environment, and legislative trends were also reviewed. Data used in the report were obtained from a literature review as well as through a series of interviews. The study showed that alkaline batteries are the most common primary batteries used by Canadians, followed by zinc carbon batteries. However, lithium primary batteries are gaining in popularity, and silver oxide and zinc air button cell batteries are also used in applications requiring a flat voltage and high energy. Secondary batteries used in laptop computers, and cell phones are often made of nickel-cadmium, nickel-metal-hydroxide, and lithium ion. Small sealed lead batteries are also commonly used in emergency lighting and alarm systems. Annual consumption statistics for all types of batteries were provided. Results of the study showed that the primary battery market is expected to decline. Total units of secondary batteries are expected to increase to 38.6 million units by 2010. The report also used a spreadsheet model to estimate the flow of consumer batteries through the Canadian waste management system. An estimated 347 million consumer batteries were discarded in 2004. By 2010, it is expected that an estimated 494 million units will be discarded by consumers. The study also considered issues related to lead, cadmium, mercury, and nickel disposal and the potential for groundwater contamination. It was concluded that neither Canada nor its provinces or territories have initiated legislative or producer responsibility programs targeting primary or secondary consumer batteries. 79 refs., 37 tabs., 1 fig

  12. Consumers young and old: segmenting the target markets for direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ball, Jennifer Gerard; Manika, Danae; Stout, Patricia

    2011-10-01

    Direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising (DTCA) studies have typically focused on older adults or a general population of adults. However, college students are viable targets for DTCA and are receiving more research attention in this area. In this article, we compare college students with two adult age segments. Our findings indicate all age groups had relatively high awareness of DTCA and similar attitudes and behavioral responses to the ads. However, there were significant differences in media use and health characteristics as well as the factors predicting DTCA ad trust, attitudes, and behavioral intentions. Implications and future research suggestions are discussed.

  13. Consumer identification with store brands: Differences between consumers according to their brand loyalty

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Natalia Rubio

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Retail management of store brands (SBs has focused on achieving positioning in value and creating associations of smart or expert shopping. The result is that value-conscious consumers and market mavens are the main targets of these brands. This study proposes and contrasts empirically a theoretical model of the effect of market mavenism and value consciousness on consumer identification with SBs. We also perform a multi-group analysis based on the consumer tendency to be loyal to the brands he or she buys. Consumers who are loyal to brands are very attractive segments for firms, due to the potential benefits these consumers represent in the long term, whereas consumers with little loyalty to brands can be an attractive segment for potential benefits in the short term. The results obtained in this study show differences between these two groups. For consumers who are loyal to brands, the results stress strong identification with the SB among the most value-conscious consumers, due fundamentally to their greater disagreement with the greater functional risk of these brands as compared to manufacturer brands and due to their greater conviction of the better price-quality ratio of SBs. In consumers with little brand loyalty, we find identification with the SB among the consumers with the greatest market mavenism, as a result of their greater perception of smart or expert shopping for these brands. Significant implications for management are derived from this study.

  14. Small Wind Electric Systems: A U.S. Consumer's Guide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    O'Dell, K.

    2001-01-01

    The U.S. Consumer's Guide for Small Wind Electric systems provides consumers with enough information to help them determine if a small wind electric system can provide all or a portion of the energy they need for their home or business based on their wind resource, energy needs, and their economics. Topics discussed in the guide include: how to make your home more energy efficient, how to choose the right size turbine, the parts of a wind electric system, determining if there is enough wind resource on your site, choosing the best site for your turbine, connecting your system to the utility grid, and if it's possible to become independent of the utility grid using wind energy

  15. Staff and consumer perspectives on defining treatment success and failure in assertive community treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stull, Laura G; McGrew, John H; Salyers, Michelle P

    2010-09-01

    Although assertive community treatment (ACT) has been consistently recognized as effective, there has been little research as to what constitutes success in ACT. The purpose of this study was to understand how ACT consumers and staff define treatment success and failure and to examine whether definitions varied between staff and consumers. Investigators conducted semistructured interviews with 25 staff and 23 consumers from four ACT teams. Across perspectives, success and failure were most clearly related to consumer factors. Other themes included having basic needs met, being socially involved, and taking medications. Reduced hospitalizations were mentioned infrequently. Consumers were more likely than staff to identify the level or type of treatment as defining success and failure, whereas staff were more likely than consumers to discuss substance abuse when defining failure and improved symptoms when defining success. Success in ACT should be viewed more broadly than reduced hospitalizations and include domains such as social involvement.

  16. Consumer Buying Behavior

    OpenAIRE

    Irena Vida; Mojca Maher Pirc

    2006-01-01

    The study examines the phenomenon of national identity and economic ethnocentrism in consumer buying behavior. Analysis of data collected from a representative sample of adult Slovenian consumers reveals only moderately expressed ethnocentric tendencies. Similar moderation was revealed in the preferences of Slovenian consumers for patriotic purchasing behavior, whereby the domestic origin of products was more important in the case of nondurable goods and services than in the case of durable g...

  17. A review of consumer awareness, understanding and use of food based dietary guidelines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brown, Kerry; Timotijevic, Lada; Barnett, Julie

    2011-01-01

    discussed interchangeably. Nevertheless, a greater amount of evidence for consumer awareness and understanding was reported than consumer use of FBDG. The twenty-eight studies varied in terms of aim, design and method. Study quality also varied with raw qualitative data, and quantitative method details were......Food-based dietary guidelines (FBDG) have primarily been designed for the consumer to encourage healthy, habitual food choices, decrease chronic disease risk and improve public health. However, minimal research has been conducted to evaluate whether FBDG are utilised by the public. The present...... review used a framework of three concepts, awareness, understanding and use, to summarise consumer evidence related to national FBDG and food guides. Searches of nine electronic databases, reference lists and Internet grey literature elicited 939 articles. Predetermined exclusion criteria selected twenty...

  18. Attitudes, perceptions, and trust. Insights from a consumer survey regarding genetically modified banana in Uganda.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kikulwe, Enoch M; Wesseler, Justus; Falck-Zepeda, Jose

    2011-10-01

    Genetically modified (GM) crops and food are still controversial. This paper analyzes consumers' perceptions and institutional awareness and trust toward GM banana regulation in Uganda. Results are based on a study conducted among 421 banana-consuming households between July and August 2007. Results show a high willingness to purchase GM banana among consumers. An explanatory factor analysis is conducted to identify the perceptions toward genetic modification. The identified factors are used in a cluster analysis that grouped consumers into segments of GM skepticism, government trust, health safety concern, and food and environmental safety concern. Socioeconomic characteristics differed significantly across segments. Consumer characteristics and perception factors influence consumers' willingness to purchase GM banana. The institutional awareness and trust varied significantly across segments as well. The findings would be essential to policy makers when designing risk-communication strategies targeting different consumer segments to ensure proper discussion and addressing potential concerns about GM technology. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Consumer flexibility - State and challenges

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grande, Ove S.; Saele, Hanne; Morch, Andrei Z.

    2002-02-01

    This report summarises experiences and results from relevant projects carried out within the area of consumer flexibility in the last years. A general description of the projects is presented. In addition are testing activities, economical signals for motivating the end user for load reductions and appropriate technology for communication and effect management mentioned separately. Briefly summarised is the following achieved: 1) The potential for effect regulating measures in ordinary consumption and in power demanding industry is analysed and estimated to 1750 MW and 3360 MW respectively. 2) Time varied rates are developed and are tested. The NVE has decided on this basis that all the network owners should offer season varied rates to their customers. 3) Test projects in Drammen, Oslo and Trondheim have shown that it is possible to motivate smaller consumers for and implement load reductions. 4) Technology for load management for the end user is evaluated. 5) A survey is made viewing the technology for two way communication. In addition the ''option'' market for the reserves of the Statnett has proved that a steady compensation is a sufficient incentive for producing substantial effect reserves in the load sector (power intensive industry). In the last part of the report the incentives and frame conditions for establishing technical solutions and infrastructure are discussed. Further work will focus on the consumer flexibility in shortage situations. The main challenges are connected to: 1) Establishing a foundation for decisions concerning cost efficient investments in necessary technical equipment. 2) To find an optimal combination of a price flexible and remote controlled load reduction

  20. Will It Every Fly? Modeling the Takeoff of Really New Consumer Durables

    OpenAIRE

    Peter N. Golder; Gerard J. Tellis

    1997-01-01

    A consistent pattern observed for really new household consumer durables is a takeoff or dramatic increase in sales early in their history. The takeoff tends to appear as an elbow-shaped discontinuity in the sales curve showing an average sales increase of over 400%. In contrast, most marketing textbooks as well as diffusion models generally depict the growth of new consumer durables as a smooth sales curve. Our discussions with managers indicate that they have little idea about the takeoff a...

  1. BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS OF CONSUMER COMPLAINT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrie Prasetyo

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Complaining is one form of communication for consumers to express their dissatisfaction. Understanding the consumer complaint behavior is an important thing for businesses; however, it is not easy to do. The initial step in understanding this behavior of consumer complaints is to map consumers based on their behavior of complaints and analyze the factors that influence this. This study examines the complaint behavior of consumers in Cibubur who have experienced dissatisfaction with a product.  The objectives of this study are to map the consumer complaint behavior and identify its relationship with various factors such as consumer demographics, personality, attitude to businesses, attribution of the causes of dissatisfaction, and product attributes. A crosstab descriptive analysis method was used to map the consumers, while the Pearson correlation analysis methods was used to analyze consumer complaint behavioral relationships with various factors. The results of this study indicated that consumers in Cibubur based on their complaint behavior are classified into four groups: passive, voicers, irates and activist. The passive consumers dominate the category with a percentage of 49%.  The voicers, irates, and activist belong to the complaining type and are dominated by young women, with high levels of education and income. Keywords: consumer complaint behavior, product, crosstab, pearson correlation

  2. Cross-Cultural Comparison between German, French and Dutch Consumer Preferences for Meat Substitutes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ramona Weinrich

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Sustainability is becoming an increasingly important consideration for consumers when purchasing food. As meat production has a significant impact on the environment, meat substitutes are becoming more and more popular in Europe. However, consumers who regularly buy meat substitutes are still the exception. Although there are some initial results indicating why this proportion is still low, most research has been concentrated in the Netherlands. This paper aims to compare reasons for consuming or not consuming meat substitutes in three European countries—Germany, the Netherlands and France. As very little is known about the underlying reasons, an explorative approach was chosen. Focus group discussions were carried out in all three countries, six altogether. The results show that all participants can enumerate meat substitutes. The main reason for not consuming meat substitutes is the taste of meat. Further, eating habits seem to be fixed and convenience might also be an impediment to reducing meat consumption in favour of meat substitutes, as is confusion regarding healthy eating.

  3. Constructive Consumer Choice Processes.

    OpenAIRE

    Bettman, James R; Luce, Mary Frances; Payne, John W

    1998-01-01

    Consumer decision making has been a focal interest in consumer research, and consideration of current marketplace trends ( e.g., technological change, an information explosion) indicates that this topic will continue to be critically important. We argue that consumer choice is inherently constructive. Due to limited processing capacity, consumers often do not have well-defined existing preferences, but construct them using a variety of strategies contingent on task demands. After describing c...

  4. Small Wind Electric Systems: A Kansas Consumer's Guide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    O'Dell, K.

    2001-01-01

    The Kansas Consumer's Guide for Small Wind Electric Systems provides consumers with enough information to help them determine if a small wind electric system can provide all or a portion of the energy they need for their home or business based on their wind resource, energy needs, and their economics. Topics discussed in the guide include: how to make your home more energy efficient, how to choose the right size turbine, the parts of a wind electric system, determining if there is enough wind resource on your site, choosing the best site for your turbine, connecting your system to the utility grid, and if it's possible to become independent of the utility grid using wind energy. In addition, the cover of the guide contains a list of state incentives and state contacts for more information

  5. Creating more effective health plan quality reports for consumers: lessons from a synthesis of qualitative testing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harris-Kojetin, L D; McCormack, L A; Jaël, E F; Sangl, J A; Garfinkel, S A

    2001-07-01

    Social marketing techniques such as consumer testing have only recently been applied to develop effective consumer health insurance information. This article discusses lessons learned from consumer testing to create consumer plan choice materials. Data were collected from 268 publicly and privately insured consumers in three studies between 1994 and 1999. Iterative testing and revisions were conducted to design seven booklets to help Medicaid, Medicare, and employed consumers choose a health plan. Standardized protocols were used in 11 focus groups and 182 interviews to examine the content, comprehension, navigation, and utility of the booklets. A method is suggested to help consumers narrow their plan choices by breaking down the process into smaller decisions using a set of guided worksheets. Implementing these lessons is challenging and not often done well. This article gives examples of evidence-based approaches to address cognitive barriers that designers of consumer health insurance information can adapt to their needs.

  6. Sustainable consumer behaviour

    OpenAIRE

    Antonides, Gerrit

    2017-01-01

    We summarise the contributions in this special issue on sustainable consumer behaviour and place them in perspective. Several studies focus on macro- and meso-issues, and others on micro-issues of consumer behaviour. The studies employ a variety of methods, including surveys, field experiments, eye tracking, scale development, and contingent valuation. The 12 contributions from authors of 13 different countries show the wide and varied application of consumer research focused on sustainabilit...

  7. Factors associated with advance care planning discussions by area agency on aging care managers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hazelett, Susan; Baughman, Kristin R; Palmisano, Barbara R; Sanders, Margaret; Ludwick, Ruth E

    2013-12-01

    Initiating advance care planning (ACP) discussions in the home may prevent avoidable hospitalizations by elucidating goals of care. Area agencies on aging care managers (AAACMs) work in the home with high-risk consumers. To determine which AAACM characteristics contribute to an increased frequency of ACP discussions. Cross-sectional investigator-generated surveys administered to AAACMs at 3 AAAs in Ohio. Of 289 AAACMs, 182 (63%) responded. The more experience and comfort AAACMs felt with ACP discussions, the more likely they were to initiate ACP discussions. It may be necessary to build interactive educational experiences where, for example, AAACMs are asked to fill out their own advance directives and/or facilitate others in ACP discussions to improve experience and comfort with ACP discussions.

  8. Home-Made Money: Consumer's Guide to Home Equity Conversion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scholen, Ken

    This guide was written to introduce consumers to home equity conversion (HEC) plans that are currently available and to explain the current state of HEC developments. It describes how the basic types of HEC plans work, gives examples of how how they can be used, discusses their advantages and disadvantages, and tells where they are available.…

  9. CONSUMER'S RIGHT TO WITHDRAW

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ANCA NICOLETA GHEORGHE

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available The right of withdrawal (of a contract belongs to the consumer, and is an essential means for the improvement of regulations that protect the consumer.. Right of withdrawal is not a recent creation and is not even specific to the consumer field. He was previously recognized in civil and commercial law (without special regulation. The right to withdraw may even have as ground the parties will. Thus, based on the contractual freedom, the parties may agree that one of them has the right to terminate the contract unilaterally The possibility of unilateral denunciation of the contract, gives the consumer, added protection by being able to reflect the decision and to check how the trader fulfil its obligations. In this context, through its effects, the right of denunciation, forces the professional parties to conduct themselves as fair as possible to the consumer and to execute the contract properly. In the study of the consumer protection, the time of conclusion is essential because in this stage is manifested, the inequality between the consumer and professional. Thus, the lack of information, the major of products and activities, commercial practices, influence the formation of consumer will, preventing the expression of a freely and knowingly consent.

  10. Consumer loyalty in retailing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Drinić Dragana

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Loyal consumers are partner enterprises and they represent stable source of income. Companies are more interested in maintaining the existing consumers, rather than attracting the newones, because loyal consumers are the most valuable asset. The aim of this article is to develop an integrative conceptual framework for creating and maintaining consumer loyalty, and ,at the same time, to be based on a thorough review of the relevant literature and the current market situation . In this context, empirical research was carried out by using the survey method on a random sample of 165 respondents. Based on the research conducted, important factors that influence consumer loyalty were identified.

  11. Liking of traditional cheese and consumer willingness to pay

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ada Braghieri

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available We review herein the relevance of credence and sensory attributes for cheese liking as a basis for subsequent discussion on attributes related to traditional dairy products such as place of origin, process characteristics, etc. Several studies suggest that place of origin may have a positive impact on consumer evaluation. In addition, protected designation of origin labels generally affects consumers’ purchasing decisions, with a premium price paid for traditional products. Some of the main dimensions of traditional food products are: familiarity of the product, processing through traditional recipes, sensory properties and origins. However, different dimensions can be relevant for consumers of different countries. Southern European regions frequently tend to associate the concept of traditional with broad concepts such as heritage, culture or history; whereas central and northern European regions tend to focus mainly on practical issues such as convenience, health or appropriateness. Sensitivity to traditional cheese attributes may also vary according to different groups of consumers with older, more educated and wealthier subjects showing higher willingness to pay and acceptance levels. Given that sensory properties play a central role in product differentiation, we can conclude that information about credence attributes, if reliable, positively perceived and directed to sensitive groups of consumers, is able to affect consumer liking and willingness to pay for traditional cheese. Thus, it provides a further potential tool for product differentiation to small-scale traditional farms, where husbandry is often based on extensive rearing systems and production costs tend to be higher.

  12. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Quest for Consumer Comprehension

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lauren E. Willis

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available To ensure that consumers understand financial products’ “costs, benefits, and risks,” the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been redesigning mandated disclosures, primarily through iterative lab testing. But no matter how well these disclosures perform in experiments, firms will run circles around the disclosures when studies end and marketing begins. To meet the challenge of the dynamic twenty-first-century consumer financial marketplace, the bureau should require firms to demonstrate that a good proportion of their customers understand key pertinent facts about the financial products they buy. Comprehension rules would induce firms to inform consumers and simplify products, tasks that firms are better equipped than the bureau to perform.

  13. Health care knowledge and consumer learning: the case of direct-to-consumer drug advertising.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Delbaere, Marjorie; Smith, Malcolm C

    2006-01-01

    This research develops a framework for understanding how consumers process health-related information and interact with their caregivers. The context is direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising by pharmaceutical companies in North America. This theoretical research presents a research framework and focuses on the presentation of information in advertisements, consumer-learning processes, consumer utilization of health care knowledge, and bias in perceived risk. The paper proposes that consumers who lack expertise with prescription drugs learn from DTC ads differently than those with expertise. Further, it is proposed that consumers also process the information in DTC ads differently depending on the perceived effectiveness of the drug being advertised, and ultimately utilize the knowledge taken from the ads in many different ways, some of which may appear irrational to health care providers. By understanding how consumers interpret and learn from DTC ads, health care organizations and providers may be able to improve health care delivery and consumer outcomes.

  14. Consumer behaviour survey for assessing exposure from consumer products: a feasibility study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneider, Klaus; Recke, Selina; Kaiser, Eva; Götte, Sebastian; Berkefeld, Henrike; Lässig, Juliane; Rüdiger, Thomas; Lindtner, Oliver; Oltmanns, Jan

    2018-05-23

    Evaluating chemical exposures from consumer products is an essential part of chemical safety assessments under REACH and may also be important to demonstrate compliance with consumer product legislation. Modelling of consumer exposure needs input information on the substance (e.g. vapour pressure), the product(s) containing the substance (e.g. concentration) and on consumer behaviour (e.g. use frequency and amount of product used). This feasibility study in Germany investigated methods for conducting a consumer survey in order to identify and retrieve information on frequency, duration, use amounts and use conditions for six example product types (four mixtures, two articles): hand dishwashing liquid, cockpit spray, fillers, paints and lacquers, shoes made of rubber or plastic, and ball-pens/pencils. Retrospective questionnaire methods (Consumer Product Questionnaire (CPQ), and Recall-Foresight Questionnaire (RFQ)) as well as protocol methods (written reporting by participants and video documentation) were used. A combination of retrospective questionnaire and written protocol methods was identified to provide valid information in a resource-efficient way. Relevant information, which can readily be used in exposure modelling, was obtained for all parameters and product types investigated. Based on the observations in this feasibility study, recommendations are given for designing a large consumer survey.

  15. Consumer choice behaviour

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Flemming; Percy, Larry; Hallum Hansen, Morten

    2004-01-01

    The paper is concerned with the measurement of emotions and the study of the role ofemotions in consumer choice. Contemporary neurological findings suggest that emotionsmay play a role in its own right, quite different from the way in which they have beenconsidered in traditional consumer choice ...... behaviour theory. A large-scale study including800 respondents, covering 64 brands, provide findings on emotional response tendenciesfor the brands, and relate these to involvement, type of need gratification, purchasingbehaviour, etc.......The paper is concerned with the measurement of emotions and the study of the role ofemotions in consumer choice. Contemporary neurological findings suggest that emotionsmay play a role in its own right, quite different from the way in which they have beenconsidered in traditional consumer choice...

  16. Consumer rights and protections

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... care consumer rights; Rights of the health care consumer ... RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONS Here are ways that the health care law protects consumers. You must be covered, even if you have a pre-existing condition. No insurance plan can reject you, ...

  17. Consumer-Mediated Health Information Exchanges: The 2012 ACMI Debate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cimino, James J.; Frisse, Mark; Halamka, John; Sweeney, Latanya; Yasnoff, William

    2017-01-01

    The American College of Medical Informatics (ACMI) sponsors periodic debates during the American Medical Informatics Fall Symposium to highlight important informatics issues of broad interest. In 2012, a panel debated the following topic: “Resolved: Health Information Exchange Organizations Should Shift Their Principal Focus to Consumer-Mediated Exchange in Order to Facilitate the Rapid Development of Effective, Scalable, and Sustainable Health Information Infrastructure.” Those supporting the proposition emphasized the need for consumer-controlled community repositories of electronic health records (health record banks) to address privacy, stakeholder cooperation, scalability, and sustainability. Those opposing the proposition emphasized that the current healthcare environment is so complex that development of consumer control will take time and that even then, consumers may not be able to mediate their information effectively. While privately, each discussant recognizes that there are many sides to this complex issue, each followed the debater’s tradition of taking an extreme position in order emphasize some of the polarizing aspects in the short time allotted them. In preparing this summary, we sought to convey the substance and spirit of the debate in printed form. Transcripts of the actual debate were edited for clarity, and appropriate supporting citations were added for the further edification of the reader. PMID:24561078

  18. Consumer-mediated health information exchanges: the 2012 ACMI debate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cimino, James J; Frisse, Mark E; Halamka, John; Sweeney, Latanya; Yasnoff, William

    2014-04-01

    The American College of Medical Informatics (ACMI) sponsors periodic debates during the American Medical Informatics Fall Symposium to highlight important informatics issues of broad interest. In 2012, a panel debated the following topic: "Resolved: Health Information Exchange Organizations Should Shift Their Principal Focus to Consumer-Mediated Exchange in Order to Facilitate the Rapid Development of Effective, Scalable, and Sustainable Health Information Infrastructure." Those supporting the proposition emphasized the need for consumer-controlled community repositories of electronic health records (health record banks) to address privacy, stakeholder cooperation, scalability, and sustainability. Those opposing the proposition emphasized that the current healthcare environment is so complex that development of consumer control will take time and that even then, consumers may not be able to mediate their information effectively. While privately each discussant recognizes that there are many sides to this complex issue, each followed the debater's tradition of taking an extreme position in order emphasize some of the polarizing aspects in the short time allotted them. In preparing this summary, we sought to convey the substance and spirit of the debate in printed form. Transcripts of the actual debate were edited for clarity, and appropriate supporting citations were added for the further edification of the reader. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  19. Consumer energy-conservation policy in Canada: behavioural and institutional obstacles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McDougall, G.H.G. (Wilfrid Laurier Univ., Waterloo, Ontario); Mank, R.B.

    1982-09-01

    This paper posits that if consumer energy-conservation policy is to succeed in Canada, both behavioral and institutional obstacles must be identified and overcome. The behavioral barriers, identified through a national household survey, include consumer resistance to policies that affect their lifestyles. The institutional barriers obtained from a series of interviews with government officials, include weak federal-provincial relations. Viewed from a federal perspective, these obstacles are discussed and then linked to policy types. A prior understanding of the obstacles that a particular program type is likely to face should allow more-effective execution of the program and enhance the probability of success. 11 references, 7 tables.

  20. Consumer Insight as Competitive Advantage Using Big Data and Analytics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adnan Veysel Ertemel

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Digital revolution serves as a competitive advantage to businesses that are able to analyze consumer behavior in order to gain insights for their strategic advantage. After the advent of Internet, the past two decades witnessed generation of vast amount of business data. The amount of data is so huge that traditional database management system approaches falls short of managing and analyzing this data. This paper explores the characteristics of this phenomenon called Big Data together with Analytics as a tool for marketers to gain insights about consumer behavior and hence provide competitive advantage to the businesses. It also discusses some best practices as case studies.

  1. Informing Consumers About Themselves

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    O. Bar-Gill (Oren)

    2010-01-01

    textabstractConsumers make mistakes. Imperfect information and imperfect rationality lead to misperception of benefits and costs associated with a product. As a result, consumers might fail to maximise their preferences in product choice or product use. A proposed taxonomy of consumer mistakes draws

  2. Characteristics of users of consumer-run drop-in centers versus clubhouses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mowbray, Carol T; Woodward, Amanda Toler; Holter, Mark C; MacFarlane, Peter; Bybee, Deborah

    2009-07-01

    Clubhouses and consumer-run drop-in centers (CRDIs) are two of the most widely implemented models of consumer-centered services for persons with serious mental illness. Differences in structure and goals suggest that they may be useful to different types of consumers. Information on what types of consumers use which programs would be useful in service planning. This study analyzes data from the authors' NIMH-funded research on 31 geographically matched pairs of clubhouses and CRDIs involving more than 1,800 consumers to address the following question: are there significant differences in the characteristics and outcomes of members of clubhouses versus CRDIs? Results from multilevel analyses indicated that clubhouse members were more likely to be female, to receive SSI/SSDI, to report having a diagnosis of schizophrenia, and to live in dependent care; and they reported both a greater number of lifetime hospitalizations and current receipt of higher intensity traditional MH services. Controlling for differences in demographic characteristics, psychiatric history, and mental health service receipt, clubhouse members also reported higher quality of life and were more likely to report being in recovery. CRDI consumers were more likely to have substance abuse histories. Possible reasons for the differences are discussed. The results suggest that CRDIs are a viable alternative to more traditional mental health services for individuals who might not otherwise receive mental health services.

  3. Shyness in consumer behavior

    OpenAIRE

    Kusterer, Sandra

    2017-01-01

    Shyness is widespread among the population and affects a large group of consumers. Companies, however, have barely knowledge about this kind of consumers and their behavior. Particularly in the field of complaint management the barriers which prevent consumers of voicing a complaint are largely unknown and quite often companies are not aware of the dissatisfaction among their customers. Thus, this paper aims to analyze the impact of shyness on consumer complaint behavior. A survey-based appro...

  4. Consumer Directed Health Care

    OpenAIRE

    John Goodman

    2006-01-01

    Consumer driven health care (CDHC) is a potential solution to two perplexing problems: (1) How to choose between health care and other uses of money, and (2) how to allocate resources in an industry where normal market forces have been systemically suppressed. In the consumer-driven model, consumers occupy the primary decision-making role regarding the health care that they receive. From an employee benefits perspective, consumer driven health care in the broadest sense may refer to limited e...

  5. Customer to Consumer: The New Consumption in the Progressive Era.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strasser, Susan

    1999-01-01

    Discusses the transformation of the U.S. consumption habits and the creation of the consumer during the Progressive Era. Describes the relationships among the production of goods, advertising, and progress. Focuses on the role advertising played in altering U.S. cultural beliefs and the continued attachment to the past. (CMK)

  6. Traceability information carriers. The technology backgrounds and consumers' perceptions of the technological solutions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chrysochou, Polymeros; Chryssochoidis, George; Kehagia, Olga

    2009-01-01

    of and confidence in the information provided, perceived levels of convenience, impact on product quality and safety, impact on consumers' health and the environment, and potential consequences on ethical and privacy liberties constitute important factors influencing consumers' perceptions of technologies......The implementation of traceability in the food supply chain has reinforced adoption of technologies with the ability to track forward and trace back product-related information. Based on the premise that these technologies can be used as a means to provide product-related information to consumers...... in their production lines. For the purposes of the study, a focus group study was conducted across 12 European countries, while a set of four different technologies used as a means to provide traceability information to consumers was the focal point of the discussions in each focus group. Results show that the amount...

  7. Switch on the competition. Causes, consequences and policy implications of consumer switching costs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pomp, M.; Shestalova, V.; Rangel, L.

    2005-09-01

    The success or failure of reforms aimed at liberalising markets depends to an important degree on consumer behaviour. If consumers do not base their choices on differences in prices and quality, competition between firms may be weak and the benefits of liberalisation to consumers may be small. One possible reason why consumers may respond only weakly to differences in price and quality is high costs of switching to another firm. This report presents a framework for analysing markets with switching costs and applies the framework in two empirical case studies. The first case study analyses the residential energy market, the second focuses on the market for social health insurance. In both markets, there are indications that switching costs are substantial. The report discusses policy options for reducing switching costs and for alleviating the consequences of switching costs

  8. Switch on the competition. Causes, consequences and policy implications of consumer switching costs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pomp, M.; Shestalova, V.; Rangel, L.

    2005-09-15

    The success or failure of reforms aimed at liberalising markets depends to an important degree on consumer behaviour. If consumers do not base their choices on differences in prices and quality, competition between firms may be weak and the benefits of liberalisation to consumers may be small. One possible reason why consumers may respond only weakly to differences in price and quality is high costs of switching to another firm. This report presents a framework for analysing markets with switching costs and applies the framework in two empirical case studies. The first case study analyses the residential energy market, the second focuses on the market for social health insurance. In both markets, there are indications that switching costs are substantial. The report discusses policy options for reducing switching costs and for alleviating the consequences of switching costs.

  9. Consumer dispute resolution goes online: reflections on the evolution of European law for out-of-court redress

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Cortés, P.; Lodder, A.R.

    2014-01-01

    In this paper we discuss if and to what extent the 2013 EU Regulation on consumer online dispute resolution (ODR) in tandem with the EU Directive on consumer alternative dispute resolution (ADR) is likely to finally fulfil the opportunities that policy makers and academics have announced for many

  10. Consumption and the Consumer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria VADUVA

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The consumer is that trader responsible for consumption act of some final goods or services who decided what must be produce and in what cantity, being the one who make the economic mechanism to move. Consumption is in close connection with the production of goods and services, exerting an active role, any activity should be complete by consuming its results; consumption creates the motivation to achieve economic and non-economic activities. The traditional approach to consumer behavior starts from hypothesised that all consumers seek to maximize the aggregate utility obtained of satisfactions resulting from consumption of goods taking into account the budgetary constraints given by income that consumer has and the prices of these goods. In the conditions of modern economy, consumption can be increased by diseconomies. If consumption depends on permanent income, revenue growth effectively does not exert influence on consumption only to the extent that this increase of income leads to increasing permanent income consumer. Consumption is viewed as an active agent of economic life, it is not only a consumer of goods and services but also a producer.

  11. Ainda existem consumidores fiéis? STILL EXIST LOYAL CONSUMERS?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paula Fernanda Prado Pereira

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available O objetivo deste ensaio é analisar a influência que a evolução das mudanças econômicas e sociais exerceram sobre o comportamento do consumidor desde seus tempos mais remotos, passando por diversas fases, até a chegada ao cenário em que se vive hoje. Esta discussão acontecerá por meio da análise das diferentes fases de consumo que serão aqui apresentadas por ordem cronológica. O foco principal de cada fase é o consumidor e as mudanças que ocorreram em seu comportamento com o passar do tempo. Pôde-se constatar que durante estas transições esse consumidor foi ganhando cada vez mais poder de decisão sobre suas escolhas e, a partir disso, mais poder no que se refere às tomadas de decisões estratégicas das organizações, que se encontram na constante busca da maior satisfação de seus consumidores. A partir deste cenário e do modo como ocorrem as transações mercadológicas, somos conduzidos em direção ao seguinte questionamento: "Ainda existem consumidores fiéis?" ou em meio à grande diversidade de marcas, produtos e serviços a que se tem acesso atualmente, os consumidores apresentam comportamentos de compra mais "volúveis" e pouco fiéis em relação às marcas. Será que estes consumidores sofrem influências da realidade de um mundo consumista no qual vivem atualmente?The objective of this analysis is to verify the influence that the evolution of the economic and social changes had on the consumer behaviour since long time past, crossing several stages, until the arrival in the actual scenery. This discussion will happen through the analysis of the different consumption stages, here presented in chronologic order. The principal focus in each stage is the consumer and the changes that happened in his behaviour in due course. It can verify that during this transitions, he had been getting more and more decision power over his choices and, from this on, more power on the organizations strategic decisions, which are in

  12. Advancing Our Understanding of Cross-Cultural Issues in Consumer Science and Consumer Psychology

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Herk, H.; Torelli, Carlos J.; van Herk, Hester; Torelli, Carlos J.

    2017-01-01

    Globalization has resulted in a more complex marketplace. Growing multi-culturalism of consumer markets and increased global competition are pushing marketing scholars to better understand cross-cultural issues in consumer science and consumer psychology. The chapters in this book cover the field to

  13. Human values and consumer choice in Australia and Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claudio V. Torres

    Full Text Available The present study aimed to determine the effect of cultural differences on consumer behavior. A total of 793 participants (both Brazilians and Australians were exposed to the Values Scale, the Meaning and Judgment Scale, and measures of car attributes and consumer behavior. There was a main effect of country on cultural patterns such that Australians scored higher on individualism than on collectivism. Australians preferred piecemeal judgment and placed more importance on the product's tangible attributes, whereas Brazilians preferred affective judgment. As predicted, the direct route was stronger for Brazilians than for Australians, who preferred the indirect route. Results are discussed in terms of the ethic validity of the model for individuals who endorse cultural values other than individualism.

  14. Consumers and Corporate Social Responsibility Communication: What Do They Really Want?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schmeltz, Line

    This paper questions and discusses whether the currently recommended way of communicating CSR to the increasingly important stakeholder group consisting of consumers will also be the optimum way to represent corporate values and behaviour in the future? Maybe it is time to challenge current...

  15. The Peer Specialist : Opportunities for the Recovery of Suicidal Care Consumers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Bergen, Diana; Huisman, Annemiek

    2017-01-01

    The emergence of peer specialists with a history of suicidality who work with suicidal care consumers is a recent phenomenon that increasingly receives attention in the field of suicide prevention. Peer specialists aim at: 1) Establishing a more open discussion of suicidality; 2) Enabling attempt

  16. Consumer Health Informatics: Promoting Patient Self-care Management of Illnesses and Health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jung, Minsoo

    Consumer health informatics (CHI) is propelling important changes for medical providers and the lives of patients through information and communications technology. Independently, medical consumers seek, collect, and use health information for decision making. However, when constructing a CHI-based medical platform, high technology must be applied in a fully understandable and usable format for both health care providers and consumers. This study examines the present status of CHI and its effect on medical consumers. For the development of CHI, we discuss the need for tailored health communications and capacity building with chronic patients at the medical center. First, empowerment is a key characteristic needed for medical consumer health care management. However, promoting patient self-care management of illnesses and health is necessary to create conjugation where cooperation with medical service providers is possible. Also, establishing a health care delivery system that will support cooperation is necessary. Second, tailored health communications can uniquely construct the health information of patients, which prevents unnecessary or excessive information from leading patients to confused and inappropriate decisions. Ultimately, through the present environment of health communication, the innovation of a consumer health care information system has become the tide of the times and the positive effect of improved health can be expected.

  17. [MATCHE: Management Approach to Teaching Consumer and Homemaking Education.] Consumer Approach Strand: Core. Module I-A-3: Consumer Rights and Responsibilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Sharman

    This competency-based preservice home economics teacher education module on consumer rights and responsibilities is the third in a set of four core curriculum modules on consumer approach to homemaking education. (This set is part of a larger series of sixty-seven on the Management Approach to Teaching Consumer and Homemaking Education…

  18. Consumer choice : Linking consumer intentions to actual purchase of GM labeled food products

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sleenhoff, S.; Osseweijer, P.

    2013-01-01

    With a mandatory labeling scheme for GM food in Europe since 2004 measuring actual consumer choice in practice has become possible. Anticipating Europeans negative attitude toward GM food, the labeling was enforced to allow consumers to make an informed choice. We studied consumers actual purchase

  19. Promoting educated consumer choices

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Edinger, Wieke Willemijn Huizing

    2016-01-01

    Contemporary EU food information legislation combines and balances two main consumer interests, i.e., a consumer right to information and the freedom of choice, into one single protective standard: informed choice. Although the recent legislative measures quite openly establish a link between...... informed choice and the rather abstract societal norm of “what is good for the consumer,” this does not justify the conclusion that food information legislation has become overly meddlesome in relation to EU consumers and their choice of food. Rather, there has been a gradual maturing of the EU legislator......’s perception of its task from the mere provision of food information to ensuring educated consumer choices. This development is a logical and necessary consequence of the growing complexity of food choices....

  20. How Consumers Persuade Each Other: Rhetorical Strategies of Interpersonal Influence in Online Communities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daiane Scaraboto

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Persuasive messages are central to interpersonal influence in online communities, where consumers interact mainly through text. We employed a combination of netnography and computer-mediated discourse analysis to investigate how consumers exchange information related to products and brands in an online community. We identified a set of rhetorical strategies used by community members, including setting expectations, claiming expertise, prescribing, and celebrating acquiescence. Consumers employ these rhetorical strategies to influence each other's consumption decisions, report consumption decisions back to the community, and to gauge their influence on each other's choices. We compare this process to traditional types of interpersonal influence and discuss how our findings contribute to advancing the burgeoning literature on interpersonal influence in online contexts.

  1. Community and consumer participation in Australian health services--an overview of organisational commitment and participation processes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, A; Silburn, K

    2000-01-01

    This article briefly describes recent initiatives to improve consumer participation in health services that have led to the establishment of the National Resource Centre for Consumer Participation in Health. The results of a component of the needs assessment undertaken by the newly established Centre are presented. They provide a 'snapshot' of the types of feedback and participation processes mainly being utilised by Australian health services at the different levels of seeking information, information sharing and consultation, partnership, delegated power and consumer control. They also allow identification of the organisational commitment made by Australian health services to support a more coordinated approach to community and consumer feedback and participation at different levels of health services such as particular emphasis on determining the presence of community and consumer participation in key organisational statements, specific consumer policies and plans, identifiable leadership, inclusion into job descriptions, allocation of resources, and staff development and consumer training. Discussion centres around four key observations and some of the key perceived external barriers.

  2. Predictors of Shared Decision Making and Level of Agreement between Consumers and Providers in Psychiatric Care

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fukui, Sadaaki; Salyers, Michelle P.; Matthias, Marianne S.; Collins, Linda; Thompson, John; Coffman, Melinda; Torrey, William C.

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to quantitatively examine elements of shared decision making (SDM), and to establish empirical evidence for factors correlated with SDM and the level of agreement between consumer and provider in psychiatric care. Transcripts containing 128 audio-recorded medication check-up visits with eight providers at three community mental health centers were rated using the Shared Decision Making scale, adapted from Braddock’s Informed Decision Making Scale (Braddock et al., 1997; 1999; 2008). Multilevel regression analyses revealed that greater consumer activity in the session and greater decision complexity significantly predicted the SDM score. The best predictor of agreement between consumer and provider was “exploration of consumer preference,” with a four-fold increase in full agreement when consumer preferences were discussed more completely. Enhancing active consumer participation, particularly by incorporating consumer preferences in the decision making process appears to be an important factor in SDM. PMID:23299226

  3. Diethylpropion and mazindol: An end to the discussion?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lucchetta, Rosa Camila; Riveros, Bruno Salgado; Pontarolo, Roberto; Radominski, Rosana Bento; Otuki, Michel Fleith; Fernandez-Llimos, Fernando; Correr, Cassyano Januário

    2017-03-01

    Antiobesity pharmacotherapy remains the main point of disagreement among both scientists and regulators. This is probably due to small sample sizes, high levels of heterogeneity, and low methodological quality. For many years, Brazil was one of the largest consumers of appetite suppressants worldwide, with evidence of irrational use of this drug class. Therefore, the country was the scene of a debate that divided the Brazilian Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa - Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária) and medical societies over the maintenance record of diethylpropion, mazindol and fenproporex. In this context, this commentary presents new arguments to contribute to the discussion, as well as recommendations for future studies.

  4. Small Wind Electric Systems An Alaska Consumer's Guide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    O'Dell, K.

    2001-01-01

    The Alaska Consumer's Guide for Small Wind Electric Systems provides consumers with enough information to help them determine if a small wind electric system can provide all or a portion of the energy they need for their home or business based on their wind resource, energy needs, and their economics. Topics discussed in the guide include: how to make your home more energy efficient, how to choose the right size turbine, the parts of a wind electric system, determining if there is enough wind resource on your site, choosing the best site for your turbine, connecting your system to the utility grid, and if it's possible to become independent of the utility grid using wind energy. In addition, the cover of the guide contains a state wind resource map and a list of state incentives and state contacts for more information

  5. Small Wind Electric Systems: A Vermont Consumer's Guide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    O'Dell, K.

    2001-01-01

    The Vermont Consumer's Guide for Small Wind Electric Systems provides consumers with enough information to help them determine if a small wind electric system can provide all or a portion of the energy they need for their home or business based on their wind resource, energy needs, and their economics. Topics discussed in the guide include: how to make your home more energy efficient, how to choose the right size turbine, the parts of a wind electric system, determining if there is enough wind resource on your site, choosing the best site for your turbine, connecting your system to the utility grid, and if it's possible to become independent of the utility grid using wind energy. In addition, the cover of the guide contains a state wind resource map and a list of state incentives and state contacts for more information

  6. An (un)healthy poster: When environmental cues affect consumers' food choices at vending machines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stöckli, Sabrina; Stämpfli, Aline E; Messner, Claude; Brunner, Thomas A

    2016-01-01

    Environmental cues can affect food decisions. There is growing evidence that environmental cues influence how much one consumes. This article demonstrates that environmental cues can similarly impact the healthiness of consumers' food choices. Two field studies examined this effect with consumers of vending machine foods who were exposed to different posters. In field study 1, consumers with a health-evoking nature poster compared to a pleasure-evoking fun fair poster or no poster in their visual sight were more likely to opt for healthy snacks. Consumers were also more likely to buy healthy snacks when primed by an activity poster than when exposed to the fun fair poster. In field study 2, this consumer pattern recurred with a poster of skinny Giacometti sculptures. Overall, the results extend the mainly laboratory-based evidence by demonstrating the health-relevant impact of environmental cues on food decisions in the field. Results are discussed in light of priming literature emphasizing the relevance of preexisting associations, mental concepts and goals. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Transforming Consumers Into Brands

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Erz, Antonia; Christensen, Anna-Bertha Heeris

    2018-01-01

    The goal of this research is to explore the transformational power of a new consumption and production practice, the practice of blogging, to understand its impact on consumers' identity transformations beyond their self-concept as consumers and on the blogosphere as an organizational field....... Through an exploratory study of over 12,000 blog posts from five fashion bloggers, complemented by in-depth interviews, we trace the transformation of consumer bloggers. We identify and describe three identity phases, the individual consumer, collective blogger and blogger identity phase, and two...

  8. Linking consumer experiences

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Smed, Karina Madsen

    become part of the individual self, worldview, and behaviour. This paper seeks to explore links between consumer experiences through the exploration of narrative sequences in travel blogs. Findings indicate that non-consumption is a central element to the bloggers and also indicative of a community......Consumers consume products in various ways serving a number of purposes. Much attention has been paid to experiences attached to consumption, sometimes very explicitly, e.g. in tourism, the essence of which is experiences of various sorts, but often also implicitly as internalised experiences...

  9. Food quality and the consumers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lassen, Jesper

    1993-01-01

    Executive Summary: 1. Consumers and professionals in the food sector will differ in the way they view food quality. Professionals have knowledge and resources to establish quality based on objective criteria. Consumers lack both, and they are typically concerned with many different products...... resources, of means of transportation, of time, of knowledge. Consumers' shopping behaviour is therefore an imperfect indicator of the quality consumers want, insufficient way of communicating consumer wishes to the food sector. 3. The fact that the food producer may be separated from the consumer...... certain attributes of food products or materials which may contradict consumer intentions. Economic pressure to reduce costs may lead to deteriorating quality. 5. While the information supplied by the market may be enough to give feed back on products launched based on the trial-and-error method...

  10. Consumer Decisions. Student Manual.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Florida State Dept. of Education, Tallahassee. Div. of Vocational Education.

    This student manual covers five areas relating to consumer decisions. Titles of the five sections are Consumer Law, Consumer Decision Making, Buying a Car, Convenience Foods, and Books for Preschool Children. Each section may contain some or all of these materials: list of objectives, informative sections, questions on the information and answers,…

  11. Consumer Protection for Educators.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wallace, James M.

    Educational changes are examined from the perspective of consumer protection--the direct consumers are the teachers being prepared; the indirect consumers are the students and the society that supports the schools. During the colonial and early national periods of American history, there was an absence of formal and separate teacher education.…

  12. Towards Sustainable Clothing Disposition: Exploring the Consumer Choice to Use Trash as a Disposal Option

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pamela S. Norum

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available The textile and apparel supply chain plays an integral role in providing consumers with a continuous supply of apparel that must ultimately be discarded. Viewing the consumer as a player in the process between the supply chain and the post-consumer textile waste stream, this study was designed to explore the consumer apparel disposition process with an eye towards understanding how both supply chain members and post-consumer waste entities can interact with consumers to reduce the amount of apparel discarded in landfills. Hanson’s Consumer Product Disposition Process framework was used to help guide the research. Using a qualitative research approach, semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with twenty-four female consumers in the United States to address three main research questions. The findings revealed several themes: use of both “compensatory” and “non-compensatory” choice heuristics in decision making; a “usable life” and the “personal nature” of garments as barriers to non-trash disposal options; and the need to “create awareness” and “provide assurance” to encourage alternative disposal modes. Implications for apparel producers and retailers, secondhand stores and textile recyclers are discussed.

  13. Effects of Consumer-Perceived Convenience on Shopping Intention in Mobile Commerce: An Empirical study

    OpenAIRE

    Wen-Jang ("Kenny") Jih

    2007-01-01

    Wireless communication and Internet services are converging to provide an unprecedented level of convenience for online shopping. Although the concept of consumer-perceived convenience has been extensively discussed in marketing and consumer behavior literature, there still is a lack of empirical validation in the context of mobile commerce. This study was conducted to examine the effect of convenience on customers’ intention of shopping via their mobile communication devices. The primary d...

  14. Consumers and Producers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    E. Maira (Elisa)

    2018-01-01

    markdownabstractIn the last few decades, advances in information and communication technology have dramatically changed the way consumers and producers interact in the marketplace. The Internet and social media have torn down the information barrier between producers and consumers, leading to

  15. Consumer protection in European Union

    OpenAIRE

    Bartlová, Daniela

    2009-01-01

    The consumer protection is a very actual topic in the european policy. It is necessary for the right function of the internal market. The document mentions the development of the consumer protection policy - the past and the future strategy. The valid legislation is listed and also mentioned is the Proposal for a Directive on Consumer Rights. It gives an overview of european consumer organisations and their function . There are also mentioned some alternatives of the consumer's redress. Docum...

  16. Consumers' preferences for fresh yam: a focus group study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barlagne, Carla; Cornet, Denis; Blazy, Jean-Marc; Diman, Jean-Louis; Ozier-Lafontaine, Harry

    2017-01-01

    In West and Central Africa and in the Caribbean, yam is one of the most important sources of carbohydrates and has a great potential to improve food security. The yam production sector is, however, now challenged by the satisfaction of evolving consumers' preferences. Since little is known about consumers' preferences regarding yams' characteristics, product quality, and the drivers of yam purchase, six focus group discussions were conducted (for a total of 31 participants). Among the purchasing criteria, price was considered more important than the others. It was followed by the external damage, the origin, and the size of the tuber. The most frequently cited consumption criteria were the taste, the texture, and color of flesh after cooking. Taste was considered more important than the other criteria. Three consumers' profiles were established reflecting heterogeneity in preferences, especially as concerns the willingness to pay for yam and consumption habits. They were designated as the Hedonistic, the Thrifty and the Flexible. Our results suggest that innovations can be implemented to sustain and stimulate the development of the yam sector in Guadeloupe. Two main development paths were identified. The first path is the valorization of the great existing diversity of yam varieties and the increase in the level of information for consumers about product attributes such as the cooking mode, the origin, and the mode of production. Building a marketing strategy based on the valorization of this diversity can help maintain and preserve yam's agro-biodiversity and the satisfaction of rapidly evolving consumption habits. The second path is the definition of yam ideotypes that suit consumers' needs. We expect that tailoring the production to consumers' needs will have a positive impact on global food security in the Caribbean region.

  17. The Normative Impact of Consumer Price Expectations for Multiple Brands on Consumer Purchase Behavior

    OpenAIRE

    Aradhna Krishna

    1992-01-01

    Empirical research indicates that some consumers form price expectations which may impact their purchase behavior. While literature in operations research has built purchase policy models incorporating uncertain price expectations, these models have been built for commodities. Consumers face an environment with multiple brands. In this paper, we develop a model that incorporates consumer preferences and price expectations for multiple brands as determinants of normative consumer purchase beha...

  18. Dr Google and the consumer: a qualitative study exploring the navigational needs and online health information-seeking behaviors of consumers with chronic health conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Kenneth; Hoti, Kreshnik; Hughes, Jeffery David; Emmerton, Lynne

    2014-12-02

    interviews, with data saturation achieved by the 14th interview. While we identified a broad range of online health information-seeking behaviors, most related to information discussed during consumer-health professional consultations such as looking for information about medication side effects. The barriers we identified included intrinsic barriers, such as limited eHealth literacy, and extrinsic barriers, such as the inconsistency of information between different online sources. The navigational needs of our participants were extrinsic in nature and included health professionals directing consumers to appropriate online resources and better filtering of online health information. Our participants' online health information-seeking behaviors, reported barriers, and navigational needs were underpinned by the themes of trust, patient activation, and relevance. This study suggests that existing interventions aimed to assist consumers with navigating online health information may not be what consumers want or perceive they need. eHealth literacy and patient activation appear to be prevalent concepts in the context of consumers' online health information-seeking behaviors. Furthermore, the role for health professionals in guiding consumers to quality online health information is highlighted.

  19. Retailer branding of consumer sales promotions. A major development in food marketing?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamlin, Robert P; Lindsay, Sophie; Insch, Andrea

    2012-02-01

    This article examines retailer branding of consumer price promotions. It discusses the mechanics of price promotions, consumers' reactions to them and the benefits that accrue to those that use them. It describes how large food retailers can now deploy branded price promotion systems that are fundamentally different to 'traditional' price promotions in both their mechanics and their effects on consumer decision processes. The article describes a field experiment that compared the performance of a food retailer's branded price promotion system with that of a generic (manufacturer) price promotion. The research involved three experiments that covered two food categories (sliced bread and margarine) and two levels of discount (10% and 20%). The results indicate that food retailers are able to attach powerful brands to their price promotion systems, and these brand heuristics can significantly increase consumer purchase intent relative to an equivalent generic/manufacturer promotion. This incremental heuristic effect was stable in both categories and for both levels of price discount studied. These results are consistent with the predictions of alternative, non-cognitive and heuristic based models of food consumer choice that have been published recently in 'Appetite'. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Matching consumer feeding behaviours and resource traits: a fourth-corner problem in food-web theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Monteiro, Angelo Barbosa; Faria, Lucas Del Bianco

    2018-06-06

    For decades, food web theory has proposed phenomenological models for the underlying structure of ecological networks. Generally, these models rely on latent niche variables that match the feeding behaviour of consumers with their resource traits. In this paper, we used a comprehensive database to evaluate different hypotheses on the best dependency structure of trait-matching patterns between consumers and resource traits. We found that consumer feeding behaviours had complex interactions with resource traits; however, few dimensions (i.e. latent variables) could reproduce the trait-matching patterns. We discuss our findings in the light of three food web models designed to reproduce the multidimensionality of food web data; additionally, we discuss how using species traits clarify food webs beyond species pairwise interactions and enable studies to infer ecological generality at larger scales, despite potential taxonomic differences, variations in ecological conditions and differences in species abundance between communities. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS.

  1. Food safety concerns of fast food consumers in urban Ghana.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Omari, Rose; Frempong, Godfred

    2016-03-01

    In Ghana, out-of-home ready-to-eat foods including fast food generally have been associated with food safety problems. Notwithstanding, fast food production and consumption are increasing in Ghana and therefore this study sought to determine the food safety issues of importance to consumers and the extent to which they worry about them. First, through three focus group discussions on consumers' personal opinions about food safety issues, some emergent themes were obtained, which were used to construct an open-ended questionnaire administered face-to-face to 425 respondents systematically sampled from 20 fast food restaurants in Accra. Findings showed that most fast food consumers were concerned about food hazards such as pesticide residue in vegetables, excessive use of artificial flavour enhancers and colouring substances, bacterial contamination, migrated harmful substances from plastic packages, and general unhygienic conditions under which food is prepared and sold. Consumers also raised concerns about foodborne diseases such as cholera, typhoid, food poisoning, diarrhoea, bird flu and swine flu. The logistic regression model showed that being male increased the likelihood of worrying about general food safety issues and excessive use of flavour enhancers than in females while being youthful increased the likelihood of being worried about typhoid fever than in older consumers. These findings imply that consumers in urban Ghana are aware and concerned about current trends of food safety and foodborne disease challenges in the country. Therefore, efforts targeted at improving food safety and reducing incidences of foodborne diseases should not only focus on public awareness creation but should also design more comprehensive programmes to ensure the making of food safety rules and guidelines and enforcing compliance to facilitate availability and consumers' choice of safe foods. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Consumer Neoteny

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mathieu Alemany Oliver

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available This research explores childlike consumer behavior from an evolutionary perspective. More specifically, it uses the concept of neoteny to show that the retention of ancestors’ juvenile characteristics is related to specific behaviors. The results of factor analyses conducted on a UK sample (n = 499 and a French sample (n = 292 7 years later indicate four dimensions of childlike consumer behavior, namely, stimulus seeking, reality conflict, escapism, and control of aggression.

  3. CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR TOWARDS ELECTRIC FANS

    OpenAIRE

    Inderpreet Singh

    2017-01-01

    The study of consumer behaviour develops great interest for consumers, students, scientists, and marketers. As consumers, we need insights into our own consumption related decisions: what we buy, why we buy, and how we buy. The aim of the study is to cover entire research about consumer behaviour towards electric fans and different factors affecting their buying decision. A sample of 200 consumers of electric fans is taken. Questionnaire has been analysed with the help of pie diagram & bar ch...

  4. Consuming apart, together

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bartels, Jos; Reinders, M.J.

    2016-01-01

    Although consumers' awareness of the environmental and ethical consequences of their behaviour has grown, research on the role of multiple consumer identities in sustainability behaviours is scarce. The aim of the current study was to explain sustainable behaviour from a social identity

  5. Comparison of Skin Moisturizer: Consumer-Based Brand Equity (CBBE Factors in Clusters Based on Consumer Ethnocentrism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yossy Hanna Garlina

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available This research aims to analyze relevant factors contributing to the four dimensions of consumer-based brand equity in skin moisturizer industry. It is then followed by the clustering of female consumers of skin moisturizer based on ethnocentrism and differentiating each cluster’s consumer-based brand equity dimensions towards a domestic skin moisturizer brand Mustika Ratu, skin moisturizer. Research used descriptive survey method analysis. Primary data was obtained through questionnaire distribution to 70 female respondents for factor analysis and 120 female respondents for cluster analysis and one way analysis of variance (ANOVA. This research employed factor analysis to obtain relevant factors contributing to the five dimensions of consumer-based brand equity in skin moisturizer industry. Cluster analysis and one way analysis of variance (ANOVA were to see the difference of consumer-based brand equity between highly ethnocentric consumer and low ethnocentric consumer towards the same skin moisturizer domestic brand, Mustika Ratu skin moisturizer. Research found in all individual dimension analysis, all variable means and individual means show distinct difference between the high ethnocentric consumer and the low ethnocentric consumer. The low ethnocentric consumer cluster tends to be lower in mean score of Brand Loyalty, Perceived Quality, Brand Awareness, Brand Association, and Overall Brand Equity than the high ethnocentric consumer cluster. Research concludes consumer ethnocentrism is positively correlated with preferences towards domestic products and negatively correlated with foreign-made product preference. It is, then, highly ethnocentric consumers have positive perception towards domestic product.

  6. Materialism, status consumption, and consumer independence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldsmith, Ronald Earl; Clark, Ronald A

    2012-01-01

    Materialism influences many people. We focus on two aspects of this influence: reactions to prestige products and to the influence of others. A study of 187 U.S. student consumers shows that materialism is positively related to buying products that confer status. In contrast, materialism is negatively related to consumer independence, an enduring tendency to pay minimal attention to the prescribed norms of other consumers and to make product and brand decisions according to personal preferences. Consuming products for status is also negatively related to consumer independence. Moreover, the association between materialism and consumer independence is completely mediated by consuming for status. Materialism urges consumers to be status conscious so that they follow social norms in purchasing, but seeking status through goods is avoided by less materialistic, independent consumers. A second study (n = 258) also using student consumers confirmed these results.

  7. Online consumer contracts

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Luzak, J.

    2014-01-01

    The new Consumer Rights Directive introduced some changes to the level of consumers’ protection online. However, just like with its predecessor, the Distance Selling Directive, the main focus of the protection that consumers have been granted online is to provide them with transparent and salient

  8. Sustainable consumer behaviour

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Antonides, Gerrit

    2017-01-01

    We summarise the contributions in this special issue on sustainable consumer behaviour and place them in perspective. Several studies focus on macro- and meso-issues, and others on micro-issues of consumer behaviour. The studies employ a variety of methods, including surveys, field experiments,

  9. Consumer preferences for front-of-pack calories labelling

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Kleef, Ellen; van Trijp, Hans; Paeps, Frederic; Fernández-Celemín, Laura

    2008-01-01

    Objective In light of the emerging obesity pandemic, front-of-pack calories labels may be an important tool to assist consumers in making informed healthier food choices. However, there is little prior research to guide key decisions on whether caloric content should be expressed in absolute terms or relative to recommended daily intake, whether it should be expressed in per serving or per 100 g and whether the information should be further brought alive for consumers in terms of what the extra calorie intake implies in relation to activity levels. The present study aimed at providing more insight into consumers’ appreciation of front-of-pack labelling of caloric content of food products and their specific preferences for alternative execution formats for such information in Europe. Design For this purpose, eight executions of front-of-pack calorie flags were designed and their appeal and information value were extensively discussed with consumers through qualitative research in four different countries (Germany, The Netherlands, France and the UK). Results The results show that calories are well-understood and that participants were generally positive about front-of-pack flags, particularly when flags are uniform across products. The most liked flags are the simpler flags depicting only the number of calories per serving or per 100 g, while more complex flags including references to daily needs or exercise and the flag including a phrase referring to balanced lifestyle were least preferred. Some relevant differences between countries were observed. Although participants seem to be familiar with the notion of calories, they do not seem to fully understand how to apply them. Conclusion From the results, managerial implications for the design and implementation of front-of-pack calorie labelling as well as important directions for future research are discussed. PMID:17601362

  10. The Effect of Doctor-Consumer Interaction on Social Media on Consumers' Health Behaviors: Cross-Sectional Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Tailai; Deng, Zhaohua; Feng, Zhanchun; Gaskin, Darrell J; Zhang, Donglan; Wang, Ruoxi

    2018-02-28

    Both doctors and consumers have engaged in using social media for health purposes. Social media has changed traditional one-to-one communication between doctors and patients to many-to-many communication between doctors and consumers. However, little is known about the effect of doctor-consumer interaction on consumers' health behaviors. The aim of this study was to investigate how doctor-consumer interaction in social media affects consumers' health behaviors. On the basis of professional-client interaction theory and social cognitive theory, we propose that doctor-consumer interaction can be divided into instrumental interaction and affective interaction. These two types of interactions influence consumers' health behaviors through declarative knowledge (DK), self-efficacy (SE), and outcome expectancy (OE). To validate our proposed research model, we employed the survey method and developed corresponding measurement instruments for constructs in our research model. A total of 352 valid answers were collected, and partial least square was performed to analyze the data. Instrumental doctor-consumer interaction was found to influence consumers' DK (t 294 =5.763, Pinteraction also impacted consumers' DK (t 294 =4.025, Pinteraction on health behaviors, whereas the three mediators fully mediated the effect of affective interaction on health behaviors. Compared with many intentional intervention programs, doctor-consumer interaction can be treated as a natural cost-effective intervention to promote consumers' health behaviors. Meanwhile, both instrumental and affective interaction should be highlighted for the best interaction results. DK, SE, and OE are working mechanisms of doctor-consumer interaction. ©Tailai Wu, Zhaohua Deng, Zhanchun Feng, Darrell J Gaskin, Donglan Zhang, Ruoxi Wang. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 28.02.2018.

  11. Consumers' identity - the role of the "self" concept in the consumer behavior

    OpenAIRE

    Surugiu Felicia; Surugiu Gheorghe

    2012-01-01

    As Kotler (2008) suggested, the marketplace is the location where goods and services are exchanged, so traders set up the product and buyers browse the merchandise. Consumer attitudes can be influenced by many factors outside the product attributes. Social and cultural environment as well as demographic, psychographic, and geographic conditions can sometimes shape consumer behavior. Consumer attitude, if positive, is an advantage to a marketer. The reaction of buying or refusing a certain pro...

  12. The Hybrid Consumer: Exploring the Drivers of a New Consumer Behaviour Type

    OpenAIRE

    Grönroos, Christian; Leppänen, Hanna

    2009-01-01

    A dramatically different consumption pattern seems to be emerging among a vast group of consumers. This may mean that conventional consumer stereotypes and segmentation theory are becoming outdated. The so called hybrid consumers seem to increasingly opt for both premium and budget alternatives in various product and service categories while mid-priced alternatives are losing share in their consumption basket. Although this type of polarisation, or dispersion, is already recognized as an impo...

  13. Consumer Behavior: Developing Skills for Assertiveness. Consumer Education Training Module.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thayer, Lou

    The goal of this inservice guide for teaching consumer education at the secondary and adult level is to help consumers become more assertive when buying goods and services. A major section in the guide defines assertiveness. The four basic components of assertive behavior are the ability to express emotions openly, the capacity to exercise one's…

  14. Counseling Directory and Consumer's Guide: Implementing Professional Disclosure and Consumer Protection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swanson, John L.

    1979-01-01

    The publication of a "counseling directory" and "consumer's guide" is a new approach that can be used to respond to the current professional issues of professional disclosure and consumer protection. Reviews the purposes, format, and content of both the directory and guide. (Author)

  15. Observing Reasonable Consumers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silber, Norman I.

    1991-01-01

    Although courts and legislators usually set legal standards that correspond to empirical knowledge of human behavior, recent developments in behavioral psychology have led courts to appreciate the limits and errors in consumer decision making. "Reasonable consumer" standards that are congruent with cognitive reality should be developed.…

  16. CONSUMERS INSIGHT : MENJAGA KONSISTENSI KOMUNIKASI BRAND (EVALUASI AKTIVITAS KOMUNIKASI PEMASARAN WAROENG SEMAWIS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dyah Pitaloka, Djoko Setyabudi, Sri Widowati H

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Integrated Marketing Communications should always be considered as an integration communication process to target specific audience in a certain unique way. Therefore it was no longer about how to choose the tools and integrated it all through series of action but to craft the messages, tone, and manner which will be suited the target audiences expectation, need, want, dream, lifestyle. In short, all aspects of life as a human being. Consumers insight, compared to other segmentation criteria (geographic and demographic segmentation provides more than just numbers and fact, but also in-deptth knowledge about the target audiences and their characteristic as a man. In-depth interviews, focus group discussion and brain storming are some methods that could be used to dig deeper into consumer’s life and portrayed them in detail. Consumers insight built from an understanding of facts or information, which can be seen from the statistic and demographic data, and intuition, which is gained througt in-depth discussion with the target audiences. All data collected from the consumers, which then will called insight, will be use to build a strategic communication patch that could specifically ‘talk’ to the audience and creat a long lasting emotional relationship between brand and the audience.

  17. Consumer-oriented social data fusion: controlled learning in social environments, social advertising, and more

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grewe, L.

    2013-05-01

    This paper explores the current practices in social data fusion and analysis as it applies to consumer-oriented applications in a slew of areas including business, economics, politics, sciences, medicine, education and more. A categorization of these systems is proposed and contributions to each area are explored preceded by a discussion of some special issues related to social data and networks. From this work, future paths of consumer-based social data analysis research and current outstanding problems are discovered.

  18. [Legal development of consumer protection from the Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety standpoint].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Püster, M

    2010-06-01

    Ten years after publication of the White Paper on Food Safety, health consumer protection has made significant progress and, today, is a key field in politics at both the European and German levels. In addition to the protection of health and security of consumers, consumer information has become a core element of consumer protection for the Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (Bundesamt für Verbraucherschutz and Lebensmittelsicherheit, BVL). State authorities are provided with new means of communication and interaction with consumers.

  19. The consumer competence of young adults

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Grønhøj, Alice

    2007-01-01

    of consumer competence in actual consumption decisions, however more competent approaches were reported when respondents were faced with hypothetical purchase situations. The young consumers' own understanding of what consumer competence requires showed some degree of correspondence with traditional notions...... of 'desirable consumer socialization', but also added a fundamental consumer competence to the list: to carefully consider one's need to make a purchase. Research limitations/implications The study included only a certain segment of young consumers. Future studies of consumer competence may include consumers......, particularly with respect to how new, complex buying decisions are managed. Findings Guidance from family and friends was found to be of major significance as regards complex consumer decisions made in the transition period from home to first household. The young adults did not display very high levels...

  20. Consumer Networks and Firm Reputation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Huck, Steffen; Lünser, Gabriele K.; Tyran, Jean-Robert

    Arguing that consumers are the carriers of firms' reputations, we examine the role of consumer networks for trust in markets that suffer from moral hazard. When consumers are embedded in a network, they can exchange information with their neighbours about their private experiences with different ...... sellers. We find that such information exchange fosters firms' incentives for reputation building and, thus, enhances trust and efficiency in markets. This efficiency-enhancing effect is already achieved with a rather low level of network density......Arguing that consumers are the carriers of firms' reputations, we examine the role of consumer networks for trust in markets that suffer from moral hazard. When consumers are embedded in a network, they can exchange information with their neighbours about their private experiences with different...

  1. Consumer acceptance of irradiated food

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Loaharanu, P [Head, Food Preservation Section, Joint FAO/ IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, Wagramerstr. 5, A-1400, Vienna (Austria)

    1998-12-31

    There was a widely held opinion during the 1970`s and 1980`s that consumers would be reluctant to purchase irradiated food, as it was perceived that consumers would confuse irradiated food with food contaminated by radionuclides. Indeed, a number of consumer attitude surveys conducted in several western countries during these two decades demonstrated that the concerns of consumers on irradiated food varied from very concerned to seriously concerned.This paper attempts to review parameters conducting in measuring consumer acceptance of irradiated food during the past three decades and to project the trends on this subject. It is believed that important lessons learned from past studies will guide further efforts to market irradiated food with wide consumer acceptance in the future. (Author)

  2. Consumer acceptance of irradiated food

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Loaharanu, P. [Head, Food Preservation Section, Joint FAO/ IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, Wagramerstr. 5, A-1400, Vienna (Austria)

    1997-12-31

    There was a widely held opinion during the 1970`s and 1980`s that consumers would be reluctant to purchase irradiated food, as it was perceived that consumers would confuse irradiated food with food contaminated by radionuclides. Indeed, a number of consumer attitude surveys conducted in several western countries during these two decades demonstrated that the concerns of consumers on irradiated food varied from very concerned to seriously concerned.This paper attempts to review parameters conducting in measuring consumer acceptance of irradiated food during the past three decades and to project the trends on this subject. It is believed that important lessons learned from past studies will guide further efforts to market irradiated food with wide consumer acceptance in the future. (Author)

  3. Consumer acceptance of irradiated food

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Loaharanu, P.

    1997-01-01

    There was a widely held opinion during the 1970's and 1980's that consumers would be reluctant to purchase irradiated food, as it was perceived that consumers would confuse irradiated food with food contaminated by radionuclides. Indeed, a number of consumer attitude surveys conducted in several western countries during these two decades demonstrated that the concerns of consumers on irradiated food varied from very concerned to seriously concerned.This paper attempts to review parameters conducting in measuring consumer acceptance of irradiated food during the past three decades and to project the trends on this subject. It is believed that important lessons learned from past studies will guide further efforts to market irradiated food with wide consumer acceptance in the future. (Author)

  4. Effects of consumer motives on search behavior using internet advertising.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Kenneth C C

    2004-08-01

    Past studies on uses and gratifications theory suggested that consumer motives affect how they will use media and media contents. Recent advertising research has extended the theory to study the use of Internet advertising. The current study explores the effects of consumer motives on their search behavior using Internet advertising. The study employed a 2 by 2 between-subjects factorial experiment design. A total of 120 subjects were assigned to an experiment condition that contains an Internet advertisement varying by advertising appeals (i.e., rational vs. emotional) and product involvement levels (high vs. low). Consumer search behavior (measured by the depth, breadth, total amount of search), demographics, and motives were collected by post-experiment questionnaires. Because all three dependent variables measuring search behavior were conceptually related to each other, MANCOVA procedures were employed to examine the moderating effects of consumer motives on the dependent variables in four product involvement-advertising appeal conditions. Results indicated that main effects for product involvements and advertising appeals were statistically significant. Univariate ANOVA also showed that advertising appeals and product involvement levels influenced the total amount of search. Three-way interactions among advertising appeals, product involvement levels, and information motive were also statistically significant. Implications and future research directions are discussed.

  5. Consumer purchasing behaviour towards fish and seafood products. Patterns and insights from a sample of international studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carlucci, Domenico; Nocella, Giuseppe; De Devitiis, Biagia; Viscecchia, Rosaria; Bimbo, Francesco; Nardone, Gianluca

    2015-01-01

    The present systematic review was performed to assess consumer purchasing behaviour towards fish and seafood products in the wide context of developed countries. Web of Science, Scopus, ScienceDirect and Google Scholar engines were used to search the existing literature and a total of 49 studies were identified for inclusion. These studies investigated consumer purchasing behaviour towards a variety of fish and seafood products, in different countries and by means of different methodological approaches. In particular, the review identifies and discusses the main drivers and barriers of fish consumption as well as consumers' preferences about the most relevant attributes of fish and seafood products providing useful insights for both practitioners and policy makers. Finally, main gaps of the existing literature and possible trajectories for future research are also discussed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. The Consumer Production Journey: Marketing to Consumers as Co-Producers in the Sharing Economy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    B.G.C. Dellaert (Benedict)

    2018-01-01

    textabstractNew digital technologies not only support consumers in better fulfilling their own consumption needs, but also enable them to create greater value for other consumers. These new consumer co- production activities, collectively referred to as the sharing economy, require firms to rethink

  7. The Influence of Purchasing Context and Reversibility of Choice on Consumer Responses Toward Personalized Products and Standardized Products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Jieun; Lee, Doo-Hee; Taylor, Charles R

    2016-04-01

    Existing research on personalization has found that consumers generally prefer personalized products over standardized ones. This study argued that consumer preference for personalized products is dependent on purchasing context and reversibility of choice. Results of an experiment conducted in this study found that consumers preferred personalized products when purchasing an item for personal use but preferred standardized products when purchasing an item as a gift. However, the effects of purchasing context were negated when consumers were given the assurance that personalized products could be returned (reversibility of choice); when presented with reversibility of choice, consumers preferred personalized products over standardized products regardless of purchasing context. Theoretical and managerial implications of these results were discussed. © The Author(s) 2016.

  8. Analysis of consumer information brochures on osteoporosis prevention and treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meyer, Gabriele; Steckelberg, Anke; Mühlhauser, Ingrid

    2007-01-11

    Evidence-based consumer information is a prerequisite for informed decision making. So far, there are no reports on the quality of consumer information brochures on osteoporosis. In the present study we analysed brochures on osteoporosis available in Germany. All printed brochures from patient and consumer advocacy groups, physician and governmental organisations, health insurances, and pharmaceutical companies were initially collected in 2001, and updated in December 2004. Brochures were analysed by two independent researchers using 37 internationally proposed criteria addressing evidence-based content, risk communication, transparency of the development process, and layout and design. A total of 165 brochures were identified; 59 were included as they specifically targeted osteoporosis prevention and treatment. Most brochures were provided by pharmaceutical companies (n=25), followed by health insurances (n=11) and patient and consumer advocacy groups (n=11). Quality of brochures did not differ between providers. Only 1 brochure presented lifetime risk estimate; 4 mentioned natural course of osteoporosis. A balanced report on benefit versus lack of benefit was presented in 2 brochures and on benefit versus adverse effects in 8 brochures. Four brochures mentioned relative risk reduction, 1 reported absolute risk reduction through hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Out of 28 brochures accessed in 2004 10 still recommended HRT without discussing adverse effects. Transparency of the development process was limited: 25 brochures reported publication date, 26 cited author and only 1 references. In contrast, readability and design was generally good. The quality of consumer brochures on osteoporosis in Germany is utterly inadequate. They fail to give evidence-based data on diagnosis and treatment options. Therefore, the material is not useful to enhance informed consumer choice.

  9. Analysis of consumer information brochures on osteoporosis prevention and treatment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mühlhauser, Ingrid

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: Evidence-based consumer information is a prerequisite for informed decision making. So far, there are no reports on the quality of consumer information brochures on osteoporosis. In the present study we analysed brochures on osteoporosis available in Germany. Method: All printed brochures from patient and consumer advocacy groups, physician and governmental organisations, health insurances, and pharmaceutical companies were initially collected in 2001, and updated in December 2004. Brochures were analysed by two independent researchers using 37 internationally proposed criteria addressing evidence-based content, risk communication, transparency of the development process, and layout and design. Results: A total of 165 brochures were identified; 59 were included as they specifically targeted osteoporosis prevention and treatment. Most brochures were provided by pharmaceutical companies (n=25, followed by health insurances (n=11 and patient and consumer advocacy groups (n=11. Quality of brochures did not differ between providers. Only 1 brochure presented lifetime risk estimate; 4 mentioned natural course of osteoporosis. A balanced report on benefit versus lack of benefit was presented in 2 brochures and on benefit versus adverse effects in 8 brochures. Four brochures mentioned relative risk reduction, 1 reported absolute risk reduction through hormone replacement therapy (HRT. Out of 28 brochures accessed in 2004 10 still recommended HRT without discussing adverse effects. Transparency of the development process was limited: 25 brochures reported publication date, 26 cited author and only 1 references. In contrast, readability and design was generally good. Conclusion: The quality of consumer brochures on osteoporosis in Germany is utterly inadequate. They fail to give evidence-based data on diagnosis and treatment options. Therefore, the material is not useful to enhance informed consumer choice.

  10. Comments of Dr. John A. Anderson, executive director of the Electricity Consumers Resource Council

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anderson, J.A.

    1998-01-01

    The Electricity Consumers Resource Council (ELCON)'s view of the need for deregulation, and the advantages and pitfalls of deregulation were discussed, based on the experience of some large electric power customers in the United States. ELCON is a US group of 37 large industrial electricity consumers that was created to promote the development and adaption of rational federal and state policies that assure an adequate, reliable and efficient electricity supply at competitive prices. ELCON's member companies operate more than 650 different facilities in the US. ELCON strongly believes that restructuring will greatly benefit consumers, mainly by giving them choices. The Council is dedicated to ensuring that US electric utilities become utilities with real competition and not unregulated monopolies. In the past, electricity consumers have encountered several problems with the traditional rate regulation of electric utilities. These problems have driven many large industrial and commercial customers to find ways to reduce their electric bills through options such as self-generation, alternative hook-ups, municipalization, loopholes and fuel switching. These options themselves have created some additional problems. The most obvious of these is that when these large electricity consumers depart from the local utility, they stop paying their share of previously-incurred costs which the remaining customers must pay, which forces prices even higher. The need to regulate transmission and distribution as long as there are natural monopolies was discussed. It was suggested that transmission grids should be operated by Independent System Operators (ISOs) who have no financial interests in market transactions

  11. Consumer perception of bread quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gellynck, Xavier; Kühne, Bianka; Van Bockstaele, Filip; Van de Walle, Davy; Dewettinck, Koen

    2009-08-01

    Bread contains a wide range of important nutritional components which provide a positive effect on human health. However, the consumption of bread is declining during the last decades. This is due to factors such as changing eating patterns and an increasing choice of substitutes like breakfast cereals and fast foods. The aim of this study is to investigate consumer's quality perception of bread towards sensory, health and nutrition attributes. Four consumer segments are identified based on these attributes. The different consumer segments comprise consumers being positive to all three quality aspects of bread ("enthusiastic") as wells as consumers perceiving bread strongly as "tasteless", "non-nutritious" or "unhealthy". Moreover, factors are identified which influence the consumers' quality perception of bread. The results of our study may help health professionals and policy makers to systematically inform consumers about the positive effects of bread based on its components. Furthermore, firms can use the results to build up tailor-made marketing strategies.

  12. Impact of communication on consumers' food choices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verbeke, Wim

    2008-08-01

    Consumers' food choices and dietary behaviour can be markedly affected by communication and information. Whether the provided information is processed by the receiver, and thus becomes likely to be effective, depends on numerous factors. The role of selected determinants such as uncertainty, knowledge, involvement, health-related motives and trust, as well as message content variables, are discussed in the present paper based on previous empirical studies. The different studies indicate that: uncertainty about meat quality and safety does not automatically result in more active information search; subjective knowledge about fish is a better predictor of fish consumption than objective knowledge; high subjective knowledge about functional foods as a result of a low trusted information source such as mass media advertising leads to a lower probability of adopting these foods in the diet. Also, evidence of the stronger impact of negative news as compared with messages promoting positive outcomes of food choices is discussed. Finally, three audience-segmentation studies based on consumers' involvement with fresh meat, individuals' health-related-motive orientations and their use of and trust in fish information sources are presented. A clear message from these studies is that communication and information provision strategies targeted to a specific audience's needs, interests or motives stand a higher likelihood of being attended to and processed by the receiving audience, and therefore also stand a higher chance of yielding their envisaged impact in terms of food choice and dietary behaviour.

  13. Linking consumer energy efficiency with security of supply

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rutherford, J.P.; Scharpf, E.W.; Carrington, C.G.

    2007-01-01

    Most modern energy policies seek to achieve systematic ongoing incremental increases in consumer energy efficiency, since this contributes to improved security of supply, favourable environmental outcomes and increased economic efficiency. Yet realised levels of efficiency are typically well below the most cost-effective equilibrium due to variety of behavioural and organisational barriers, which are often linked to information constraints. In addition efficient users are normally unrewarded for collective benefits to system security and to the environment, thus reducing the incentives for energy consumers to invest in efficiency improvements. This paper examines the dichotomies and symmetries between supply- and demand-side solutions to energy security concerns and reviews opportunities to overcome barriers to improved consumer efficiency. A security market is identified as a mechanism to promote both demand- and supply-side investments that support electricity system security. Such a market would assist in setting the optimal quantity of reserves while achieving an efficient balance between supply- and demand-side initiatives. It would also help to smooth overall investment throughout the energy system by encouraging incremental approaches, such as distributed generation and demand-side alternatives where they provide competitive value. Although the discussion is applicable to energy systems in general, it focuses primarily on electricity in New Zealand

  14. Global market and consumers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rakić Beba

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available All consumers in the world share certain needs and desires. They show however, remarkable diversity in the way they satisfy these needs and desires. Understanding the consumer behavior is difficult enough in the confines of a single country. Can manager understand the consumer behavior in many different world markets? International marketer must learn how to satisfy customers with widely different buying behaviors.

  15. Reducing Negative Outcomes of Online Consumer Health Information: Qualitative Interpretive Study with Clinicians, Librarians, and Consumers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pluye, Pierre; Thoër, Christine; Rodriguez, Charo

    2018-01-01

    consumers on how to assess OCHI websites, and helping consumers present and discuss the OCHI they find with a health professional in their social network or a librarian for instance. Conclusions We examined negative outcomes associated with using OCHI from five complementary perspectives (consumers, family physicians, pharmacists, nurses, and health librarians). We identified a construct of OCHI use–related tension that included and framed all negative outcomes. This construct has three dimensions (three interdependent levels): internal, interpersonal, and service-related tensions. Future research can focus on the implementation and effectiveness of the proposed strategies, which might contribute to reducing these tensions. PMID:29728350

  16. Complexity, public reporting, and choice of doctors: a look inside the blackest box of consumer behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schlesinger, Mark; Kanouse, David E; Martino, Steven C; Shaller, Dale; Rybowski, Lise

    2014-10-01

    Health care consumers often make choices that are imperfectly informed and inconsistent with their expressed preferences. Past research suggests that these shortcomings become more pronounced as choices become more complex, through either additional options or more performance metrics. But it is unclear why this is true: Consumer choice remains a "black box" that research has scarcely illuminated. In this article, we identify four pathways through which complexity may impair consumer choice. We examine these pathways using data from an experiment in which consumers (hypothetically) selected a primary care physician. Some of the loss of decision quality accompanying more complex choice sets can be explained by consumers' skills and decision-making style, but even after accounting for these factors, complexity undermines the quality of decision making in ways that cannot be fully explained. We conclude by discussing implications for report designers, sponsors, and policy makers aspiring to promote consumer empowerment and health care quality. © The Author(s) 2013.

  17. A glucose meter evaluation co-designed with both health professional and consumer input.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thompson, Harmony; Chan, Huan; Logan, Florence J; Heenan, Helen F; Taylor, Lynne; Murray, Chris; Florkowski, Christopher M; Frampton, Christopher M A; Lunt, Helen

    2013-11-22

    Health consumer's input into assessment of medical device safety is traditionally given either as part of study outcome (trial participants) or during post marketing surveillance. Direct consumer input into the methodological design of device assessment is less common. We discuss the difference in requirements for assessment of a measuring device from the consumer and clinician perspectives, using the example of hand held glucose meters. Around 80,000 New Zealanders with diabetes recently changed their glucose meter system, to enable ongoing access to PHARMAC subsidised meters and strips. Consumers were most interested in a direct comparison of their 'old' meter system (Accu-Chek Performa) with their 'new' meter system (CareSens brand, including the CareSens N POP), rather than comparisons against a laboratory standard. This direct comparison of meter/strip systems showed that the CareSens N POP meter read around 0.6 mmol/L higher than the Performa system. Whilst this difference is unlikely to result in major errors in clinical decision making such as major insulin dosing errors, this information is nevertheless of interest to consumers who switched meters so that they could maintain access to PHARMAC subsidised meters and strips. We recommend that when practical, the consumer perspective be incorporated into study design related to medical device assessment.

  18. Diethylpropion and mazindol: An end to the discussion?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rosa Camila Lucchetta

    Full Text Available Summary Antiobesity pharmacotherapy remains the main point of disagreement among both scientists and regulators. This is probably due to small sample sizes, high levels of heterogeneity, and low methodological quality. For many years, Brazil was one of the largest consumers of appetite suppressants worldwide, with evidence of irrational use of this drug class. Therefore, the country was the scene of a debate that divided the Brazilian Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa - Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária and medical societies over the maintenance record of diethylpropion, mazindol and fenproporex. In this context, this commentary presents new arguments to contribute to the discussion, as well as recommendations for future studies.

  19. Seafood Banquets in Beijing: Consumer Perspectives and Implications for Environmental Sustainability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael Fabinyi

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Understanding the social drivers of increased seafood consumption in China, such as consumer perspectives in banquets, will be crucial if practical strategies to introduce sustainability into this market are to be successfully implemented. Based on 34 semi-structured interviews with key informants including seafood restaurant operators, seafood consumers and seafood traders, this study investigated seafood consumer attitudes and behaviours in Beijing seafood restaurants. The results and discussion is divided into sections that address the popularity and reasons behind the popularity of: 1 seafood banquets in general; 2 fish at banquets; 3 other forms of seafood at banquets; and 4 preferred characteristics and qualities of seafood at banquets. The consumption of certain types of seafood such as live reef fish and sea cucumber is becoming increasingly popular, while the consumption of shark fin is decreasing in popularity. Awareness and concern about sustainability and traceability issues were relatively low, and more significant themes for understanding consumer preferences about seafood include social status and prestige, food safety and quality, and health and nutrition. The paper concludes by demonstrating the implications for market-based interventions and government regulation.

  20. Electricity consumption by battery-powered consumer electronics: A household-level survey

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McAllister, J. Andrew; Farrell, Alexander E.

    2007-01-01

    The rapid proliferation of battery-powered consumer electronics and their reliance on inefficient linear transformers has been suggested to be an important part of the rapid growth in 'miscellaneous' electricity consumption in recent years, but detailed data are scarce. We conducted a survey of 34 randomly selected households (HHs) in Northern California about the number, type, and usage of consumer electronics. We also measured the energy consumption of 85 typical consumer electronic devices through various parts of the charge cycle. These primary data were supplemented by national sales information for consumer electronics. Results indicate that typical HHs own 8.4 rechargeable devices, which have a total average demand of 12-17 W per HH. Statewide, this amounts to 160-220 MW of demand, with the peak occurring in the late evening, and about 1600 GWh per year. Only about 15% of this energy is used for battery charging, the rest is lost as waste heat during no-load and charge maintenance periods. Technical options to increase the efficiency of these devices, and the research and policy steps needed to realize these savings are discussed

  1. Analyzing the Effect of Consumers Emotions on Consumer Behavior at Matahari Department Store Manado

    OpenAIRE

    Tielung, Maria V. J.; Mekel, Peggy A.; Makarawung, Evanglin M.

    2014-01-01

    Companies have to face all of challenge that happen, utilize all of opportunity and understand all of needs and wants of consumers to get a win in business competition. Development of Department Store in Indonesia showed significant figures in line with the increasing of needs toward fulfillment of a fairly large of consumers€™ needs. Emotions are important factor in studying consumption, consumer decision making and consumer behavior. The purpose of this study is to analyze the effect of pos...

  2. Risks and factors of the consumer relations governance in a cosmetic industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maxwell A. Phiri

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The main goal of this article is to identify and discuss the factors that influence consumers’ in their choice of female cosmetic brands. The article goes on to assess the degree of importance that female consumers attach to certain factors which affect consumer choice. The study’s population, consisting of female consumers, comprised of 340 respondents. In order to achieve the paper’s objective, the researcher developed a structured questionnaire and collected and analyzed the data using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS. The findings of the study indicate that the product quality ranked the most important factor even though other factors such as the feminine looking packaging and size of the container were also considered as influential factors in the purchase decision making process. The most influential external influence in the decision-making process was age, followed by sales discounts on the price of the product. The use of celebrities was not considered as an influential factor in the consumer decision-making process.

  3. Impact of scarcity on consumer behavior

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T.U. Kulakovsky

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available This article analyzes the impact of scarcity on consumer behavior and on perception of scarce goods consumer qualities. The author examines and subjects to the critical analysis the impact of scarcity on consumer behavior within economic theory, the theory of reactance and commodity theory. The differences in explaining the impact of scarcity on consumer behavior in economic and psychological sciences is highlighted. The current researcher experimentally proves the impact of the scarcity as an isolated factor on consumer behavior and the impact of scarcity on consumer perception of product quality. According to the reactance theory, an individual perceives scarcity as the restriction of his freedom that causes resistance in response to a possible restriction of freedom of actions. This reinforces the desire to have such a scarce product. To confirm the psychological impact of scarcity on a domestic consumer the author designs and conducts the experiment that confirms the following hypotheses: scarcity affects consumer behavior and stimulates consumers to purchase scarce commodities; scarcity has impact on the perception of scarce product consumer qualities. Such consumer behavior relatively to scarce goods can be used by marketers to promote products on the market.

  4. Building the Case: Changing Consumer Perceptions of the Value of Expanded Community Pharmacist Services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steckowych, Kathryn; Smith, Marie; Spiggle, Susan; Stevens, Andrew; Li, Hao

    2018-01-01

    The role of the community pharmacist has traditionally been a medication dispenser; however, community pharmacists' responsibilities must expand to include more direct patient care services in order to transform primary care practice. Use case-based scenarios to (1) determine factors that contribute to positive and negative consumer perceptions of expanded community pharmacist patient care roles, (2) identify facilitators and barriers that contribute to consumer perceptions of the value of expanded community pharmacist patient care services, and (3) develop a successful approach and strategies for increasing consumer advocacy for the value of expanded community pharmacist patient care services. Two consumer focus groups used scenario-based guided discussions and Likert scale questionnaires to elicit consumer reactions, facilitators, and barriers to expanded community pharmacist services. Convenience, timeliness, and accessibility were common positive reactions across all 3 scenarios. Team approach to care and trust were viewed as major facilitators. Participant concerns included uncertainty about pharmacist training and qualifications, privacy, pharmacists' limited bandwidth to accept new tasks, and potential increased patient costs. Common barriers to service uptake included a lack of insurance payment and physician preference to provide the services. Consumer unfamiliarity with non-traditional community pharmacist services is likely an influencer of consumers' hesitancy to utilize such services; therefore, an opportunity exists to engage consumers and advocacy organizations in supporting expanded community pharmacist roles. This study can inform consumers, advocates, community pharmacists, primary care providers, and community-based organizations on methods to shape consumer perceptions on the value of community pharmacist expanded services.

  5. A garland for consumers: Will the Garland case provide safeguards for vulnerable consumers?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reid, H.

    2000-01-01

    In Garland versus Consumer Gas, the Supreme Court of Canada in October 1998 ruled that the late payment penalties (LPP) charged by Consumer Gas constitute a criminal interest rate, contrary to Section 347 of the Criminal Code. The decision was unexpected in as much as the LPP had been continuously approved by the Ontario Energy Board since its adoption in 1975. This case is used here as an illustration of how consumers, who possess little bargaining power, may be protected from usurious penalties and charges for late payment. An examination of the legislative history surrounding the adoption of Section 347 of the Criminal Code, and a review of relevant Canadian case law with emphasis on the Supreme Court's reasoning with respect to the LPP in the Garland case, is followed by a comparison of Canadian experience with consumer protection in the United States and the United Kingdom. Policy implications of the Garland case from a consumer perspective are examined in general, and in terms of various industries as may be found in policy statements of specific companies. Recommendations are offered suggesting actions that may be taken to further protect consumers from exploitative credit arrangements.48 refs

  6. CGB - Consumer Complaints Data

    Data.gov (United States)

    Federal Communications Commission — Individual informal consumer complaint data detailing complaints filed with the Consumer Help Center beginning October 31, 2014. This data represents information...

  7. Consumer Ethnocentrism and Willingness to Buy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Josiassen, Alexander; Assaf, A. Georg; Karpen, Ingo O.

    2011-01-01

    has also discovered important differences in the cognitive processes and behavior depending on demographic characteristics. However, there are competing views in the literature as to how these fundamental consumer characteristics influence and interact with consumer ethnocentrism. This study further......Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to clarify how demographic consumer characteristics influence and interact with consumer ethnocentrism on willingness to buy. The authors analyze the direct effects of selected characteristics on the tendency for consumer ethnocentrism. Further, the moderating...... effects of these consumer characteristics are investigated. Design/methodology/approach – Data were gathered from 361 consumers in Australia. Data analysis was conducted using regression analysis with interactions and post hoc slope analysis. Findings – The empirical findings show that consumer tendencies...

  8. Consumer consciousness on meat and the environment - Exploring differences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pohjolainen, Pasi; Tapio, Petri; Vinnari, Markus; Jokinen, Pekka; Räsänen, Pekka

    2016-06-01

    Global environmental challenges require changes in both the production and the consumption of goods. In this paper we analyse how consumers perceive the high environmental burden of meat. We analysed consumer environmental consciousness, including problem awareness and a support to action dimensions, latter including perceived self-efficacy as well as solutions to problems. The solutions were positioned on a continuum from increasing the efficiency of production to discussing sufficiency levels in consumption practices (techno-optimism, local meat, organic meat and meat reduction, respectively). We used a statistically representative survey sample (n = 1890) from the population of Finland and cluster analysis to explore differences among consumers. The analysis revealed that most Finns seem to be rather unsure of the study topic. At the same time they tend to have a comparably high level of self-efficacy (55 per cent of respondents) and endorsement of particularly local meat solution type (55%), followed by organic meat (35%), meat reduction (25%) and techno-optimism (15%), though the neutral stand was the most common one across the data. We also identified six consumer groups that reveal not only a high number of Highly unsure consumers (40%), but also some Rather conscious (20%) and a relatively small number of Highly conscious (8%). In addition, there were also easily observable groups of Careless conscious (14%), Rather unsure (9%) and Resistant (8%). The results highlight the need for a multitude of political actions to guide meat consumption, as there are groups that may benefit from practical tools for making dietary changes as well as groups in need for more comprehensive selection of measures, including environmental information. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Developing an evaluation framework for consumer-centred collaborative care of depression using input from stakeholders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCusker, Jane; Yaffe, Mark; Sussman, Tamara; Kates, Nick; Mulvale, Gillian; Jayabarathan, Ajantha; Law, Susan; Haggerty, Jeannie

    2013-03-01

    To develop a framework for research and evaluation of collaborative mental health care for depression, which includes attributes or domains of care that are important to consumers. A literature review on collaborative mental health care for depression was completed and used to guide discussion at an interactive workshop with pan-Canadian participants comprising people treated for depression with collaborative mental health care, as well as their family members; primary care and mental health practitioners; decision makers; and researchers. Thematic analysis of qualitative data from the workshop identified key attributes of collaborative care that are important to consumers and family members, as well as factors that may contribute to improved consumer experiences. The workshop identified an overarching theme of partnership between consumers and practitioners involved in collaborative care. Eight attributes of collaborative care were considered to be essential or very important to consumers and family members: respectfulness; involvement of consumers in treatment decisions; accessibility; provision of information; coordination; whole-person care; responsiveness to changing needs; and comprehensiveness. Three inter-related groups of factors may affect the consumer experience of collaborative care, namely, organizational aspects of care; consumer characteristics and personal resources; and community resources. A preliminary evaluation framework was developed and is presented here to guide further evaluation and research on consumer-centred collaborative mental health care for depression.

  10. Consumers Should Know.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Worthington, Robert M.

    Consumer education can be defined as "a study of intelligent and effective methods of buying and using goods and services, competent money management, and the relationship of the consumer to the economy, the workplace, and the home." An important role of government is providing the individual with information so that the individual can…

  11. Do consumers care about ethics? A cross-cultural study

    OpenAIRE

    Malheiro, Alexandra; Jalali, Marjan Sara; Farhangmehr, Minoo

    2010-01-01

    Discussion towards an understanding about ethical and social responsible corporate behaviours has increased over last two decades. Both marketers and academicians emphasize the interest of the topic. Developed research has been focusing the understanding of a few organizational practices, but consumer’s dyad of the problem calls for further investigation. This work presents some of the main theoretical contributions about consumer ethics, emphasizing the way how purchase attitude may be...

  12. Cutting Power to the Detriment of the Disadvantaged Consumer at the Democratic Rule of Law

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jean Carlos Nunes Pereira

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Administrative law. Consumer Law. Constitutional right. Theory of Fundamental Human Rights. Transversality. Democratic Rule of Law. The cut in the supply of essential public service of electricity when the default results of consumer hipossuficiência. Cutting impracticality than through legal action, that part, an objective aspect, discussion anchored in the Theory of Fundamental Human Rights, and a subjective aspect, the hipossuficiente citizen accompanied by technical defense and the Brazilian State.

  13. ‘Would you eat cultured meat?’: Consumers' reactions and attitude formation in Belgium, Portugal and the United Kingdom

    OpenAIRE

    Verbeke, Wim; Marcu, Afrodita; Rutsaert, Pieter; Gaspar, Rui; Seibt, Beate; Fletcher, Dave; Barnett, Julie

    2015-01-01

    Cultured meat has evolved from an idea and concept into a reality with the August 2013 cultured hamburger tasting in London. Still, how consumers conceive cultured meat is largely an open question. This study addresses consumers' reactions and attitude formation towards cultured meat through analyzing focus group discussions and online deliberations with 179 meat consumers from Belgium, Portugal and the United Kingdom. Initial reactions when learning about cultured meat were underpinned by fe...

  14. Technological Innovations and Consumer Needs: An Analysis of Mobile Communications Market

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Norlia Ahmad

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available This study combines insights from market diffusion and consumer research to provide an inte-grated framework of mobile communications market in Japan. We base our analysis on data from company interview, focus group discussion and industry reports. Our findings indicate that technology push dominates in the early introduction and consumer needs pull in the maturing stage. Three implications for the marketing area are; first, user needs for mobile communications have evolved from basic mobility and functionality to include aesthetic and experiential benefits, second, innovations of product capabilities co-evolve with user needs, and lead to increases in mobile usage and product-user attachments, and third, in a saturated market, mobile consumption is premised on the utilitarian and hedonic values as perceived by the users. As mobile phone is a universal product, analysis of a saturated market such as Japan provides a deeper understanding of the evolution of technology and consumer in other markets.

  15. Gazing behavior reactions of Vietnamese and Austrian consumers to Austrian wafers and their relations to wanting, expected and tasted liking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vu, Thi Minh Hang; Tu, Viet Phu; Duerrschmid, Klaus

    2018-05-01

    Predictability of consumers' food choice based on their gazing behavior using eye-tracking has been shown and discussed in recent research. By applying this observational technique and conventional methods on a specific food product, this study aims at investigating consumers' reactions associated with gazing behavior, wanting, building up expectations, and the experience of tasting. The tested food products were wafers from Austria with hazelnut, whole wheat, lemon and vanilla flavors, which are very well known in Austria and not known in Vietnam. 114 Vietnamese and 128 Austrian participants took part in three sections: The results indicate that: i) the gazing behavior parameters are highly correlated in a positive way with the wanting-to-try choice; ii) wanting to try is in compliance with the expected liking for the Austrian consumer panel only, which is very familiar with the products; iii) the expected and tasted liking of the products are highly country and product dependent. The expected liking is strongly correlated with the tasted liking for the Austrian panel only. Differences between the reactions of the Vietnamese and Austrian consumers are discussed in detail. The results, which reflect the complex process from gazing for "wanting to try" to the expected and tasted liking, are discussed in the context of the cognitive theory and food choice habits of the consumers. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  16. Intelligent support of e-management for consumer-focused virtual enterprises

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chandra, Charu; Smirnov, Alexander V.

    2000-10-01

    The interest in consumer-focused virtual enterprises (VE) decision-making problem is growing fast. The purpose of this type of enterprise is to transform incomplete information about customer orders and available resources into-co-ordinated plans for production and replenishment of goods and services in the temporal network formed by collaborating units. This implies that information in the consumer-focused VE can be shared via Internet, Intranet, and Extranet for business-to-consumer (B2C), business-to-business service (B2B-S), and business-to-business goods (B2B-G) transactions. One of the goals of Internet-Based Management (e-management) is to facilitate transfer and sharing of data and knowledge in the context of enterprise collaboration. This paper discusses a generic framework of e-management that integrates intelligent information support group-decision making, and agreement modeling for a VE network. It offers the platform for design and modeling of diverse implementation strategies related to the type of agreement, optimization policies, decision-making strategies, organization structures, and information sharing strategies and mechanisms, and business policies for the VE.

  17. USING CHILDREN TO SELL: CHILDHOOD AND ADVERTISING OF CONSUMER MAGAZINES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paula Deporte Andrade

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available In the present society, also identified as a "consumer society" (Bauman, 2008, people, irrespective of gender, age, social and financial conditions, are all called for consumption. In this article we turn to the childhood and approached one of the faces of their insertion into the society of consumers, trying to show how children are used to sell. As a frame of theoretical reference we adopt, among others, the writings of Zygmunt Bauman, Juliet Schor and Robert Bocock, dealing with contemporary versions of consumption. Analyzing weekly magazines of large circulation, we discuss how productive it is for the economic market the alliance between childhood and consumption and we argue that this use of children in publicity contributes for a new conception of childhood: the childhood of consumption. An erotized childhood, always wanting more and never feeling satisfied, focused in acquiring and showing off. This is the childhood that is coming to school with new interests, preferences and behavior, deserving our entire attention. Key-words: contemporary childhood, childhood and consumption, consumer society, advertising, magazines.

  18. Relating Economic Ideology to Consumer Protection: A Suggested Unit in Consumer Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herrmann, Robert O.

    1977-01-01

    Describes a suggested unit in consumer education designed to give students insight into the controversy about consumer protection policy and proposals, and compares the basic views of three economic belief systems: neoclassical, managerial, and liberal-Galbraithian. (MF)

  19. Motivational factors for consuming omega-3 PUFAs: an exploratory study with Danish consumers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krutulyte, Rasa; Grunert, Klaus G; Scholderer, Joachim; Hagemann, Kit Skov; Elgaard, Peter; Nielsen, Brian; Graverholt, Jens Peter

    2008-07-01

    Growing consumer awareness of functional foods and understanding of their positive nutritional effects have led to the need of specific studies and have captured more attention than ever before. In Europe, Danish consumers have been found to be relatively negative towards the concept of functional foods. This paper presents the results of a qualitative pilot study that aimed to explore Danish consumers' motives for choosing omega-3/fish oil enriched products. The Health Action Process Approach (HAPA) was applied as a theoretical framework to understand the process by which people choose healthy foods. By conducting qualitative in-depth interviews the study mostly focused on the role of behavioural intention predictors such as risk perception, outcome expectations and self-efficacy. The results of the study suggest that consumers' understanding of healthy eating as such does not relate to the choice of omega-3/fish oil, whereas perception of omega-3 as an ingredient in selected foods does indeed influence consumers' choice of carrier-ingredient combinations.

  20. Consumer choice: Linking consumer intentions to actual purchase of GM labeled food products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sleenhoff, Susanne; Osseweijer, Patricia

    2013-01-01

    With a mandatory labeling scheme for GM food in Europe since 2004 measuring actual consumer choice in practice has become possible. Anticipating Europeans negative attitude toward GM food, the labeling was enforced to allow consumers to make an informed choice. We studied consumers actual purchase behavior of GM food products and compared this with their attitude and behavioral intention for buying GM food. We found that despite a majority of consumers voicing a negative attitude toward GM food over 50% of our European respondents stated that they did not actively avoid the purchase of GM food and 6% actually purchased one of the few available GM labeled food products in the period between September 2006 and October 2007. Our results imply that a voiced negative attitude of consumers in responses to questionnaires about their intentions is not a reliable guide for what they actually do in supermarkets. We conclude that the assumption of a negative attitude with regard to GM food is at least in part construed.

  1. Traceability information carriers. The technology backgrounds and consumers' perceptions of the technological solutions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chrysochou, Polymeros; Chryssochoidis, George; Kehagia, Olga

    2009-12-01

    The implementation of traceability in the food supply chain has reinforced adoption of technologies with the ability to track forward and trace back product-related information. Based on the premise that these technologies can be used as a means to provide product-related information to consumers, this paper explores the perceived benefits and drawbacks of such technologies. The aim is to identify factors that influence consumers' perceptions of such technologies, and furthermore to advise the agri-food business on issues that they should consider prior to the implementation of such technologies in their production lines. For the purposes of the study, a focus group study was conducted across 12 European countries, while a set of four different technologies used as a means to provide traceability information to consumers was the focal point of the discussions in each focus group. Results show that the amount of and confidence in the information provided, perceived levels of convenience, impact on product quality and safety, impact on consumers' health and the environment, and potential consequences on ethical and privacy liberties constitute important factors influencing consumers' perceptions of technologies that provide traceability.

  2. The Effects of Activity and Aging on Rural Community Living and Consuming.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Nancy J.; Kim, Soyoung; Schofield-Tomschin, Sherry

    1998-01-01

    Discusses a study of the effects of social activity and aging on variables related to individual motivations, community membership, and consumer behavior of respondents (n=630) living in rural communities. Findings suggest an embeddedness of marketplace activity in the social networks of rural communities. (Author/JOW)

  3. Consumers' Attitudes Toward Printed Green Advertising : A study of attitudes among Swedish consumers

    OpenAIRE

    Ekström, Amanda; Gustafsson, Niclas

    2012-01-01

    Introduction With the increased interest and awareness toward environmental issues among Swedish consumers, their demands on what constitutes value in advertisements have also changed. Advertising-in-general is often regarded as a rather unwelcomed intrusion and a source of irritation by consumers and a common reason is that many advertisers have overdramatized or even spread false claims about products, causing great skepticism among consumers. With the increase of environmentally minded con...

  4. Consumer Energy Atlas

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1980-06-01

    This first edition of the Atlas provides, in reference form, a central source of information to consumers on key contacts concerned with energy in the US. Energy consumers need information appropriate to local climates and characteristics - best provided by state and local governments. The Department of Energy recognizes the authority of state and local governments to manage energy programs on their own. Therefore, emphasis has been given to government organizations on both the national and state level that influence, formulate, or administer policies affecting energy production, distribution, and use, or that provide information of interest to consumers and non-specialists. In addition, hundreds of non-government energy-related membership organizations, industry trade associations, and energy publications are included.

  5. Small Wind Electric Systems: A New Mexico Consumer's Guide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    O'Dell, K.

    2001-01-01

    The New Mexico Consumer's Guide for Small Wind Electric Systems provides consumers with enough information to help them determine if a small wind electric system can provide all or a portion of the energy they need for their home or business based on their wind resource, energy needs, and their economics. Topics discussed in the guide include: how to make your home more energy efficient, how to choose the right size turbine, the parts of a wind electric system, determining if there is enough wind resource on your site, choosing the best site for your turbine, connecting your system to the utility grid, and if it's possible to become independent of the utility grid using wind energy. In addition, the cover of the guide contains a state wind resource map and a list of state incentives and state contacts for more information

  6. Small Wind Electric Systems: A South Dakota Consumer's Guide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    O'Dell, K.

    2001-01-01

    The South Dakota Consumer's Guide for Small Wind Electric Systems provides consumers with enough information to help them determine if a small wind electric system can provide all or a portion of the energy they need for their home or business based on their wind resource, energy needs, and their economics. Topics discussed in the guide include: how to make your home more energy efficient, how to choose the right size turbine, the parts of a wind electric system, determining if there is enough wind resource on your site, choosing the best site for your turbine, connecting your system to the utility grid, and if it's possible to become independent of the utility grid using wind energy. In addition, the cover of the guide contains a state wind resource map and a list of state incentives and state contacts for more information

  7. European consumers' acceptance and rejection of novel beef technologies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    de Barcellos, Marcia Dutra; Kügler, Jens Oliver; Grunert, Klaus G.

    As part of ProSafeBeef, an integrated research project funded by the European Commission, the present qualitative study was carried out with European consumers to obtain insights into their acceptance or rejection of eight selected novel beef production and processing technologies, identified here...... capital cities: Madrid, Paris, Berlin and London. A common and translated topic guide was developed prior to the field work. A ranking exercise was applied, where the participants classified the technologies into accepted, neutral or rejected concepts, after discussing the perceived benefits and risks...... in society, global warming crisis, disease outbreaks and degradation of the environment are shaping consumers' opinion in regard to food production. There was a severe criticism about too much intervention in food and a strong desire to keep food and beef processing as simple and natural as possible....

  8. Consumer response to a report card comparing healthcare systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Braun, Barbara L; Kind, Elizabeth A; Fowles, Jinnet B; Suarez, Walter G

    2002-06-01

    Report cards to date have focused on quality of care in health plans rather than within healthcare delivery systems. The purpose of this study was to evaluate consumer response to the first healthcare system-level report card. Qualitative assessment of consumer response. We conducted 5 focus groups of community members to evaluate consumer response to the report card; 2 included community club members, 3 included community-dwelling retired persons. Discussions were audiotaped and transcribed; comments were categorized by topic area from the script, and common themes identified. Focus group participants, in general, were unaware of the current emphasis on medical quality improvement initiatives. However, they believed that the opinion that the descriptive clinic information and patient survey data contained in the report card would be most useful mainly for choosing a healthcare system if they were dissatisfied with current medical care, if their healthcare options changed, or if they were in poor health. Personal experience was considered a more trustworthy measure of healthcare quality than were patient survey results. Trustworthiness was perceived to be higher if the report card sponsor was not affiliated with the healthcare systems being evaluated. Participants also believed care system administrators should use the data to enact positive clinic-level and physician-level changes. Healthcare consumers appreciated the attention to patient experiences and supported healthcare quality improvement initiatives. Report cards were considered important for choosing a healthcare system in certain circumstances and for guiding quality improvement efforts at all levels.

  9. The dynamics of consumer behaviour: On habit, discontent, and other fish to fry

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Scholderer, Joachim; Trondsen, Torbjørn

    2008-01-01

    Recent research has drawn attention to the role of past behaviour and habit in the overall structure of consumer behaviour. We argue that in cross-sectional data past behaviour and habit must be confounded with present beliefs and attitudes when the behaviour in question has been enacted numerous...... supply. These negative evaluations, in turn, prompted substitution of traditional seafood with newly available, processed seafood products and an increasing dominance of aqua-cultured species. The theoretical discussion focuses on the inability of static models of consumer behaviour (in particular...... times before. To disentangle the effects, longitudinal data were collected from a large panel of Norwegian consumers (effective N=4184) in 1996, 2000, and 2004. Cross-lagged panel analysis indicated that higher consumption of traditional seafood led to increasingly negative evaluations of the product...

  10. Consumer understanding of food labels: toward a generic tool for identifying the average consumer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Henrik Selsøe; Holm, Lotte; Møgelvang-Hansen, Peter

    2013-01-01

    The ‘average consumer’ is referred to as a standard in regulatory contexts when attempts are made to benchmark how consumers are expected to reason while decoding food labels. An attempt is made to operationalize this hypothetical ‘average consumer’ by proposing a tool for measuring the level of ...... that independent future studies of consumer behavior and decision making in relation to food products in different contexts could benefit from this type of benchmarking tool.......The ‘average consumer’ is referred to as a standard in regulatory contexts when attempts are made to benchmark how consumers are expected to reason while decoding food labels. An attempt is made to operationalize this hypothetical ‘average consumer’ by proposing a tool for measuring the level...... of informedness of an individual consumer against the national median at any time. Informedness, i.e. the individual consumer's ability to interpret correctly the meaning of the words and signs on a food label is isolated as one essential dimension for dividing consumers into three groups: less-informed, informed...

  11. Choisen problems of the consumer protection

    OpenAIRE

    HUML, Jan

    2010-01-01

    The main aim is to determine consumers' awareness of their rights in the area of consumer protection. Secondary targets are to explored the reason of ignorance of law, determine consumer satisfaction with consumer protection and design measures to improve the situation.

  12. A STUDY ON CHANGING CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR TOWARDS FAST MOVING CONSUMABLE GOODS IN INDIA

    OpenAIRE

    Deekshitha; M. A. Udaya Kumar; M. D. Pradeep

    2017-01-01

    Consumers are the king in the modern business world. They are one who buys goods for their consumption to meet their aspirations. Fulfilling consumer desire is the ultimate goal of marketing activities. Indian business are highly influenced by the rapid changes in the technology, improved economic systems, higher purchasing power of consumers, changing life style, online marketing and retail opportunities. Organised retail business has facilitated towards bringing drastic changes in the buyi...

  13. Consumer Acceptance of Novel Foods

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Fischer, A.R.H.; Reinders, M.J.

    2016-01-01

    The success of novel foods depends to a considerable extent on whether consumers accept those innovations. This chapter provides an overview of current knowledge relevant to consumer acceptance of innovations in food. A broad range of theories and approaches to assess consumer response to

  14. 7 CFR 1230.5 - Consumer information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 10 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Consumer information. 1230.5 Section 1230.5 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (MARKETING... CONSUMER INFORMATION Pork Promotion, Research, and Consumer Information Order Definitions § 1230.5 Consumer...

  15. Service quality in consumer's credit branch

    OpenAIRE

    Blechová, Věra

    2008-01-01

    The diploma thesis deals with consumer's credit grants of banking and non-banking corporations and comparison of their service quality. The first part of research is dedicated to consumer's knowledge of credit issues. Second describes main difficulties of consumer's credit grants of banking and non-banking corporations and proves their use of unfair manners. The final part of thesis propose improvements, which will boost consumer's protection on field of consumer's credits.

  16. Consumer Trust in E-commerce

    OpenAIRE

    Gustavsson, Malin; Johansson, Anne-Marie

    2006-01-01

    An often mentioned reason for consumers not purchasing from Internet vendors, is the lack of trust. The lack of physical clues and physical interaction in the online environment make it more difficult to establish trust with the consumers. So, it is important for companies to learn how to manage consumers’ trust in e-commerce. Although, building consumer trust on the Internet is a challenge for online vendors. The purpose with this dissertation was to get a better understanding of consumer t...

  17. A review of empirical studies on examining the consumers' mobile advertising attitudes between 2000-2011

    OpenAIRE

    ALTUĞ, Nevin; YÜRÜK, Pınar

    2013-01-01

    Changes in the mobile phone technology and the rapid increase in the use of mobile phones have created a new field both for marketers and advertisers as well as for researchers to reach consumers. Therefore, marketing applications made through mobile phones have become a subject for various researches. In this study, mobile marketing and advertising have been discussed. This paper investigates the theoretical base in the literature about the relations which display “whether the consumers appr...

  18. A review of empirical studies on examining the consumers' mobile advertising attitudes between 2000-2011

    OpenAIRE

    ALTUĞ, Nevin; YÜRÜK, Pınar

    2014-01-01

    Changes in the mobile phone technology and the rapid increase in the use of mobile phones have created a new field both for marketers and advertisers as well as for researchers to reach consumers. Therefore, marketing applications made through mobile phones have become a subject for various researches. In this study, mobile marketing and advertising have been discussed. This paper investigates the theoretical base in the literature about the relations which display “whether the consumers appr...

  19. A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words: Consumer Perceptions of Agricultural Images

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joy N. Rumble

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Individuals interpret agricultural images differently according to the direct or cultural meanings they associate with the image, as well as the perspective through which they view the image. In addition, perceptions of agricultural images are commonly influenced by stereotypes. As agricultural communicators, it is important to understand the perceptions consumers have about agricultural images. Understanding these perceptions can allow communicators to use images in their communication that will promote favorable perceptions of the industry. To better understand consumers’ perceptions of agricultural images, this study asked consumers about their perceptions using focus group methodology. Four focus groups were completed with a total of 36 participants. The results indicated that elements of semiotics and perception theory were evident in the participants’ discussion. Thus, these theories combined with the results provide valuable information in regard to selecting images for communication that will create favorable responses among consumers.

  20. The Michigan Consumer Protection Act of 1976. Consumer Education Training Module.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Monsma, Charles

    This guide for secondary teachers is designed to identify and illustrate specified illegal practices identified in the Michigan Consumer Protection Act of 1976. The guide also explains procedures that a consumer or law-enforcement agency can take to enforce the provisions of this law. Since the act is a broad one, students learn not only about…

  1. Information Sensitive Consumers and Market Information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Price, Linda L.; And Others

    1987-01-01

    Past research on consumer information has emphasized the effects of informed consumers of the provision of goods by sellers. This paper examines the effects of informed consumers on other consumers' product choices. These are demand-side effects. Directions for research are outlined. Author/CH)

  2. Characteristics and consequences of consumer society

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Trandafilović Igor

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper's aim is studying the term of consumer society and its characteristics as well as its consequences on the community as a whole. Nowadays, a consumer is no longer a passive observer but an active participant. As the consumer's role has changed in the modern market, a new approach to marketing is required by companies. The term 'consumer society' entails defining consumerism in more detail as it has been used refer to the consumerists movement or movement for consumer rights protection. In another context, consumerism refers to the so-called consumer mentality.

  3. Consumer Empowerment in Dermatology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoch, Heather E.; Busse, Kristine L.; Dellavalle, Robert P.

    2009-01-01

    Summary Health care consumers increasingly confront and collaborate with their medical providers. We describe consumer success in other medical fields and in dermatology, especially dermatologic disease advocacy and improving dermatologist-patient interactions. PMID:19254661

  4. Engaging luxury consumers in social media : Does active consumer engagement influence brand image?

    OpenAIRE

    Åvall, Martina

    2017-01-01

    This study aimed to investigate the effects of active consumer engagement within social media based brand communities on the brand image and luxury consumers’ desire to pur-chase luxury goods. The purpose of this study was to prove that by actively engaging con-sumers on social media luxury brands can positively influence the way consumers perceive the brand and through it increase consumers’ intention to purchase their products and services. Secondary research was carried out through col...

  5. Factors influencing purchase intention towards consumer-to-consumer e-commerce

    OpenAIRE

    Muhammad Dachyar; Liska Banjarnahor

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: This study explores factors that influence consumer’s purchase intention at three consumer-to-consumer (C2C) e-commerce companies in Indonesia. Design/methodology: 5 Expert opinions are used to determine the indicators of each factor and the Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) method is used to analyze the empirical data of 400 respondents for each company. Findings: It is found different significant factors that influence customer’s purchase intention in each compa...

  6. Understanding consumer acceptance of intervention strategies for healthy food choices: a qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bos, Colin; Van der Lans, Ivo A; Van Rijnsoever, Frank J; Van Trijp, Hans C M

    2013-11-13

    The increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity poses a major threat to public health. Intervention strategies for healthy food choices potentially reduce obesity rates. Reviews of the effectiveness of interventions, however, show mixed results. To maximise effectiveness, interventions need to be accepted by consumers. The aim of the present study is to explore consumer acceptance of intervention strategies for low-calorie food choices. Beliefs that are associated with consumer acceptance are identified. Data was collected in the Netherlands in 8 semi-structured interviews and 4 focus group discussions (N = 39). Nine archetypical strategies representing educational, marketing and legal interventions served as reference points. Verbatim transcriptions were coded both inductively and deductively with the framework approach. We found that three beliefs are related to consumer acceptance: 1) general beliefs regarding obesity, such as who is responsible for food choice; 2) the perceived effectiveness of interventions; and 3) the perceived fairness of interventions. Furthermore, the different aspects underlying these general and intervention-specific beliefs were identified. General and intervention-specific beliefs are associated with consumer acceptance of interventions for low-calorie food choices. Policymakers in the food domain can use the findings to negotiate the development of interventions and to assess the feasibility of interventions. With respect to future research, we recommend that segments of consumers based on perceptions of intervention strategies are identified.

  7. Understanding consumer acceptance of intervention strategies for healthy food choices: a qualitative study

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-01

    Background The increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity poses a major threat to public health. Intervention strategies for healthy food choices potentially reduce obesity rates. Reviews of the effectiveness of interventions, however, show mixed results. To maximise effectiveness, interventions need to be accepted by consumers. The aim of the present study is to explore consumer acceptance of intervention strategies for low-calorie food choices. Beliefs that are associated with consumer acceptance are identified. Methods Data was collected in the Netherlands in 8 semi-structured interviews and 4 focus group discussions (N = 39). Nine archetypical strategies representing educational, marketing and legal interventions served as reference points. Verbatim transcriptions were coded both inductively and deductively with the framework approach. Results We found that three beliefs are related to consumer acceptance: 1) general beliefs regarding obesity, such as who is responsible for food choice; 2) the perceived effectiveness of interventions; and 3) the perceived fairness of interventions. Furthermore, the different aspects underlying these general and intervention-specific beliefs were identified. Conclusions General and intervention-specific beliefs are associated with consumer acceptance of interventions for low-calorie food choices. Policymakers in the food domain can use the findings to negotiate the development of interventions and to assess the feasibility of interventions. With respect to future research, we recommend that segments of consumers based on perceptions of intervention strategies are identified. PMID:24225034

  8. 75 FR 78632 - Consumer Leasing

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-12-16

    ... The new threshold for exempt consumer leases in the CLA goes into effect on July 21, 2011. Accordingly... and 213.4) and when the availability of consumer leases on particular terms is advertised (Sec. 213.7... regulation also contain rules about advertising consumer leases. The information collection pursuant to...

  9. The consumer in Austrian economics and the Austrian perspective on consumer policy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Leen, A.R.

    1999-01-01

    In this thesis I examined the place of the competitive-entrepreneurial consumer in Austrian economic thought. For a neoclassical economist, competition among consumers is hard to find. For an Austrian economist, however, it is a necessity. The introduction puts forward the problem that although an

  10. Consumer demand and quality assurance

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Grunert, Klaus G; Wognum, Nel; Trienekens, Jacques

    2011-01-01

    Consumers differ in their demands, and this mau have implications for the type of supply chain governance that is most suitable for serving them. We present a segmentation of pork consumers in the EU based on their food-related lifestyles and demand for different pork products. We then present...... an inventory of pork chain governance and quality management systems, also resulting from a pan-European study, and attempt to match types of chains to consumer segments, arguing that the type of quality demanded by the consumers has implications especially for the quality management system governing the chain......, and that these implications are different for fresh meat and processed meat. The paper closes with a call for more collaboration between chain researchers and consumer researchers....

  11. The Consumer Society: Is There a Place for Traditional Adult Education?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jarvis, Peter

    2008-01-01

    This paper assumes that contemporary Western society is a consumer society and argues that the need of global capitalism to sell its commodities in the market place is the fundamental force behind consumerism. A model of globalisation is discussed. In it, we see how the control of information technology means that producers have the power to…

  12. Can Consumers Understand Sustainability through Seafood Eco-Labels? A U.S. and UK Case Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexis Gutierrez

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available In the United States and the United Kingdom, over the last decade major retail chains have increasingly publicized their efforts to supply sustainably sourced and eco-labelled seafood. Debate exists over the extent of consumer demand for this product. Seafood eco-labels purportedly resolve the information asymmetry between producer and consumer, allowing consumers who care about sustainability to easily find and purchase these products. This paper discusses the idealized model of seafood eco-labelling in promoting sustainability and presents results of US and UK case studies based on consumer interviews and surveys, which found that consumers had often seen one or more seafood eco-labels. Two well-established eco-labels, dolphin-safe and organic, drove these rates of sustainable seafood awareness. These rates are interpreted in the context of consumer’s understanding of sustainable. The Sustainable Seafood Movement’s efforts to increase the supply of eco-labelled seafood and elaborate corporate buying policies for sustainable seafood are influencing consumer’s recognition and purchase of certified sustainable seafood products. However, eco-labels are a means to communicate messages about sustainable fisheries to consumers, not an end. Efforts to educate consumers about eco-labels should be a component of ocean literacy efforts, which educate the public about the need for sustainable fisheries.

  13. Attitudes of nursing students on consumer participation: the effectiveness of the Mental Health Consumer Participation Questionnaire.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Byrne, Louise; Happell, Brenda; Platania-Phung, Chris

    2015-01-01

    The aims of this article were to evaluate the Mental Health Consumer Participation Questionnaire, and measure nursing students' attitudes to consumer participation. Undergraduate nursing students (n = 116) completed the Mental Health Consumer Participation Questionnaire at the start of a course on recovery for mental health nursing practice. The current findings confirm an endorsement of consumer participation in individual care processes, but less agreement with participation in organizational-level processes, such as management of mental health services and education of providers. This article also confirms that the questionnaire can effectively measure attitudes to consumer participation. The participation of consumers is critical for achieving person-centered services mental health services. It is important that nursing education influence positive attitudes. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  14. A Discussão Epistemológica em Marketing 1990-2010

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mauricio Pozzebon de Lima

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available O presente estudo investiga o quanto a discussão epistemológica em marketing tem estado presente nos periódicos da disciplina nos últimos 20 anos. Com este objetivo, foi realizada uma análise bibliométrica nos 5 principais journals da área (Journal of Marketing, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Consumer Psychology e em mais duas publicações escolhidas por seu perfil editorial (Marketing Theory e Marketing Science. Foram analisados artigos, comentários e editoriais publicados entre 1990 e 2010. Igualmente foram buscados livros editados sobre a disciplina e que pudessem conter discussões acerca da epistemologia em marketing. A análise dos dados revelou uma inconstância na quantidade de publicações sobre o tema, bem como o destaque de dois periódicos (Marketing Theory e Marketing Science identificados como aqueles que capitanearam o debate no período. A quantidade proporcional de artigos encontrados revela que os momentos de discussão sobre epistemologia aconteceram por esforços isolados de periódicos ou de uma editora (Sage, e não por um debate fomentado por diversos acadêmicos. Por último, a grande quantidade de publicações encontradas sobre metodologia, e não sobre epistemologia, pode estar evidenciando uma tendência à instrumentalização da disciplina. O trabalho é dividido como segue: Introdução; (1 Os primórdios do estudo de marketing, onde buscamos entender a história da disciplina; (2 O surgimento do marketing como disciplina, em que descrevemos como o marketing foi formalmente aceito como área de estudo; (3 Marketing e ciência, uma rápida retomada do debate sobre cientificidade em marketing; (4 Método; (5 Resultados; Discussão e conclusão. DOI: 10.5585/remark.v13i1.2378

  15. Preferences for berries among consumers in southern Chile: blueberries are produced but are they consumed?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schnettler, Berta; Miranda, Horacio; Sepúlveda, José; Denegri, Marianela; Mora, Marcos; Lobos, Germán

    2011-09-01

    Blueberry plantations in Chile are oriented exclusively towards exports to northern hemisphere countries; however, this fruit has recently been introduced into the domestic market due to the increased supply and a fall in export market prices. Based on the previously mentioned, the objectives of the present study were to evaluate consumer preferences for 3 species of berries (blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries), sold loose (unpackaged) as opposed to packaged and branded, at different prices, in one of the principal blueberry producing areas of Chile; and to distinguish consumer segments by their preferences. To do this a survey was applied to 400 people in the Araucanía Region of southern Chile, who were responsible for purchasing fruit for their households. Conjoint analysis showed a preference for raspberries and strawberries over blueberries, packaged and branded, at the lowest price. Total of 2 principal segments were distinguished by cluster analysis: "price sensitive" (42.7%), who preferred strawberries, and "sensitive to species of berry" (47.5%), who preferred raspberries and strawberries. The segments presented different profiles in their demographic make-up and fruit consumption behavior. Strategies are discussed that might reverse the low acceptance of blueberries in the Chilean domestic market. This study presents information on the introduction of new fresh foods into the market. © 2011 Institute of Food Technologists®

  16. The Consumer Protection Bill, 2015: (Lack of) Rights of the Consumer to Terminate Sale Contract

    OpenAIRE

    Pathak, Akhileshwar

    2015-01-01

    Consumer protection law rests on the foundations of contract law and the law of sale of goods. A consumer law has to conceptually express this foundation and the modifications it is bringing about in these laws. Without this, the law would become unclear, conflicting and confusing. The Consumer Protection Bill, 2015 is not secured in its foundation and needs revision. The paper reviews the rights of the consumer to terminate the contract and makes suggestions for revision. The suggestions, wi...

  17. Invitation to Consumer Behavior Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foxall, Gordon R.

    2010-01-01

    This article presents an introduction to consumer behavior analysis by describing the Behavioral Perspective Model of consumer choice and showing how research has, first, confirmed this framework and, second, opened up behavior analysis and behavioral economics to the study of consumer behavior in natural settings. It concludes with a discussion…

  18. Gloves-off Consumer Economics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGowan, Daniel A.

    1992-01-01

    The evolution of the consumer economics course at Hobart and William Smith College demonstrates its mainstreaming in the liberal arts curriculum. The course uses principles of economics to address broad and often controversial consumer issues. (SK)

  19. Representing distance, consuming distance

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Gunvor Riber

    Title: Representing Distance, Consuming Distance Abstract: Distance is a condition for corporeal and virtual mobilities, for desired and actual travel, but yet it has received relatively little attention as a theoretical entity in its own right. Understandings of and assumptions about distance...... are being consumed in the contemporary society, in the same way as places, media, cultures and status are being consumed (Urry 1995, Featherstone 2007). An exploration of distance and its representations through contemporary consumption theory could expose what role distance plays in forming...

  20. "Chipping away": non-consumer researcher perspectives on barriers to collaborating with consumers in mental health research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Happell, Brenda; Gordon, Sarah; Bocking, Julia; Ellis, Pete; Roper, Cath; Liggins, Jackie; Scholz, Brett; Platania-Phung, Chris

    2018-04-30

    Collaboration between researchers who have lived experience of mental illness and services (consumer researchers) and mental health researchers without (other mental health researchers) is an emergent development in research. Inclusion of consumer perspectives is crucial to ensuring the ethics, relevancy and validity of mental health research; yet widespread and embedded consumer collaboration of this nature is known to be impeded by attitudinal and organisational factors. Limited research describes consumer researchers' experiences of barriers. Other mental health researchers are key players in the co-production process yet there is also a paucity of research reporting their views on barriers to collaborating with consumers. To explore other researchers' views and experiences on partnering with consumer mental health researchers in Australia and New Zealand. Exploratory qualitative design. Eleven semi-structured interviews were conducted with mental health researchers. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and thematically analysed. Four themes concerning barriers to collaborating with consumers (hierarchies, status quo, not understanding, paternalism), and one theme on addressing the barriers (constantly chipping away) were identified. It is suggested that multifaceted strategies for advancing collaboration with consumers are most effective. It is imperative to attend to several barriers simultaneously to redress the inherent power disparity.

  1. Global Brands and Consumer Ethnocentrism of Youth Soft Drink Consumers in Greater Jakarta, Indonesia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hammam Haris Tasurru

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Indonesia is a large market for consumer products targeting youth consumers, with populations of more than 70 million young inhabitants and market size of USD 155 billion. The large size of this potential market attracts foreign products with globallyrecognized brands to enter the Indonesian market. The objective of this study is to explain the purchase intention of youth consumers toward a particular brand of soft drink with global penetration by their perceptions and ethnocentrism. This study obtained response from 156 youths in Greater Jakarta, Indonesia. The resulting data was analyzed using structural equation modeling with LISREL software package. The study found that consumer ethnocentrism decreases purchase intention, both directly and indirectly through brand image. Contrary to the hypothesis, consumer ethnocentrism does not influence corporate image of the global firm, which significantly influences brand image but only slightly impacts purchase intentions directly.

  2. Nutrigenomics and ethics interface: direct-to-consumer services and commercial aspects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ries, Nola M; Castle, David

    2008-12-01

    A growing variety and number of genetic tests are advertised and sold directly to consumers (DTC) via the Internet, including nutrigenomic tests and associated products and services. Consumers have more access to genetic information about themselves, but access does not entail certainty about the implications of test results. Potential personal and public health harms and benefits are associated with DTC access to genetic testing services. Early policy responses to direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing often involved calls for bans, and some jurisdictions prohibited DTC genetic tests. Recent policy responses by oversight bodies acknowledge expansion in the range of DTC tests available and suggest that a "one-size-fits-all" regulatory approach is not appropriate for all genetic tests. This review discusses ethical and regulatory aspects of DTC genetic testing, focusing particularly on nutrigenomic tests. We identify policy options for regulating DTC genetic tests, including full or partial prohibitions, enforcement of existing truth-in-advertising laws, and more comprehensive information disclosure about genetic tests. We advocate the latter option as an important means to improve transparency about current evidence on the strengths and limits of gene-disease associations and allow consumers to make informed purchasing decisions in the DTC marketplace.

  3. Factors Influencing Store Selection for Supply with Fast-Moving Consumer Goods

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Albana Berisha Qehaja

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The main purpose of this paper is to contribute to the discussion on factors that influence store selection for supply with fast-moving consumer goods. We have surveyed 90 households in the Republic of Kosovo. We have decided to undertake this research seeing in one hand ‘competitive struggle’ which is being developed among the largest retail chains of fast-moving consumer goods, and, on the other hand, the created ‘situation’ for traditional stores as a result of the expansion of these retailers. This study also aims to highlight factors that consumers consider in order to improve the performance of these businesses. We have proposed that the opening of hypermarkets in Kosovo has affected negatively on traditional stores’ turnover. We have also proposed that the most influential factors in customers in the selection of stores where they will be supplied with fast-moving consumer goods are the rich store offering, good customer service and good staff behaviour. We have also proposed that the factors affecting the selection of hypermarket/store for supplying are closely related to the factors that affect customer dissatisfaction that leads to the change of hypermarket/ store. The results of this empirical study are consistent with the hypothesis set out in the paper.

  4. Consumer viewpoints on food irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fazal, A.

    1985-01-01

    The International Organization of Consumers Unions (IOCU), a non-profit, non-party political foundation that represents the interests of consumers worldwide. It consists of some 1,140 organizations in over 50 countries of the world in the North, South, East and West. IOCU also represents the interest of the consumers in the U N system and enjoys consultative status with many of its various organs and agencies. This paper also speaks from the additional perspective of a Third World person who active in consumer public affairs issues over the last two decades

  5. Consumer Advertising: Its Role in Bringing a Product to Market. Revised Edition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Procter and Gamble Educational Services, Cincinnati, OH.

    This kit, designed for high school classes, considers advertising from both consumers' and manufacturers' perspectives. The role of advertising in relation to free enterprise principles is discussed in chapter 1, while chapter 2 provides a history of U.S. advertising processes and development. Chapter 3 describes advertising's role in bringing a…

  6. A signaling theory of consumer boycotts

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Heijnen, P.; van der Made, A

    We present a theory that explains the prevalence of consumer boycotts. In our model, a firm does not know how concerned consumers are about the firm's misconduct. Because it is only optimal for the firm to alter its behavior if consumers are very concerned, consumers have an incentive to overstate

  7. Acceptability of GM foods among Pakistani consumers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ali, Akhter; Rahut, Dil Bahadur; Imtiaz, Muhammad

    2016-01-01

    ABSTRACT In Pakistan majority of the consumers do not have information about genetically modified (GM) foods. In developing countries particularly in Pakistan few studies have focused on consumers' acceptability about GM foods. Using comprehensive primary dataset collected from 320 consumers in 2013 from Pakistan, this study analyzes the determinants of consumers' acceptability of GM foods. The data was analyzed by employing the bivariate probit model and censored least absolute deviation (CLAD) models. The empirical results indicated that urban consumers are more aware of GM foods compared to rural consumers. The acceptance of GM foods was more among females' consumers as compared to male consumers. In addition, the older consumers were more willing to accept GM food compared to young consumers. The acceptability of GM foods was also higher among wealthier households. Low price is the key factor leading to the acceptability of GM foods. The acceptability of the GM foods also reduces the risks among Pakistani consumers. PMID:27494790

  8. Acceptability of GM foods among Pakistani consumers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ali, Akhter; Rahut, Dil Bahadur; Imtiaz, Muhammad

    2016-04-02

    In Pakistan majority of the consumers do not have information about genetically modified (GM) foods. In developing countries particularly in Pakistan few studies have focused on consumers' acceptability about GM foods. Using comprehensive primary dataset collected from 320 consumers in 2013 from Pakistan, this study analyzes the determinants of consumers' acceptability of GM foods. The data was analyzed by employing the bivariate probit model and censored least absolute deviation (CLAD) models. The empirical results indicated that urban consumers are more aware of GM foods compared to rural consumers. The acceptance of GM foods was more among females' consumers as compared to male consumers. In addition, the older consumers were more willing to accept GM food compared to young consumers. The acceptability of GM foods was also higher among wealthier households. Low price is the key factor leading to the acceptability of GM foods. The acceptability of the GM foods also reduces the risks among Pakistani consumers.

  9. Into beef consumers' mind

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    de Barcellos, Marcia Dutra; Brei, Vinicius A.

    indicated similarities amongst Brazilian and Australian consumers regarding their positive attitude towards beef and main concerns regarding its consumption. Dutch consumers, although presented negative attitudes, considered beef consumption as important. In general respondents presented a high degree...

  10. Exploring consumer opinions on the presentation of side-effects information in Australian Consumer Medicine Information leaflets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tong, Vivien; Raynor, David K; Blalock, Susan J; Aslani, Parisa

    2016-06-01

    Consumer Medicine Information (CMI) is a brand-specific and standardized source of written medicine information available in Australia for all prescription medicines. Side-effect information is poorly presented in CMI and may not adequately address consumer information needs. To explore consumer opinions on (i) the presentation of side-effect information in existing Australian CMI leaflets and alternative study-designed CMIs and (ii) side-effect risk information and its impact on treatment decision making. Fuzzy trace, affect heuristic, frequency hypothesis and cognitive-experiential theories were applied when revising existing CMI side-effects sections. Together with good information design, functional linguistics and medicine information expertise, alternative ramipril and clopidogrel CMI versions were proposed. Focus groups were then conducted to address the study objectives. Three focus groups (n = 18) were conducted in Sydney, Australia. Mean consumer age was 58 years (range 50-65 years), with equal number of males and females. All consumers preferred the alternative CMIs developed as part of the study, with unequivocal preference for the side-effects presented in a simple tabular format, as it allowed quick and easy access to information. Consumer misunderstandings reflected literacy and numeracy issues inherent in consumer risk appraisal. Many preferred no numerical information and a large proportion preferred natural frequencies. One single method of risk presentation in CMI is unable to cater for all consumers. Consumer misunderstandings are indicative of possible health literacy and numeracy factors that influence consumer risk appraisal, which should be explored further. © 2014 The Authors Health Expectations Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  11. CONSUMER PREFERENCES FOR FOOD SAFETY ATTRIBUTES IN FRESH APPLES: MARKET SEGMENTS, CONSUMER CHARACTERISTICS, AND MARKETING OPPORTUNITIES

    OpenAIRE

    Baker, Gregory A.

    1999-01-01

    Past research has yielded conflicting results on consumer valuation of food safety characteristics. In this study, conjoint analysis is used to evaluate consumer responses to hypothetical apple products in a nationwide survey. Product characteristics include price, quality, pesticide use levels and the corresponding cancer risk, and type of government inspection. Consumers expressed a broad preference for reduced pesticide usage. Four market segments were identified corresponding to consumers...

  12. Does Practicing CSR Makes Consumers Like Your Shop More? Consumer-Retailer Love Mediates CSR and Behavioral Intentions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ching-Wei Ho

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available This research paper was designed to examine the influence of corporate social responsibility (CSR associations and environmental concerns on consumer-retailer love and attitude toward the retailer, as well as the subsequent effects on consumer behavioral intentions regarding the retailer, such as repeat patronage intention and willingness to pay a premium price for products offered by the retailer. In this study, a questionnaire survey was conducted on consumers for the purpose of investigating five proposed hypotheses. This research applied partial least squares (PLS to exam the hypotheses and analyze the data. The findings of this research indicated that CSR association and environmental concern both have positive effects on consumer-retailer love and attitude toward the retailer. Also, the results showed that consumer-retailer love has a significantly positive effect on consumer attitude towards the retailer. This paper establishes that consumer-retailer love and attitude toward a retailer are main mediators of the relationship between CSR associations, environmental concern, and consumer behavioral intentions.

  13. Does Practicing CSR Makes Consumers Like Your Shop More? Consumer-Retailer Love Mediates CSR and Behavioral Intentions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ho, Ching-Wei

    2017-01-01

    This research paper was designed to examine the influence of corporate social responsibility (CSR) associations and environmental concerns on consumer-retailer love and attitude toward the retailer, as well as the subsequent effects on consumer behavioral intentions regarding the retailer, such as repeat patronage intention and willingness to pay a premium price for products offered by the retailer. In this study, a questionnaire survey was conducted on consumers for the purpose of investigating five proposed hypotheses. This research applied partial least squares (PLS) to exam the hypotheses and analyze the data. The findings of this research indicated that CSR association and environmental concern both have positive effects on consumer-retailer love and attitude toward the retailer. Also, the results showed that consumer-retailer love has a significantly positive effect on consumer attitude towards the retailer. This paper establishes that consumer-retailer love and attitude toward a retailer are main mediators of the relationship between CSR associations, environmental concern, and consumer behavioral intentions. PMID:29231873

  14. Does Practicing CSR Makes Consumers Like Your Shop More? Consumer-Retailer Love Mediates CSR and Behavioral Intentions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ho, Ching-Wei

    2017-12-12

    This research paper was designed to examine the influence of corporate social responsibility (CSR) associations and environmental concerns on consumer-retailer love and attitude toward the retailer, as well as the subsequent effects on consumer behavioral intentions regarding the retailer, such as repeat patronage intention and willingness to pay a premium price for products offered by the retailer. In this study, a questionnaire survey was conducted on consumers for the purpose of investigating five proposed hypotheses. This research applied partial least squares (PLS) to exam the hypotheses and analyze the data. The findings of this research indicated that CSR association and environmental concern both have positive effects on consumer-retailer love and attitude toward the retailer. Also, the results showed that consumer-retailer love has a significantly positive effect on consumer attitude towards the retailer. This paper establishes that consumer-retailer love and attitude toward a retailer are main mediators of the relationship between CSR associations, environmental concern, and consumer behavioral intentions.

  15. Complexity, Public Reporting, and Choice of Doctors: A Look Inside the Blackest Box of Consumer Behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schlesinger, Mark; Kanouse, David E.; Martino, Steven C.; Shaller, Dale; Rybowski, Lise

    2017-01-01

    Health care consumers often make choices that are imperfectly informed and inconsistent with their expressed preferences. Past research suggests that these shortcomings become more pronounced as choices become more complex, through either additional options or more performance metrics. But it is unclear why this is true: Consumer choice remains a “black box” that research has scarcely illuminated. In this article, we identify four pathways through which complexity may impair consumer choice. We examine these pathways using data from an experiment in which consumers (hypothetically) selected a primary care physician. Some of the loss of decision quality accompanying more complex choice sets can be explained by consumers’ skills and decision-making style, but even after accounting for these factors, complexity undermines the quality of decision making in ways that cannot be fully explained. We conclude by discussing implications for report designers, sponsors, and policy makers aspiring to promote consumer empowerment and health care quality. PMID:23999489

  16. Behavioral Targeting—Consumer Tracking

    Science.gov (United States)

    Srimani, P. K.; Srinivas, A.

    2011-12-01

    Behavioral targeting is an online marketing method that collects data on the browsing activities of consumers, in order to `target' more relevant online advertising. Behavioral targeting enables marketers to reach in-market consumers and increases the value of publisher inventory. At the heart of behavioral targeting is a learning-based investigation of consumer behaviors. It helps marketers understand consumers' purchase patterns over time, mapping out a customer's activities based not only on a single purchase but also on an annual or even lifetime basis. As marketers increasingly appreciate the importance of customer lifetime value, behavioral targeting can be a foundation for creating a continuous analytical study of consumer trends and patterns. But as behavioural-targeting systems become more sophisticated and invasive, it is vital that the companies behind them are open with users about what is going on, and give them control over their personal information. The aim of this paper is to explore the various tools and techniques of behavioral targeting and its benefits to online marketing. A multiple—case study approach was used for exploring the effectiveness and acceptance of online marketing in the area of the online marketing.

  17. Consumer perceptions of beef healthiness

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Van Wezemael, Lynn; Verbeke, Wim; Dutra de Barcellos, Marcia

    2010-01-01

    of beef consumed. Focus group participants were not in favour of improving beef healthiness during processing, but rather focussed on appropriate consumption behaviour and preparation methods. CONCLUSIONS: The individual responsibility for health implies that consumers should be able to make correct......BACKGROUND: Consumer perception of the healthiness of beef is an important determinant of beef consumption. However, little is known about how consumers perceive the healthiness of beef. The aim of this study is to shed light on the associations between beef and health. METHODS: Eight focus group...... as well as negative effects of beef consumption on their health. Labelled, branded, fresh and lean beef were perceived as signalling healthful beef, in contrast with further processed and packaged beef. Consumers felt that their individual choices could make a difference with respect to the healthiness...

  18. Factors influencing the potential for strong brand relationships with consumer product brands: An overview and research agenda

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bech-Larsen, Tino; Bergkvist, Lars; Francis, Julie

    Based on the premise that consumer product brands are different with respect to their potential to form strong long-term relationships with consumers, this paper aims to identify factors that influence brands' potential for strong long-term relationships and to suggest how these can be empirically...... investigated. The paper reviews brand-centric and consumer-centric research and identifies twelve brand variables that may influence the relationship potential of consumer product brands. A research agenda is suggested and a number of issues that needs to be resolved before empirical research can be carried...... out are discussed. The paper concludes by speculating on possible outcomes in future empirical studies and it is suggested that multiple brand variables will have to be employed to evaluate the relationship potential of brands....

  19. Intellectual property in consumer electronics, software and technology startups

    CERN Document Server

    Halt, Jr , Gerald B; Stiles, Amber R; Fesnak, Robert

    2014-01-01

    This book provides a comprehensive guide to procuring, utilizing and monetizing intellectual property rights, tailored for readers in the high-tech consumer electronics and software industries, as well as technology startups.  Numerous, real examples, case studies and scenarios are incorporated throughout the book to illustrate the topics discussed.  Readers will learn what to consider throughout the various creative phases of a product’s lifespan from initial research and development initiatives through post-production.  Readers will gain an understanding of the intellectual property protections afforded to U.S. corporations, methods to pro-actively reduce potential problems, and guidelines for future considerations to reduce legal spending, prevent IP theft, and allow for greater profitability from corporate innovation and inventiveness. • Offers a comprehensive guide to intellectual property for readers in high-tech consumer electronics, software and technology startups; • Uses real case studies...

  20. Electric Energy Management in the Smart Home: Perspectives on Enabling Technologies and Consumer Behavior

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zipperer, A. [Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO (United States); Aloise-Young, P. A. [Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO (United States); Suryanarayanan, S. [Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO (United States); Zimmerle, D. [Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO (United States); Roche, R. [Univ. of Technology, Belfort-Montebeliard (France); Earle, L. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Christensen, D. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Bauleo, P. [Fort Collins Utilities, CO (United States)

    2013-08-01

    Smart homes hold the potential for increasing energy efficiency, decreasing costs of energy use, decreasing the carbon footprint by including renewable resources, and trans-forming the role of the occupant. At the crux of the smart home is an efficient electric energy management system that is enabled by emerging technologies in the electricity grid and consumer electronics. This article presents a discussion of the state-of-the-art in electricity management in smart homes, the various enabling technologies that will accelerate this concept, and topics around consumer behavior with respect to energy usage.

  1. Electric Energy Management in the Smart Home: Perspectives on Enabling Technologies and Consumer Behavior

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zipperer, Adam; Aloise-Young, Patricia A.; Suryanarayanan, Siddharth; Roche, Robin; Earle, Lieko; Christensen, Dane; Bauleo, Pablo; Zimmerle, Daniel

    2013-11-01

    Smart homes hold the potential for increasing energy efficiency, decreasing costs of energy use, decreasing the carbon footprint by including renewable resources, and transforming the role of the occupant. At the crux of the smart home is an efficient electric energy management system that is enabled by emerging technologies in the electric grid and consumer electronics. This article presents a discussion of the state-of-the-art in electricity management in smart homes, the various enabling technologies that will accelerate this concept, and topics around consumer behavior with respect to energy usage.

  2. Another driver of the Brazilian fuel ethanol supply chain: the consumers' preferences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giuliana Isabella

    Full Text Available Abstract Many factors have been discussed in the literature as the causes for setbacks in the Brazilian ethanol supply chain, such as the low price of petroleum and the high price of sugar in the financial crisis in 2008. However, there is an important gap that was not explored yet, how do drivers choose to refuel their cars? Do the supply chain managers know their consumers? Based on that, this paper aims to demonstrate how the ethanol supply chain stakeholders perceive consumers' preferences and compare them to the factors that are taken into consideration by Brazilian flexible-fuel vehicles drivers when choosing types of fuel gasoline or ethanol. For that, we illustrated the case by using a sample of announcements collected from Brazilian news media featuring the supply chain managers' view and the survey taken by drivers to understand the consumer's actions. Our results indicate that there is a significant difference between the actual preferences of fuel consumers and the perceived consumers' preferences by the stakeholders. This disparity is probably the (or one of the main cause of the second setback in the Brazilian supply chain (2009–2012. Based on these results we point out the strategic implications in managing this supply chain and also the role of public policy in improving the diffusion of ethanol in Brazil.

  3. The female innovation-generation consumer's evaluation

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    user

    to date is the millennial consumer segment ... consumers (Eastman et al, 2014; Pérez-Luño et al, 2011), due to their love of technology and the virtual world. Consumers of the innovation- generation were born between 1980 and 2000 and currently fall in the age ... The constantly changing media habits of consumers ...

  4. Consumer Behavior Determined by Social Classes

    OpenAIRE

    ªerban Comãnescu Adrian; Muhcinã Silvia

    2011-01-01

    Information on consumer behavior is essential in trade policy decision-making process. The study of consumer behavior has concerned different subjects:psychology, sociology, economy. In a marketing approach knowledge of consumer behavior is not an end in itself, but only a tool, a means by which business decisions are adapted to the consumer expectations.

  5. Symposia on solar progress: Looking forward and going backward. Consumer attitudes: Polls vs. reality

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vories, R.

    1992-01-01

    Lessons learned about how well past federal approaches to providing information and incentives worked to encourage consumers to purchase solar systems will be presented. Some background information on federal programs is provided as context to the lessons learned discussion

  6. Consumers' experiences and values in conventional and alternative medicine paradigms: a problem detection study (PDS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emmerton Lynne

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background This study explored consumer perceptions of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM and relationships with CAM and conventional medicine practitioners. A problem detection study (PDS was used. The qualitative component to develop the questionnaire used a CAM consumer focus group to explore conventional and CAM paradigms in healthcare. 32 key issues, seven main themes, informed the questionnaire (the quantitative PDS component - 36 statements explored using five-point Likert scales. Results Of 300 questionnaires distributed (Brisbane, Australia, 83 consumers responded. Results indicated that consumers felt empowered by using CAM and they reported positive relationships with CAM practitioners. The perception was that CAM were used most effectively as long-term therapy (63% agreement, but that conventional medicines would be the best choice for emergency treatment (81% agreement. A majority (65% reported that doctors appeared uncomfortable about consumers' visits to CAM practitioners. Most consumers (72% believed that relationships with and between health practitioners could be enhanced by improved communication. It was agreed that information sharing between consumers and healthcare practitioners is important, and reported that "enough" information is shared between CAM practitioners and consumers. Consumers felt comfortable discussing their medicines with pharmacists, general practitioners and CAM practitioners, but felt most comfortable with their CAM practitioners. Conclusions This PDS has emphasized the perceived importance of open communication between consumers, CAM and conventional providers, and has exposed areas where CAM consumers perceive that issues exist across the CAM and conventional medicine paradigms. There is a lot of information which is perceived as not being shared at present and there are issues of discomfort and distrust which require resolution to develop concordant relationships in healthcare

  7. Models of physician-patient relationships in pharmaceutical direct-to-consumer advertising and consumer interviews.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arney, Jennifer; Lewin, Benjamin

    2013-07-01

    The rise of direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) has mirrored, if not facilitated, the shift toward more active health care consumers. We used content analysis to identify models of physician-patient interaction in DTCA from the 1997 to 2006 issues of a broad sample of women's, men's, and common readership magazines. We also conducted 36 in-depth interviews to examine the ways consumers receive and regard advertising messages, and to explore their preferences for clinical communication and decision making. We identified four models of physician-patient relationships that vary in their locus of control (physician, patient, or shared) and the form of support sought or obtained in the relationship (emotional or instrumental). Whereas consumer interviews reflected references to all four models of interaction, only two appeared in DTCA. The limited range of interactions seen in these advertisements creates a lack of congruity between interaction styles found in advertisements vs. styles reported by actual consumers.

  8. PROBLEMS OF CONSUMER PROTECTION IN TOURISM

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gina Ionela Butnaru

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available The actuality of the topic, its extent and importance, were strong arguments for writing this paper - Problems of consumer protection in tourism. To this, also the convergence of the fields that focus on the description of a image in deep of the topic is added, we are talking about economic, legal social features or features that belong to the specifics of tourism and of products and services consumed within it. The multiple dimensions of the approached topic transform it into an exciting topic which proves its usefulness when it is known since each individual can acquire the quality of a consumer, and his rights as a consumer are nothing else but the human rights of which every individual has to be aware. A process of education and information of the citizens regarding the rights they possess as consumers could reduce a part of the problems appearing in the process of consume of tourism products and services but it would contribute to the optimization of the protection of rights and interests of the consumers. In economic terms, democracy also implies ensuring the rights of the consumers and thus their protection, therefore the concept of protection of rights and interests of consumers exists.

  9. Solar electric and thermal conversion system in close proximity to the consumer. [solar panels on house roofs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boeer, K. W.

    1975-01-01

    Solar cells may be used to convert sunlight directly into electrical energy and into lowgrade heat to be used for large-scale terrestrial solar-energy conversion. Both forms of energy can be utilized if such cells are deployed in close proximity to the consumer (rooftop). Cadmium-sulfide/copper-sulfide (CdS/Cu2S) solar cells are an example of cells which may be produced inexpensively enough to become economically attractive. Cell parameters relevant for combined solar conversion are presented. Critical issues, such as production yield, life expectancy, and stability of performance, are discussed. Systems-design parameters related to operating temperatures are analyzed. First results obtained on Solar One, the experimental house of the University of Delaware, are given. Economic aspects are discussed. Different modes of operation are discussed in respect to the power utility and consumer incentives.

  10. Fashion design solutions for environmentally conscious consumers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wagner, M.; Chen, Y.; Curteza, A.; Thomassey, S.; Perwuelz, A.; Zeng, X.

    2017-10-01

    This paper intends to give an overview of the design solutions in fashion for environmentally conscious consumers, presenting green and ethical practices in contemporary clothing design. The results introduce the concept of slow fashion and discuss available fashion design solutions, giving most prominent examples of sustainable products and brands, these contain one or more design features. By this, the discussion extracts the main contemporary ideas. The presented examples of current offers are all envisioning less impact on the environment and society. Sustainable design solutions use more environmentally friendly materials such as organic cotton, incorporate circular design or design for recycling, e.g., replacing button closures with alternative closing possibilities or leather labels with printed versions, or ensure long product life through durability, among other methods. There are differing designs due to creators’ individuality. This overview can be beneficial for the future development of new solutions for more environmentally friendly fashion.

  11. Impact on consumer refrigerator purchases of energy consumption information at point of sale

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Anderson, C D; Claxton, J D

    1979-03-01

    This document reports on the results of an experimental study designed to test the effect of energy consumption labelling, and of the degree of sales-force emphasis on energy consuption aspects, on consumer purchases of refrigerators in Canada. This research pursued the objectives of trying to understand the decision process used by consumers in buying appliances, and to assess the initial impact of the ENERGUIDE labelling program with a view to provide guidance for its future development or extension. Results show a clear potential for worthwhile energy savings via shifts in consumer refrigerator choices. To date (1979), relatively few buyers considered energy consumption an important criterion in such a purchase. Retail salespeople, on whom consumers depend for refrigerator information, do not normally discuss energy information with customers; however, they did show interest in using a sales aid that would help compare operating costs of various models. Most customers either did not see or did not understand the ENERGUIDE labels, indicating a potential benefit from achieving greater consumer awareness of the importance of energy consumption in appliances and of redesigned energy labelling. Education of retail salespeople towards energy awareness seems to be the policy intiative with the greatest potential impact. 29 refs., 5 figs., 8 tabs.

  12. Methodological challenges surrounding direct-to-consumer advertising research--the measurement conundrum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hansen, Richard A; Droege, Marcus

    2005-06-01

    Numerous studies have focused on the impact of direct-to-consumer (DTC) prescription drug advertising on consumer behavior and health outcomes. These studies have used various approaches to assess exposure to prescription drug advertising and to measure the subsequent effects of such advertisements. The objectives of this article are to (1) discuss measurement challenges involved in DTC advertising research, (2) summarize measurement approaches commonly identified in the literature, and (3) discuss contamination, time to action, and endogeneity as specific problems in measurement design and application. We conducted a review of the professional literature to identify illustrative approaches to advertising measurement. Specifically, our review of the literature focused on measurement of DTC advertising exposure and effect. We used the hierarchy-of-effects model to guide our discussion of processing and communication effects. Other effects were characterized as target audience action, sales, market share, and profit. Overall, existing studies have used a variety of approaches to measure advertising exposure and effect, yet the ability of measures to produce a valid and reliable understanding of the effects of DTC advertising can be improved. Our review provides a framework for conceptualizing DTC measurement, and can be used to identify gaps in the literature not sufficiently addressed by existing measures. Researchers should continue to explore correlations between exposure and effect of DTC advertising, but are obliged to improve and validate measurement in this area.

  13. The economics of direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription-only drugs: prescribed to improve consumer welfare?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morgan, Steven; Mintzes, Barbara; Barer, Morris

    2003-10-01

    According to economic theory, one might expect that the informational content of direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription-only drugs would improve consumers' welfare. However, contrasting the models of consumer and market behaviour underlying this theory with the realities of the prescription-only drug market reveals that this market is distinct in ways that render it unlikely that advertising will serve an unbiased and strictly informative function. A review of qualitative evidence regarding the informational content of drug advertising supports this conclusion. Direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising concentrates on particular products, and features of those products, to the exclusion of others, and the information provided has frequently been found to be biased or misleading in regulatory and academic evaluations. Governments that have so far resisted direct-to-consumer advertising should invest in independent sources of evidence that could help consumers and professionals to better understand the risks and benefits of treating disease with alternative drug and non-drug therapies, rather than permitting direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising.

  14. 50% off or buy one get one free? Frame preference as a function of consumable nature in dairy products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Shu; Sun, Yan; Wang, Yong

    2007-08-01

    Previous studies on how framing differentially affects consumer perceptions of value from equivalent deals indicate that perceptions of deal value from price-saving versus extra-product promotions are moderated by the stock-up characteristic of the category. In this study, the authors explored the relationship between stock-up characteristic and frame preference and the influence of the consumable nature of goods on frame preference. An experiment involving 223 student participants showed that consumable nature, but not stock-up characteristic, affected frame preference. The authors discuss the implications of this finding for the study of information framing and how it impacts consumer judgment and decision making.

  15. Estimating consumer preferences for extrinsic and intrinsic attributes of vegetables. A study of German consumers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jimenez-Guerrero, J. F.; Gazquez-Abad, J. C.; Huertas-Garcia, R.; Mondejar-Jimenez, J. A.

    2012-11-01

    Preference formation developed during the consumers evaluation of alternatives is one of the most important stages in models of consumer purchasing behaviour. This is especially true for the purchase of vegetables. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the role of extrinsic versus intrinsic attributes in the behaviour of consumer when purchasing cucumbers, considering four attributes; price, country of origin and production method (extrinsic), and freshness (intrinsic). Utilizing a sample of German tourists visiting the city of Almeria (Spain), conjoint analysis methodology is used. The results suggest that an intrinsic aspect (freshness) is the most important attribute for consumers. Therefore, marketers are advised to consider the importance of this attribute to the consumer and try to position the product in the destination markets on the basis of product freshness. (Author) 91 refs.

  16. Consumer behavior and energy use

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1980-01-01

    A conference was convened to provide an overview of major empirical studies in the area of behavioral research related to energy consumption and conservation. Papers were presented in the areas of national and international perspectives of consumer energy behaviors, methodological issues in consumer behavior research, consumers and travel, energy conservation programs implemented by governments and electric utilities, household energy decision making, financial incentives and disincentives, energy information and its relation to product purchase decisions, solar energy and the consumer, and the impact of conservation programs. Separate abstracts have been prepared for 29 papers from this conference.

  17. Sustainable sheep production and consumer preference trends: compatibilities, contradictions, and unresolved dilemmas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Montossi, F; Font-i-Furnols, M; del Campo, M; San Julián, R; Brito, G; Sañudo, C

    2013-12-01

    There are increasing concerns of society towards the consumption of animal products which have been produced and transformed in a sustainable manner. This trend influences consumer purchasing decision making, particularly in developed countries. On the other hand, in the next years, the pressure to increase the volume and efficiency of meat production will be much higher to cope with the expected unsatisfied demand. At least in part, current and future technologies could contribute to solve this challenge. However, the use of some of these innovations could have a negative effect on consumer preferences. There is no consensus in our society about this dilemma. The objective of this paper is to review the scientific evidence related to these topics and to analyze and discuss the effect of some of the extrinsic and intrinsic factors linked with the sheep industry which could affect the acceptability of lamb meat by consumers. Copyright © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  18. Food safety and consumer behaviour

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Frewer, Lynn; Fischer, Arnout; Scholderer, Joachim

    2005-01-01

    , consumers may not pay enough attention to some types of food safety issue, such as the risk of food poisoning from microbial contamination, which may at best be debilitating, and at worst fatal (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 1994). This risk is certainly largely avoidable through taking......Food safety is a priority for many consumers, and there is an expectation throughout society that the food supplied for human consumption is safe and nutritious to eat. Understanding technical risk estimates alone, however, will not explain the risk-related behaviours of consumers. On the one hand...... appropriate risk mitigation measures through the food chain, not least in the domestic kitchen. However, factors related to consumer psychology may increase the risks to consumers as they produce barriers to self-protective behaviours (Frewer & Fischer, in press; Worsfold & Griffith, 1997). In contrast...

  19. Food safety and consumer behaviour

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Frewer, Lynn; Fischer, Arnout; Scholderer, Joachim

    2005-01-01

    Food safety is a priority for many consumers, and there is an expectation throughout society that the food supplied for human consumption is safe and nutritious to eat. Understanding technical risk estimates alone, however, will not explain the risk-related behaviours of consumers. On the one hand......, consumers may not pay enough attention to some types of food safety issue, such as the risk of food poisoning from microbial contamination, which may at best be debilitating, and at worst fatal (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 1994). This risk is certainly largely avoidable through taking...... appropriate risk mitigation measures through the food chain, not least in the domestic kitchen. However, factors related to consumer psychology may increase the risks to consumers as they produce barriers to self-protective behaviours (Frewer & Fischer, in press; Worsfold & Griffith, 1997). In contrast...

  20. Profile of organic food consumers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kranjac Mirjana

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study is to prove that profile of organic food consumers is dependent on their socio-demographic characteristics as well as to shape universal organic food consumer profile. The survey included 398 consumers in Serbia. Results indicate existence of typical consumer's profile. The findings could be generalized proving that socio-demographic profiles in a larger population are strictly related to the decision to utilize organic food. The study finally contributes to the stakeholders in general, since the knowledge of the attributes can help all of them to play more active role in this supply chain. It should stimulate the personalized approach to the particular groups of consumers based on socio-demographic characteristics in order to intensify consumption of organic food and to create different marketing plans dependent on the particular countries or areas.

  1. Facilitating Consumer Learning in Insurance Markets

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lagerlöf, Johan N. M.; Schottmüller, Christoph

    2018-01-01

    We model a monopoly insurance market where consumers can learn their accident risks at a cost c. We then ask: What are the welfare effects of a policy that reduces c? If c is sufficiently small (c consumer gathers information. For c ... and consumer benefit from a policy that reduces c further. For c > c*, marginally reducing c hurts the insurer and weakly benefits the consumer. Finally, a reduction in c that is “successful,” meaning that the consumer gathers information after the reduction but not before it, can hurt both parties....

  2. Assessment of Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing Policy in Korea Based on Consumer Preference.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeong, Gicheol

    2017-01-01

    In June 2016, Korea permitted direct-to-consumer genetic testing (DTC-GT) on 42 genes. However, both the market and industry have not yet been fully activated. Considering the aforementioned context, this study provides important insights. The Korean DTC-GT policy assessment is based on consumer preference analysis using a discrete choice experiment. In August 2016, a web-based survey was conducted to collect data from 1,200 respondents. The estimation results show that consumers prefer a DTC-GT product that is cheap, tests various items or genes, offers accurate test results, and guarantees the confidentiality of all information. However, consumers are not entirely satisfied by current DTC-GT products due to the existence of insufficient and/or inadequate policies. First, the permitted testing of 42 genes is insufficient to satisfy consumers' curiosity regarding their genes. Second, the accuracy of the DTC-GT products has not been fully verified, assessed, and communicated to consumers. Finally, regulatory loopholes that allow information leaks in the DTC-GT process can occur. These findings imply that DTC-GT requires an improvement in government policy-making criteria and the implementation of practical measures to guarantee test accuracy and genetic information. © 2017 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  3. Coordinating a Supply Chain with Risk-Averse Agents under Demand and Consumer Returns Uncertainty

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jian Liu

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper examines the optimal order decision in a supply chain when it faces uncertain demand and uncertain consumer returns. We build consumer returns model with decision-makers’ risk preference under mean-variance objective framework and discuss supply chain coordination problem under wholesale-price-only policy and the manufacturer’s buyback policy, respectively. We find that, with wholesale price policy, the supply chain cannot be coordinated whether the supply chain agents are risk-neutral or risk-averse. However, with buyback policy, the supply chain can be coordinated and the profit of the supply chain can be arbitrarily allocated between the manufacturer and the retailer. Through numerical examples, we illustrate the impact of stochastic consumer returns and the supply chain agents’ risk attitude on the optimal order decision.

  4. Collation of Scientific Evidence on Consumer Acceptance of New Food Technologies: Three roads to consumer choice

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Fischer, A.R.H.; Trijp, van J.C.M.; Hofenk, D.J.B.; Ronteltap, A.; Tudoran, A.A.

    2012-01-01

    The current report investigates consumer acceptance of new food technologies by reviewing the scientific literature. The review is organised along three routes to consumer acceptance of new technologies: The consumer benefit road: the central road of technology features influencing experienced

  5. A general consumer-resource population model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lafferty, Kevin D.; DeLeo, Giulio; Briggs, Cheryl J.; Dobson, Andrew P.; Gross, Thilo; Kuris, Armand M.

    2015-01-01

    Food-web dynamics arise from predator-prey, parasite-host, and herbivore-plant interactions. Models for such interactions include up to three consumer activity states (questing, attacking, consuming) and up to four resource response states (susceptible, exposed, ingested, resistant). Articulating these states into a general model allows for dissecting, comparing, and deriving consumer-resource models. We specify this general model for 11 generic consumer strategies that group mathematically into predators, parasites, and micropredators and then derive conditions for consumer success, including a universal saturating functional response. We further show how to use this framework to create simple models with a common mathematical lineage and transparent assumptions. Underlying assumptions, missing elements, and composite parameters are revealed when classic consumer-resource models are derived from the general model.

  6. Informing consumers: Protection from deceptive advertising

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stanković Ljiljana

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available It is widely accepted that only informed consumers are protected from potential violation of their consumer rights. Advertising represents one of the main ways of informing consumers, so it is of crutial importance for it to include adequate information that can facilitate decision making proces regarding the purchase. With aim of preventing violation of basic consumer rights, advertising is regulated by legislation, both on EU level and on national level in Republic of Serbia, and while so special attention is dedicated to defining advertising that can possibly lead to deception of consumers. Authors of this paper are focused on analysing legislation and theoretical explanations of deceptive advertising. Results of the research regarding advertising in Serbia and ability of consumers to protect themselves from deceptive advertising are presented. The main aim of the authors is to contribute to increasing level of consumers' self-protection through increasing level of their counciousness on deceptive advertising and its concequences.

  7. Who speaks for the health consumer?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fox, Michael H

    2008-08-01

    Although consumer-directed health care has become a fashionable concept in recent years, stories abound asking whether the so-called free market in health care can provide adequate access to quality health care at an affordable price. In spite of these concerns, consumer-directed health care continues as the face of legitimacy behind an industry-driven campaign to limit regulatory protections of the consumer in the market and encourage the growth of health insurance products that place spending options closer to the consumer, whether or not these options are available, affordable, or easily understood. Understanding whether this empowerment is real begins with first asking what it now means to be a health consumer. This commentary offers perspective on the dilemma faced by millions of Americans in navigating our health care system under the assumption that market-driven choices foster consumer empowerment in health care, and suggests approaches for expanding the true consumer voice.

  8. Consumer engagement in social networks brand community

    OpenAIRE

    Rybakovas, Paulius

    2016-01-01

    Consumers increasingly integrate social media into their day-to-day lives. For companies consumer engagement in a brand community on social network is becoming increasingly important for developing relations with consumers. Consumer engagement in a brand community on social network creates a dynamic relationship between the community members and the brand which contributes to an increase in consumer loyalty to the brand. The literature is abundant of studies, which examines the consumer engag...

  9. Transformative consumer research: Its origins and possible enrichment of the field of consumer research in South Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leona M. Ungerer

    2014-06-01

    Research purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the principles underlying transformative consumer research, including how it differs from traditional research methods and pointing out some established research areas in this field. Motivation for the study: Apart from pointing to a lack of literature, this article highlights the relevance of this approach for emerging countries by investigating the principles and practices embedded in transformative consumer research. It provides some indication of how an investigation of these areas may contribute to enhancing the relevance of consumer research to its various stakeholders. Research design, approach and method: The author used a literature review to conduct the study. Main findings: It appears that consumer research currently lacks external and internal relevance. A transformative consumer-research approach may address some of the fundamental problems in the way consumer psychologists plan and conduct their research, contributing to this lack of relevance. Practical/managerial implications: Most stages of the traditional research approach may need to be adapted for transformative research purposes. Some approaches appear particularly suited to transformative consumer research, including revelatory, incendiary, policy, participatory and coalition research. Contribution/value-add: This study’s primary contribution stems from suggesting a rather novel additional approach to enhance the relevance of consumer research in South Africa, pointing out some established practices in the field of transformative consumer research and suggesting how they may augment consumer research in South Africa.

  10. Using Social Media to reach consumers of Alento : a content analysis of its official Facebook page

    OpenAIRE

    Vasconcelos, Marta da Costa Jácome de

    2017-01-01

    Traditionally, consumers spent time on the Internet purely to expend content: they read, watched, and used it to purchase products and services. However, nowadays consumers are using social media platforms to co-create, share, modify and discuss Internet content. This symbolises a “social media phenomenon” that can now influence a company’s sales, reputation and survival (Kietzmann et al., 2011, p. 241). According to one recent estimate, there are over 1.79 billion monthly active Facebook use...

  11. Consumer involvement profiles: An application of consumer involvement in mobile industry

    OpenAIRE

    Homa Rahbarian; Fattaneh Alizadeh Meshkani

    2014-01-01

    This paper investigates consumer involvement profile among people who intend to purchase mobile devises. The study considers the effects of various factors influencing on purchase intention including consumers’ personal characteristics such as age, gender, income as well as some external factors including advertisement. The study uses a questionnaire in Likert scale, originally developed by O’Cass (2000) [O’Cass, A. (2000). An assessment of consumers' product, purchase decision, advertising a...

  12. Consumer choice behaviour

    OpenAIRE

    Hansen, Flemming; Percy, Larry; Hallum Hansen, Morten

    2004-01-01

    The paper is concerned with the measurement of emotions and the study of the role of emotions in consumer choice. Contemporary neurological findings suggest that emotions may play a role in its own right, quite different from the way in which they have been considered in traditional consumer choice behaviour theory. A large-scale study including 800 respondents, covering 64 brands, provide findings on emotional response tendencies for the brands, and relate these to involvement...

  13. Agent-based modelling of consumer energy choices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rai, Varun; Henry, Adam Douglas

    2016-06-01

    Strategies to mitigate global climate change should be grounded in a rigorous understanding of energy systems, particularly the factors that drive energy demand. Agent-based modelling (ABM) is a powerful tool for representing the complexities of energy demand, such as social interactions and spatial constraints. Unlike other approaches for modelling energy demand, ABM is not limited to studying perfectly rational agents or to abstracting micro details into system-level equations. Instead, ABM provides the ability to represent behaviours of energy consumers -- such as individual households -- using a range of theories, and to examine how the interaction of heterogeneous agents at the micro-level produces macro outcomes of importance to the global climate, such as the adoption of low-carbon behaviours and technologies over space and time. We provide an overview of ABM work in the area of consumer energy choices, with a focus on identifying specific ways in which ABM can improve understanding of both fundamental scientific and applied aspects of the demand side of energy to aid the design of better policies and programmes. Future research needs for improving the practice of ABM to better understand energy demand are also discussed.

  14. Pre-purchase information search and consumer satisfaction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. Rousseau

    1986-04-01

    Full Text Available This survey examines the factors which determine consumer satisfaction with major household appliances. Hypotheses relating to pre-purchase information search, and product satisfaction as well as previous satisfactory store experience and subsequent repurchase behaviour are proposed and empirically tested, using data obtained from 55 consumers who patronized a large Eastern Cape hypermarket. Results indicate that product satisfaction is related more to market place variables than actual search behaviour. Repeat shopping intentions are associated with previous shopping experiences at the particular store, while the latter also contribute to product satisfaction. Marketing implications and future research directions are briefly discussed. Opsomming Hierdie studie ondersoek verbruikerstevredenheid met groter huishoudelike toebehore en die aanleidende oorsake daarvan. Hipoteses wat die verband tussen voorafinligtinginwinningsaktiwiteit en produktevredenheid ondersoek, asook vorige bevredigende winkelondervindings en gevolglike heraankoopgedrag, is empirics getoets met 'n steekproef van 55 verbruikers in 'n groot hipermark in die Oos-Kaap. Die resultate suggureer dat produktevredenheid meer verband hou met markplek-verwante veranderlikes as met inligtingsinwinninggedrag. Herhaalde koopvoornemens is geassosieer met vorige bevredigende koopervarmgs by die betrokke winkel terwyl laasgenoemde ook bydra tot produktevredenheid. Bemarkingsimplikasies en toekomstige navorsingsriglyne word ook kortliks bespreek.

  15. A focus group study of consumer attitudes toward genetic testing and newborn screening for deafness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burton, Sarah K; Withrow, Kara; Arnos, Kathleen S; Kalfoglou, Andrea L; Pandya, Arti

    2006-12-01

    Progress in identifying genes for deafness together with implementation of universal audiologic screening of newborns has provided the opportunity for more widespread use of molecular tests to detect genetic forms of hearing loss. Efforts to assess consumer attitudes toward these advances have lagged behind. Consumer focus groups were held to explore attitudes toward genetic advances and technologies for hearing loss, views about newborn hearing screening, and reactions to the idea of adding molecular screening for hearing loss at birth. Focus group discussions were recorded, transcribed and analyzed. Five focus groups with 44 participants including hearing parents of deaf children, deaf parents and young deaf adults were held. Focus group participants supported the use of genetic tests to identify the etiology of hearing loss but were concerned that genetic information might influence reproductive decisions. Molecular newborn screening was advocated by some; however, others expressed concern about its effectiveness. Documenting the attitudes of parents and other consumers toward genetic technologies establishes the framework for discussions on the appropriateness of molecular newborn screening for hearing loss and informs specialists about potential areas of public education necessary prior to the implementation of such screening.

  16. The wine market – an empicrical examination of in-store consumer behaviour

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bartłomiej Pierański

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Business success in the current highly competitive environment determines primarily the ability to understand the customer and his needs and identify the factors that influence consumer behavior. Therefore, the examination of consumer behavior and obtaining feedback on the development and state of the market as well as identifying current trends is an essential part of any successful business. Producers and traders are increasingly forced to adapt to the rapid development and changes in the market. This is especially important with food products, given the wide range of assortment, substitutability of particular groceries and strengthening competitive pressure of manufacturers and retailers. In general, consumer decision-making related to food is influenced by a number of different factors that are changing under the influence of new trends (greater emphasis on quality, country of origin etc.. Even more specific category is the wine market, which is subject to specific criteria of consumer choice, since from a consumer perspective, it is not a product of daily consumption. The world wine market is increasing; new producers as well as new groups of customers are emerging on the market. The distribution channels are becoming more diversified and wine is offered in both specialty stores and self-service outlets; hypermarkets, supermarkets and discount stores. Due to this trend the investigation of in-store consumer behavior becomes crucial. The aim of the paper is to discuss the usefulness of eye tracking based research for examining perceptions of people shelf displays. The research integrates measurements with a mobile eye camera (Eye tracker glasses in real conditions of a wine shop in order to reveal the impact of merchandising (display of domestic and foreign wines on the visual attention of the consumer. The results of qualitative research carried out in March 2015 will be presented.

  17. Emerging markets for imported beef in China: Results from a consumer choice experiment in Beijing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ortega, David L; Hong, Soo Jeong; Wang, H Holly; Wu, Laping

    2016-11-01

    The purpose of this study is to explore emerging markets for imported beef in China by assessing Beijing consumer demand for quality attributes. This study utilizes data from an in-store choice experiment to evaluate consumer willingness-to-pay for select food quality attributes (food safety, animal welfare, Green Food and Organic certification) taking into account country-of-origin information. Our results show that Beijing consumers value food safety information the most, and are willing to pay more for Australian beef products than for US or domestic (Chinese) beef. We explore the various relationships between the quality attributes, find evidence of preference heterogeneity and discuss agribusiness and marketing implications of our findings. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Attitudes towards Social Networking and Sharing Behaviors among Consumers of Direct-to-Consumer Personal Genomics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Sandra Soo-Jin; Vernez, Simone L; Ormond, K E; Granovetter, Mark

    2013-10-14

    Little is known about how consumers of direct-to-consumer personal genetic services share personal genetic risk information. In an age of ubiquitous online networking and rapid development of social networking tools, understanding how consumers share personal genetic risk assessments is critical in the development of appropriate and effective policies. This exploratory study investigates how consumers share personal genetic information and attitudes towards social networking behaviors. Adult participants aged 23 to 72 years old who purchased direct-to-consumer genetic testing from a personal genomics company were administered a web-based survey regarding their sharing activities and social networking behaviors related to their personal genetic test results. 80 participants completed the survey; of those, 45% shared results on Facebook and 50.9% reported meeting or reconnecting with more than 10 other individuals through the sharing of their personal genetic information. For help interpreting test results, 70.4% turned to Internet websites and online sources, compared to 22.7% who consulted their healthcare providers. Amongst participants, 51.8% reported that they believe the privacy of their personal genetic information would be breached in the future. Consumers actively utilize online social networking tools to help them share and interpret their personal genetic information. These findings suggest a need for careful consideration of policy recommendations in light of the current ambiguity of regulation and oversight of consumer initiated sharing activities.

  19. The psychological effects of empowerment strategies on consumers' product demand

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fuchs, Christoph; Prandelli, Emanuela; Schreier, Martin

    2010-01-01

    . In such scenarios, it is no longer the company but its customers who decide democratically which products should be produced. This article discusses the first set of empirical studies which highlight the important psychological consequences of this power shift. The results indicate that customers who are empowered...... of psychological ownership of the products selected. The studies also identify two boundary conditions for this "empowerment - product demand" effect: It diminishes if the outcome of the joint decision-making process does not reflect consumers' preferences and if consumers do not feel that they have the relevant......Companies have recently begun to use the Internet in order to integrate their customers more actively into various phases of the new product development (NPD) process. One such strategy involves empowering customers to cooperate in selecting the product concepts to be marketed by the firm...

  20. NOWADAYS ONLINE CONSUMERS' RIGHTS AND INTERESTS. CASE STUDY- THE ROMANIAN EDUCATED ONLINE YOUNG CONSUMER

    OpenAIRE

    Nicoleta-Dorina RACOLŢA-PAINA; Theodora Alexandra LUCA

    2011-01-01

    The digital age brought along the appearance of a new type of consumer, the online consumer. Taking into consideration the serious security threats of the virtual market, the purpose of this article is to emphasize several significant aspects related to online consumer’s rights and interests, with a special interest on the educated online young consumers in Romania. We used desk and field research and carried out an online exploratory, quantitative survey, with the questionnaire as the main i...

  1. Consumer Preference for Genetically Modified Halal Yogurt Drinks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Siti Hasnah Hassan

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Consumers worldwide have reacted negatively to food products made from genetically modified (GM ingredients. This study strives to understand the importance placed by consumers on the features of a product when purchasing halal yogurt drinks with GM or non GM ingredient along with the level of antioxidants, price, flavor and Halal certification from JAKIM. In addition, their attitudes towards genetically modified foods, in general, and their purchase intention towards genetically modified yo- gurt drinks, in particular, were also determined. Experimental design using a convenience sampling was used; 120 eligible responses were received from the study using three types of yogurt drinks. The research findings showed that nutrition was deemed as being the most important product feature that influenced the decision in purchasing yogurt drinks, followed by freshness, price, flavor, variety, and origin. Furthermore, it was found that respondents presented a neutral attitude and purchase intention towards genetically modified yogurt drinks. The recommendations to market practitioners, research limitations, as well as suggestions for future studies are also discussed.

  2. Forgiveness from Emotion Fit: Emotional Frame, Consumer Emotion, and Feeling-Right in Consumer Decision to Forgive.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ran, Yaxuan; Wei, Haiying; Li, Qing

    2016-01-01

    Three studies examine an emotion fit effect in the crisis communication, namely, the interaction between emotional frames of guilt and shame and consumer emotions of anger and fear on consumer forgiveness. Guilt-framing communication results in higher forgiveness than shame-framing for angry consumers, whereas shame-framing communication results in higher forgiveness than guilt-framing for fearful consumers. These effects are driven by consumers' accessible regulatory foci associated with anger/fear and guilt/shame. Specifically, feelings of anger activate a promotion focus that is represented by guilt frames, while feelings of fear activate a prevention focus that is enacted by shame frames. Compared with emotion non-fit (i.e., anger to shame and fear to guilt), emotion fit (i.e., anger to guilt and fear to shame) facilitates greater feeling-right and consumer forgiveness. The findings offer novel insights for extant literature on emotion, crisis communication, and regulatory focus theory, as well as practical suggestions regarding the emotional frames.

  3. SaskEnergy small volume customers - direct gas purchase stakeholder discussion and public input report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Davidson, M. A.

    1998-01-01

    With the approval of the Provincial Government of Saskatchewan, SaskEnergy, the provincial utility decided to extend the premise of natural gas deregulation to all sizes of customers by opening the core market for natural gas commodity sales to private sector natural gas agents, brokers and marketers (ABMs). SaskEnergy will continue to provide natural gas transportation and storage related services. Before doing so, the Utility sought to discuss with various stakeholders the terms and conditions that would need to be met by industry to enter into the Saskatchewan market. To assure a balanced interest during the discussions that would include a perspective on consumer protection requirements, the Utility contracted KPMG Regina to chair the stakeholders discussion table and facilitate a public input process for interested individuals to channel comments and seek responses to questions. This report contains the edited summary of the four meetings held by stakeholders. The stakeholders were successful in providing SaskEnergy with insight and suggestions to ensure that a direct purchase market will be developed in Saskatchewan, and that consumers will have objective information to make informed choices about their natural gas purchase options. The meetings also produced an ABMs Code of Conduct, a Direct Purchase 'Enrollment Agreement' and a 'Disclosure Agreement' and delivery terms and conditions for the core market that are similar to industry requirements in the rest of Canada. Copies of the draft forms are included in appendices to this summary report

  4. Quantity Distortion Effect in Consumers' Perception of Different Volumes and Weights of Money: A Pilot Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guido, Gianluigi; Piper, Luigi; Prete, M Irene; Mileti, Antonio; Fonda, Marco

    2016-08-01

    Consumers tend to misunderstand the physical value of cash money by adopting improper anchors for their judgments (e.g., banknote size and shape, currency denominations, etc.). In a pilot study carried out on a sample of 242 participants (n = 116 men; M age = 29.6 year, SD = 10.8), a quantity distortion effect was demonstrated by evaluating consumers' misperceptions of different monetary quantities, either in terms of volume or weight, using banknotes of the same denomination (€50). A threshold value was found, for both volume (€876,324) and weight (€371,779), above (below) which consumers tend to overrate (underrate) monetary amounts. The theoretical and operative implications are discussed. © The Author(s) 2016.

  5. Consumer Law Guide

    Science.gov (United States)

    1994-06-01

    Consumer Finance Act by making short-term advances to customers who write personal checks in return for substantially smaller amounts of on-the-spot case...practices lawsuit with H&R Block, Inc. forcing tax return company to advertise its "Rapid Refund" program is actually a loan program charging customers ...home equity loans/lines of credit/home improvement loans, etc.) 2. A consumer can have only 9M principal dwelling at a time (includes mobile homes

  6. Physicians' adoption of information technology: a consumer behavior approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eger, M S; Godkin, R L; Valentine, S R

    2001-01-01

    Studies report physician resistance to information technology in a time when the practice of medicine could benefit from technological support. Anecdotally, it is suspected that lack of training, discomfort with technological innovations, a perceived shift in the doctor/patient relationship, or medical/legal issues may account for this circumstance. Empirical studies attribute this lag to age, personality factors, behavioral issues, and occupational influences. This paper integrates the information technology and consumer behavior literatures to discuss physicians' acceptance, adoption, and application of IT.

  7. Visual elements in direct-to-consumer advertising: Messages communicated to patients with arthritis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Willis, Erin

    2017-01-01

    Direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising saturates popular health magazines, communicating persuasive messages to readers that may influence attitudes and behaviors. This research used a two-prong approach to investigate the visual elements used in DTC advertising and their influence on consumers' understanding of a disease and its treatment options. An analysis was conducted of DTC advertisements (N = 62) from a population sample of Arthritis Today magazine, 2000-2010. Three panels of people with arthritis were used to validate the findings and discuss implications for health literacy. Pharmaceutical companies have an opportunity to communicate tailored messages to readers of niche publications and improve disease management.

  8. Fair balance in direct-to-consumer antidepressant print and television advertising, 1995-2007.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Avery, Rosemary J; Eisenberg, Matthew; Simon, Kosali I

    2012-01-01

    The authors evaluated fair balance in the presentation of risks and benefits in a large sample of direct-to-consumer advertising for prescription antidepressant medications appearing in magazines (1995-2006) and television (1999-2007) to assess how well they meet U.S. Food and Drug Administration guidelines. Using content analysis to capture relevant dimensions of the ads, results indicated that (a) considerably less attention is given to risks relative to benefits and (b) implicit ad content favors communication of drug benefits over risks, but that fair balance in direct-to-consumer ads has improved over time. The authors discuss policy implications and explore future research directions.

  9. Cognitive style and consumer innovativeness

    OpenAIRE

    Foxall, Gordon R.; Haskins, Christopher

    1986-01-01

    The identification of consumer innovators offers marketing managers the opportunity to tailor new products to the buyers who initiate the diffusion of innovations. Progress has been made in identifying such consumers in economic and social terms, but there are advantages of cost and convenience in isolating the personality profiles of innovators, especially during prelaunch product testing. But innovative consumers' distinctive personality traits have proved elusive. This paper reports an inv...

  10. Labelling schemes: From a consumer perspective

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Juhl, Hans Jørn; Stacey, Julia

    2000-01-01

    Labelling of food products attracts a lot of political attention these days. As a result of a number of food scandals, most European countries have acknowledged the need for more information and better protection of consumers. Labelling schemes are one way of informing and guiding consumers....... However, initiatives in relation to labelling schemes seldom take their point of departure in consumers' needs and expectations; and in many cases, the schemes are defined by the institutions guaranteeing the label. It is therefore interesting to study how consumers actually value labelling schemes....... A recent MAPP study has investigated the value consumers attach the Government-controlled labels 'Ø-mærket' and 'Den Blå Lup' and the private supermarket label 'Mesterhakket' when they purchase minced meat. The results reveal four consumer segments that use labelling schemes for food products very...

  11. The Political Theology of Consumer Sovereignty

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schwarzkopf, Stefan

    2011-01-01

    The article analyses the common notion that the consumer society is a reflection of those principles in the market that also provide the ideas of democracy and liberal constitutionalism with legitimacy in the political realm. The inalienable right to self-development and self-determination makes...... the individual the starting and ending point of life, rendering all spheres of market and society a ‘republic of choice’. But if consumer society shares the essentials of liberal constitutionalism and the rational, processual nature of democratic representation, then its ontology needs to be investigated...... to understanding the ontology of consumer society. But rather than simply placing sovereignty into the hands of the independent, self-determined consumer, the earliest ontologists of the consumer society took recourse to medieval political theology and presented the consumer market as a new corpus mysticum. Thus...

  12. Determinants of consumer food waste behaviour: Two routes to food waste.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stancu, Violeta; Haugaard, Pernille; Lähteenmäki, Liisa

    2016-01-01

    Approximately one quarter of the food supplied for human consumption is wasted across the food supply chain. In the high income countries, the food waste generated at the household level represents about half of the total food waste, making this level one of the biggest contributors to food waste. Yet, there is still little evidence regarding the determinants of consumers' food waste behaviour. The present study examines the effect of psycho-social factors, food-related routines, household perceived capabilities and socio-demographic characteristics on self-reported food waste. Survey data gathered among 1062 Danish respondents measured consumers' intentions not to waste food, planning, shopping and reuse of leftovers routines, perceived capability to deal with household food-related activities, injunctive and moral norms, attitudes towards food waste, and perceived behavioural control. Results show that perceived behavioural control and routines related to shopping and reuse of leftovers are the main drivers of food waste, while planning routines contribute indirectly. In turn, the routines are related to consumers' perceived capabilities to deal with household related activities. With regard to intentional processes, injunctive norms and attitudes towards food waste have an impact while moral norms and perceived behavioural control make no significant contribution. Implications of the study for initiatives aimed at changing consumers' food waste behaviour are discussed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. State of the art in benefit-risk analysis: consumer perception.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ueland, Ø; Gunnlaugsdottir, H; Holm, F; Kalogeras, N; Leino, O; Luteijn, J M; Magnússon, S H; Odekerken, G; Pohjola, M V; Tijhuis, M J; Tuomisto, J T; White, B C; Verhagen, H

    2012-01-01

    Benefit and risk perception with respect to food consumption, have been a part of human daily life from beginning of time. In today's society the food chain is long with many different types of actors and low degree of transparency. Making informed food choices where knowledge of benefits and risks is part of the decision making process are therefore complicated for consumers. Thus, to understand how consumers perceive benefits and risks of foods, their importance in relation to quality evaluations are aspects that need to be addressed. The objective of this paper is to discuss state of the art in understanding consumer perceptions of benefits and risks of foods in order to improve understanding of consumer behaviour in the food domain. Risks may be associated with both acute and long term consequences, some of which may have serious effects. Perceived risks are connected to morbidity and mortality along two dimensions relating to unknown risk, and to which extent the risk is dreaded by the consumer. Unfamiliar, uncertain, unknown, uncontrollable, and severe consequences are some factors associated with risk perception. Novel food processing techniques, for instance, score high on several of these parameters and are consequently regarded with suspicion and perceived as risky by consumers. On a daily basis, benefits of foods and food consumption are more important in most consumers' minds than risks. Benefits are often associated with food's ability to assuage hunger, and to provide pleasure through eating and socialising. In addition, two main categories of benefits that are important for acceptance of product innovations are health and environmental benefits. Benefit and risk perception of foods seem to be inversely correlated, so when something is perceived as being highly beneficial, it is correspondingly perceived as having low risk. However, slightly different paths are used in the formation of these perceptions; benefit perception is based on heuristics and

  14. Incentives through Consumer Learning about Tastes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schumacher, Heiner

    2014-01-01

    We consider a long-lived firm that faces an infinite sequence of finitely-lived consumers. In each period, the firm can exert either high or low effort, which is the firm's private information. When consumers learn about the firm's talent from the outcomes of previous transactions, there exists n...... for advertising, advertising content, and consumer education.......We consider a long-lived firm that faces an infinite sequence of finitely-lived consumers. In each period, the firm can exert either high or low effort, which is the firm's private information. When consumers learn about the firm's talent from the outcomes of previous transactions, there exists...

  15. The Models of Inter-temporal Consume

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nora Mihail

    2007-10-01

    Full Text Available The articol presents a category of consumption models which shows the manner how theexpenses of consume in an economy are related to the available income achieved by this economy and theinterest rate from the financial market. Since the income as well as the expenses of consume are realizedin time, such dynamic models of consume are also referred to as models of inter-temporal consume,emphasizing therefore the fact that the available income achieved at a certain moment may be used forconsume at a future moment, whereas the decision of consume taken at a current moment may consider theincome that is to be achieved in the future.

  16. Consumer behavior changing: methods of evaluation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elīna Gaile-Sarkane

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available The article is devoted to methods of analyses of consumer buying behavior as well as to evaluation of most important factors what influences consumer behavior. This research aims at investigations about the changes in consumer behavior caused by globalization and development of information technologies; it helps to understand the specific factors what should be taken into account in evaluation of consumer behavior. The authors employ well-established quantitative and qualitative methods of research: grouping, analysis, synthesis, expert method, statistic method, etc. Research findings disclosed that there is possibility to introduce new methods for evaluation of changing consumer behavior.

  17. “FOCUS-GROUP” STUDY CONCERNING MEAT CONSUMER`S BEHAVIOR IN THE CITY OF TIMISOARA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    GENOVEVA BUZAMĂT

    2007-10-01

    Full Text Available Focus-group is an exploratory qualitative research, a demi-structured interview whichallows us to get to know the consumer`s perceptions, reasons, feelings, needs andattitudes. This technique has been used to make evident what especially determines theconsumers to choose a certain meat sort. The research has been carried out on twogroups, in the city of Timisoara. The objectives aimed at within this research were:determination of the consumer`s motivation for a certain meat sort; correlation betweenlifestyle and meat sort; consumption habits. The main tool was represented by theinterview guide, in which we have used open questions in order to hear our subjects`opinions concerning the meat consumption, open questions for their familiarization andintroductive questions, with the help of which we introduced the subjects to the theme ofthis research.

  18. Attitudes towards Social Networking and Sharing Behaviors among Consumers of Direct-to-Consumer Personal Genomics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mark Granovetter

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available Little is known about how consumers of direct-to-consumer personal genetic services share personal genetic risk information. In an age of ubiquitous online networking and rapid development of social networking tools, understanding how consumers share personal genetic risk assessments is critical in the development of appropriate and effective policies. This exploratory study investigates how consumers share personal genetic information and attitudes towards social networking behaviors. Methods: Adult participants aged 23 to 72 years old who purchased direct-to-consumer genetic testing from a personal genomics company were administered a web-based survey regarding their sharing activities and social networking behaviors related to their personal genetic test results. Results: 80 participants completed the survey; of those, 45% shared results on Facebook and 50.9% reported meeting or reconnecting with more than 10 other individuals through the sharing of their personal genetic information. For help interpreting test results, 70.4% turned to Internet websites and online sources, compared to 22.7% who consulted their healthcare providers. Amongst participants, 51.8% reported that they believe the privacy of their personal genetic information would be breached in the future. Conclusion: Consumers actively utilize online social networking tools to help them share and interpret their personal genetic information. These findings suggest a need for careful consideration of policy recommendations in light of the current ambiguity of regulation and oversight of consumer initiated sharing activities.

  19. 7 CFR 1209.3 - Consumer information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 10 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Consumer information. 1209.3 Section 1209.3 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (MARKETING..., AND CONSUMER INFORMATION ORDER Mushroom Promotion, Research, and Consumer Information Order...

  20. 76 FR 35721 - Consumer Leasing

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-06-20

    ... 213 Advertising, Consumer leasing, Consumer protection, Federal Reserve System, Reporting and... contains regulatory documents #0;having general applicability and legal effect, most of which are keyed #0...