Research article Special Issues

Evaluation of consumers’ purchasing process for organic food products

  • Received: 31 October 2018 Accepted: 20 February 2019 Published: 28 March 2019
  • This research analyzes consumers’ different purchasing attitudes in traditional and on-line markets. Italy’s on-line direct selling process for organic farm products is still in its formative phase, and the prospective developments mark an interesting research area, not least because it may represent a tool to integrate the relationship with customers and improve companies’ marketing strategies. The research carried out on the direct selling on-line channels allowed the authors to prove a direct and indirect utility for the choice of organic food products. Information obtained with word-of-mouth among consumers seems to be playing an increasingly relevant role in the purchasing process of the virtual community, representing a strong generator of messages and experiences both in virtual and traditional markets. This paper analyzes the behavior of consumers to understand whether it is conditioned more by off-line than on-line channels and which parameters condition the purchasing process. The research confirms that off-line channels for organic products condition the consumers’ choices, linked to traditional word-of-mouth as well as to experiential and sensory direct marketing contact with the producer. An inverse behavior was observed with positive conditions that mostly emanate from on-line channels in the process of buying organic products. The on-line purchasing process involves the system of information linked to the product, i.e., the e-community, which allows the product to be shown together with the comments, evaluations, and recommendations of consumers on the net, reducing the effects generated by the packaging and the brand.

    Citation: Alessandro Scuderi, Claudio Bellia, Vera Teresa Foti, Luisa Sturiale, Giuseppe Timpanaro. Evaluation of consumers’ purchasing process for organic food products[J]. AIMS Agriculture and Food, 2019, 4(2): 251-265. doi: 10.3934/agrfood.2019.2.251

    Related Papers:

  • This research analyzes consumers’ different purchasing attitudes in traditional and on-line markets. Italy’s on-line direct selling process for organic farm products is still in its formative phase, and the prospective developments mark an interesting research area, not least because it may represent a tool to integrate the relationship with customers and improve companies’ marketing strategies. The research carried out on the direct selling on-line channels allowed the authors to prove a direct and indirect utility for the choice of organic food products. Information obtained with word-of-mouth among consumers seems to be playing an increasingly relevant role in the purchasing process of the virtual community, representing a strong generator of messages and experiences both in virtual and traditional markets. This paper analyzes the behavior of consumers to understand whether it is conditioned more by off-line than on-line channels and which parameters condition the purchasing process. The research confirms that off-line channels for organic products condition the consumers’ choices, linked to traditional word-of-mouth as well as to experiential and sensory direct marketing contact with the producer. An inverse behavior was observed with positive conditions that mostly emanate from on-line channels in the process of buying organic products. The on-line purchasing process involves the system of information linked to the product, i.e., the e-community, which allows the product to be shown together with the comments, evaluations, and recommendations of consumers on the net, reducing the effects generated by the packaging and the brand.


    加载中


    [1] Arndt J (1986) Paradigms in consumer research: A review of perspectives and approaches, Eur J Mark 20: 23–40.
    [2] Baumgartner H (2010) Bibliometric reflections on the history of consumer research, J Consum Psychol 20: 233–238.
    [3] Fabris G (2003) Il nuovo consumatore: Verso il postmoderno, Franco Angeli, Milano.
    [4] Amhed SA, D'astous A, El Adraoui M (1994) Country-of-origin effects on purchase managers' product perceptions. Ind Mark Manage 23: 323–332.
    [5] Brunori G, Rossi A, Guidi F (2011) On the New Social Relations around and beyond Food. Analysing Consumers' Role and Action in Gruppi di Acquisto Solidale (Solidarity Purchasing Groups). Sociologia Ruralis 52.
    [6] Altamore L, Ingrassia M, Chironi S, et al. (2018) Pasta experience: Eating with the five senses-A pilot study. AIMS Agri Food 3: 493–520.
    [7] Rungsaran W, Pappalardo G, Canavari M, et al. (2015) Disponibilità a pagare per l'acquisto di alimenti funzionali: Evidenze da un esperimento di scelta non-ipotetico, Rivista di Economia Agraria, Anno LXX 3: 327–344.
    [8] Bond JK, Thilmany D, Bond C (2009) What influences consumer choice of fresh produce purchase location? J Agri Appl Econ 41: 61–74.
    [9] Scuderi A, Sturiale L, Timpanaro G (2015) The importance of "origin" for on line agri-food products. Quality Access Success 16: 260–266.
    [10] Wang C, Zhang P (2012) The evolution of social commerce: An examination from the people, business, technology, and information perspective. Commun Assoc Inf Syst 31: 105–127.
    [11] Brush GJ, McIntosh D (2010) Factors influencing e-marketplace adoption in agricultural micro-enterprises. Int J Electron Bus 8: 405–432.
    [12] Castaldo S, Botti S (1999) La dimensione emozionale dello shopping. Una ricerca esplorativa sul ruolo del punto di vendita. Econ Manage 1: 17–37.
    [13] Verdouw CN, Vucic N, Sundmaeker H, et al. (2013) Future internet as a driver for virtualization, connectivity and intelligence of agri-food supply chain networks. J Food Syst Dyn 4: 261–272.
    [14] Erikson GM, Johansson JK, Chao P (1984) Images variables in multi-attribute product evaluations: Country of origin effects. J Consum Res 11: 694–99.
    [15] Holloway L, Kneafsey M (2004) Producing-consuming food: Closeness, connectedness and rurality in four alternative food networks, In: Holloway L, Kneafsey M, Geographies Rural Cultures and Societies, Ashgate, London.
    [16] Kumar V, Rajan B (2012) Social coupons as a marketing strategy: A multifaceted perspective. J Academy Mark Sci 40: 120–136.
    [17] Fritz M, Hausen T, Schiefer G (2004) Development and development directions of electronic trade platforms in US and European agri-food market: Impact on sector organization. Int food Agribusiness Manage Rev 7: 1–21.
    [18] Filser M (2002) Le marketing de la production d'expérience: Statut théorique et implications managériales. Decis Mark 28: 43–52.
    [19] Brown J, Broderick AJ, Lee N (2007) Word of Mouth communication within on-line communities: Conceptualizing the on-line social network. J Interact Mark: 21.
    [20] Nail J (2005) What's the Buzz on Word-of-Mouth marketing? Social computing and consumer control put momentum, Viral Mark: 3.
    [21] Groothuist A, Gabriner R (2016) Marketplaces. Available from: http://www.eucommercewiki.org
    [22] Hammond A, Paul J (2006) A new model for rural connectivity, World Resources Institute, Development Thought Enterprise.
    [23] Lehmann RJ, Reiche R, Schiefer G (2012) Future internet and the agri-food sector: State of the art in literature research. Comput Electron Agri 89: 158–174.
    [24] Fountas S, Carli G, Sørensen CG, et al. (2015) Farm management information systems: Current situation and future perspectives. Comput Electron Agri 115: 40–50.
    [25] Iuliana-Raluca G (2012) Word-of-mouth communication: A theoretical review. Market Manage Innovations 1: 132–139.
    [26] Godes D, Mayzlin D (2004) Using On-line Conversations to Study Word-of-Mouth Communication. Mark Sci 23: 545.
    [27] Huang Z, Benyoucef M (2013) From e-commerce to social commerce: A close look at design features. Electron Commerce Res Appl 12: 246–259.
    [28] Kotler P, Kartajaya H, Setiawan I (2010) Marketing 3.0, dal prodotto al cliente, all'anima. Il Sole 24 ORE, Milano.
    [29] Kozinets RV, de Valck K, Wojinicki AC, et al. (2010) Networked narratives: Understanding Word-of-Mouth Marketing in On-line Communities. J Mark 74: 74.
    [30] Misner IR (1999) The World's Best Known Marketing Secret: Building your business with Word-of-Mouth marketing, 2 Eds. Austin: Bard Press.
    [31] Hung KH, Li SY (2007) The influence of eWOM on virtual consumer communities: Social capital, consumer learning, and behavioral outcomes. J Advertising Res 47: 485.
    [32] Neilson LC, Madill J, Haines jr, et al. (2010) The development of ebusiness in wine industry SMEs: An international perspective. Int J Electronic Business 8: 126–147.
    [33] Pitt L, Berthon P, Plangger K, et al. (2012) Marketing meets web 2.0, social media and creative consumers implications for international marketing strategy. Business Horizons 55: 261–271.
    [34] Schmitt BH (1999) Experiential marketing, New York: The Free Press.
    [35] Scuderi A, Sturiale L (2014) Analysis of social network applications for organic agri-food products. Int J Agri Resour, Governance Ecol 10: 176–189.
    [36] Secondulfo D (2012) The three consumer profiles in Italy. Ital Sociol Rev 2: 125–136.
    [37] Stern B (2013) A revised model for advertising: Multiple dimensions of the source, the message, and the recipient. J Advertising 23: 5–16.
    [38] Netcomm (2018) Netcomm Global B2C Ecommerce Report 2016, Available from: https://www.consorzionetcomm.it/kdocs/523625/Global_B2C_Ecommerce_Report_2018_Italy_Light_version.pdf.
    [39] Solima L (2010) Social Network: Verso un nuovo paradigma per la valorizzazione della domanda culturale. Sinergie 82: 47–74.
    [40] Sturiale L, Scuderi A (2016) The digital economy: New e-business strategies for food Italian system. Int J Electron Mark Retailing 7: 287–310.
    [41] Tudisca S, Di Trapani AM, Sgroi F, et al. (2014) Role of alternative food networks in Sicilian farms. Int J Entrepreneurship Small Bus 22: 50–63.
    [42] Warren MF (2002) Digital divide and adoption of information and communication technologies in the UK farm sector. Int J Inf Technol Manage 1: 385–405.
    [43] UNATA (2017) The 2017 Grocery e-commerce Forecast. The Time is Now for eGrocery. Available from: http://www.unata.com.
    [44] Casaleggio Associati (2018) E-commerce in Italia 2017. Milano.
    [45] Hanna R, Rohm A, Crittenden VL (2011) We're all connected: The power of the social media ecosystem. Bus Horiz 54: 265–273.
    [46] Fait M, Iazzi A, Trio O, et al (2013) Social Web Communication and CRM in the marketing strategies of wine enterprises. J Econ Behavior 3: 103–116.
    [47] Busalim AH, Che Hussin, Razak Ab (2016) Understanding social commerce: A systematic literature review and directions for further research. Int J Inf Manage 36: 1075–1088.
    [48] Chadwick R (2017) US shoppers still prefer to make most purchases In-Store. Available from: http://www.emarketer .com.
    [49] Sturiale L, Timpanaro G, La Via G (2017) The on-line sales models of fresh fruit and vegetables: Opportunities and limits for typical Italian products. Quality Access Success 18: 444–451.
    [50] Pine Ii BJ, Gilmore JH (1999) The experience economy. Work is theatre & every business a stage, Harvard Business School Press.
    [51] Scuderi A, Foti VT, Timpanaro G, et al. (2016) Economic and environmental analysis of organic early potatoes. Acta Hortic 1142: 193–200.
    [52] Timpanaro G, Bellia C, Foti VT (2014) Horticultural agro-biodiversity and potential conservation: Case study in Sicily. Quality Access Success 15: 230–235.
    [53] Bellia C, Aderno C, Allegra V (2015) Economic sustainability of a niche supply chain: The case of maletto strawberry. Quality Access Success 16: 47–55.
    [54] Galati A, Schimmenti E, Asciuto A, et al. (2013) The role of information and communication technologies and logistics organisation in the economic performance of Sicilian fruit and vegetable enterprises. Int J Bus Globalisation 10: 185–193.
    [55] Bryła P (2018) Organic food online shopping in Poland. British Food J 120: 1015–1027.
    [56] Smith A (2003) Transforming technological regimes for sustainable development: A role for alternative technology niches? Sci Public Policy 30.
    [57] Chevalier JA, Mayzlin D (2006) The effect of word of mouth on sales: On-line Book Reviews. J Mark Res 43: 345–354.
  • Reader Comments
  • © 2019 the Author(s), licensee AIMS Press. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)
通讯作者: 陈斌, bchen63@163.com
  • 1. 

    沈阳化工大学材料科学与工程学院 沈阳 110142

  1. 本站搜索
  2. 百度学术搜索
  3. 万方数据库搜索
  4. CNKI搜索

Metrics

Article views(5009) PDF downloads(996) Cited by(10)

Article outline

Figures and Tables

Figures(3)  /  Tables(3)

/

DownLoad:  Full-Size Img  PowerPoint
Return
Return

Catalog