How is animal welfare internalized in consumers’ purchase decision? : a means-end chain analysis
As a consumer, the choice of what food to buy can be rather challenging due to the great supply of items and each item’s set of various product attributes. Consumer behavior is often viewed as goal-oriented, and by choosing a specific product or brand, the consumer will satisfy or achieve his or her...
| Autores principales: | , |
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| Formato: | H2 |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés sueco |
| Publicado: |
SLU/Dept. of Economics
2018
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| Materias: |
| _version_ | 1855572253917315072 |
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| author | Palmér, Marie Humble, Maria |
| author_browse | Humble, Maria Palmér, Marie |
| author_facet | Palmér, Marie Humble, Maria |
| author_sort | Palmér, Marie |
| collection | Epsilon Archive for Student Projects |
| description | As a consumer, the choice of what food to buy can be rather challenging due to the great supply of items and each item’s set of various product attributes. Consumer behavior is often viewed as goal-oriented, and by choosing a specific product or brand, the consumer will satisfy or achieve his or her broad life goal - a symbolic, personal value. In our food consumption, meat is a central element, and is often related to the “meat paradox”; most people enjoy eating meat but also care for animals’ wellbeing. The ethical consumption has been up for discussion, with questions about what is right or wrong to purchase and consume in a moral sense. Particularly the animal welfare aspect of pork has been discussed because of the differences in the legislation of animal protection among countries.
Research about consumers’ purchase decision has emphasized that consumers express a concern that the welfare of farm animals are protected. However, these studies did not investigate how the concern for farm animal welfare is related to underlying values, or which these values are. These results have also been obtained by methods where consumers give answers based on simulated shopping experiences. Though, when individuals are standing in the grocery store and making purchase decisions in the role of consumer, the connection between their stated attitudes and concerns, and their true purchase behavior is not always consistent. Thus, one cannot be sure that people’s reported views on farm animal welfare appear when they select meat in a real purchase situation.
This study aims to explore how animal welfare is internalized in consumers’ purchase decision and what personal values influence the decision when selecting animal-based food products. It is assumed that it is the personal values that motivate choosing a certain product with its certain attributes. By using Personal value theory, Means-end chain theory and Laddering interviews conducted at the point of purchase, we can obtain the true reasons for consumers purchase behavior. Through our method, we are able to find what values influencing the decision and obtain answers from the respondents in their role as consumers and not as citizens.
The result from this study indicates that animal welfare is not the most salient element in our respondents’ purchase decision of pork. The results demonstrate that when selecting a specific pork fillet, almost half of the respondents expressed the product’s price as the primary mean to reach their desired end state; having money for other things. Around one third of the respondents had farm animal welfare in their minds to reach their desired end state; feeling good or acting ethically. We can conclude from this study that our respondents prioritize their own comfort before the welfare of the animals. It is also possible to conclude that the overall most salient personal value types that influence the purchase decision of pork are; Hedonism, Security, Benevolence, and Universalism. |
| format | H2 |
| id | RepoSLU13496 |
| institution | Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences |
| language | Inglés swe |
| publishDate | 2018 |
| publishDateSort | 2018 |
| publisher | SLU/Dept. of Economics |
| publisherStr | SLU/Dept. of Economics |
| record_format | eprints |
| spelling | RepoSLU134962019-02-25T13:23:58Z How is animal welfare internalized in consumers’ purchase decision? : a means-end chain analysis Palmér, Marie Humble, Maria Consumer behaviour Farm animal welfare Laddering Means-end chain Personal values Point of purchase Pork Purchase decision As a consumer, the choice of what food to buy can be rather challenging due to the great supply of items and each item’s set of various product attributes. Consumer behavior is often viewed as goal-oriented, and by choosing a specific product or brand, the consumer will satisfy or achieve his or her broad life goal - a symbolic, personal value. In our food consumption, meat is a central element, and is often related to the “meat paradox”; most people enjoy eating meat but also care for animals’ wellbeing. The ethical consumption has been up for discussion, with questions about what is right or wrong to purchase and consume in a moral sense. Particularly the animal welfare aspect of pork has been discussed because of the differences in the legislation of animal protection among countries. Research about consumers’ purchase decision has emphasized that consumers express a concern that the welfare of farm animals are protected. However, these studies did not investigate how the concern for farm animal welfare is related to underlying values, or which these values are. These results have also been obtained by methods where consumers give answers based on simulated shopping experiences. Though, when individuals are standing in the grocery store and making purchase decisions in the role of consumer, the connection between their stated attitudes and concerns, and their true purchase behavior is not always consistent. Thus, one cannot be sure that people’s reported views on farm animal welfare appear when they select meat in a real purchase situation. This study aims to explore how animal welfare is internalized in consumers’ purchase decision and what personal values influence the decision when selecting animal-based food products. It is assumed that it is the personal values that motivate choosing a certain product with its certain attributes. By using Personal value theory, Means-end chain theory and Laddering interviews conducted at the point of purchase, we can obtain the true reasons for consumers purchase behavior. Through our method, we are able to find what values influencing the decision and obtain answers from the respondents in their role as consumers and not as citizens. The result from this study indicates that animal welfare is not the most salient element in our respondents’ purchase decision of pork. The results demonstrate that when selecting a specific pork fillet, almost half of the respondents expressed the product’s price as the primary mean to reach their desired end state; having money for other things. Around one third of the respondents had farm animal welfare in their minds to reach their desired end state; feeling good or acting ethically. We can conclude from this study that our respondents prioritize their own comfort before the welfare of the animals. It is also possible to conclude that the overall most salient personal value types that influence the purchase decision of pork are; Hedonism, Security, Benevolence, and Universalism. På grund av det stora utbudet av livsmedelsvaror och produktattribut som erbjuds dagens konsumenter kan det vara utmanande att besluta vilka varor att inhandla. Konsumentbeteende ses ofta som målorienterat och genom att välja en viss produkt eller varumärke kan konsumenten uppnå sitt livsmål - ett symboliskt, personligt värde. I vår matkonsumtion är kött en central del och ofta relaterad till "köttparadoxen"; de flesta tycker om att äta kött men bryr sig också om djurens välbefinnande. Den etiska konsumtionen har diskuterats med frågor om vad som är rätt eller fel att köpa och konsumera i moralisk mening. Särskilt djurvälfärd aspekten av fläskkött har diskuterats på grund av skillnaderna i djurskyddslagstiftningen mellan länder. Tidigare forskning kring konsumenters köpbeslut visar att konsumenter anser att djurens välfärd är viktigt. Dessa studier undersöker emellertid inte hur omsorgen för djurens välbefinnande är relaterat till underliggande personliga värden, eller vilka dessa värden är. Dessa resultat har även erhållits med hjälp av metoder där konsumenter ger svar baserade på simulerade shoppingupplevelser. Därmed finns risken att när individer står i mataffären och fattar köpbeslut i rollen som konsument är kopplingen mellan deras uttalade attityder och deras sanna köpbeteende inte alltid konsekvent. Således är det inte säkert att människors uttryckta oro för djurens välbefinnande visas när de väljer kött i den verkliga köpsituationen. Denna studie syftar till att undersöka hur djurvälfärd är internaliserad i konsumenternas köpbeslut och vilka personliga värden som påverkar beslutet vid val av animaliska livsmedelsprodukter. Det antas att de personliga värdena är vad som motiverar att välja en viss produkt med dess specifika egenskaper. Genom att använda Personal value theory, Means-end chain theory och Laddering-intervjuer utförda vid köptillfället kan vi ta reda på de verkliga orsakerna till konsumenters köpbeteende. Genom vår valda metod kan vi hitta vilka värden som påverkar köpbeslutet och få respondenterna att svara utifrån deras roll som konsumenter och inte som samhällsinvånare. Resultatet av denna studie tyder på att djurvälfärd inte är det mest framträdande elementet i våra respondenters köpbeslut av fläskkött. Knappt hälften av respondenterna valde en specifik fläskfilé med produktens pris som huvudsaklig orsak för att nå sitt önskade personliga värde; att ha pengar över till andra saker. Cirka en tredjedel av respondenterna hade lantbruksdjurens välbefinnande i åtanke för att nå sitt önskade personliga värde; att känna sig bra eller att agera etiskt. Utifrån denna studie kan vi dra slutsatsen att våra respondenter prioriterar sin egen komfort före djurens välbefinnande. Ytterligare en slutsats är att de mest framträdande värdetyperna som påverkar köpbeslutet av fläskkött är; Hedonism, Security, Benevolence och Universalism. SLU/Dept. of Economics 2018 H2 eng swe https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/13496/ |
| spellingShingle | Consumer behaviour Farm animal welfare Laddering Means-end chain Personal values Point of purchase Pork Purchase decision Palmér, Marie Humble, Maria How is animal welfare internalized in consumers’ purchase decision? : a means-end chain analysis |
| title | How is animal welfare internalized in consumers’ purchase decision? : a means-end chain analysis |
| title_full | How is animal welfare internalized in consumers’ purchase decision? : a means-end chain analysis |
| title_fullStr | How is animal welfare internalized in consumers’ purchase decision? : a means-end chain analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | How is animal welfare internalized in consumers’ purchase decision? : a means-end chain analysis |
| title_short | How is animal welfare internalized in consumers’ purchase decision? : a means-end chain analysis |
| title_sort | how is animal welfare internalized in consumers’ purchase decision? : a means-end chain analysis |
| topic | Consumer behaviour Farm animal welfare Laddering Means-end chain Personal values Point of purchase Pork Purchase decision |