Fernqvist, Fredrik
(2014).
Consumer experiences of tomato quality and the effects of credence.
Diss. (sammanfattning/summary)
Alnarp :
Sveriges lantbruksuniv.,
Acta Universitatis Agriculturae Sueciae, 1652-6880
; 2014:65
ISBN 978-91-576-8078-5
eISBN 978-91-576-8079-2
[Doctoral thesis]
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PDF
645kB |
Abstract
Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is one of the most important horticultural crops and is produced, traded and consumed all over the world. For horticultural products, the concept of quality is an indispensably important factor in consumers’ decision-making process and choice. While production efficiency and other production and distribution related properties have been in focus within the tomato industry, less focus has been on consumer experiences and satisfaction with, for example, taste. Beside physical properties of a horticultural product, there are also other quality attributes, which are related to personal values or trust: so-called credence characteristics. For example issues regarding morals and ethics, individual considerations such as health and convenience, or preconceptions related to factors such as origin or production method. While the consumers cannot accurately evaluate credence characteristics, the expectations they generate have an effect on consumers’ perceived quality and sensory experiences. Labels of various kinds signalling credence characteristics play an important role in the modern food marketing system, as other links of trust and direct relations with the producers have vanished within the globalised food system.
In this thesis, Tomato is used as a reference product with the aim of explaining the multi- faceted notion of quality of horticultural products and its role in marketing. The aim is to provide an understanding of how the concepts of quality and consumer experiences and responses are related, with focus on consumers’ experience with taste.
The first paper in this thesis study consumer views on tomato taste and assesses the effect of chilling on taste. The second paper examines consumer views of some of the most common and important credence characteristics; origin and production method; and explores their effect on consumer liking. The third paper delves further into credence and the effect on consumer liking, and correlates consumer attitudes with experienced quality. The fourth paper is a literature review on recent published papers on the topic, and proposes a conceptual framework describing the effect of credence on consumer liking of food
Theoretical, methodological and practical implications are discussed. Possible future directions for horticultural marketing strategies are identified; for the horticultural sector in general and the tomato industry in particular.
Authors/Creators: | Fernqvist, Fredrik | ||||||||||
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Title: | Consumer experiences of tomato quality and the effects of credence | ||||||||||
Series/Journal: | Acta Universitatis Agriculturae Sueciae (1652-6880) | ||||||||||
Year of publishing : | 14 August 2014 | ||||||||||
Number: | 2014:65 | ||||||||||
Number of Pages: | 79 | ||||||||||
Papers/manuscripts: |
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Place of Publication: | Alnarp | ||||||||||
Publisher: | Department of Work Science, Business Economics and Environmental Psychology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences | ||||||||||
Associated Programs and Other Stakeholders: | Z - SLU - Libray > Odla mera | ||||||||||
ISBN for printed version: | 978-91-576-8078-5 | ||||||||||
ISBN for electronic version: | 978-91-576-8079-2 | ||||||||||
ISSN: | 1652-6880 | ||||||||||
Language: | English | ||||||||||
Publication Type: | Doctoral thesis | ||||||||||
Full Text Status: | Public | ||||||||||
Agris subject categories.: | E Economics, development, and rural sociology > E70 Trade, marketing and distribution Q Food science > Q01 Food science and technology | ||||||||||
Subjects: | (A) Swedish standard research categories 2011 > 4 Agricultural Sciences > 401 Agricultural, Forestry and Fisheries > Horticulture (A) Swedish standard research categories 2011 > 5 Social Sciences > 502 Economics and Business > Business Administration | ||||||||||
Agrovoc terms: | tomatoes, food quality, consumer behaviour, marketing, agronomic economics | ||||||||||
Keywords: | Tomato, Consumer liking, Credence, Quality, Horticultural Economics, Marketing | ||||||||||
URN:NBN: | urn:nbn:se:slu:epsilon-e-2049 | ||||||||||
Permanent URL: | http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:slu:epsilon-e-2049 | ||||||||||
ID Code: | 11405 | ||||||||||
Faculty: | LTV - Fakulteten för landskapsarkitektur, trädgårds- och växtproduktionsvetenskap | ||||||||||
Department: | (LTJ, LTV) > Department of Work Science, Business Economics, and Environmental Psychology | ||||||||||
Deposited By: | Hortonom Fredrik Fernqvist | ||||||||||
Deposited On: | 14 Aug 2014 11:17 | ||||||||||
Metadata Last Modified: | 16 Oct 2015 04:00 |
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