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Selected AbstractsSpecialization across varieties and North,South competitionECONOMIC POLICY, Issue 53 2008Lionel Fontagné SUMMARY North,South competition quality Analyzing a new database that makes it possible to disaggregate trade flows across many countries according to unit values, we show that international specialization in terms of quality within industries and product categories plays an important role in the dynamics of North,South competition. The different specialization of countries at different levels of development within products and across varieties is mirrored in the recent shifts in world market shares, which are very different across quality segments: the South is not gaining market share in high-value portions of trade pattern. In this respect Europe's specialization pattern appears to be different from that of the US and Japan, and may allow it to better resist the competitive pressure of the South. , Lionel Fontagné, Guillaume Gaulier and Soledad Zignago [source] Minorities in Children's Television Commercials: New, Improved, and StereotypedJOURNAL OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, Issue 1 2003HAE-KYONG BANG Mass media is one means by which consumers learn how to behave as consumers. Consumers' beliefs about minorities as consumers are also influenced by mass media, and the impact is likely highest among young children. A content analysis of 813 commercials in children's television programming reveals that while Caucasians continue to be the predominant models in terms of numbers and in the types of roles they play, the numerical representation of minorities, especially Blacks, has improved. However, the study found that minorities are more likely than Caucasians to have minor roles and to be portrayed in certain product categories, settings, and relationships. Societal impacts and implications for minority consumers are discussed. [source] Consumer advisors revisited: What drives those with market mavenism and opinion leadership tendencies and why?JOURNAL OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR, Issue 2-3 2009Nicola E. Stokburger-Sauer Consumers with a tendency toward market mavenism (MM) and opinion leadership (OL) represent powerful forces in the marketplace because of their influence on other consumers' consumption decisions. They are thus important consumer groups for both other individuals and companies. Little is known, however, about the motives that drive these individuals. Additionally, research has not explored the consequences of the market mavenism tendency (MMT) and OL. Research is thus needed to tap into and compare factors that influence MMT and OL as well as variables that are influenced by MMT and OL. A key goal of the current study is to determine whether individuals with a tendency toward MM and opinion leaders are consumers who are more or less satisfied and loyal than other consumers. This study investigates product involvement and need for variety (NFV) as antecedents of MMT and OL and looks into their relationship with satisfaction and loyalty. Using data from 1145 German consumers in four product categories (i.e., wine, clothing, cars, and cameras) and applying structural equation modeling, it was found that opinion leaders have higher levels of product category involvement than individuals with a tendency toward mavenism, while the latter have a higher NFV than opinion leaders. Finally, opinion leaders and individuals with a tendency toward mavenism have higher levels of satisfaction, and the first are more loyal consumers, but this varies across product categories. Important implications for marketing theory and marketing practice can be derived. Individuals with a tendency toward MM and/or opinion leaders could, for instance, be integrated as powerful sources in the context of co-producing products and services. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Dimensions of brand purchasing behaviour: consumers in the 18,24 age groupJOURNAL OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR, Issue 1 2004Lisa Wood Abstract This paper reports the results of a study of brand selection and loyalty within the 18,24 age group. The study explores brand loyalty behaviour across different product categories, and investigates the dimensions that drive loyalty behaviour within this age group. First, the construct of brand loyalty is defined, followed by an overview of key research in the area. Finally, the study itself is detailed. The study concludes that there is a significant difference in the degree of brand loyalty exhibited by the 18,24-year-old respondents across product categories. The dimensions of brand selection also vary by product type. Brand heritage in terms of parental influence was evident in coffee and toothpaste purchase, with brand as a reflection of self-image being something that is important to clothing brands. Value and variety are important attributes of cereal brand selection. Copyright © 2004 Henry Stewart Publications Ltd. [source] Relaxing/straightening of Afro-ethnic hair: historical overviewJOURNAL OF COSMETIC DERMATOLOGY, Issue 1 2007Tania Cristina De Sá Dias MSc Summary Afro-ethnic hair, when compared with naturally straight hair, presents some important variations such as differences in diameter in many points of the thread, ellipsoidal threads, and low trend of hydrating the scalp thus turning the hair drier, because the natural sebum distribution is irregular along the thread. This kind of hair may be straightened through both chemical and thermal methods. Straightening is a chemical process by which excessively curly hair is straightened in an irreversible way. Generally, the products used are formulated in a cosmetic emulsion with high pH. In this review, we present the historical development of hair straightening or relaxing through the evolution of the product categories. [source] Empirical investigation of price setting and quantity surcharges in the German food sectorAGRIBUSINESS : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 3 2009Awudu Abdulai In this study, the authors examined the incidence and determinants of quantity price discounts and quantity price surcharges in the German food sector through a bivariate probit model, using recent consumer scanner survey data. Selectivity bias was corrected for in estimating the magnitude of quantity price surcharges and quantity price discounts, using Heckman's procedure. The findings reveal that almost 10% of the investigated products attract higher unit prices for larger package sizes, although the extent of price surcharges varied among product categories. Quantity price discounts were found to dominate in the firms' pricing strategies. The econometric results showed that the number of package sizes, the average package size, the packaging and storage forms, as well as the price image of a product are all significant determinants of the decision to impose both quantity price surcharges and quantity price discounts. [JEL classification: D40, L11] © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Factors influencing olive oil brand choice in Spain: an empirical analysis using scanner dataAGRIBUSINESS : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 1 2009Juan C. Gázquez-Abad Olive oil consumption is growing all around the world as a consequence of the extension of the Mediterranean diet. Because of limited production, pricing, promotions, and consumer-related variables are essential to explain olive oil consumer behavior. As a consequence of this increasing consumption, it is fundamental to analyze the main factors influencing consumers' olive oil choices for both brands and retailers to be able to compete more efficiently and satisfy consumer needs more closely. But, few such studies are concerned with olive oil (although a great many works in the literature analyze the influence of these factors in other product categories). In a sociocultural context like the Spanish market, in which brand awareness is strong and the use of the product is very high, these factors are even more important. Thus, the main objective of this article is to determine and assess how different marketing variables, such as price, price discounts, use of store flyers and loyalty, explain olive oil brand choice. [Econlit citations: M310, Q130]. © 2009 wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Product-country images and preference heterogeneity for Mediterranean food products: A discrete choice frameworkAGRIBUSINESS : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 3 2005Riccardo Scarpa Despite the importance of region of origin (ROO) as a quality indicator and EU recognition of territorial specificity in food products, there is still a dearth of work investigating the importance of regional (both national and territorial) identity in consumer perceptions for specific food product categories. Employing nationwide discrete choice data for Italy, we investigate the strength of the ROO attribute across three food product categories. Moreover, in addition to treating taste heterogeneity as conditional on socioeconomic factors, we employ recent advances in discrete-choice modeling to test for unobserved heterogeneity in consumer preferences for domestic and territorial origin of production certification. The results show evidence of home bias in preference across all three food products, while preference heterogeneity is exhibited for table grapes and oil, but not for oranges. The analysis shows that unobserved heterogeneity, as represented by mixed logit models, appears to explain more of the observed choice variation than heterogeneity associated to socioeconomic characteristics. [JEL classification: Q120,Q130, Q180]. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Agribusiness 21: 329,349, 2005. [source] Analyses of consumers' dietary behavior: An application of the AIDS model to supermarket scanner dataAGRIBUSINESS : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 2 2003Eugene Jones Nationwide food consumption surveys often find no difference in the diets of lower and higher income Americans, while studies of particular food commodities find major differences. These contrasting results represent a consumption paradox. We attempt to gain an understanding of this paradox by using supermarket scanner data to examine food purchases and, by extension, consumption patterns for consumers in two, geographically distinct, income areas. These areas are part of the larger Columbus, OH, metropolitan area (CMA) and six stores are selected for purchase and consumption analyses,three from the lowest income areas of the CMA and three from the highest income areas. Seven product categories are analyzed in this study and these categories are subdivided into meaningful nutritional classes. An Almost Ideal Demand System is employed and the empirical results reveal major differences in consumption behavior for the two groups. [EconLit citations: D120 and D190.] © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Agribusiness 19: 203,221, 2003. [source] Introducing Templates for Sustainable Product DevelopmentJOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY, Issue 4 2008A Case Study of Televisions at the Matsushita Electric Group Summary We have previously developed a method for sustainable product development (MSPD) based on backcasting from basic sustainability principles. The MSPD informs investigations of product-related social and ecological sustainability aspects throughout a concurrent engineering product development process. We here introduce "templates" for sustainable product development (TSPDs) as a complement. The idea is to help product development teams to arrive faster and more easily at an overview of the major sustainability challenges and opportunities of a product category in the early development phases. The idea is also to inform creative communication between top management, stakeholders, and product developers. We present this approach through an evaluation case study, in which the TSPDs were used for a sustainability assessment of televisions (TVs) at the Matsushita Electric Group. We study whether the TSPD approach has the ability to (1) help shift focus from gradual improvements of a selection of aspects in relation to past environmental performance of a product category to a focus on the remaining gap to a sustainable situation, (2) facilitate consensus among organizational levels about major sustainability challenges and potential solutions for a product category, and (3) facilitate continued dialogue with external sustainability experts, identifying improvements that are relevant for strategic sustainable development. Our findings indicate that the TSPD approach captures overall sustainability aspects of the life cycle of product categories and that it has the above abilities. [source] Evaluation of sustainable packaging in the norwegian shopping basket 2001,2007PACKAGING TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE, Issue 3 2010Hanne Møller Abstract The main purpose of the Norwegian Shopping Basket Survey (referred to here as the Survey) is to document development in packaging optimization and generation of packaging waste in the Norwegian packaging sector over time. As the environmental and resource efficiency of packaging systems depends to a large extent on the prevention of product loss, material intensity of the packaging and closing of the material loops, these factors are important elements in the characterization of sustainability of packaging systems. In this project we calculate indicators for material intensity and material recycling, based on the European Union (EU) directive on packaging and packaging waste (EC 64/92) and the corresponding European Committee for Standardization (CEN)-standards EN 13427-13432. The survey consists of 22 product categories that have a significant economic contribution to the retail sector. In each product category the three products with the highest turnover (market leaders) and the three products with the most rapid increase in turnover each year (market winners) are chosen. The survey result shows that the weighted packaging material intensity for the market leaders has been reduced but that the net material intensity has been rather constant. Data for the market winners indicate a much larger variation throughout the period, which is expected because many of the products change from year to year. The numbers of packaging changes are counted. Market changes are found to be the most important factor affecting the differences in material intensity. Changes in the packaging system of the individual products are less important. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] From a commodity to an experience: The moderating role of thematic positioning on congruity-based product judgmentPSYCHOLOGY & MARKETING, Issue 5 2010Theodore J. Noseworthy Research in positioning strategy suggests that a product schema, when presented in a moderately incongruent fashion, can evoke a greater degree of positive evaluation than if presented congruently with consumer expectations. This phenomenon has been coined the schema congruity effect. To date, one of the limitations of the phenomenon is that it has been applied almost exclusively to taxonomic stimuli, with little reference to thematic, eventlike stimuli. Two experiments verified that taxonomic and thematic product categories differ with respect to their unique characteristics. Consequently, despite successful replication of the schema congruity effect during taxonomic interpretation, when pushed thematically, the schema congruity effect failed to manifest. Furthermore, both experiments confirmed that, unlike taxonomic product categories that benefit from abstract and moderately incongruent positioning, thematic product categories benefit from concrete and congruent positioning. Implications for understanding the moderating role of thematic positioning on congruity-based product evaluation as well as the differences between taxonomic and thematic stimuli are discussed. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Product involvement in organic food consumption: Does ideology meet practice?PSYCHOLOGY & MARKETING, Issue 9 2009Anssi Tarkiainen This study assesses the level of consumers' felt involvement in four distinct product categories of organic food (coffee, bread, fruit, and flour), and examines the role of felt involvement in the broader context of organic food shopping behavior. It is shown that the reason why consumers do not buy organic food regularly despite their positive attitudes is that such ideologically formed attitudes are not present in habitual, low-involvement shopping activities with limited problem-solving needs as in food shopping from grocery stores. The statistical analysis of an empirical sample of 200 consumers gives substantial support to the hypothesized new organic food buying behavior model. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Relationship between product groups' price perceptions, shopper's basket size, and grocery store's overall store price imagePSYCHOLOGY & MARKETING, Issue 10 2003Kalpesh Kaushik Desai This research investigates how consumers form an overall store price image (OSPI) of grocery stores. Whereas prior research on this topic has explored the influence of the number of products offered at lower prices and of the magnitude of such price reduction, this study addresses the following two questions: How do the (lower) prices offered on different types of products influence OSPI? Does such influence vary across consumers, and, if so, how? A general framework of product-price saliency on consumers' OSPI is developed and tested. Specifically, based on two product-related factors,consumption span (length of time required to finish the consumption of a standard unit of the product) and unit price, grocery-store products are classified into four exhaustive and mutually exclusive product groups, and the relationship between OSPI and group-level price perceptions across the four product groups is examined. The framework also examines to what extent this relationship is moderated by consumers' shopping-basket size. Consistent with the proposed framework, this research finds strong empirical evidence of a systematic but differential relationship between OSPI and product group-level price perceptions and also a systematic interaction effect with consumers' basket size. The findings help to identify focal product categories across distinct consumer segments and thus hold important strategic implications for category management and target marketing that are likely to increase the overall effectiveness of retail promotional strategies. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] How Today's Consumers Perceive Tomorrow's Smart Products,THE JOURNAL OF PRODUCT INNOVATION MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2009Serge A. Rijsdijk This paper investigates consumer responses to new smart products. Due to the application of information technology, smart products are able to collect, process, and produce information and can be described as "thinking" for themselves. In this study, 184 consumers respond to smart products that are characterized by two different combinations of smartness dimensions. One group of products shows the smartness dimensions of autonomy, adaptability, and reactivity. Another group of smart products are multifunctional and able to cooperate with other products. Consumer responses to these smart products are measured in terms of the innovation attributes of relative advantage, compatibility, observability, complexity, and perceived risk. The study shows that products with higher levels of smartness are perceived to have both advantages and disadvantages. Higher levels of product smartness are mainly associated with higher levels of observability and perceived risk. The effects of product smartness on relative advantage, compatibility, and complexity vary across product smartness dimensions and across product categories. For example, higher levels of product autonomy are perceived as increasingly advantageous whereas a high level of multifunctionality is perceived disadvantageous. The paper discusses the advantages and pitfalls for each of the five product smartness dimensions and their implications for new product development and concludes with a discussion of the limitations of the study and suggestions for further research. [source] Effects of retrieval practice on conceptual explicit and implicit consumer memoryAPPLIED COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 2 2009Andrew Parker Two experiments are reported that investigate the effects of retrieval practice on explicit and implicit memory for brand names. In Experiment 1, participants were exposed to a set of brand names pertaining to a range of product categories. Following this, participants practiced retrieving a subset of the brands before taking an explicit or implicit test for the brands. The explicit test, required recall of the brands in response to product category cues. The implicit test required the generation of the first brand names that came to mind. In both tests, prior retrieval produced retrieval-induced forgetting of the non-practiced brands. Experiment 2 replicated this effect under conditions designed to reduce explicit contamination. In addition, Experiment 2 found that increasing the amount of retrieval practice also increased the magnitude of retrieval-induced forgetting on the explicit but not the implicit test. Implications for advertising and marketing are considered. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] SOURCES OF PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH IN AUSTRALIAN TEXTILE AND CLOTHING FIRMS,AUSTRALIAN ECONOMIC PAPERS, Issue 3 2007I.K.M. MOKHTARUL WADUD This paper estimates the sources of productivity growth in Australian textile and clothing firms based on the Business Longitudinal Survey (BLS) from 1995 to 1998. Productivity growth estimates have been obtained for each sub-category of textile and clothing firms. Sources of growth in multifactor productivity (MFP) are examined with growth in technical efficiency and scale effects based on estimates of stochastic frontier production functions. Separate estimates of output growth have been compared with the productivity growth estimates for each of the product categories. MFP improved in all clothing firms and declined in textile firms over 1997,1998 by four-digit level of Australia New Zealand Standard Industrial classification Scheme (ANZSIC). MFP declined in most major categories of both textile and clothing firms in 1995,1997. Changes in technical efficiency mostly dominated scale effects in the overall direction of MFPG in both textile and clothing firms. The findings of the study provide evidence for policies for improving the firms' operative performance in the ongoing liberalised regime. [source] Lipid composition of retailed organic, free-range and conventional chicken breastsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, Issue 3 2007Kishowar Jahan Summary Lipid fractions of 20 retailed chicken breasts were correlated with production system: organic, corn-fed, free-range and conventional. Neutral lipid (NL), phospholipid (PL) and free fatty acids (FFA) were examined separately. Influence of production systems was found more pronounced in PL composition than NLs. Corn-fed and free-range NLs had higher contents of nutritionally beneficial eicosapentanoic acid (C20:5 n-3) and docosahexanoic acid (C22:6 n-3) than organic and conventional. Lower polyunsaturated fatty acids in organic and free-range PLs could be beneficial for tissue stability. Principal component product space for PLs showed clear clustering related to product category. In contrast, this was not observed with FFA except in the partial least square regression product space suggesting influences on NLs and PLs and FFA. PLs had lower contents of arachidonic acid than in earlier studies. Advantages were observed in lipid fractionation using advanced sorbent extraction matrices. [source] The effect of respondents' nationality and familiarity with a product category on the importance of product attributes in consumer choice: Globalization and the evaluation of domestic and foreign productsJAPANESE PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH, Issue 4 2001Emmanuel Chéron This study compared the perceptions of 376 Japanese and 191 Canadian consumers concerning the importance of different product attributes for categories of products at various stages of globalization. There was less multivariate statistical difference between the two countries for those products at a more advanced stage of globalization (consumer electronics and clothing vs. food). The joint effects of the degree of familiarity with the category of product and the country of the respondent on the importance of the product attributes were tested. The effect of familiarity was found to result in a significant statistical multivariate difference for the clothing category only. The observed statistical power of the effect of country of respondent confirmed that more statistical difference was apparent for the least globalized product. No multivariate significant statistical interaction was found between familiarity and country of respondent. Using a multi-attribute model, the evaluation of the three categories of product was computed for seven different countries of manufacture. Comparison of the total scores of each country for each product category for the Japanese and the Canadian samples confirmed that the most globalized product showed least difference in its evaluation between countries of manufacture. A well-known strong bias toward domestic products was, however, observed in both samples. [source] Consumer product evaluation based on tactile sensory informationJOURNAL OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR, Issue 3 2010Alain d'Astous This paper presents the results of an experiment in which consumers were asked to examine visually and touch samples of fabric. The participants were either given or not given verbal information relevant to the product category, and provided answers to the dependent variables immediately or after a 4-minute delay. The results showed that memory, confidence in memory, and confidence in product evaluation were positively influenced by the availability of verbal information and therefore support the proposition that relevant verbal information can improve the encoding, retention, and retrieval of consumer experiences that include sensory information and lead to preferences that are better defined. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Effects of Brining Conditions on Weight Gain in Herring (Clupea harengus) FilletsJOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE, Issue 7 2005Sveinung Birkeland ABSTRACT: Salted herring is an important product category in many European countries. Reduced need for salt as a preserving agent and the increased emphasis on less salt in the human diet has changed the basis for the traditional processing of these products. This has led to significant changes in the processing conditions and in the characteristics of the salted products. In this perspective, the effects of different brine concentrations (10.0%, 16.5%, and 25.5%), brining temperatures (3.5 °C and 17.5 °C), the presence of skin or not on the fillets, and brining time (1, 2, 3, 4, and 7 d) were investigated on the weight gain (%) and final salt content (%) of herring (Clupea harengus). A significant (P < 0.001) higher weight gain of the fillets were observed at the lowest brining temperature (3.5 °C) compared with at the higher temperature (17.5 °C), independently of brine concentration and brining time. Increased brine concentration and skinning of the fillets caused the weight gain to significantly decrease (P < 0.001) and increase (P < 0.001), respectively. After 1 d of brining, the weight gain was in the range of 10% to 12% for both brining temperatures, and at the lowest temperature, the weight gain increased significantly (P < 0.001) as a function of brining time. At the higher temperature, no further significant increase in weight was observed from 1 to 7 d of brining. It is concluded that the weight gain in herring fillets brined according to the present commercial practice is significantly affected by temperature, brine concentration, brining time, and the presence or not of skin on the fillets and that the weight gain may be of high magnitude. [source] Introducing Templates for Sustainable Product DevelopmentJOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY, Issue 4 2008A Case Study of Televisions at the Matsushita Electric Group Summary We have previously developed a method for sustainable product development (MSPD) based on backcasting from basic sustainability principles. The MSPD informs investigations of product-related social and ecological sustainability aspects throughout a concurrent engineering product development process. We here introduce "templates" for sustainable product development (TSPDs) as a complement. The idea is to help product development teams to arrive faster and more easily at an overview of the major sustainability challenges and opportunities of a product category in the early development phases. The idea is also to inform creative communication between top management, stakeholders, and product developers. We present this approach through an evaluation case study, in which the TSPDs were used for a sustainability assessment of televisions (TVs) at the Matsushita Electric Group. We study whether the TSPD approach has the ability to (1) help shift focus from gradual improvements of a selection of aspects in relation to past environmental performance of a product category to a focus on the remaining gap to a sustainable situation, (2) facilitate consensus among organizational levels about major sustainability challenges and potential solutions for a product category, and (3) facilitate continued dialogue with external sustainability experts, identifying improvements that are relevant for strategic sustainable development. Our findings indicate that the TSPD approach captures overall sustainability aspects of the life cycle of product categories and that it has the above abilities. [source] DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS OF COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE CREAMY STYLE PEANUT BUTTERS,JOURNAL OF SENSORY STUDIES, Issue 5 2002KAY L. McNEILL ABSTRACT This study was undertaken to establish category and product descriptive characteristics of commercial creamy style peanut butters for use in subsequent modeling of consumer response. An established descriptive lexicon for peanut flavor was modified with additional appearance and texture terminology to describe these samples. To determine the full category space for the appearance, flavor and texture characteristics for commercial creamy style peanut butters, a highly trained descriptive panel screened 42 brands. A subset of 22 peanut butters was identified which represented the available range of appearance, flavor and texture variations and determined the product category. These 22 commercial creamy style peanut butters were subsequently evaluated and quantitatively described using 4 appearance, 19 flavor and 12 texture descriptors. Using both hierarchical clustering and principal component analysis, 4 logical associative groupings of products were identified: store and name brands, natural brands, reduced fat brands, and some store or name brands with unique or unusual appearance, flavor or texture characteristics. Omission of products with redundant characteristics within a factor grouping enabled further reduction to 15 products for subsequent quantitative consumer testing to establish a model for descriptive analysis as a predictor of consumer research responses. [source] MATCHING RESULTS OF TWO INDEPENDENT HIGHLY TRAINED SENSORY PANELS USING DIFFERENT DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS METHODS,JOURNAL OF SENSORY STUDIES, Issue 5 2002VARAPHA LOTONG ABSTRACT Two independent, highly trained panels separately conducted descriptive analysis of orange juices using different descriptive analysis methods and sets of samples. Lexicons were developed independently. One panel evaluated 23 orange juice products and identified and referenced 24 attributes. The other panel evaluated 17 products and identified 17 attributes for testing. Though not identical, the lexicons developed by both panels were similar overall. To compare the sensory space of the product category, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and sensory maps were developed separately for each panel. The comparison showed that the underlying sample spaces obtained from both panels were comparable in many ways. Key flavor characteristics for the same types of orange juice products were described similarly by both panels. These data indicate that the process of using highly trained panels that define attributes and use reference standards for descriptive sensory analysis can give objective and comparable information for a product category across different panels. [source] TEXTURE AND MOUTHFEEL OF SEMISOLID FOODS: COMMERCIAL MAYONNAISES, DRESSINGS, CUSTARD DESSERTS AND WARM SAUCESJOURNAL OF TEXTURE STUDIES, Issue 2 2003H. WEENEN ABSTRACT Texture and mouthfeel sensations of three groups of semisolid foodstuffs (mayonnaises and dressings, custard desserts and warm sauces) were characterised, measured, evaluated and compared based on quantitative descriptive sensory analysis of commercial products. Six groups of texture attributes were generated and used by the sensory panel. These were related to: viscosity, surface feel, bulk homogeneity, adhesion/cohesion, wetness-dryness and fat. Two groups of nontextural mouthfeel attributes were found to be relevant, which were related to perceived temperature and oral irritation. The importance of the attributes for each product category is discussed. [source] Invariance and factorial modelsJOURNAL OF THE ROYAL STATISTICAL SOCIETY: SERIES B (STATISTICAL METHODOLOGY), Issue 2 2000P. McCullagh Two factors having the same set of levels are said to be homologous. This paper aims to extend the domain of factorial models to designs that include homologous factors. In doing so, it is necessary first to identify the characteristic property of those vector spaces that constitute the standard factorial models. We argue here that essentially every interesting statistical model specified by a vector space is necessarily a representation of some algebraic category. Logical consistency of the sort associated with the standard marginality conditions is guaranteed by category representations, but not by group representations. Marginality is thus interpreted as invariance under selection of factor levels (I -representations), and invariance under replication of levels (S -representations). For designs in which each factor occurs once, the representations of the product category coincide with the standard factorial models. For designs that include homologous factors, the set of S -representations is a subset of the I -representations. It is shown that symmetry and quasi-symmetry are representations in both senses, but that not all representations include the constant functions (intercept). The beginnings of an extended algebra for constructing general I -representations is described and illustrated by a diallel cross design. [source] Evaluation of sustainable packaging in the norwegian shopping basket 2001,2007PACKAGING TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE, Issue 3 2010Hanne Møller Abstract The main purpose of the Norwegian Shopping Basket Survey (referred to here as the Survey) is to document development in packaging optimization and generation of packaging waste in the Norwegian packaging sector over time. As the environmental and resource efficiency of packaging systems depends to a large extent on the prevention of product loss, material intensity of the packaging and closing of the material loops, these factors are important elements in the characterization of sustainability of packaging systems. In this project we calculate indicators for material intensity and material recycling, based on the European Union (EU) directive on packaging and packaging waste (EC 64/92) and the corresponding European Committee for Standardization (CEN)-standards EN 13427-13432. The survey consists of 22 product categories that have a significant economic contribution to the retail sector. In each product category the three products with the highest turnover (market leaders) and the three products with the most rapid increase in turnover each year (market winners) are chosen. The survey result shows that the weighted packaging material intensity for the market leaders has been reduced but that the net material intensity has been rather constant. Data for the market winners indicate a much larger variation throughout the period, which is expected because many of the products change from year to year. The numbers of packaging changes are counted. Market changes are found to be the most important factor affecting the differences in material intensity. Changes in the packaging system of the individual products are less important. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The behavioral ecology of brand choice: How and what do consumers maximize?PSYCHOLOGY & MARKETING, Issue 9 2003Gordon R. Foxall Matching theory predicts choices on concurrent variable ratio schedules on which consumers' brand selection occurs will show maximization via exclusive choice of the richest schedule. However, aggregate studies of consumer choice indicate two modes of consumer brand purchase within a product category: either exclusive purchase of one brand or multibrand purchasing. This article uses brand-selection data from individual consumers to determine whether, at this level of analysis, (a) consumers' purchasing patterns show matching, (b) consumers maximize returns, and, if so, (c) what they maximize. Consumer behavior for fast-moving goods exhibits matching, but in the form of multibrand purchasing rather than exclusive choice. Moreover, for substitutes, brand selection is price sensitive, suggesting both melioration and maximization; for nonsubstitutes, choice is not price sensitive but still appears consistent with maximization of price- and nonprice-related sources of value. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Factors Influencing the Adoption of Mass Customization: The Impact of Base Category Consumption Frequency and Need SatisfactionTHE JOURNAL OF PRODUCT INNOVATION MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2007Andreas M. Kaplan Mass customization has received considerable interest among researchers. However, although many authors have analyzed this concept from different angles, the question of which factors can be used to spot customers most likely to adopt a mass-customized product has not been answered to a satisfactory extent until now. This article explicitly deals with this question by focusing on factors related to the base category, which is defined as the group of all standardized products within the same product category as the mass-customized product under investigation. Specifically, this article investigates the influence of a customer's base category consumption frequency and need satisfaction on the decision to adopt a mass-customized product within this base category. A set of competing hypotheses regarding these influences is developed and subsequently evaluated by a combination of partial least squares and latent class analysis. This is done by using a sample of 2,114 customers surveyed regarding their adoption of an individualized printed newspaper. The results generated are threefold: First, it is shown that there is a significant direct influence of base category consumption frequency and need satisfaction on the behavioral intention to adopt. The more frequently a subject consumes products out of the base category or the more satisfied his or her needs are due to this consumption, the higher the behavioral intention to adopt a mass-customized product within this base category. Second, the article provides an indication that base category consumption frequency has a significant moderating effect when investigating the behavioral intention to adopt in the context of the theory of reasoned action and the technology acceptance model. The more frequently a subject consumes products out of the base category, the more important will be the impact of perceived ease of use mediated by perceived usefulness. Finally, this article shows that different latent classes with respect to unobserved heterogeneity regarding the latent variables base category need satisfaction or dissatisfaction have significantly different adoption behaviors. Individuals who show a high level of need dissatisfaction are less interested in the ease of use of a mass-customized product than its usefulness (i.e., increase in need satisfaction). On the other hand, subjects who have a high degree of base category need satisfaction base their adoption decision mainly on the ease of use of the mass-customized product. These results are of managerial relevance regarding the prediction of market reactions and the understanding of the strategic use of product-line extensions based on mass-customized products. This work provides an indication that base category consumption frequency and need satisfaction positively influence the behavioral intention to adopt a mass-customized product. Hence, mass customization can be seen as one way to deepen the relationship with existing clients. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||