Effect of Experiential vs. Cognitive Involvement on Consumer Preferences: Application to Region of Origin Labeled Food Products

Abstract

Region of origin labeled food products consumption is influenced both by cognitive motives related to the individuals' health and safety concerns and by affective motives in relation within the pleasure, the emotional states and the social values. The objective of our study is to examine the effect of involvement and its nature (cognitive vs. experiential) on consumer preferences toward region of origin labeled food products. Discriminant analysis shows that both the cognitive and experiential dimensions of involvement discriminate between the two groups: those who prefer regional food products and those who prefer either national or foreign products. By targeting each profile by an adequate communication strategy, food labels could meet consumer expectations. Thus, their acceptance becomes higher.

Keywords:

• experiential involvement
• region of origin food labels
• consumer preferences

Notes

¹Description of PDO and PGI protection: protected designation of origin (PDO)—Food products with a protected designation of origin are products, which are produced, processed, and prepared in the specific region. Only these products are allowed to carry the specified name, since the quality of these products can be attributed to the region denoted by the name. Protected geographical indication (PGI)—These products are produced or processed or prepared in the specified region. Only these products are produced or processed or prepared in the specified region.

²Typical food products are “foodstuffs belonging to a group of products which claim an organic link to a given territory, a particular history and a local community” (Casabianca & de Sainte Marie, 1999). This article presents some results of a study done for a European project called Typic: Typical Food Products in Europe: Consumer Preference and Objective Assessment, supported by the European commission (QLK1-CT-2002-02225) Site address: www.typic.org.

³ “Using private credit cards set up by supermarkets, the barcode of a product can be linked to the customer card at the cash register. Thus, it is possible to identify who buys what, when, how, and how much. Based on the principle of single source data, this kind of survey is called a consumer scanned data panel” (Giraud, 2003).