The influence of extrinsic product attributes on consumers’ food decisions: review and network analysis of the marketing literature

ABSTRACT

The paper synthesises the existing research on the influence of key product characteristics on the consumers’ food decision-making. By applying network analysis on a sample of 233 empirical studies from the last three decades, the paper demonstrates how marketing-specific variables are embedded in a network of other predictors. The paper also analyses network structure and density using well established measures. The results show that there is still a lack of research concerning the interplay between marketing-relevant extrinsic product attributes (e.g. price, brand, labelling, country of origin) and intrinsic food attributes, policy-related factors, as well as aspects of the proximal and distal environment. The paper identifies gaps in the marketing literature and derives research propositions. Additionally, implications for marketing practice are developed.

KEYWORDS:

• Consumers’ decision-making
• network analysis
• consumer behaviour
• extrinsic attributes
• food marketing

Acknowledgments

The dataset that was used in this study was developed within the DEterminants of DIet and Physical ACtivity (DEDIPAC) knowledge hub, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research of Germany (grant 01EA1379B).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research of Germany [01EA1379B].

Notes on contributors

Nils Christian Hoffmann

Nils Christian Hoffmann is a PhD researcher at the department of marketing at Kiel University, Germany, and at the Kiel Centre for Globalization (KCG). His research focuses on the ethics of consumption, ethical and sustainable consumer behaviour as well as cross-cultural marketing. His work appeared in academic journals, such as Journal of Business Ethics and Management International Review.

Claudia Symmank

Claudia Symmank has worked as a marketing researcher at the Technical University of Dresden and at Kiel University, Germany. Her research focuses on consumer food decision-making, sensory marketing, health marketing, and sustainability marketing. She has published in journals such as Journal of Retailing, Food Quality and Preference, Appetite, and Waste Management.

Robert Mai

Robert Mai is full professor at Grenoble Ecole de Management, France. His research focuses on consumer and (industrial) buyer behaviour and, more specifically, on sustainability innovations, health care, food decision-making and cross-cultural marketing. He publishes his research in academic journals, such as Journal of Consumer Psychology, Journal of Retailing, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, and International Journal of Research in Marketing.

F. Marijn Stok

F. Marijn. Stok is assistant professor at the department of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences at Utrecht University, the Netherlands. Her research focuses on health behaviour and public health promotion, especially on persuasive communication and social influence processes. She has published in journals such as Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Health Psychology Review, British Journal of Health Psychology, and Frontiers in Psychology.

Harald Rohm

Harald Rohm is professor of food engineering at the Technical University of Dresden, Germany. One of his main research areas is the implementation of new methods in sensory science in context with product development and the identification of drivers for food choice and preference generation. He has published in journals such as International Journal of Dairy Technology, Food Quality and Preference, Appetite, and International Journal of Food Science & Technology.

Stefan Hoffmann

Stefan Hoffmann is professor of marketing at Kiel University, Germany. His research focuses on ethical, sustainable, and political consumer behaviour as well as health and food marketing, and marketing communications. His work appeared in academic journals, such as International Journal of Research in Marketing, Journal of Consumer Psychology, Journal of Retailing, and Journal of Service Research.