Papers by simona Naspetti
MPRA Paper, 2002
The market of organic products is quite small in Hungary. However, based on its development poten... more The market of organic products is quite small in Hungary. However, based on its development potential it has strategic importance (SZAKÁLY, 2004). Thus the aim was to find answers how to increase the trade of organic products. To get more details about the Hungarian organic food market we carried out a quantitative survey using a 1,000 member countrywide panel. Our results indicate that organic origin is considered somewhat important for every 4th respondent, while only 3.7% of the interviewees paid attention to put organic food products into their cart. The most serious obstacle is the doubt of surveyed individuals about the authenticity and the alleged benefits of organic products, complete with a high perceived price. "Price" is the most influential factor on shopping decision, but the advantageous "constant quality" and "health benefit" factors are just following it. In conclusion, there is potential demand for ecological food products in Hungary. Although the proportion of conscious consumers is small; it significantly exceeds the current market share of the products. Consumers should be approached with better prices, smart retailing solutions and through awareness raising.
RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, 2009
This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or s... more This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae, and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand, or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material.
Sustainability
Eco-labels are crucial in helping consumers make sustainable food choices. However, previous lite... more Eco-labels are crucial in helping consumers make sustainable food choices. However, previous literature has shown that eco-labels lack visibility and, frequently, are not easy for consumers to see. The main goal of the present study was to analyse the influence of aquaculture eco-labels’ visual elements—size and saliency—on consumers’ visual attention and choice. The study uses an eye-tracking methodology, together with a choice experiment and a semiotic analysis. A word association (WA) task was used to explore how each eco-label’s graphic design influenced consumers’ perceptions. Sixty-one consumers’ eye movements were tracked while choosing smoked salmon and seabass products carrying different eco-labels. The results showed that size and saliency largely influence visual attention. The choice of aquaculture products was influenced only by the size of the eco-labels. According to the WA task, the shape, the symbols and the language in which the claim was written influenced consume...
Sustainability, Aug 29, 2022
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
Journal of Insects as Food and Feed, 2021
The practice of eating insects, known as entomophagy, is part of a regular diet for millions of p... more The practice of eating insects, known as entomophagy, is part of a regular diet for millions of people in Asia, Latin America and Africa. However, the use of insects as food is relatively new in Western countries. The present paper explores the willingness to adopt edible insects as food among Italian consumers using Q methodology. A sample of ‘experts’ (e.g. entomologists) and ‘non-experts’ (e.g. students and other researchers) formed the participant sample (P sample). Participants were asked to rank-order a set of 36 images of food dishes prepared using insects (Q sample). Results showed that visual appearance plays an important role in influencing consumers acceptance of insects as food. The Q analysis identified three distinct viewpoints or consumer profiles: Factor 1 ‘The Traditionalist’; Factor 2 ‘The Fast Food Addicted’; and Factor 3 ‘The Insectivore’. This study confirms that visible insects in food may be problematic for the more traditional viewpoint, while results for the...
Organic farming: an international history, 2007
This chapter presents a brief history of organic food market in Europe. The production, consumpti... more This chapter presents a brief history of organic food market in Europe. The production, consumption and trade, and the development of marketing channels of organic products are described. The institutional changes in the market, structural developments in the supply chain, and the changing organic food consumer, are discussed. Further, the consumer demographics and motives for purchasing organic food are explored, while the importance of certification and labels in building trust, the importance of origin, barriers to further expansion of the organic market, and the future of the organic market are given.
Sustainability
In recent years, there have been significant developments in biotechnology, specifically regardin... more In recent years, there have been significant developments in biotechnology, specifically regarding New Plant Breeding Techniques (NPBTs). Such advancements have been driven by the need to develop improved and more sustainable crops while reducing pesticides and fertilisers. NPBTs include a heterogeneous group of methods that allow performing plant mutations more precisely than in genetically modified (GM) technologies, saving time and effort. Although some experts consider NPBTs an opportunity for organic farming expansion, the European Court of Justice in 2018 pronounced against their use in organic farming since all plants obtained by NPBTs should follow the same regulations as Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). This study aims to understand consumers’ attitudes and viewpoints towards new breeding techniques. Focus groups and Q methodological approach were used to uncover consensus and divergence among organic consumers in seven selected European countries (Germany, Italy, Lat...
Nutrients
Given the increasing public interest in how ingredients are processed and the growing demand for ... more Given the increasing public interest in how ingredients are processed and the growing demand for organic food products, it is critical to understand consumers’ expectations about the process-related quality of organic products. Consumers perceive organic food to be nutritious, healthy and either natural or less processed, as they are afraid of the loss of nutritional, organoleptic and sensory properties of the food products. However, alternative food processing technologies might generate healthy and safe food options with nutritional quality properties. Simplified communication schemes might help to overcome this barrier for the consumer. The main objective of this study is to propose a working definition of “careful processing” for organic products and test its consistency through an experiment, while being used to rate different processing methods by consumers. Results show that the proposed definition allows the consumer to consistently rate alternative processing technologies. ...
Despite the recent decision of the European Court of Justice to consider plant obtained by New Br... more Despite the recent decision of the European Court of Justice to consider plant obtained by New Breeding Techniques (NBTs) as GMOs, there is still an intensive debate in Europe on the use of these new techniques in the organic farming. For this reason, understanding organic consumers' viewpoint towards NBTs is essential for the future of the sector. Following the Q method approach (Brown, 1980), a pilot study was conducted in Italy with 36 organic consumers. The balanced Q-sample, which accounted 48 statements regarding NBTs, was defined according to a 4 x 2 factorial design with six replications. Results demonstrated the presence of two relevant viewpoints towards the adoption
This paper deals with consumer acceptance of novel dairy production strategies. An hybrid choice ... more This paper deals with consumer acceptance of novel dairy production strategies. An hybrid choice model or integrated choice and latent variable model (ICLV), merging the choice model with the structural equation approach (SEM) for latent variables representing antecedents of choice, is used for the analysis. Consumer acceptance is modelled by an extended Theory of Planned Behaviour framework, where Choice is modelled as depending on Intention to purchase which is dependent on Attitude toward products applying a novel production strategy, Perceived behavioural Control, Subjective Norm and Moral Norm. Overall, six constructs were included in the: Perceived Risks (3 items: Bredahl, 2001; Tung et al., 2008), Perceived Benefits (3 items: Bredahl, 2001; Tung et al., 2008), Moral Norm (3 items: Bredahl, 2001; Dean et al., 2008), Subjective Norm (3 items: Dean et al., 2008; O’Connor et al., 2006; Olsen et al., 2008; Tung et al., 2008), Perceived Behavioural Control (3 items: Bredahl, 2001; ...
Beverages
This study aims to investigate the influence of wine-bottle design and the position of labels on ... more This study aims to investigate the influence of wine-bottle design and the position of labels on consumers’ visual attention in digital contexts. Two within-subjects experiments combined with implicit eye-tracking measures were implemented in Italy. The visual attention of twenty-four participants was measured using areas of interest metrics while being asked to view two differently shaped bottles in three orientations. Subsequently, four examples of each bottle type were displayed, positioning an organic logo in different areas. Attention and interest measures were captured and analysed using a factorial repeated-measures ANOVA. The results show that the shoulder is the bottle’s first and most fixated part. Significant differences in participants’ attention and interest were found according to the interaction of bottle type and bottle part, as well as bottle part and orientation. Furthermore, exploring the inclusion of an organic logo on different bottle parts provided consistent r...
Nutrients
A healthy society is the foundation of development in every country, and one way to achieve a hea... more A healthy society is the foundation of development in every country, and one way to achieve a healthy society is to promote healthy nutrition. An unbalanced diet is one of the leading causes of noncommunicable diseases globally. If food was correctly selected and correctly consumed, both the problems of overeating and lack of nutrition could be largely solved while also decreasing public health costs. Interventions such as presenting necessary information and warning labels would help consumers make better food choices. Hence, providing nutritional information to consumers becomes essential. The present study investigates the importance of nutrition information labels on consumers’ preferences by estimating their willingness to pay for features and information provided by a dietary software program (app). An application can easily display the information to the consumers and help them make informed food choices. A discrete choice experiment investigated consumers’ preferences and wi...
American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 2012
We review the current literature on attribute non-attendance in stated choice and use data from b... more We review the current literature on attribute non-attendance in stated choice and use data from beef and chicken choice experiments using both inference and the respondents' own statements. Inference is based on panel data analysis by mixed logit models of choice with both discrete and continuous mixtures of coefficients, and is conditional on the observed pattern of choice. Information from respondent statements on non-attendance is directly embedded in the specification of the indirect utility function. Results show no clear winner between the inferential approaches, but the inference based on constrained latent class panel models better matches the observed data. Copyright 2013, Oxford University Press.
Animals, 2020
This international study involving seven European countries (Italy, UK, Finland, France, Spain, G... more This international study involving seven European countries (Italy, UK, Finland, France, Spain, Greece, Turkey) was conducted to explore the relevant reasons that affect both consumer and non-consumer perceptions of sheep and goat meat. Laddering and means–end chain theory were applied. The results indicate that consumers associate sheep and goat meat with a unique taste, authenticity and natural production, linked with values such as health and enjoyment of life. In contrast, non-consumers mainly feel disgusted when they think and feel about these meats, and do not associate any specific health benefits to their consumption, disliking their taste, odour and fat content. This study is based on qualitative research. Only analytical generalizations are possible, expanding the theory on what drives consumer behaviour when purchasing meat. No previous means–end chain studies are available in the literature regarding small ruminants’ meat consumer preferences.
Organic Aquaculture
The total fish supply around the world has shown a constant increasing trend over the last decade... more The total fish supply around the world has shown a constant increasing trend over the last decades, due also to the steady growth of fish production from aquaculture that has nearly reached the production of capture fish.
The First Outstanding 50 Years of “Università Politecnica delle Marche”
In western countries, modern consumers hold dual attitudes about food: on one hand, they have a g... more In western countries, modern consumers hold dual attitudes about food: on one hand, they have a genuine interest in food innovation, and on the other hand, they have a growing mistrust of industrial foods produced with cutting-edge technologies, which goes hand in hand with a desire to return to traditional food. Nevertheless, typical and traditional foods constitute a starting point for innovation and represent a legacy of inestimable value that must be preserved. Among traditional foods, those produced through fermentation processes represent the core of the human daily diet. In addition to these traditional foods, novel foods are emerging, including edible insects that are expected to attract a growing number of western consumers in the near future. Whether produced with innovative or traditional technologies, the full characterization of foods, including the compositional, microbiological, technological and marketing aspects, is a key element for either their valorization or their quality assurance.
Additional ethical claims were tested with mock organic egg labels in five EU countries. The atti... more Additional ethical claims were tested with mock organic egg labels in five EU countries. The attitudes towards the advertising labels were assessed by multiple copy testing measures. A total of 156 individual responses were analysed. The study confirms the difficulty of conducting advertising research in a multicultural fram ework, and shows that additional local / regional claims can reinforce the appeal of organic products.
Journal of Imaging
Although the understanding of cognitive disciplines has progressed, we know relatively little abo... more Although the understanding of cognitive disciplines has progressed, we know relatively little about how the human brain perceives art. Thanks to the growing interest in visual perception, eye-tracking technology has been increasingly used for studying the interaction between individuals and artworks. In this study, eye-tracking was used to provide insights into non-expert visitors’ visual behaviour as they move freely in the historical room of the “Studiolo del Duca” of the Ducal Palace in Urbino, Italy. Visitors looked for an average of almost two minutes. This study revealed which parts of the artefact captured visitors’ attention and also gives interesting information about the main patterns of fruition.
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Papers by simona Naspetti