Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gvvz8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T01:57:08.005Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Consumer Perceptions of Sustainable Farming Practices: A Best-Worst Scenario

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 September 2016

Hillary M. Sackett ,
Robert Shupp  and
Glynn Tonsor
Hillary M. Sackett*
Affiliation:
Department of Economics and Business Management at Westfield State University
Robert Shupp
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture, Food, and Resource Economics at Michigan State University
Glynn Tonsor
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Economics at Kansas State University
*
Corresponding Author: Department of Economics and Business Management, Westfield State University, 577 Western Avenue, Westfield, MA 01086, Phone 413.572.5253, Email [email protected].
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Building on existing work evaluating food-attribute labels, we use data collected in 2010 from a national web-based survey of 1,002 households to examine consumer inferences and valuations of food products promoted as “sustainably produced.” A best-worst scale framework was implemented to identify how consumers define “sustainably produced” and their preferences for each of the sustainable farming practices considered. The results suggest that consumers perceive farm size and local production as important elements of sustainable agriculture while economic attributes exhibit a significant amount of heterogeneity, indicating segmentation in the sample and the potential for targeted marketing.

Keywords

best-worstconsumer perceptionssustainably produced food
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Agricultural and Resource Economics Review , Volume 42 , Issue 2 , August 2013 , pp. 275 - 290
Copyright
Copyright © 2013 Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Batte, M.T. 2010. “Consumer-driven Changes in Food Marketing Channels: Organics and Sustainable Food Systems in the United States: Discussion.” American Journal of Agricultural Economics 93(2): 604–605.Google Scholar
Bond, C.A., Thilmany, D., and Keeling-Bond, J. 2008. “Understanding Consumer Interest in Product and Process Based Attributes for Fresh Produce.” Agribusiness 24: 231–252.Google Scholar
Callens, I., and Tyteca, D. 1999. “Towards Indicators of Sustainable Development for Firms: A Productive Efficiency Perspective.” Ecological Economics 28: 41–53.Google Scholar
Casini, L., and Corsi, A.M. 2009. “Consumer Preferences of Wine in Italy Applying Best-worst Scaling.” International Journal of Wine Business Research 21(1): 64–78.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clonan, A., Holdsworth, M., Swift, J., and Wilson, P. 2010. “UK Consumers’ Priorities for Sustainable Food Purchases.” Proceedings of the 84th Annual Conference of the Agricultural Economics Society, 2010, Edinburgh, Scotland. Available at http://purl.umn.edu/91948.Google Scholar
Cohen, E. 2009. “Applying Best-worst Scaling to Wine Marketing.” International Journal of Wine Business Research 21: 8–23.Google Scholar
Flynn, A., and Louviere, J.J. 1992. “Determining the Appropriate Response to Evidence of Public Concern: The Case of Food Safety.” Journal of Public Policy and Marketing 11: 12–25.Google Scholar
Flynn, T.N., Louviere, J.J., Peters, T.J., and Coast, J. 2007. “Best-worst Scaling: What It Can Do for Health Care Research and How to Do It.” Journal of Health Economics 26: 171–189.Google Scholar
Lusk, J.L., and Briggeman, B. 2009. “Food Values.” American Journal of Agricultural Economics 91: 1–13.Google Scholar
Lusk, J., and Parker, N. 2009. “Consumer Preferences for Amount and Type of Fat in Ground Beef.” Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics 41(l): 75–90.Google Scholar
Marley, A.A.J., and Louviere, J.J. 2005. “Some Probabilistic Models of Best, Worst, and Best-worst Choices.” Journal of Mathematical Psychology 49: 464–480.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mueller, S., and Rungie, C. 2009. “Is There More Information in Best-worst Choice Data? Using Attitude Heterogeneity Structure to Identify Consumer Segments.” International Journal of Wine Business Research 21: 21–40.Google Scholar
National Agricultural Library, USDA. 2009. “Sustainable Agriculture: Information Access Tools.” NAL, USDA, Washington, DC. Available at www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/agnic/susag.shtml (accessed July 2013).Google Scholar
National Agricultural Library, USDA. 2007. “Sustainable Agriculture: Definitions and Terms.” NAL, USDA, Washington, DC. Available at www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/terms/srb9902.shtml#toc2 (accessed July 2013).Google Scholar
Onozaka, Y., and Thilmany McFadden, D. 2010. “Defining Sustainable Food Market Segments: Do Motivations and Values Vary by Shopping Locale?” American Journal of Agricultural Economics 93(2): 583–589.Google Scholar
Onozaka, Y., and Thilmany McFadden, D. 2011. “Does Local Labeled Complement or Compete with Other Sustainable Labels? A Conjoint Analysis of Direct and Joint Values for Fresh Produce Claims.” American Journal of Agricultural Economics 93(3): 693–706.Google Scholar
Saunders, C., Guenther, M., Kaye-Blake, W., Miller, S., and Tait, P. 2010. “Consumer Attitudes toward Sustainability Attributes on Food Labels.” Proceedings of the 2010 New Zealand Agricultural and Resource Economics Society Conference, Nelson, New Zealand. Available at http://purl.umn.edu/96944.Google Scholar
Scarpa, R., Notaro, S., Louviere, J., and Raffaelli, R. 2011. “Exploring Scale Effects of Best/Worst Rank Ordered Choice Data to Estimate Benefits of Tourism in Alpine Grazing Commons.” American Journal of Agricultural Economics 93(3): 813–828.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thurstone, L.L. 1927. “The Method of Paired Comparisons for Social Values.” Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology 21 (1927): 384–400.Google Scholar
Umberger, W.J., Stringer, R., and Mueller, S.C. 2010. “Using Best-Worst Scaling to Determine Market Channel Choice by Small Farmers in Indonesia.” Presentation at the 2010 Annual Meeting of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, Denver, Colorado.Google Scholar