Is perceived authenticity also desired? Investigating the relation between perceived authenticity and product preference

Journal title ECONOMIA AGRO-ALIMENTARE
Author/s Olga Filaretova, Marie von Meyer-Höfer, Katia Laura Sidali
Publishing Year 2017 Issue 2017/3
Language English Pages 21 P. 311-331 File size 192 KB
DOI 10.3280/ECAG2017-003002
DOI is like a bar code for intellectual property: to have more infomation click here

Below, you can see the article first page

If you want to buy this article in PDF format, you can do it, following the instructions to buy download credits

Article preview

FrancoAngeli is member of Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA), a not-for-profit association which run the CrossRef service enabling links to and from online scholarly content.

Perceived authenticity in food marketing is a potential factor of purchase decision. The present study examines which characteristics are most likely to induce consumers to consider a food product as authentic and desirable. Two different types of the dairy product ‘kefir’ were used in this study. Data were collected via a structured online survey of 263 respondents from Germany, which represent the characteristics of the German society in terms of gender, age and household income per month. Exploratory factor analysis grouped the surveyed items of perceived product authenticity in four dimensions which are: "Reference to personality", "Image of the product", "Retail environment" and "Product description". By these factors respondents measured characteristics which would ensure that the food product, the producer and the selling shop are genuine, original and credible. It can be concluded from the results that there is one universal construction of perceived authenticity fitting to both product types, namely the above mentioned four authenticity dimensions. Further, statistical tests revealed that the derived factors of perceived product authenticity have a significant influence on the buying decision. However, product authenticity is not the main driver of desire. Results of the study recall the importance of further analyzing the construct of authenticity in the food sector and suggest practical implications for promoting food products, such as the congruence of the shop’s environment and of the design elements on the food package.

Keywords: Perceived product authenticity, food marketing, dairy product, stated preference, packaging

Jel codes: D10, D12

  1. Albersmeier, F., Schulze, H. & Spiller, A. (2007). System Dynamics in Quality Certifications: Development of an Audit Quality Controlling System.
  2. Babbie, E. (2001). The Practice of Social Research, 9th Edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Thomson.
  3. Belk, R.W. (1990). The Role of Possessions in Constructing and Maintaining A Sense of Past. Advances in Consumer Research, 17, 669-676.
  4. Bemporad, R. & Baranowski, M. (2007). Conscious Consumers Are Changing the Rules of Marketing. Are You Ready? Highlights from the bbmg Conscious Consumer Report November 2007. -- Retrieved on 15 July 2012 at http://www.fmi.org/docs/sustainability/bbmg_conscious_consumer_white_paper.pdf?sfvrsn=2.
  5. Beverland, M.B. (2005). Crafting brand authenticity: The case of luxury wines. Journal of Management Studies, 42(5), 1003-29.
  6. Braun-LaTour, K.A., LaTour, M.S. & Zinkhan, G.M. (2007). Using childhood memories to gain insight into brand meaning. Journal of Marketing, 71(2), 45-60.
  7. Bryła, P. (2015). The role of appeals to tradition in origin food marketing. A survey among Polish consumers. Appetite, 91, 302-310.
  8. Brown, S., Kozinets, R.V. & Sherry, J.F. Jr. (2003). Teaching old brands new tricks: retro branding and the revival of brand meaning. Journal of Marketing, 67(3), 19-33.
  9. Camus, S. (2003). L’authenticité marchande perçue et la persuasion de la communication par l’authentification: une application au domaine alimentaire. Thèse de Doctorat en Sciences de Gestion, Université de Bourgogne, Dijon, France.
  10. Carcea, M., Brereton, P., Hsu, R. & Kelly, S. (2009). Food authenticity assessment: ensuring compliance with food legislation and traceability requirements. Quality Assurance and Safety of Crops & Foods (QAS), 1(2), 93-100.
  11. Carstensen-Egwuom, I. (2011). Representing an “Authentic Ethnic Identity”: Experiences of Sub-Saharan African Musicians in an Eastern German City. Music And Arts In Action, 3(3), 116-135.
  12. Davis, J. (2007). The Promise of Potential. JD Coaching and Consulting; 1st edition.
  13. Friedrich, C. (2010). Milchverarbeitung und-vermarktung in Deutschlandeine deskriptive Analyse der Wertschöpfungskette (No. 06/2010). Arbeitsberichte aus der vTI-Agrarökonomie.
  14. German Centre for Political Education (2012). Private households by size and net income. -- Retrieved on 15 July 2012 at http://www.bpb.de/nachschlagen/zahlenund-fakten/soziale-situation-in-deutschland/61754/haushalte-nach-groesse-undeinkommen.
  15. German Federal Statistical Office (2012). Population and employment. Population statistics, Volume 1, Series 1.3. -- Retrieved online on 15 July 2012 at https://www.destatis.de/DE/Publikationen/Thematisch/Bevoelkerung/Bevoelkerungsstand/Bevoelkerungsfortschreibung2010130107004.pdf?__blob=publicationFile.
  16. Gilmore, J.H. & Pine II, J. (2007). Authenticity. What consumers really want? Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard Business School Press.
  17. Godin, S. (2005). All marketers are liars: The power of telling authentic stories in a low-trust world. New York: Penguin Books.
  18. Grayson, K. & Martinec, R. (2004). Consumer Perceptions of Iconicity and Indexicality and Their Influence on Assessments of Authentic Market Offerings. Journal of Consumer Research, 31(2), 296-312. DOI: 10.1086/422109
  19. Grier, S.A., Brumbaugh, A.M. & Thornton, C.G. (2006). Crossover dreams: Consumer responses to ethnic-oriented products. Journal of Marketing, 70(2), 35-51.
  20. Groves, A.M. (2001). Authentic British food products: a review of consumer perceptions. International Journal of Consumer Studies. 25(3), 246-254.
  21. Hemmerling, S., Hamm, U. & Spiller, A. (2015). Consumption behaviour regarding organic food from a marketing perspective-a literature review. Organic Agriculture, 5(4), 277-313.
  22. Kilara, A. & Chandan, R.C. (2013). Frozen Dairy Foods. In: Park Y.W. & Hainlein G.F.W. (Ed.), Milk and Dairy Products in Human Nutrition: Production, Composition and Health (pp. 435-457). Hoboken: Wiley-Blacwell.
  23. Kneafsey, M. (2010). The region in food. Important or irrelevant? Cambridge journal of regions, economy and society, 3(2), 177-190.
  24. Krishnamurthy, S. (2001). Person-to-Person Marketing: The Emergence of the New Consumer Web. Quarterly Journal of Electronic Commerce, 2, 123-138.
  25. Kuznesof, S., Treager, A. & Moxey, A. (1997). Regional foods: a consumer perspective. British Food Journal, 99(6), 199-206. DOI: 10.1108/00070709710181531
  26. Lam, S.Y. (2001). The Effects of Store Environment on Shopping Behaviors: A Critical Review. Advances in Consumer Research, 28, 190-197.
  27. Lattin, J., Douglas, C. & Green, P.E. (2003). Analyzing Multivariate data. Pacific Grove; CA: Thomson Learning.
  28. Leschnikowski, K. (2010). Authenticity in advertising: design and success factors. Norderstedt: Books on Demand.
  29. Lewis, D. & Bridger, D. (2001). The soul of the new consumer: authenticity – what we buy and why in the new economy. Naperville.
  30. Liao, S. & Ma, Y.Y. (2009). Conceptualizing Consumer Need for Product Authenticity. International Journal of Business and Information, 4(1), 89-114.
  31. Lunardo, R. & Guerinet, R. (2007). The influence of label on wine consumption: its effects on young consumers’ perception of authenticity and purchasing behavior. Paper provided by European Association of Agricultural Economists in its series 105th Seminar, March 8-10, 2007, Bologna, Italy with number 7847.
  32. Marianna, A. (1997). The label of authenticity: a certification trade marks for goods and services of indigenous origin. Aboriginal Law Bulletin, 3(90), 4-15.
  33. Nelson, P. (1970). Information and consumer behavior. Journal of Political Economy, 78(2), 311-329.
  34. Outka, E. (2009). Consuming traditions: modernity, modernism, and the commodified authentic. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  35. Peterson, R. (2005). In Search of Authenticity. Journal of Management Studies, 42(5), 1083-1098.
  36. Pine II, B. J. & Gilmore, J.H. (1998). Welcome to the experience economy. Harvard Business Review, 76(4), 97-105.
  37. Plevoets, B., Petermans, A. & Van Cleempoel, K. (2010). Developing a theoretical framework for understanding (staged) authentic retail concepts in relation to the current experience economy. Proceedings paper. Durling, D. (Ed.). DRS2010, p. 1-13 -- available online on 10 June 2012 http://hdl.handle.net/1942/13159.
  38. Reisinger, Y., & Steiner, C.J. (2006). Reconceptualizing object authenticity. Annuals of Tourism Research, 33(1), 65-86.
  39. Rummel, R.J. (1967). Understanding factor analysis. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 11(4), 444-480. DOI: 10.1177/002200276701100405
  40. Scarpato, R. & Daniele, R. (2003). Chapter 17: New Global Cuisine: Tourism, Authenticity and Sense of Place in Postmodern Gastronomy. From Food Tourism Around the World: Development, Management and Markets. Oxford: Butterwort-Heinemann/Elsevier.
  41. Sidali, K.L. & Hemmerling, S. (2014). Developing an authenticity model of traditional food specialties: Does the self-concept of consumers matter? British Food Journal, 116(11), 1692-1709.
  42. Spiggle, S., Nguyen, H.T. & Caravella M. (2012). More Than Fit: Brand Extension Authenticity. Journal of Marketing Research, 49(6), 967-983.
  43. Steenkamp, J.-B.E.M., & de Jong, M.G. (2010). A Global Investigation into the Constellation of Consumer Attitudes Toward Global and Local Products. Journal of Marketing, 74(6), 18-40.
  44. Tregear, A., Kuznesof, S. & Moxey, A. (1998). Policy initiatives for regional foods: some insights from consumer research. Food Policy, 23(5), 383-394.
  45. Van den Bergh, J. & Ruyck, T. (2009). Even better than the real thing - Understanding generation Y’s definition of ‘authenticity’ for the Levi’s brand. Published in November 2009 in InSites Consulting – Taking research forward. -- Retrieved online on 25 July 2014 at http://www.insites.eu/02/documents/whitepapers/05_Even%20better%20than%20the%20real%20thing.pdf.
  46. Vannini, P.J. & Williams, P. (2009). Authenticity in Culture, Self, and Society. Ashgate Publishing.
  47. Wang, N. (1999). Rethinking Authenticity in Tourism Experience. Annuals of Tourism Research, 26(2), 349-370.
  48. Warnier, J.P. (1993). Le paradoxe de la marchandise authentique – imaginaire et consommation de masse. Paris: Éditions L’Harmattan.

  • Neuromarketing Applied to Educational Toy Packaging David Juarez, Victoria Tur-Viñes, Ana Mengual, in Frontiers in Psychology 2077/2020
    DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.02077

Olga Filaretova, Marie von Meyer-Höfer, Katia Laura Sidali, Is perceived authenticity also desired? Investigating the relation between perceived authenticity and product preference in "ECONOMIA AGRO-ALIMENTARE" 3/2017, pp 311-331, DOI: 10.3280/ECAG2017-003002