Quality Perception and Consumer Choice of Cactus Pear: Results of Direct Survey in Italy

Today, alongside the traditional search and experience quality attributes, credence attributes increasingly affect individual consumption. The aim of this paper is to identify and measure the principal attributes of quality in cactus pear and their effect on consumer choice. The hypothesis underlying the study is that credence attributes have a major influence on consumer choice compared to the other quality attributes. With this in mind a questionnaire was administered to 92 cactus pear consumers in Italy, and by means of an econometric model the relationship that single attributes have on the amount of cactus pear consumption was analysed. Results confirm that credence attributes are impo…

Le nuove tendenze di consumo e di percezione della qualità nel sistema agroalimentare

Triggering collective action for bio-energy supply chain through contract schemes

This paper discusses contractual features to manage and coordinate a hypothetical bio-energy supply chain. The present study focuses on farmers operating in two Regions of Italy, namely Sicily and Campania, somewhat representative of areas with high potential of investments in new bioenergy supply value chain. Farmers were asked to choose whether to participate or not in a collective investment regulated by contract schemes. Monetary trade-offs were then computed among contract attributes. A specific questionnaire was submitted to a sample of farmers selected on the basis of their potential capability of investments. A stated preference modelling approach was implemented so that farmers cou…

Beyond Alternative Food Networks: Understanding Motivations to Participate in Orti Urbani in Palermo

Community gardens include many benefits, and different motivations seem to underline citizens’ choices to participate. In Italy, political motivations are considered one of the main reasons for participation in community gardens (known as orti urbani). Drawing from the orti urbani experience in Palermo (the largest city in Sicily, Southern Italy), this study aims to understand the main motivations that influence citizens’ participation and to measure the effects of these motivations on fruit and vegetable consumption among participants. Findings reveal that orti urbani attract middle‐class participants who possess high amounts of cultural capital but relatively less financial capital. Among…

Are Farmers in Alternative Food Networks Social Entrepreneurs? Evidence from a Behavioral Approach

Social entrepreneurship, individual activities with a social objective, is used in this study as a conceptual tool for empirically examining farmers’ participation in alternative food networks (AFNs). This study verifies whether their participation is driven by the social entrepreneurship dimension to satisfy social and environmental needs. We develop a more inclusive view of how social entrepreneurship is present among farmers participating in AFNs by using a behavioural approach based on three main psychological constructs: attitude, objective, and behaviour. The empirical results show that two types of farmers participate in AFNs. One type is closer to commercial entrepreneurs; the main …

Identifying Social Entrepreneurial Behaviour in Farmers participation in Alternative Food Network

The concept of social entrepreneurship is growing rapidly and attracting increased attention from research institutions and business schools around the world to understand how these satisfy the needs of communities, those private and public institutions are not adequately addressing. Social entrepreneurship, identified as activity with a social objective, was used in this study as a conceptual tool to empirically examine farmer’s participation in AFNs. Using a behavioural approach, we conducted a survey in Sicily, Italy, using a questionnaire with modified items from the Edinburgh Study of Decision Making on Farms. From the results emerges that around 64% of the farmers participating in AFN…

Quality attributes of cactus pear fruit and their role in consumer choice

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to detect what experience and credence quality attributes contribute to the consumer decision to consume cactus pear fruit. The authors therefore try to measure the effect of each quality attribute on consumer choice. Design/methodology/approach – As a theoretical basis, two principal quality attributes emphasised in the literature on consumer behaviour were analysed and adjusted to the specific fruit features. The empirical strategy was carried out by administering a telephone questionnaire survey of 270 interviewees who consume cactus pears in Italy. The questionnaire, consisting of 14 items expressed on a metric scale (five-point Likert scale), was…