Much too new to eat it? Customer value and its impact on consumer-product relationship in the context of novel food products
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-09-2015-0984 |
| Pages | 616-630 |
| Published date | 18 September 2017 |
| Date | 18 September 2017 |
| Author | Toula Perrea,Athanasios Krystallis,Charlotte Engelgreen,Polymeros Chrysochou |
| Subject Matter | Marketing,Product management,Brand management/equity |
Much too new to eat it? Customer value and
its impact on consumer-product relationship
in the context of novel food products
Toula Perrea
Deree – The American College of Greece, Athens, Greece
Athanasios Krystallis, Charlotte Engelgreen and Polymeros Chrysochou
Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
Abstract
Purpose – The paper aims to address the issue of how customer value is created in the context of novel food products and how customer value
influences product evaluation.
Design/methodology/approach – The study proposes a model formed by a series of causal relations among value (i.e. functional, social, hedonic,
altruistic values) and cost perceptions (i.e. price, effort, evaluation costs, performance and product safety), their trade-offs (i.e. overall customer
value) and product evaluation outcomes (i.e. satisfaction, trust).
Findings – Despite doubts about certain search (information), credence (safety) and experience (taste) attributes, perceptions about product quality,
likeability and ethical image predominantly formulate customer value, indicating novel products’ potential to be evaluated positively by consumers.
Research limitations/implications – The proposed model advances knowledge in the context of product innovation. Contrary to past research
that focuses on consumer attitudes towards a manufacturing technology and individual technology-specific risks and benefits, the customer value
approach refers to novel product-related consumer attitudes conceptualized as overall customer value; the latter results from product-related
value-cost trade-offs, leading towards specific consumer–product evaluations.
Practical implications – The customer value approach refers to the value from the adoption of a new product that underlies a relevant set of
product attributes (e.g. quality, image, sustainability, price, convenience, taste, safety, etc.) Focusing on product attributes that generate gain – loss
perceptions impactful on consumer – product evaluations is highly relevant for product managers concerned with new product development.
Originality/value – The originality of this work lies in the successful contextualization and testing of an inclusive model that comprises both
emotional and rational components, operational at the product level, to generate substantial insights on the widely unexplored interplay between
consumer – perceived customer value and the generation of consumer – product evaluation outcomes.
Keywords Product evaluation, Customer value, Consumer attitudes, Novel food products
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Scientific and technological innovations have contributed
greatly to various domains of humans’ quality of life,
delivering benefits to both the individual consumer and the
society at large (Bearth and Siegrist, 2016;Ronteltap et al.,
2007). The food industry is one manufacturing sector where
production and processing technologies affect product quality,
customer evaluation and subsequent market success. Recent
research in both Western and non-Western contexts (Perrea
et al., 2015) verifies the earlier remark that food processing
technology is an objective parameter that adds or detracts
value by affecting perceived product quality. Indeed,
consumers may see an innovative technology as a signal that
the resulting novel product is sophisticated and advanced,
removing risks or adding benefits unseen before (Bruhn,
2007). At the same time, consumers may see the same
technology as a signal that the novel product is artificial and
complex, creating ambiguity, scepticism (Sonne et al., 2012)
or fear (i.e. food neo-phobia, Cox and Evans, 2008).
Consumer perceptions and attitudes can therefore be essential
for the successful adoption of novel food products (Bearth and
Siegrist, 2016;Siegrist, 2008).
One unique aspect of food processing technologies is that
they lead to new products that are actually edible (Rozin,
1999). This may be a straightforward explanation as to why
consumer concerns, risk-and-benefit perceptions and
acceptance of such technologies have received considerable
attention in the literature (Lusk et al., 2014). An additional
explanation may be that many of these technologies have been
developed without consideration given in particular to the
issue of consumer acceptance of the novel products that result
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on
Emerald Insight at: www.emeraldinsight.com/1061-0421.htm
Journal of Product & Brand Management
26/6 (2017) 616–630
© Emerald Publishing Limited [ISSN 1061-0421]
[DOI 10.1108/JPBM-09-2015-0984]
Received 10 September 2015
Revised 16 December 2015
2 September 2016
6 March 2017
7 March 2017
17 March 2017
Accepted 2 April 2017
616
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