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The link between household structure and the level of abstraction in the purchase decision process: an analysis using a functional food
Author(s) -
Barrena Ramo,
Sánchez Mercedes
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
agribusiness
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.57
H-Index - 43
eISSN - 1520-6297
pISSN - 0742-4477
DOI - 10.1002/agr.20244
Subject(s) - econlit , cognition , product (mathematics) , marketing , abstraction , product type , process (computing) , association (psychology) , business , psychology , economics , computer science , mathematics , medline , philosophy , geometry , epistemology , neuroscience , political science , law , programming language , operating system , psychotherapist
Major changes are affecting consumer trends in the agri‐food sector. Suppliers are engaged in launching a succession of product innovations and introducing a range of new marketing strategies to promote food health benefits, while consumers are incorporating the new attributes into their choice structures. This study aims to analyze the consumer cognitive structure for a functional food using a means–end chain approach, through the association pattern technique (APT). A further objective is to verify whether consumer cognitive structures vary with household structure (children vs. no children), as reported in the literature on new product acceptance. The results reveal a higher degree of abstraction in the cognitive structure of households with children, incorporating more values in the means–end chains. In line with other research approaches, our study also confirms the stronger confidence‐seeking tendency typically associated with the cognitive structure of this type of household. [EconLit Classification: Q130]. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.