Doctoral Degrees (Agricultural Economics)

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Browsing Doctoral Degrees (Agricultural Economics) by Subject "Brand choice -- Great Britain"

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    Organic wine : choice and consumer value perceptions
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2022-04) Ghezelbash, Atousa; Said, Emanuel; Vink, N.; Van der Merwe, Melissa; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Dept. of Agricultural Economics.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY : The purchase and consumption of organic wine are generally ascribed to altruistic motivation. However, there is a dearth of research that can comprehensively explain the value perceptions of organic wine consumers and why such consumers may move from conventional to organic wine and vice versa. This study offers a new theoretical perspective on how organic wine consumers develop and manifest their value perceptions. The study poses two research questions to achieve this objective: What dimensions of consumer value perceptions influence consumers to purchase and consume organic wine instead of conventional wine, and how do they relate to each other? Why does a segment of organic wine consumers float between organic and conventional wine? The study employs a constructivist grounded theory approach to answer these research questions and presents the findings emerging from 25 interviews with a selection of conventional and organic wine consumers in the United Kingdom. The study extends existing theory about the value perceptions of organic wine consumers. Organic wine consumers develop their perceptions of value through a process that involves an interplay between the emotions generated by organic wine and perceptions of the benefits obtained through organic wine consumption. The motivations of organic wine consumers are personal and selfish rather than altruistic. A cycle of selective information search leads to the development, and constant reinforcement, of an emotional (rather than cognitive) consumption loyalty to organic wine. However, organic wine consumers are not dogmatic in their behaviour and are flexible about the purchase and consumption of conventional wine without feeling dissonance. This flexibility offers an understanding of why organic wine consumers float between organic and conventional wine. As a result, the study proposes an alternative conceptual model of the consumers’ perceptions of the value of organic wine. The findings suggest that further research intending to offer insights into the enduring involvement of consumers with organic wine, as well as extending the applicability of the proposed conceptualisation to organic products generally, is justified. Marketers of organic wine should focus less on organic wine’s sustainability characteristics and concentrate more on the benefits provided for consumers personally.