Universität zu Köln

Berger, Sebastian, Christandl, Fabian ORCID: 0000-0001-8487-3762, Schmidt, Christina and Baertsch, Christian (2018). Price-based quality inferences for insects as food. Br. Food J., 120 (7). S. 1615 - 1628. BINGLEY: EMERALD GROUP PUBLISHING LTD. ISSN 1758-4108

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Abstract

Purpose Entomophagy (i.e. human insect consumption) is seen as one promising route to substantially reduce food-related carbon footprints as insects can be produced at a fraction of the carbon emitted by traditional Western meat production (e.g. beef, pork, poultry). In this light, the purpose of this paper is to address how prices may affect preferences for insects as food. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on consumer research on positive functions of prices (e.g. the widely held belief that price and quality are positively correlated), the authors present two behavioural experiments that manipulated price cues to estimate the effect on expectations, eating behaviour and willingness-to-pay as central preference indicators. Findings Consistent with the predictions, high prices as initial anchors positively affect food preferences. Furthermore, they incur a positive spill-over effect to subsequent consumption of insects that are unprocessed (i.e. truffles in which mealworms are visible in their entity) and for which no price information is available. Additionally, the authors show that the positive effects of high prices on preferences are muted if prices are artificially lowered (e.g. by means of government subsidies, Experiment 2). Practical implications Taken together, the authors show that preferences for novel foods such as insects can be promoted by systematically taking into account behavioural economic theories. This suggests that behavioural theory can be used to reap environmental benefits of entomophagy. Originality/value This research links behavioural economics with the actual consumption of insects and therefore complements survey research on behavioural intentions.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Berger, Sebastian UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Christandl, Fabian UNSPECIFIED orcid.org/0000-0001-8487-3762 UNSPECIFIED Schmidt, Christina UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Baertsch, Christian UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-202275
DOI:	10.1108/BFJ-08-2017-0434
Journal or Publication Title:	Br. Food J.
Volume:	120
Number:	7
Page Range:	S. 1615 - 1628
Date:	2018
Publisher:	EMERALD GROUP PUBLISHING LTD
Place of Publication:	BINGLEY
ISSN:	1758-4108
Language:	English
Faculty:	Unspecified
Divisions:	Unspecified
Subjects:	no entry
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Keywords Language CONSUMER ACCEPTANCE; MARKETING ACTIONS; DUAL ROLE; PERCEPTIONS; MEAT; PREFERENCES; DEMAND Multiple languages Agricultural Economics & Policy; Food Science & Technology Multiple languages
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/20227