Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand consumer attitudes toward organic eggs by identifying their profiles and estimating the degree of their willingness to pay (WTP) for eggs with different attributes in order to evaluate the position of organic eggs.
Design/methodology/approach
Empirical data were collected from a face-to-face cross-sectional market survey, which involved a choice experiment design and a series of questions related to respondents’ attitudes and preferences in terms of organic egg consumption. A total of 552 consumers who are responsible for their household purchases were sampled, while the survey was performed in the major cities of seven regions of Turkey. The gathered data from the questions on consumer attitudes and preferences were analyzed using ordered probit, while the choice experiment data were analyzed through the use of conditional logit and mixed logit models.
Findings
Consumers perceive organic eggs to be healthy, nutritious and delicious food. In the study, we obtained three consumer groups (collectivist consumers, individualist consumers and reluctant consumers) with different characteristics in relation to organic egg consumption. When the motivations for organic egg consumption were analyzed, it was found that individual benefits have a greater impact than collectivist benefits on consumers’ choice to purchase organic eggs. According to the results of the regression analysis, consumers are willing to pay ₺0.76 more per egg for organic eggs compared to conventional eggs. Overall, consumers are reluctant to pay a premium in view of the functionality aspect of eggs.
Research limitations/implications
The results will help the actors within the egg industry to develop production and market-planning processes for differentiated egg markets according to consumer preferences and in terms of having the opportunity to select their ideal customer segments.
Originality/value
The research is the first study that analyses the motivations and the willingness of Turkish consumers to purchase organic eggs through using a choice experiment design and regression models. Original findings include the segmentation of consumers according to personal beliefs and norms. The research is also important in terms of comparing two regression model results in methodical terms. The similarity among the obtained results from the regression analysis increased the reliability of the study.
In this study we investigated the potential economic impact of good management of the calving interval on dairy farms. This involved the assessment of economics and production of a sample of farms, selected from the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN), and located in Sardinia, Italy. Two farm models were derived from clustering the sample by k-means, which were validated by verifying their consistency in relation to nutritional needs, feed supply and milk production of the herds. Differences in indices of performance and dynamics were found (e.g. ROE is −0.8% vs 4.7%), with evident linkages between economic performance, greater efficiency, reproductive capacity, and potential turnover. The model better performing reflected greater economic feeding efficiency and a shorter calving interval. Hence, management, more than structural aspects, determined the economic results of the sampled farms.Additional key words: milk profitability; herd management; cluster analysis; economic performance.* Corresponding author: giraldo@unitus.it Received: 18-12-12. Accepted: 30-10-13.Abbreviations used: ACI (average calving interval); BCS (body condition score); EFE (economic feeding efficiency); FADN (farm accountancy data network); FUM (feed unit milk); GMM (gross margin over milk); GSP (gross saleable product); IS (reproductive capacity); LE (livestock equivalent); OLS (ordinary least squares); PPI (post-partum interval); ROE (return on equity).
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.