A cross‐cultural comparison of choice criteria for wine in restaurants

Abstract

When adressing the question of cultural differences in consumption behavior, researchers face both conceptual and methodological difficulties, particularly when it comes to defining the relevant "culti unit" (Douglas & Craig 1997) to be taken into account. The authors of this paper discuss these two difficulties and propose the Best-Worst method as a tool for comparing data from a cross-national survey on a sample of wine consumers from Australia (n=283), the UK (n=304) and France (n=147). The comparison concerns the choice criteria that are used when picking a wine in a restaurant. Results show differences between the countries, with a clear contrast between the French, on the one hand, and the Australians and Brtitish, on the other. They confirm the idea that the country, frequently used in cross-national surveys, may be a valid "culti unit" in cross-cultural research.

Wine consumers’ preferences in Spain: an analysis using the best-worst scaling approach

“…Research in traditional wine production and consumption countries differs dramatically from that carried out in new production and consumption countries. For example, studies in Italy, France and Spain have shown that designation of origin (DO), vintage, "it matches food" and "I read about it" were considered to be the most important wine attributes (Angulo et al, 2000;Martinez-Carrasco et al, 2006;Mtimet & Albisu, 2006;Barreiro et al, 2008;Bernabèu et al, 2008;Cohen et al, 2009;Goodman, 2009). However, grape variety, country of origin, "someone recommended it" and "I tasted the wine previously" are the most relevant and preferred wine attributes by consumers from New World countries such as Australia, New Zealand and the United States (Hall et al, 2001;Loureiro, 2003;Schamel & Anderson, 2003;Charter & Pettigrew, 2006;Lockshin et al, 2006;Boudreaux & Palmer, 2007;Jarvis et al, 2007;Johnson & Bruwer, 2007;Hollebeek et al, 2007;Veale, 2008;Kolyensikova et al, 2008;Cohen, 2009;Cohen et al, 2009;Goodman, 2009).…”

“…For example, studies in Italy, France and Spain have shown that designation of origin (DO), vintage, "it matches food" and "I read about it" were considered to be the most important wine attributes (Angulo et al, 2000;Martinez-Carrasco et al, 2006;Mtimet & Albisu, 2006;Barreiro et al, 2008;Bernabèu et al, 2008;Cohen et al, 2009;Goodman, 2009). However, grape variety, country of origin, "someone recommended it" and "I tasted the wine previously" are the most relevant and preferred wine attributes by consumers from New World countries such as Australia, New Zealand and the United States (Hall et al, 2001;Loureiro, 2003;Schamel & Anderson, 2003;Charter & Pettigrew, 2006;Lockshin et al, 2006;Boudreaux & Palmer, 2007;Jarvis et al, 2007;Johnson & Bruwer, 2007;Hollebeek et al, 2007;Veale, 2008;Kolyensikova et al, 2008;Cohen, 2009;Cohen et al, 2009;Goodman, 2009). Finally, some studies have found that brand name, label design, price and "it won a medal/award" had a similar perceived relevance by Old World and New World wine consumers (Angulo et al, 2000;Hall et al, 2001;Skuras & Vakrou, 2002;Thomas & Pickering, 2003;Lockshin et al, 2006;Martinez-Carrasco et al, 2006;Mtimet & Albisu, 2006;Perrouty et al, 2006;Boudreaux & Palmer, 2007;d'Hauteville et al, 2007;Jarvis et al, 2007;Johnson & Brower, 2007;Barreiro et al, 2008;…”

“…This methodology has the advantage of using a one-dimensional interval scale of the importance of attributes and thus it overcomes the problem of bias caused by differences in the use of rating scales across countries and respondents (Finn & Louviere, 1992;Goodman et al, 2005;Cohen, 2009;Cohen et al, 2009;Goodman, 2009;Casini & Corsi, 2009;Mueller & Rungie, 2009;Bernabèu et al, 2012). Secondly, even though BWS is a multiple choice extension of a paired comparison, offering similar benefits, it is a more efficient questioning structure (Cohen & Orme, 2004;Casini & Corsi, 2009).…”

“…Secondly, even though BWS is a multiple choice extension of a paired comparison, offering similar benefits, it is a more efficient questioning structure (Cohen & Orme, 2004;Casini & Corsi, 2009). Moreover, the BWS method provides the best way to discriminate the degree of importance respondents place on each item, while it is easy to understand for respondents (Marley & Louviere, 2005;Auger et al, 2007;Cohen, 2009;Cohen et al, 2009;Goodman, 2009).…”

Customer value perception: cross-generational preferences for wine

“…Additionally, situational determinants, experience and needs of the consumer have to be taken into account (Cohen et al, 2009;Hollebeek et al, 2007;Veale, 2008;Charters and Pettigrew, 2006).…”