Increasing vegetable consumption: a means‐end chain approach

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this study is to illustrate how means-end chain theory can inform communications that effectively convey the health messages of vegetable consumption to various publics. Design/methodology/approach -Laddering interviews were conducted with 61 participants who consumed at least two serves of vegetables a day and were responsible in part or whole for shopping in their household. A means-end chain value map was then constructed using mecanalyst software. Findings -Using means-end theory, an example communications strategy was developed from the dominant chain. The health and wellness features that respondents associated with vegetables were "freshness", a "source of vitamins and minerals", and "high nutritional value". In the mind of the consumer, these features were linked to the benefit concept "maintain energy and vitality", which in turn was connected to the consequence "maintain an active life". The end-states or goals participants ultimately connected to the health and wellness features of vegetables were that of "enjoy life" and "achieve goals". Research limitations/implications -The research is limited in so far as subjects who consume less than two serves of vegetables are not recruited for this study. Practical implications -It is suggested that social marketing initiatives designed to increase vegetable consumption may base messages on health-related values or end-states of being to resonate more effectively with consumers. Social implications -High vegetable consumption is associated with a reduced risk of chronic disease. Effective strategies designed to increase vegetable consumption amongst populations may reduce the burden on health systems. Originality/value -This study illustrates how consumers' cognitive processes can inform social marketing communications.

An Exploratory Qualitative Exploration of the Personal Values Underpinning Taiwanese and Malaysians’ Wine Consumption Behaviors

“…Overby and colleagues used this framework to understand wine choice in a cross-cultural context, in a comparative study between American and French consumers' wine consumption behaviors [14]. Additionally, this model has been previously shown to be a useful tool for analyzing consumer behavior in the food domain [16][17][18][19][20][21]. The current study extended on Overby and colleagues' cross cultural wine drinking [14] work by investigating wine consumption habits in an East Asian context (Taiwanese and Malaysian).…”

Social marketing and healthy eating: findings from young people in Greece

“…So, any communication messages should emphasise the adoption of healthy eating habits with ease and the positive consequences of healthy eating. This approach has also been adopted by the effective social marketing programme "Go for 2&5" in Australia that focuses on increasing vegetables and fruit consumption (Kirchhoff et al 2011).…”

“…The use of social marketing to promote healthy nutritional habits has been studied in the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and within Europe in the UK, Denmark, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, France and Germany (Carroll et al 2000;Hastings 2007b;Stead et al 2007; Thornley et al 2007;Gracia-Marco et al 2010;Howlett et al 2010;Kirchhoff et al 2011;Stead et al 2011;Aschemann-Witzel et al 2012;Domegan et al 2012;Lefebvre 2013). To our knowledge, this is the first study from Greece that uses a social marketing framework and concepts in order to develop a strategy that is more likely to help a specific target audience to adopt healthy eating habits.…”

Using Means-end Chain Analysis to Reveal Consumers’ Motivation for Buying Local Foods: An Exploratory Study

“…This approach has frequently been applied to understand perceptions about, and why, consumers choose specific food products including beverages, different methods of farming (local and organic foods, and genetically modified products) and different kinds of foods (pork and vegetables) (Gutman 1984;Gengler et al 1999;Naspetti and Zanoli 2009;Hall and Lockshin 2000;Bredahl 1999;Grunert et al 2001;Makatouni 2002;Urala and Lähteenmäki 2003;Fotopoulos et al 2003;Baker et al 2004;Roininen et al 2006;Lind 2007;Krystallis et al 2008;Barrena and Sanchez 2010;Kirchhoff et al 2011;Arsil et al 2014b). MECs have also been identified as a useful method to reveal the drivers of consumers' food choices in the United States, many European countries including the United Kingdom, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, Finland, Greece, Spain, and in Australia (Gutman 1984;Gengler et al 1995;Bech-Larsen et al 1996;Fotopoulos et al 2003;Padel and Foster 2005;Bonne and Verbeke 2006;Roininen et al 2006;Grantham 2007;Lind 2007;Krystallis et al 2008;Barrena and Sanchez 2010;Kirchhoff et al 2011). This method is also used to compare the motivation for food choices between groups of consumers in different countries, and throughout many European countries (Grunert 1997;Bredahl 1999;Valette-Florence et al 2000;Grunert et al 2001;Baker et al 2004;…”