The question of ‘alternatives’ within food and drink markets and marketing: introduction to the special issue

Maguire, Jennifer Smith; Watson, David; Lang, John T.

doi:10.1080/0267257x.2017.1328906

Cited by 10 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 29 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…I select agriculture as an industrial example to illustrate SSR because there is already a large body of CCT work addressing sustainable agriculture (SA) that explores the culturally, socially and historically embedded practices of SA production, consumption and exchange (Batat et al 2016; Chaudhury and Albinsson 2014; Giordano et al 2018; Herbert et al 2018 ; Mars and Schau 2017 , 2018 ; Press and Arnould 2011a , 2011b ; Thompson and Coskuner-Balli 2007 ; Press and Arnould 2014 ; Smith Maguire et al 2017 ; Thompson and Press 2014 ; Visconti et al 2014; Watson and Ekici 2017). It tends to look at SA as an alternative to the big agriculture/corporate food system (Thompson and Coskuner-Balli 2007 ; Giordano et al 2018) that builds personal connections (Mars and Schau 2017 ) and counteracts feelings of risk and helplessness (Press and Arnould 2011a ; Thompson and Coskuner-Balli 2007 ) and explores local food as expressing “ideals of civic agriculture and just sustainability” (Visconti et al 2014, 4).…”

Section: Building a Strong Sustainability Research Programmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing a strong sustainability research program in marketing

Press

2020

AMS Rev

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article takes stock of sustainability research in marketing and argues for developing a Strong Sustainability Research (SSR) program, led by a Consumer Culture Theory (CCT) approach. First, I define weak vs. strong sustainability and identify two main problems with continuing to research business with the weak sustainability approach. Second, I discuss past approaches to sustainability research in marketing, which primarily promote weak sustainability. Third, I use the agriculture industry to illustrate how an SSR program in marketing could be developed to bring insights to practitioners and policy makers and build new modes of production, consumption and exchange. Finally, I suggest that the SSR program facilitates collaboration between mainstream marketing and CCT researchers by providing a common ontological platform that can transform epistemological differences into complementary strengths. I argue SSR is a way that marketing research can gain broad impact and relevance.

show abstract

Section: Building a Strong Sustainability Research Programmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing a strong sustainability research program in marketing

Press

2020

AMS Rev

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…It is important to recognize that label claims are only useful if they are noticed, understood and then trusted to mean something specific for the consumer (Kirchhoff, 2000). This means that label cues that serve as heuristics, typically from the front of a label, have to be carefully nurtured for their ability to meet consumer expectations.…”

Section: Conclusion and Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In particular, food products now bear labels such as certified organic, GMO-free, locally grown, cage-free, fair trade, gluten-free, halal, natural, community-supported and many others. These labels rely on consumer trust for their market value, as most of the implied attributes are not easily verifiable by the consumer, even after purchase (Nuttavuthisit and Thøgersen, 2017; Kirchhoff, 2000). Considered credence qualities, such labels present an extra challenge for marketers who must build relationships with consumers to establish that credibility (Darby and Karni, 1973).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Product knowledge and information processing of organic foods

Stanton

Cook

2019

JCM

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose This paper aims to examine how product knowledge influences consumers to consider available information before choosing between organic and non-organic options. As “certified organic” is based on a complex standard in the USA, many consumers have only partial understanding of the term. This research shows how that knowledge influences consumer evaluation of the options presented in the market. Design/methodology/approach A two-study experimental survey that offers respondents a choice between two canned soups, one organic and one not, along with front- and back-of-label information which they can decide to use is utilized. The two studies differ in inclusion of national brand. Findings Consumer behavior with respect to information significantly affects rationale for product choice, and higher levels of knowledge are associated with choice rationale. Objective and subjective knowledge influence information processing differently. Inaccurate knowledge displayed by consumers influences their information processing behavior. Research limitations/implications While the survey stimuli are a realistic representation of two products, the online survey abstracts from in-store distractors that might influence behavior. The product chosen, while familiar and commonly consumed, is a low-involvement product which may reduce consumer effort. Practical/implications Marketers of organic foods must understand the level of knowledge held by consumers, as well as the information that most influences their choices if the industry is to grow further. Originality/value This study contrasts subjective and objective knowledge about organic foods and calculates the degree to which consumers under- versus over-estimate “organic” in their ignorance. As such, the research offers insight into a well-established label claim that has yet to achieve significant market share.

show abstract

“…Thompson and Coskuner-Bali (2007) single out CSA as a distinctive organizational form of alternative and local food. They position CSA as a countervailing response to the failings of the conventional or global food system in comparison to other forms of alternative and local food, which are not substantively different to the mainstream food system that they purportedly resist (Smith Maguire et al, 2017). CSAs offer an alternative and unconventional model of exchange, which involves paying in advance for a ‘share’ of produce, usually for a season or year, which typically takes the form of a weekly vegetable box (Schnell, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Working the fields: The organization of labour in community supported agriculture

Watson

2019

Organization

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Community supported agriculture schemes are a prominent example of localized alternatives to the global food system. They are presented as alternative nodes of food production, where the consumer experiences a much closer relationship to the produce they are consuming and to the labour involved in producing it. They lift the commodity veil by inviting the consumer into the world of production – of labour. However, there has been little analysis of labour undertaken in the setting of community supported agriculture, particularly the labour of community supported agriculture consumers, or members. Marxian analysis of the food system at the macro level has underpinned powerful critiques of its shortcomings and highlighted inequalities of land and labour, but has rarely been employed to understand the possibilities of alternative food networks at a more micro level. In this article, I draw on Marx’s concept of alienation to explore the experience and organization of labour within a community supported agriculture scheme in the United Kingdom. In doing so, I present a case study of how labour in a community supported agriculture scheme counteracts experiences of alienation created by capitalism and consider how this might inform (re)organization of labour in the food system, more generally.

show abstract

The question of ‘alternatives’ within food and drink markets and marketing: introduction to the special issue

Cited by 10 publications

References 29 publications

Developing a strong sustainability research program in marketing

Developing a strong sustainability research program in marketing

Product knowledge and information processing of organic foods

Working the fields: The organization of labour in community supported agriculture

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About