AN ATTEMPT TO DETERMINE THE SCALE OF FOOD CONSERVATISM – RESULTS OF THE PILOT STUDY

Retaining cultural, social and gastronomic heritage is an important part of national identity and has economic implications for the local economy who produce food. Preservation of the culinary heritage is favored by consumer conservatism especially towards traditional food.  

The topic of traditional food has previously been discussed in literature, but scales used in the measurement of attitudes towards traditional food are limited. This paper focuses on traditional food and identifies and empirically assesses a measurement scale – food conservatism scale.

 A paper survey was administered to a convenience sample of 451 young adult consumers (students) in South East Poland. A total of 10 statements describing conservatism to traditional food was assessed using Cronbach’s Alpha, principal component factor analysis. Finally the conservative attitudes related to food are characterized by six (of 10) statements, related to health aspects of traditional food, trust in this kind of food and consumption of traditional food as to celebrate some events. Further research on consumer conservatism is highly recommended in order to better understand consumers’ motives and factors determining food conservatism.

Full text (pdf)

1. Almli V.L. et al., General image and attribute perceptions of traditional food in six European countries, „Food Quality and Preference” 22/1 (2011), s. 129–138.
2. Alsughayir A., Consumer ethnocentrism; a literature review, “International Journal of Business and Management Invention” 2013/2, s. 50–54.
3. Cho E., Kim S., Cronbach’s coefficient alpha. Well known but poorly understood, „Organizational Research Methods” 18/2 (2014), s. 207–230.
4. Dąbrowska A. et al., Zjawisko neofobii wobec nowych produktów żywnościowych wprowadzanych na rynek [in:] Zarządzanie produktem – wyzwania przyszłości, red. B. Sojkin, J. Kall, Wydawnictwo Akademii Ekonomicznej, Poznań 2006, s. 175–182.
5. Dąbrowska A., Zabrocki R., Babicz-Zielińska E., Zastosowanie Food Neophobia Scale w ocenie postaw konsumentów w stosunku do żywności nieznanej, „Bromatologia i Chemia Toksykologiczna” 2006/supl., s. 227–230
6. Fernández-Ferrín P., Bande-Vilela B., Regional ethnocentrism: Antecedents, consequences, and moderating effects, „Food Quality and Preference” 30 (2013), s. 299–308.
7. Falkowski A., Rożnowski B., Witkowski T.H., Etnocentryzm konsumencki – nowe wyzwanie dla marketingu, cz.1 i 2, „Marketing i Rynek”, 1996/4, s. 6–11.
8. Fernandez-Ruiz V., Claret A., Chaya C., Testing a Spanish-version of the Food Neophobia Scale, „Food Quality and Preference” 28 (2013), s. 222–225.
9. Frank R., van der Klaauw N.J., The relationship of sensory and personality factors to individual differences in reported food preferences, „Appetite” 22 (1994), s. 101–123.
10. Ganideh al S.F., El Refae G., Omari al M., Antecedents to consumer ethnocentrism: a fuzzy log-based analysis study, „Journal of Administrative Science and Technology” 2012 (2012), s. 1–14.
11. Guerrero L. et al., Perception of traditional food products in six European regions using free word association, „Food Quality and Preference” 21/2 (2010), s. 225–233.
12. Jeżewska-Zychowicz M., Wybrane zachowania młodych konsumentów na rynku żywności tradycyjnej i ich uwarunkowania, „Żywność. Nauka. Technologia. Jakość” 64/3 (2009), s. 126–136.
13. Jiménez-Guerrero J.F., Gázquez-Abad J.C., Carmen Linares-Agüera del E., Using standard CETSCALE and other adapted versions of the scale for measuring consumers’ ethnocentric tendencies: An analysis of dimensionality, „BRQ Business Research Quarterly”, 17/3 (2014), s. 174–190.
14. Kozioł-Kozakowska A., Piórecka B., Neofobia żywieniowa, jej uwarunkowania i konsekwencje zdrowotne, „Standardy Medyczne/Pediatria” 2013/1, s. 1–6.
15. Laureati M., Bergamaschi V., Pagliarini E., Assessing childhood food neophobia: Validation of a scale in Italian primary school children, „Food Quality and Preference” 40 (2015), s. 8–15.
16. Lee W. et al., Conceptualising consumer regiocentrism: Examining consumers' willingness to buy products from their own region, „Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 32 (2016), s. 78–85.
17. Lindquist J.D. et al., The modified CETSCALE: validity tests in the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland, „International Business Review” 10 (2001), s. 505–516.
18. McFarlane T., Pliner P., Increasing willingness to taste novel foods: effects of nutrition and taste information, „Appetite” 28 (1997), s. 227–238.
19. Mordarski R., Russel Kirk i amerykańska tradycja konserwatywna, „Filo-Sofija” 24/1 (2014), s. 289–302.
20. Nikolić A., Uzunović M., Spaho N., Lifestyle pattern underlying organic and traditional food consumption, „British Food Journal” 116/11 (2014), s. 1748–1766.
21. Oleniuch I., Wizerunek tradycyjnej żywności regionalnej w oczach mieszkańców Podkarpacia – ocena w świetle badań własnych, „Postępy Techniki Przetwórstwa Spożywczego”  2014/1, s. 61–64.
22. Pauperio A. et al., Could the Food Neophobia Scale be adapted to pregnant women? A confirmatory factor analysis in a Portuguese sample, „Appetite” 75 (2014), s. 110–116.
23. Pieniak Z. et al., Association between traditional food consumption and motives for food choice in six European countries, „Appetite” 53 (2009), s. 101–108.
24. Pieniak Z., Perez-Cueto F., Verbeke W., Nutritional status, self-identification as a traditional food consumer and motives for food choice in six European countries, British Food Journal” 115/9 (2013), s. 1297–1312.
25. Pliner P., Development of measures of food neophobia in children, „Appetite” 23/2 (1994), s. 147–163.
26. Pliner P., Hobden K., Development of a scale to measure the trait of food neophobia in humans, „Appetite” 19 (1992), s. 105–120.
27. Pliner P., Melo N., Food neophobia in humans: effects of manipulated arousal and individual differences in sensation seeking, „Physiology and Behavior” 1997/2, s. 331–335.
28. Roßbach S. et al., Food neophobia in German adolescents: Determinants and association with dietary habits, „Appetite” 101 (2016), s. 184–191.
29. Rudawska E.D., Customer loyalty toward traditional products – Polish market experience, „British Food Journal” 116/11 (2014), s. 1710–1725.
30. Sagan A., Badania marketingowe. Podstawowe kierunki, Wydawnictwo Akademii Ekonomicznej w Krakowie, Kraków 2004.
31. Shankarmahesh M.N., Consumer ethnocentrism: an integrative review of its antecedents and consequences, „International Marketing Review” 23/2 (2006), s. 146–172.
32. Shimp T.A., Sharma C., Consumer ethnocentrism: Construction and validation of the CETSCALE, „Journal of Marketing Research”, 24/3 (1987), s. 280–289
33. Siamagka N.T., Balabanis G., Revisiting Consumer Ethnocentrism: Review, Reconceptualization, and Empirical Testing, „Journal of International Marketing” 23/3 (2015), s. 66–86.
34. Smyczek S., Glowik M., Ethnocentrism of Polish consumers as a result of the global economic crisis, „Journal of Customer Behaviour” 2011/10/2, s. 99–118.
35. Steenkamp J.B.E.M., Baumgartner H., Assessing measurement invariance in cross-national consumer research, „Journal of Consumer Research” 25/1 (1998), s. 78–107.
36. Szromnik A., Wolanin-Jarosz E., Diagnoza pomiaru etnocentryzmu konsumenckiego Polaków z wykorzystaniem metody CETSCALE, „Konsumpcja i Rozwój” 2013/1, s. 98–111.
37. Tabachnick B.G., Fidell L.S., Using Multivariate Statistics, 5th Edition, Pearson, Boston 2007
38. Tavakol M., Dennick R., Making sense of Cronbach’s alpha, „International Journal of Medical Education” 2011/2, s. 53–55.
39. Vanhonacker F. et al., Profiling European traditional food consumers, „British Food Journal” 112/8 (2010), s. 871–886.
40. Żakowska-Biemans S., Żywność tradycyjna z perspektywy konsumentów, „Żywność. Nauka, Technologia, Jakość” 82/3 (2012), s. 5–18.