Means-End Chain Theory and Laddering in Agricultural Marketing Research1

Abstract

European agribusiness companies increasingly attempt to add value to agricultural raw materials, in reaction to the problems associated with slow growth in the demand for food. To be successful, they must make the transition from the well-known product-oriented approach to marketing (based on homogenisation and cost minimisation through economies of scale) to a consumer-oriented approach (identifying and meeting the needs of consumers). As a consequence, consumer motivations underlying consumer behaviour have become a central consideration in the marketing of food products. Recently, means-end chain theory with its accompanying laddering research technique has been proposed as a new integrated way to study the relations between consumers and products. This approach offers great potential for the consumer-oriented marketing of agricultural and food products. The purpose of this paper is to introduce means-end chain theory and the laddering data collection method and provide an empirical application for beef.