The Effect of Consumer Characteristics and Behaviour on Pork Consumption in Malta. A Quantitative Study

Abstract

The pig industry in Malta is important for the local economy and food safety. As is reported in Galli et al. (2016), Maltese people eat protein-rich diets although the Agriculture and Fisheries Census 2014 issued by the National Statistics Office reports a decrease in the number of pigs being bred on the island. This paper intends to analyse the pattern of Maltese consumer behaviour regarding pork consumption, eliciting the crucial factors affecting local consumption. This study forms part of an ongoing research studying the characteristics and behaviours of the Maltese pork consumer aimed to help the stakeholders in the industry to focus their strength on what is really expected by the consumers. Data was obtained through an online survey with questions/statements related to the demographic characteristics of the respondent, several Likert scale statements to analyse the purchase behaviour, and finally two questions to obtain the respondents’ weekly pork consumption. The research tool was tested for its reliability through an SPSS test, obtaining a Cronbach’s alpha value of 0.534. Data was reduced through Factor Analysis, from 17 factors to 5. The VARIMAX test was used to carry out the rotation necessary to reduce data. A resultant 5 factors gave 63% of the total variance in only 6 iterations and this was shown clearly in the scree plot. These five factors were named Product Quality, Peer Influence, Health Issues, Ethnocentrism, and Product Information. Statements found in the research tool were grouped according to their respective new factor and were analysed for their normality. Since the number of respondents was fewer than 100, the Shapiro Wilk test was used to determine if the data has a normal or non-normal distribution. All 5 new factors resulted skewed and therefore the Spearman Correlation test was used to test for the relationship between the Independent variables and the Dependant variables, between the Independent variables themselves, and between the Independent variables and the demographic information gathered. The correlation resulted significant in one Independent variable versus the Dependant variable, in 4 results between the Independent variables themselves, and in 4 results with regard to the relationship between the Independent variables and the Demographic factors. These results give a better picture of the local purchasing behaviour in relation to pork consumption as no previous study in this regard has been published locally before. It is intended to continue studying this phenomenon in the near future by increasing the sample size and making changes to the research tool in order to improve its reliability.