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

Abstract

This article utilizes and discusses specific aspects of Means-End Chain (MEC) analysis for understanding the motives of Indonesian consumers when they purchase local food. The MEC theory is used as a measure of the attributes, consequences, and values of locally produced products, involving specific aspects of this theory, namely the laddering methods of administration, the content analysis procedure, and constructing and interpreting a Hierarchy Value Map (HVM). The results of the study indicate that the MEC approach is a powerful method to reveal consumers’ motivation for buying local foods, when associated with the various cultural groupings identified by the study, particular between the Javanese and non-Javanese consumers. This study offers a practical implication and source of knowledge for other future studies and policies in terms of: (a) A new approach for understanding the motives behind the purchase of local foods by Indonesian consumers, and (b) developing new categories of attributes, consequences and values for local food.