Consumer Choice Research Articles

A comprehensive study of the fatty acid composition, thermal and some physicochemical properties of abdominal and subcutaneous fats of Linda, Mast and Turkish geese.

This study examined the chemical composition, including moisture content, total fat, iodine value, melting point, saponification number, differential scanning calorimetry, fatty acid profiles, and color values (L*, a*, b*), in abdominal (A) and subcutaneous (S) fat of 15-week-old geese from three female varieties: Turkish (Lo), Linda (Li), and Mast (Ma). Results showed significantly higher moisture content in Lo-S compared to abdominal fats (P < 0.05), with consistent fat contents among goose varieties in abdominal fats. Iodine value (IV), melting point (MP), and color values did not differ significantly across varieties within fat types (P > 0.05). The Ma-A group exhibited the lowest saponification number (SN). Lo-S, Li-S, and Ma-S displayed higher onset and peak temperatures than abdominal fats across all groups. Li-A exhibited the highest levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and an optimal PUFA/SFA ratio (P < 0.05), and Li-S demonstrated the lowest Atherogenic Index (AI), supporting its health-promoting profile. Additionally, Ma-S showed elevated levels of unsaturated fatty acids (UFA), a high nutritive value index, and a favorable AI value (P < 0.05), indicating its suitability for heart-healthy diets. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) identified PC1 with associations to SFA, palmitic acid, iodine value, myristic acid, and a*, while PC2 emphasized total fat content and melting point as pivotal factors. These findings underscore distinct chemical profiles of abdominal and subcutaneous fats in different goose varieties, revealing variations in fatty acid composition and thermal properties. Overall, Li-S, Li-A, and Ma-S fats emerged as optimal choices for consumers seeking healthful dietary fats.

Framing of Differences: Visual Product Frames Reduce Consumer Choice Deferrals

Consumer choice deferral contributes to the low conversion rate in online retailing. This article investigates the impact of visual product frames on consumers’ decisions regarding choice deferral. The authors show that using visual frames to separate options in a product assortment increases consumers’ relative use of the by-alternative (vs. by-attribute) approach for option comparisons, which induces greater perception of assortment variety and subsequently decreases choice-deferral rate. Through seven preregistered studies (including an eye-tracking study and a field experiment), the authors obtain convergent empirical evidence for these proposed effects and suggest actionable guidelines for online retailers regarding how to best design their product displays to encourage sales.

Pengaruh Kualitas Layanan Dan Kemudahan Penggunaan Terhadap Kepuasan Konsumen Generasi Milenial Di Platform Tokopedia

This study aims to analyze the effect of service quality and ease of use on millennial consumer satisfaction on the Tokopedia e-commerce platform. Along with the development of technology, e-commerce has become the main choice for consumers because of its convenience, accessibility, and ease of use. This study uses a quantitative method with a survey approach by distributing online questionnaires to respondents who meet demographic criteria, with a purposive sampling technique. Data analysis was carried out using SPSS, including normality tests, ANOVA, and coefficient analysis to measure the effect of service quality and ease of use on consumer satisfaction. The results of the study show that both variables have a positive and significant effect on consumer satisfaction, so that improving service quality and ease of use is an important strategy in building customer loyalty in the digital era.

RANKING OF CONSUMERS-REGULATORSELECTRICAL LOAD

It is shown that managing electricity consumption by regulating the power of consumer-regulators is an important factor in reducing the loads of industrial enterprises. It is shown that during peak hours of the power system, it is advisable to reduce the capacity of enterprises to level the overall schedule of electrical loads. The procedure for reducing the total load can be achieved by regulating the power consumption of consumers - regulators or by disconnecting them. To rank consumers-regulators, it is necessary to perform an optimization procedure. For the optimization procedure, we propose the use of combinatorial algorithms based on heuristic schemes for finding solutions. The method of finding the optimal list of such consumers using a genetic algorithm, a heuristic search method used to solve optimization and modeling problems by randomly selecting a combination and variation of the noise parameters using mechanisms similar to natural selection, is investigated. To solve the problem, a software model of the evolutionary process - the development of a certain population of individuals - is created. An algorithm is described that can be used to obtain the most optimal solution for the choice of consumers at an enterprise. The genetic algorithm is considered to solve the problem of selecting the composition of consumers at the lower level of the enterprise's power grid. In the process of selection, the functions of loss and number of switching are analyzed, which tend to minimize when searching for a solution. The program model of the evolutionary process includes the following stages: creation of the initial population; crossing; mutation. A detailed description of the genetic algorithm, its essence, and the principle of its application for load regulation by selecting the optimal consumer option for regulating the electric load are considered. The criteria for selecting the most optimal list of consumer-regulators are the functions of loss and the number of switching operations.

The Impacts of Psychology and Neuroscience on Consumers’ Behaviour

The intersection of psychology and neuroscience has revolutionized our understanding of consumer behavior, offering profound insights into the cognitive and emotional processes that drive decision-making. This research explores the multifaceted impacts of psychological theories and neuroscientific advancements on consumer behavior, emphasizing how factors such as perception, memory, emotions, and neural mechanisms shape purchasing decisions. By integrating behavioral economics, cognitive neuroscience, and social psychology, the study highlights the role of implicit biases, heuristics, and neurochemical responses in influencing consumer preferences. Furthermore, the research examines the implications of neuromarketing techniques, such as brain imaging and biometric analysis, in predicting and shaping consumer behavior. Ethical considerations, including privacy concerns and the potential manipulation of consumer choices, are critically addressed to ensure responsible applications of these insights. By synthesizing theoretical models with empirical evidence, this study provides a comprehensive framework for leveraging psychology and neuroscience to enhance marketing strategies, improve consumer satisfaction, and foster ethical business practices.

The Role of Diction in Shaping Brand Image to Influence Consumer Choice in the Digital Age

Background: While product quality and pricing remain important, the language used in branding and marketing plays a pivotal role in building trust and emotional resonance. Purpose: This study explores the impact of diction as a linguistic strategy in shaping brand image and influencing consumer choice in the digital era. Design and methods: Through a literature review methodology, this research highlights how strategic word choices in branding, product descriptions, and marketing campaigns can create emotional connections and enhance consumer trust. Results: The findings emphasize the importance of integrating linguistic elements into marketing strategies to improve the competitiveness of local products in an increasingly digitalized marketplace.

Psychological factors of economic decision-making process

Personality-psychological aspects influencing an individual’s economic behavior have been studied. It has been analyzed how cognitive abilities and personality characteristics influence the decision-making process under uncertainty. Theoretical concepts and empirical studies proving the significance of subjective and unconscious factors, such as emotions, biases, and risk perception, when forming complex patterns of economic behavior have been considered. The information processing mechanisms and decision-making stages in the context of economic activity have been considered. It has been demonstrated that psychological factors play a key role in investment and consumer decisions. It has been emphasized that the process of making economic decisions, such as choosing a production object, pricing policy, use of technology, taxation system, consumer choice, and investment, has its own specifics. The importance of considering general psychological regularities, a manager’s personal characteristics, risk management, and a systematic approach application has been studied. Special attention has been paid to the importance of subjective and unconscious phenomena, such as prejudices and stereotypes, which predetermine complex behavioral patterns of the economic sphere subjects. The study of these factors presents a prospect for further research in the field of psychology and economics, contributing to a deeper understanding of decision-making mechanisms and effective strategies development in economic activity management.

The Application of Visual Communication Design in Brand Image Shaping

With the continuous upgrading of market competition and the ever-increasing standards of consumer choice, modern enterprises, if they want to develop stably in intense industry competition, should pay close attention to the shaping and maintenance of brand image. In brand image shaping, visual communication design, as an essential component, holds an undeniable position within brand strategy. The importance of brand image is self-evident, as it is closely related to the development of a company, and its shaping is inseparable from visual communication design. However, under the diversified background of visual communication design, many domestic enterprises in our country do not pay enough attention to brand image design, making it difficult to enhance the value of the brand. Therefore, based on the current development situation, by employing scientific visual identification design and organically integrating corporate characteristics with brand construction, enterprises can comprehensively enhance their brand image, thus achieving more significant achievements in fierce market competition.

IDENTIFYING DETERMINANTS INFLUENCING THE ONLINE SHOPPING ADOPTION BEHAVIOR IN THE FASHION AND APPAREL INDUSTRY: AN EMPIRICAL FACTOR ANALYSIS

The rapid growth of e-commerce has reshaped consumer behavior in the fashion and apparel industry, making it essential to understand the factors that influence online shopping adoption behaviour. This study aims to identify key determinants affecting consumer choices in this digital shopping environment. A questionnaire designed for the study was administered to 290 respondents across various regions of Gwalior city. Through factor analysis, five critical determinants emerged: Ease of Use, Price Sensitivity, Trust and Security, Social Influence, and Perceived Usefulness were identified. Each of these factors contributes uniquely to shaping online shopping adoption behavior. Ease of Use emphasizes the accessibility of online platforms, while Price Sensitivity reflects consumers attention to cost advantages through online mode. Trust and Security address concerns over data protection, Social Influence captures the impact of peer and societal recommendations, and Perceived Usefulness highlights the value consumers place on convenience and benefits. These findings provide actionable insights for fashion &amp; apparel e-retailers aiming to enhance their platforms, tailoring strategies to meet consumer needs and encourage engagement in the online shopping space.

Consumption Dynamics in Mixed-Income Neighborhoods with Connected Households

AbstractWe investigate the dynamics of household consumption in a setting in which households are connected across income classes. Low- and high-income households form preferences endogenously, conditional on their own and their neighbor’s past consumption. The modeling effort relies on a stochastic dynamic model of interdependent consumer choice in which the demand for commodities evolves according to a non-linear difference equation with stochastic initial states. The analysis targets a region of the parameter space that corresponds to salient features of a mixed-income neighborhood in which households are connected. Standard methods of asymptotic analysis of dynamic systems (e.g. bifurcation analysis) are combined with numerical simulation, statistical modelling of extreme events and statistical estimation techniques to investigate the dynamics. From the mathematical point of view, our analysis reveals the existence of intricate bifurcation pattern, coexistence of multiple attractors, complex basins and long transients. The essential economic finding states that key features of household consumption vary significantly in the influence the high-income households exert on the preference formation of the low-income households. In particular, we find that the prevalence of long transients, i.e. long waiting times before convergence to asymptotic states occur, is inversely related to the type of connectedness considered. We demonstrate that the dynamics of the consumption trajectory evolving over an extended time period before it settles on long-run simple consumption pattern, may not at all be captured by an asymptotic state. Thus, policies targeting the economies in mixed-income neighborhoods that are solely based on information about long-run consumption states, might trigger unwanted, unanticipated effects.

Education-based differences in alcohol health literacy in Germany.

Alcohol health literacy is critical for informed consumer decision making but has yet received limited attention in public health research. We therefore seek to measure alcohol health literacy and its educational distribution in Germany. In this cross-sectional study, we developed and applied a brief nine-item questionnaire on alcohol health literacy in an adult convenience sample (n = 391; February to April 2023). The association of educational attainment with 'insufficient' alcohol health literacy was tested in adjusted logistic regression models. Insufficient alcohol health literacy was recorded in 47.8% of men and 41.1% of women in our sample. While most respondents correctly identified common misconceptions and wrong beliefs about alcohol and were able to specify low-risk drinking limits for women and women during pregnancy, only few correctly identified all alcohol-related health conditions, especially respiratory and infectious diseases. Respondents with low education were 1.35 (risk ratio [RR], 95% confidence interval 1.09-1.50, p = 0.014) times more likely to have been classified as having insufficient alcohol health literacy than high-educated respondents. There was no statistically significant difference between respondents with medium versus high education (RR = 1.22, 95% confidence interval 0.99-1.43, p = 0.060). Educational gaps in alcohol health literacy question a policy rationale that is fundamentally based on the premise of informed consumer choice. Strategies to raise alcohol health literacy must ensure that they reach all population groups, for instance, by providing health warning labels on alcohol containers.

Would You Pay an Insta-doctor a Visit? Social Media Personal Brands and Young Consumer Perception

Technological developments and the broad availability of the Internet provide constant access to social media for users. These platforms are used to communicate with friends as well as to follow other users and brands. Also, physicians have public social media profiles on which they publish both professional and personal content. The objective of the paper is to explore and understand customers’ perception of physicians’ social media use. To obtain the purpose, a qualitative research method was adopted that involved 12 semistructured interviews with people who followed physicians’ profiles on social media. The study identifies three consumer groups: social media enthusiasts, sceptics, and those seeking authentic opinions, each with distinct attitudes toward physicians’ online presence. The findings emphasise that authenticity and consistency in personal branding are key to building trust and patient engagement. Social validation, through positive endorsements on social media, also significantly impacts consumer choices. The study highlights the need for tailored social media strategies in healthcare and suggests future research should address the ethical challenges and long-term effects of physicians’ online engagement. The research, focused on consumers’ perception of physicians’ social media presence, is novel. The results suggest directions for further research in the field of professionals’ personal branding on social media.

Antitrust Jurisprudence of Consumer Choice in Digital Platform Markets: A Comprehensive Review of Literature

Antitrust Jurisprudence of Consumer Choice in Digital Platform Markets: A Comprehensive Review of Literature

Tobacco industry narratives of e-cigarette use in the UK: a qualitative framing analysis.

Public health actors have expressed concerns over the entry of the tobacco industry into the UK e-cigarette market. It is important to be aware of the tobacco industry's involvement and stated aims for e-cigarettes in the UK, given their historical attempts to divert attention from and escape responsibility for the harms caused by combustible cigarettes. The use of e-cigarettes amongst young people in the UK has remained constant, despite the law prohibiting sales to adolescents and claims by manufacturers and others that they are designed solely as a tool to quit smoking. This study sought to examine how tobacco-related organizations in the UK e-cigarette market frame the use of e-cigarettes. Publicly available materials between September 2015 and June 2023 were collected from four transnational tobacco companies which have invested in the e-cigarette category, and from a UK e-cigarette trade association. A qualitative framing analysis of materials was conducted guided by relevant frameworks from the Commercial Determinants of Health literature. The analysis identified seven framings used by tobacco-related organizations relevant to e-cigarette usage in the UK. These were: co-opting of harm reduction; consumer choice; following the 'evidence'; insufficient evidence; the right kind of regulation; 'us' and 'them' rhetoric and marketing and advertising. By highlighting tobacco-related organizations' e-cigarette framings and contradictions, this study raises awareness of the rhetorical strategies used by the industry which aim to relegitimize tobacco companies in the political and public spheres.

German-Speaking Émigré Economists in Great Britain and the Analysis of the German War Economy

The need for analysis of the German war economy became urgent after the defeat of France and the threat of an invasion of Britain by Nazi Germany after the battle of Dunkirk in the summer of 1940. The expertise of émigré scholars now was in strong demand. First, this essay discusses the series of twelve articles that Hans Singer contributed at the request of Keynes to the Economic Journal from 1940 to 1944. An important characteristic of war economies is a shortage of consumer goods, which raises the question of the appropriate rationing scheme. Therefore, the notion of a virtual price system, introduced by Erwin Rothbarth, which takes note of the welfare consequences of interventions into the free choices of consumers, is the focus of the next section. Hal C. Hillmann was a leading analyst of the German war economy, the comparative strength of the great powers, and postwar reconstruction. Finally, the article discusses the role of Nicholas Kaldor, who had firsthand knowledge as a key member of the research team of highbrow economists chaired by John Kenneth Galbraith that at the end of the war studied the effects of Allied bombing on the German war economy. Kaldor's experience, also as the director of the Research and Planning Division of the UN Economic Commission for Europe from 1947 to 1949, significantly influenced his pioneering contributions to growth theory.

The Power of Human Narrative: Inspiring Action on Climate Change

News reporting on climate catastrophes can be sensational and shocking, and thereby rightly evoke the commensurate sense of enormity and immense challenge inherent in climate change. The global governance solutions, however, present as insufficient to the scale of the problem and hampered by geopolitical, economic, energy resource needs and other complexities. Whether transmitted through the traditional print press, television or modern media, such headlines influence perceptions on climate change either directly, among those choosing to follow climate issues, or else passively.This perspective article acknowledges the potentially powerful role of ordinary people everywhere in driving implementation through personal, household, consumer or producer choices as models of behaviour or through the pressure this brings to bear on leaders and society at large. It looks at how this potential may be affected by the fear engendered by global headlines. Combining this with the inherent political, social, economic and other complexities of climate change, looming deadlines determined by global governance processes, and perceived absence of adequate solutions in those processes, despair can result, which disempowers, undermines agency and deters self-efficacy. Such dissemination of knowledge on the devastating social and environmental consequences of climate change, in apparent absence of adequate solutions, may therefore hinder rather than motivate the efforts and perceptions of ordinary people at grassroots level, individually and collectively, and thus stymy a significant potential driver of mitigation and adaptation implementation.The article suggests that invoking hope, empathy and shared experience in communication on climate change, rather than fear alone, can be potentially far more motivating. It concludes that disseminating stories of human triumph over climate adversities, of which there are many global examples, has the potential to educate, inspire and contribute to driving transformational change at scale, by harnessing the cumulative actions and positive influence of ordinary people, householders, consumers and business owners everywhere. It remains important, at the same time, to also convey the seriousness and realistic concerns for our climate future.This article utilises international news and other publications to illustrate the news coverage of catastrophic climate events and international climate governance processes which address the challenges. It draws upon literature including international agency and academic journal publications to look at relevant aspects of climate communication and examples of positive climate narratives. This perspective article is written from the perspective and observations of a former senior United Nations official with over 25 years’ experience on multilateral governance in sustainable development.

AN EXAMINATION OF THE IMPACT OF PRICE LEVEL AND HALAL CERTIFICATION ON PURCHASE DECISION OF ‘ANGKRINGAN FOOD’ MSME’s

This research investigates the impact of price levels and halal certification on consumer purchasing decisions at Angkringan Tenda Mak Gendut, an SME in Malang City. Angkringan, a traditional Javanese street food stall, serves as a focal point for local communities and embodies Javanese culinary culture. Using Price Level, Halal Certification, and MSMEs Purchase Decision as variables, a quantitative approach was employed through an online questionnaire survey. Multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to analyze consumer preferences and purchasing behaviors. The findings reveal that both price level and halal certification significantly influence customer purchasing decisions, underscoring the importance for MSMEs to carefully manage pricing strategies and maintain high halal standards to attract and retain customers. These insights highlight the dual role of affordability and halal certification in shaping consumer choices, essential for enhancing MSMEs' market competitiveness and consumer appeal.

Promoting artificial meat to improve food security and reduce resource-environment pressure: is it practicable in China?

Artificial meat is increasingly recognized as a crucial innovation for addressing global food security challenges and reducing environmental pressures. This study aims to understand the practicability of promoting artificial meat consumption to achieve the dual goals of improving food security and reducing resource-environment pressure by evaluating Chinese consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for artificial meat. A discrete choice experiment was conducted via an online survey involving 998 consumers from five representative Chinese cities. The experiment was designed to elicit preferences and WTP for artificial meat. A random information intervention providing positive information about artificial meat was included to examine its impact on consumer choices. The estimation results indicate significantly lower WTP for both cultured and plant-based meat compared to farm-raised meat, with plant-based meat receiving higher WTP than cultured meat. The information intervention notably reduced the WTP gap between artificial meat and farm-raised meat, suggesting that consumer education can positively influence acceptance. The findings suggest that the market introduction of artificial meat in China faces considerable challenges, particularly regarding consumer acceptance and perceived value. While positive information can reduce the disparity in WTP, the practicability of promoting artificial meat to achieve food security and environmental sustainability goals is currently limited. This study contributes to the literature on consumer attitudes towards artificial meat in China and provides critical insights for policymakers aiming to promote the consumption of artificial meat.

Estimating Demand with Unobserved No-Purchases on Revenue-Managed Data

Problem definition: This paper studies the joint estimation of the consumer arrival rate and choice model parameters when “no-purchasers” (customers who considered the product but did not purchase) are not observable. Estimating this unconstrained demand even with the simplest discrete-choice model such as the multinomial logit (MNL) becomes challenging as we do not know the fraction that have chosen the outside option (i.e., not purchased). Methods have been proposed to use market share to pin down the parameter associated with the outside option. However, market share data are difficult to obtain in many situations, and in some industries, such as fashion retail, have little meaning as the items are difficult to compare. In this paper, we point out an additional difficulty that can arise in practice: Many firms monitor sales and optimize their prices and assortments within the sale period as part of their revenue management (RM) process, based on partially observed demand. This can potentially cause a revenue management induced endogeneity as the data used for estimation is the result of optimization (in turn based on prior data) to set controls. As we demonstrate, methods that work well on randomly generated assortments may do badly on optimized assortment data. Methodology/results: In this paper, we propose a robust method when the firm cannot observe no-purchases and has no market share information, and the data have been revenue-managed. We develop a two-step generalized method-of-moments (GMM) procedure that is based on a modified moment condition, and importantly, does not require instrumental variables (IVs), a significant advantage in practice. Managerial implications: In Monte Carlo simulations, the performance of our method matches existing methods when the controls are generated randomly, and is robust under all conditions, whether RM-induced endogeneity is present or not. On a large real-world data set from the fashion industry, subject to stock-outs and markdown pricing along with unknown management controls, our method provides robust estimates compared with existing methods without requiring any input on market shares, which is especially difficult to pin down at a category and season/collection level. Funding: This work was supported by the Hong Kong Research Grants Council’s General Research Fund [Grant 14506423]. Supplemental Material: The online appendices are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/msom.2021.0291 .

Sustainable production and consumption: assessing the economic viability of traditional and organic yerba mate cultivation

In response to the growing consumer demand for organic products, this study examines the economic viability of traditional versus organic Yerba Mate (Ilex paraguariensis) cultivation in Paraná State, Brazil. The research uses a robust financial analysis framework to compare production expenses, projected profits, and associated risks over a fifteen-year horizon for a single hectare of land. The analysis employs the multi-index methodology to provide empirical evidence and analytical insights into the economic and risk profiles of both traditional and organic agricultural practices. This study further enhances the evaluation by incorporating the Monte Carlo Method and Crystal Ball software, transforming key financial indicators into stochastic variables. This approach allows for a nuanced risk assessment that captures the inherent uncertainties in agricultural investment. The findings indicate a significant economic advantage for organic farming, with an organic return on investment (ROI) of 12.03%, substantially outperforming the 3.99% ROI of conventional methods. Moreover, the research highlights the improved risk-adjusted returns of organic farming, showing an almost negligible probability of encountering a negative net present value (NPV), specifically P(NPV_organic ≤ 0) ≈ 0. The results underscore the financial viability and reduced risk of organic Yerba Mate cultivation, positioning it as a strategic alternative to traditional agricultural methods. These insights align with current market trends favoring sustainable and health-conscious consumer choices and provide critical guidance for stakeholders in the farming sector. This study contributes to the academic discourse on sustainable agriculture and offers practical implications for enhancing economic sustainability and resilience in farming practices.