Consumenten die weinig belang hechten aan individuele waarden zijn meer bereid tot het kopen van gezond dan duurzaam aangeprezen insectenburgers

Abstract

The current study examines whether presenting buggieburgers as healthy or sustainable influences a consumer’s willingness to buy the product and whether this process is being influenced by individual or collective values. Furthermore, this study examines whether providing more information about the product leads to an increase of this willingness to buy. An interaction was expected between a consumer’s values and the way the buggieburgers were presented (i.e., healthy or sustainable). Specifically, consumers who attach a lot of importance to individual values were expected to be more willing to buy the healthy buggieburgers than the sustainable buggieburgers. On the other hand, consumers who attach a lot of importance to collective values were expected to be more willing to buy sustainable buggieburgers. Furthermore, there was expected that providing more information about the product would increase these interactions. In this study 251 participants have completed the Schwartz Value Inventory (SVI), reviewed buggieburgers packagings and answered questions about their knowledge and preferences regarding (quality) labels, health and sustainability. Based on their scores on the ten valuetypes by Schwartz (1992), all participants were granted a score on the independent variables individual and collective values. It has been found that participants in general are more willing to buy the buggieburgers presented as healthy than as sustainable. Furthermore, participants who attach little importance to individual values appeared more inclined to buying buggieburgers presented as healthy than as sustainable. Without regard to values, adding more information about the product enhanced the willingness to buy. Besides, the control variables gender, age and the importance of sustainability labels were of influence on the willingness to buy buggieburgers. Men and younger consumers were more inclined to do so. Also, consumers who attach a lot of importance to sustainability are more willing to buy buggieburgers and consumers who attach a lot of importance to labels are willing to pay (WTP) more. These findings can be used by supermarkets, food brands and organizations involved with (quality) labels in an effort to enhance consumer’s acceptation towards eating insects and contribute to preventing an impending food shortage.