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Competition and Benefits – The Hungarian Results of the Decanter World Wine Awards and their Correlation with Wine Prices
53-60Views:98This study examines the relationship between Hungarian wine prices and the results of the 2023 Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA). The study analyses the relationship between the DWWA and the prices of medal-winning Hungarian wines and the impact on the Hungarian wine sector. An analysis of the correlation between the Decanter World Wine Awards and Hungarian wines shows the price-shaping effect of wine competitions on the Hungarian and international wine market. By taking advantage of the recognition and credibility provided by the DWWA, Hungarian winemakers have the opportunity to position their wines in higher market segments, serving discerning consumers seeking premium and award-winning wines. Three regions seem to be best suited for this: Tokaj, Eger and South Pannonia (Villany and Szekszard). The winning wines will contribute to the economic viability and sustainability of the Hungarian wine industry, providing access to new sales channels, international recognition and promoting the unique and diverse Hungarian terroir. The medals achieved in this prestigious competition will facilitate market entry in competitive markets and foster cooperation with distributors and importers seeking quality-driven wine portfolios. Continued investment in quality development, sustainability practices and market diversification will be essential for Hungarian winemakers to capitalise on the success of the competition for long-term growth. In the future, the authors aim to conduct a study of the results of several years of competition, incorporating new perspectives.
JEL Codes: E2, E3, F1, M2, M3 -
A HÍR védjegy ismertsége és beágyazódottsága a magyar fogyasztók körében
81-97Views:203The Traditions-Tastes-Regions (TTR) programme has more than 20 years of history, promoting and economically stimulating the traditional and local food products of Hungary. Since 2002 the TTR is a registered trademark and used for product differentiation. At the end of 2018 altogether 92 producers with 176 products had the right to use the trademark. The Geographical Indications Programme – initiated by the Hungarian government in order to increase the number of the Hungarian GI products in the EU register – is also based on the TTR initiative. The demand of the Hungarian traditional food products in general, as well the supply side of the TTR programme is well described by the literature, however the field of the consumers’ relation with the TTR trademark seems to be undiscovered. In spite of this background, this study tries to describe the recognition and the embeddedness of the TTR trademark among the Hungarian consumers. Part of an international survey conducted by the Strength2Food H2020 research project, the TTR trademark was analysed on a sample of 444 Hungarian consumers, retrieved from an online survey. Results suggest that the almost 40% recognition of the TTR trademark significantly exceeds recognition of the EU geographical indications labels. However, only roughly 10% of the consumers seeks purposefully food products with TTR label. Regular buyers of such foods usually seek for meat products. Based on the binomial regression models the recognition of the TTR trademark’s logo is significantly higher among female, older and non-vegetarian consumers with lower income levels. The place of regular purchase is also statistically significant: consumers with regular purchase in organic shops and in short food supply chains (directly from the producer) tend to be more aware of the TTR logo. Regarding the regular consumption of such products we can say that males and consumers shopping in supermarkets and discounters are becoming a frequent buyer of TTR products with a higher probability.
JEL Codes: M31, M37, O13, O34, Q13
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The Role of GI Products in the Hungarian Food Discounters
3-18Views:152More than 25 years ago, the European Union (EU) has established a sui generis system of geographical indications (GIs) for identifying the products which quality, reputation or other characteristics are linked to their geographical origin. By the end of 2018 the official register of the European Commission (the DOOR database) included 1448 registered food products with GI label, but their number is continuously increasing. For several reasons, we examined the discounters operating in Hungary in order to estimate the market size and price premium of GI foods in Hungary. Firstly, discounters’ share in the Hungarian food retail sector is continuously growing and reaching the majority of the average Hungarian consumers. Secondly, their typical feature is that their supplies are almost constant and limited, discounters target the price sensitive consumers, so the minimum level of price premium can be defined here. In this study, we would like to estimate from below both the market size of Hungarian GI products and the price premium of GI products compared to their direct substitute products. To gather real life data, we have gone mystery shopping for a year every month (January-December 2018) to an Aldi, Lidl and Penny Market retail shop located in Budapest. We collected data of available GI products and their closest substitute products which were available in the shop and then we analysed the dataset consist of several hundreds of observations. Our results show that the number of GI products available in the Hungarian discounters is very limited, however, their supply is quite permanent. The majority of GI foods available in Hungarian discounters are Italian and the average price premium was around 43% with remarkable differences. Our results show that currently GI food products have limited importance in the Hungarian food market as they are rarely available. On the other hand, a real price premium for GI products exists in the Hungarian market and an even higher price premium might be expected in less low-price oriented food retailers.
JEL Classification: M31, M37, O13, O34, Q13
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The Size and Characteristics of the LOHAS Segment in Hungary
11-30Views:589Until the 1990s, those exchange processes were in the focus of marketing in which the producers had the bargaining power in their hands. After realizing the limited sources and the natural challenges at the beginning of the twenty-first century, today marketing experts are interested in global issues like sustainable development and sustainable consumption. The aim of our research was to define the size of the Hungarian LOHAS consumer group by analysing its lifestyle based on sustainable values. This has been achieved in three steps. At first, the appearance of sustainable values was analysed using factor analysis. Secondly, we made the value-based lifestyle segmentation of the Hungarian consumers with the help of k-means analysis, and finally, with further segmentation, we estimated the size of the consumer group that is the most devoted to LOHAS values. In order to achieve the set objective, a nationwide representative questionnaire-based survey was carried out involving 1000 people in Hungary. During the value-orientated research, 25 lifestyle statements were drawn up. The 25 statements were grouped around 5 aspects which were the following: environmental consciousness, health consciousness, ethical values, authentic values and individualism. Results reveal that in the value order of Hungarian consumers, the characteristics showing in the direction of sustainability are present and they are separated in six value categories. They are individualist values, authentic values, environmental consciousness, ethical (competence) values, health consciousness and ethical (corporate) values. From among the value dimensions, authentic values, health and environmental consciousness, as well as ethical corporate behaviour are especially important to Hungarian consumers. According to our results five value-based segments could be separated which are Uninvolved elderly people (16.4%), Young trend followers (32.1%), Young environmentally conscious people (18.6%), Ethical traditionalists (22.6%) and also Disappointed pessimists (10.3%). The biggest cluster, the group of Young trend followers, reflects the characteristics of the LOHAS consumers’ lifestyle the most. Yet, this segment cannot entirely be regarded a consumer group devoted to LOHAS values. The biggest heterogeneity can be observed based on the ethical (competence) values of Young trend followers, and a further segmentation of this group was considered necessary to be able to ascertain the rate of the most devoted LOHAS consumers. The third sub-cluster that overestimates the ethical (competence) statements the most can be identified with the LOHAS consumer group. Based on the results of our research, their rate is 8.7% within the Hungarian population. Further research is necessary to find out whether the situation of value orientation in the other Eastern European countries is similar to that in Hungary, where the social and the cultural backgrounds show many similarities.
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Functional Foods, Consumer Attitudes and Personalized Nutrition
3-17Views:550The dramatic spread of the so called diseases of civilization have occurred in the last decade worldwide. Deaths caused by them have long been of the highest rate among all causes of deaths. In parallel with the spread of the diseases of civilization, population of developed countries is increasingly ageing that increases the number of inactives and those who rely on health treatment. The outlined factors pose new challenges to the food industry: it requires the development new foods that slow down the spread of the diseases of civilization that hit the humankind through their health care effect, and at the same time provide longer life in health for the ageing societies. In the decade after decoding the human genome an extremely rapid development occurred in the techniques of genomics, and in the disciplines applying genomics methods. Researches in genomics focus on how the human genome interacts with the environmental factors for determining the gene expression. Nutrition as one of the most important environmental factors has an obvious impact on the health but we have not known yet exactly what this impact is and what its mechanism is. The so called nutrigenomics – that is a new discipline – aims to reveal the relationships that are not yet known. The personalized nutrition is a conception that adapts the diet, the foods, and the nutrients to the unique needs of the specific person.
The authors examined the relationships between the functional foods, consumer attitudes and personalized nutrition in the framework of a nation-wide representative consumer survey of 500 people. According to the results majority of the consumers (73.8%) believes that her/him nutrition (diet) follows a normal structure and all that she/he needs enters her/his body automatically. Knowing the critical health state of the population it can be stated that the high agreement portion is based on misbelieves. This is also indicated by the fact that 57.4% of consumers only eats foods that tastes good, even when it is supposedly less healthy. In the next half year almost 50% of the Hungarian population do not intend to switch to a nutrition considered healthier by themselves. Further 22% of the respondents already feel some urge to change their behavior, they compare the costs and the potential benefits of change. Only 5.0% of the interviewees switched to a nutrition considered healthier by themselves in the last six months, and the rate of those who maintain the positive change is 17.4%.
In the current situation there is no other option than raising awareness of the population for foods that provide excess nutrition benefits. These are the functional foods that hold important position in the education to healthy nutrition of the population. However, it is does matter in which strategy they are used by the enterprises. This applies for the development of both new technologies and new functional foods where involvement of consumers is inevitable today.
The so called perception screening theory answers the solution of the anomalies between the scientific objectivity and the consumer perception. We tried to apply the perception screening theory in a new discipline, entirely unknown to the consumers. The nutrition genomics and its major application area, the personalized nutrition are novel concepts to the population to such an extent that preferences and attitudes related to them have not occurred yet. This is why it could be interesting which most important psychological processes are the ones that can lead to the adoption of the new technology, and the development of the positive consumer attitudes. According to the results Hungarian consumers are mistrustful against the new technology and they are uncertain – despite its obvious advantages. The not so positive attitude is likely caused by more factors together. Traditional thinking, reluctance to the new play a role in it as well as the lack of information and misbelieves related to the genetic tests. The technology is novel to the consumers to such an extent that we found significant differences between the consumer segments only in some cases, i.e. consumer preferences cannot be classified, they are highly scattered. Finally, the authors developed an optimized practical model by which the successful launch of a new functional food and its hindering factors can be securely forecasted. -
Investigation into Online Customer Behaviour and Opportunities of the Food Shopping among Hungarian and American Online Consumers
31-43Views:502Nowadays, it is so much easier to interact with each other (two-way communication) from all over the world as never before. This possibility has only been available for a few people – for the military at first – but after some decades, it became accessible to everyone. Online customer demand increased a lot, for example by the big boom of Web 2.0. by Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook and by the introduction of Steve Jobs’ iPad. This topic is of interest, because companies from all over the world would like to find the most effective and cheapest methods to reach and keep their online consumers (worldwide). Therefore, they need to discover more about their consumers’ behaviour without generating high expenditure. This article focuses on the behavioural analysis of the online consumer (non-representative) population between Hungary and the USA. The background for my research consists of the awareness of the contents of e-markets. The analysed questionnaire was given out online (N=932) and people with high incomes (outliers) were excluded. Before the analysis of the database, I presumed that the consumers have a focus on online selling products and/or services. In this research we will examine the differences and identities of the behaviour of Hungarian and American customers based on online purchases. I have used Factorial ANOVA to analyse my database and found answers to my research questions about the most popular online goods and/or services. Furthermore, the differences and similarities of the behaviour between American and Hungarian consumers have been examined.
JEL code: E70
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Affinity for Consumer Resistance Among Hungarian Consumers
29-45Views:165The causes of the loss of market results go beyond the realities of intense and noisy competition. The rejecting attitude and resistant behaviour of consumers can exert pressure on the companies’ business processes – several market examples draw attention to the weight of those consequences. To find out the appropriate way to handle this phenomenon became inevitable. The resistant behaviour of consumers exists in numerous markets and industries, among these foods are particularly concerned. There are examples for short and long term, but intense consumer indignation. Although consumer resistance is not a product- or market-specific phenomenon, it’s worth considering the issue of food, because of its embeddedness in everyday life, so market players may face easily criticism and conflict of interest. The study provides an overview of markets facing consumer resistance. The aim of the quantitative research is to find out the affinity of Hungarian consumers for consumer resistance and its various forms.
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Purchasing Patterns of Prescription (Rx), over the Counter (OTC) Medicines and Food Supplements among Hungarian Consumers
23-34Views:114Over-the-Counter (OTC) medicines and food supplements plays an important role in healthcare. It is generally accepted that, when used properly, OTC medicines save consumers time and money. In this paper we looked into the purchasing behavior of the Hungarian population regarding OTC drugs and food supplements, highlighting the significance of self-medication. Using a quantitative online survey in March 2022 with a national representative sample, the research aimed to measure the out-of-pocket health expenditures, focusing on OTC drugs and food supplements. The analysis showed that the population spends more money on OTC drugs and food supplements than the co-payment of prescription (Rx) drugs, and the combined expenditures on OTC drugs and food supplements significantly contribute to the household's total healthcare costs, representing 45% of this budget. Three hypotheses were formulated to investigate the relationships between the spending on Rx medications, OTC drugs, food supplements, and various demographic factors. The analysis showed significant correlations, indicating that as expenditures on Rx medications increase, so do the purchases of OTC drugs and food supplements. Demographic analysis indicated that the younger demographic age group (18-35 years) tends to spend the least on both Rx, OTC drugs and food supplements, while the 36-50 age group exhibits the highest expenditure on food supplements. However, no significant difference in OTC drug purchases was found among those older than 36 years. The study raises further questions regarding the purchasing behavior of chronic patients, the differentiation between OTC drugs and food supplements by consumers, the influence of minors in the household on purchasing decisions, and whether the primary target demographic for these products should be expanded beyond the 35-50 aged women as it is defined nowadays.
JEL Codes: I11, I12, M31 -
Examining of Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Among the Hungarian Consumers
79-89Views:392The importance of fruit and vegetable consumption is emphasized by promotions, recommendations, and domestic and foreign researches. According to the results of Hungarian research, consumers with high education and high income are the fastest to commit to a healthy lifestyle (of which regular consumption of fruit and vegetables is an integral part). The present study examines fruit and vegetable consumption through focus group interviews examining two distinct segments; full-time undergraduate students as well as full-time adults. The reason for choosing the two segments was based on the literature, according to which lifestyle research shows that the supportive family financial background of students helps to make this segment more health-conscious, while full-time adults with higher education and income are also more health-conscious consumers. Based on the results of interviews with six groups – three with students and three with full-time adults – it can be stated that among the participants the reasons for consuming fruit and vegetables are health awareness, and in many cases the family pattern is a determining, moreover important aspect that vegetables and fruits are very much loved. However, despite their commitment to a healthy lifestyle and fruit and vegetable, most of them have never heard of fruit and vegetable promotions. As a result of the focus group research, it can also be observed that income is a determining factor, especially in the face of rising prices. In addition to consumption patterns, the research also addressed the issue of branding, the results of which suggest that geographical indications are still more important than the creation of a stand-alone brand name.
JEL Classification: I12, P46
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Examination of the Eating Motivations of the Hungarian Population Based on the TEMS-Model
81-93Views:208Our study fills a gap because we were the first to examine the eating motivations of the Hungarian population using the TEMS questionnaire. Our aim was to analyze the eating motivations of Hungarian consumers in details. To this end, we launched a national questionnaire survey of 1,000 people, which is representative by gender, age, type of settlement, and region. In our survey, we obtained 8 well separated factors, which are the following: Social Anxiety, Comfortable Enjoyment, Health Awareness and Weight Control, Price Sensitivity, Social Eating, Self-Rewarding, Habit and Tradition-Driven Eating, The Tempting Nature of Food. Based on cluster analysis, we classified consumers into 5 clusters: Traditional Simplifiers, Thrifty Social and Emotional Eaters, Balanced Self-Rewards, Health Conscious, Indifferent.
JEL-Codes: A13, D70, I12, Q56 -
Research of Risk Reductive Behaviours Related to Food Products
63-77Views:100This topic will always be actual, since most of the companies crave to understand the
behaviour of their consumers in Hungary – what kind of patterns of behaviour they have, and how companies can influence consumer behaviour without high expenses, considering the most effective methods. As we know, consumer behaviour should be researched on the level of a specific product or service in the short term, or as a brand versus personal preference.
Nowadays, the role of health-awareness and cost-consciousness is getting misrated, alongside with environmental protection and the awareness of hazardous substances. Based on our idea, the background of our research assumes awareness of the contents of food, and the investigation of labels or titles. The organic labels on food have a high priority role in Hungary. In our opinion, the trust contains the following factors: (1) There are control authorities who are reliable, and guarantee the high quality of products for the consumers (for example: Hungarian Authority for Consumer Protection, or other food and chemical industrial laboratories). (2) Food processing facilities are accredited, recorded, and given a certificate (for example: certificate of organic production, etc.) (3) Purchasing is straight from the source. (4) Purchase is on the basis of information technology. These factors are the underlying cause of the change in behaviour resulting from risk reduction awareness. The article focuses on the food consumption behaviour analysis of Hungary’s population. The analyzed database was queried from IPSOS Ltd. (N=1 038 people) but we will select 883 people, based on inclusive criteria (aged between 18 and 70) and exclude people with extreme incomes (due to being outliers). In order to indroduce the topic, we will start our research with a short literary introspection. Before the analysis of the database, we presume consumers have a kind of set awareness that is shaped by buying their daily food and products. In this research, we will prove this assumption.JEL code: D12
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What sort of Carrier Food Should Be Enhanced by Functional Food Producers? – A Continuation of a Scientific Debate in Hungary
35-48Views:205The basis of our study was provided by the question previously discussed in literature: whether functional food producers should enrich unhealthy or healthy carriers. Most of the previous studies reached the conclusion that such foods can be the carriers of successful functional foods that are perceived as healthy by themselves, such as yoghurt, cereals, orange juice and whole grain products. According to some authors, however, carriers that are perceived as healthy are not worth improving functionally, because they are perceived as healthy by themselves, so consumers did not find artificial enrichment necessary. The main objective of the study was to find out that the enrichment of which foods would be the most justified for food companies in Hungary. In our online questionnaire reaching 2034 respondents we built on the methodology of previous studies. As part of the questionnaire, based on conjoint cards, we created different mini-concepts to study the respondents’ willingness to buy them. For Hungarian customers, based on the respondents’ answers, the enrichment of “healthy foods”– aligning with the findings of several other researchers – generally makes the judgment of the product even more favourable, however, we also agree with the findings of researchers arguing differently, namely that in the case of an unhealthy product enrichment can cause a bigger change in how healthy it is perceived. But in the case when a functional food developer wants to sell their product with its healthy image, it is a better choice to enrich a carrier that is perceived as healthy, because the purchase intention for the product created by enriching something “unhealthy” is not going to be as high as the purchase intention for the non-enriched product seen as healthy.
JEL code: I15
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The Characteristics of the LOHAS Segment, the Consumer Group which is Devoted to Sustainable Consumption
3-9Views:344Sustainable consumption is a megatrend influencing consumer habits today. Our research was carried out to find out information – with the help of international and national literature – about the general and differentiating characteristics and the size of the consumer group devoted to sustainable consumption. Our aim was also to sum up the economic importance of the segment. This “new type” of consumer-buyer group is called LOHAS (Lifestyle of Health and Sustainability) by professionals. An important feature of the segment is that they consider all the three pillars of sustainable development (economic, social and ecological) in their shopping decisions. LOHAS consumers live their life health-consciously. Their devotion to sustainability is reflected in purchasing environmental-friendly, socially responsible products. Besides this, it can also be claimed about them that they are early adopters and they are able to influence the opinion of their friends and family. They are less price-sensitive, and they are characteristically brand-loyal. These characteristics make them the attractive target of a lot of marketing activities. It is hard to describe the LOHAS lifestyle only with demographic features since their devotion to sustainable consumption is determined by mostly personal values and the individual’s value order. LOHAS lifestyle has five, well defined value categories that direct the individuals’ behavior. They are authentic values, health-conscious values, ethic values, individualist values and environmental-conscious values. The LOHAS group is also characterized by such a hybrid lifestyle in which different characteristics merge with each other. The LOHAS “phenomenon” is mostly characteristic of the western world, but it is becoming widespread in the Asian region’s consumer society. In the developed countries the size of the group may reach 25%. For today the approach and value order characterizing the LOHAS consumer’s lifestyle have appeared within the Hungarian population as well. Hungarian researchers estimate the size of this group different – between 4 and 30% – depending on the values expected during segmentation. The LOHAS trend influences all the branches of economy calling companies for innovation that meets the needs of the consumers who prefer hybrid lifestyle, and for environmental and social responsibility. However, the strongest influence appears in the food industry. It is worth mentioning that some members of the tertiary sector have also realized the opportunities lying behind them. Besides the economic importance of the LOHAS consumer group, it is important to mention that their inner values and views envisage a healthier society and a cleaner and more livable environment.
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Consumer Satisfaction/Dissatisfaction and Handling of Complaints in out of Home Eating Sector
3-18Views:130The contribution of the eating-out-of-home sector to the overall food spending of Hungarian households is very low, especially when compared to other, well developed countries. In order to increase this market – besides the improvement of the elements of macro- and micro-environment – a significant task is to strengthen and improve the consumer satisfaction and loyalty. Consumer satisfaction/dissatisfaction is a complex system whose key element is complaint handling. The research team conducted a questionnaire survey in the spring of 2014 in Hungary (Central Hungary and Northern Great Plain regions) with a sample of 1063 respondents of the age group 15+ years. In the survey, the research models and findings of former international research projects were taken into consideration. Our research results are in compliance with the international research results and trends, although differences may be found in the numbers and extent of the Hungarian results. In the Hungarian eating-out-of-home sector, the desired service quality of the consumers exceeds the detected quality of services particularly in the key areas. Despite the frequent consumer dissatisfaction, the documented forms of dissatisfaction, which could be recognized directly by the management (e.g. direct complaints towards the staff, registered opinion on the claims book), are very low. Guests prefer to use the indirect channels of complaint (for example choosing other restaurant, negative word of mouth, or reducing tips), which will result in that the specific reasons of complaints could not be recognized by management of the restaurant. The exploration and registration of the original problems are the main prerequisites of the successful improvement of consumer satisfaction, therefore establishing an active complaint management system should be a key task for the restaurants.
JEL code: D12
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The Relationship between Genetics-Based Personalised Nutrition and Dietary Supplement Consumption among the Hungarian Population
61-71Views:95Genetic-based personalised nutrition is a concept that adapts diets, foods and nutrients to a person's individual needs (genetic, lifestyle and environmental), of which the use of supplements can be an integral part. Personalised nutrition, as a new technology and nutritional principle, could be a good way to improve the objective health status of the population in a meaningful way. However, previous research has shown that Hungarian consumers are distrustful and uncertain about this new technology, despite its obvious benefits. My main objective is to identify the attitudes towards nutrigenomics in relation to dietary supplement consumer behaviour. My quantitative analysis was carried out on a nationally representative sample of 1000 people. In the present study, I describe the clusters of the Hungarian population based on their dietary supplement consumption behaviour. Each cluster has different opinions on who they perceive as having an advantage in the applicability of genetic-based tests and to what extent they expect consensus among experts on genetic-based tests. Clusters show characteristic differences in openness to innovation and attitudes towards genetically personalised nutrition. I complemented my results with a qualitative study, which I conducted in the form of a netnographic survey. Through content analysis on social media, I identified the most common themes and consumer reactions to personalised nutrition on social media sites. Overall, it was found that dietary supplement consumption and the adoption of genetic-based tests show synergies in the manifestation of openness to novelty, health promotion behaviours, social norms, and positive attitudes.
JEL Codes: A13, I12, P46 -
Awareness and Effect of CSR on Consumer Decisions
15-27Views:259Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a common topic, both at national and international levels. Profit maximisation is essential for companies, but they should not forget the social and environmental impacts of their activities. The question of sustainability is also a common topic requiring examination. The future of the Earth, our natural resources and the generations that will come after us also impact on the responsibilities of companies. For many companies, this kind of responsibility is natural and they take such CSR and sustainable steps that are worth following. From modern society, there is a high expectation and even strong pressure on companies to conduct responsible business practice. The number of responsible companies is increasing due to this pressure. What do we mean by CSR? What sorts of activities and steps are covered by CSR? What are the motivators of the CSR strategies, CSR activities of companies? What are their reasons? Many researchers investigate the motivators of CSR. From them, opinion on the company, image of the company, “consumers will prefer us”, are among the most frequent ones. However, are the CSR actions of companies appreciated by consumers? The results of many researchers demonstrate that they are not appreciated. In general, responsible business practise is a high expectation from consumers, but when purchasing a product, this aspect is one of the least important factors. The aim of this paper is to collect some of the most relevant research findings on CSR, to introduce the informedness of Hungarian respondents on CSR in general, to find out the main influencing factors of their purchasing decisions, and also find correlations between the received results and the demographic variables based on our primary research. Our results support the present practice in terms of the definition of CSR. Almost all the listed alternatives are strongly associated with CSR by the respondents. The highest average received for the “creating workplaces, employment” alternative indicates the importance of this activity. Regarding the different factors influencing purchasing decision, our results underline the importance of price and price value ratio. This research finding is in line with other research findings, which shows that CSR actions of companies, responsible business practice is not the number one influencing factor of actual consumer decision.
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Attitudes of Alternative Diet Followers Towards Purchasing Local Products
3-15Views:469Earth’s population has been growing steadily over the last centuries, with increasing demand for food production. For this reason, despite the current technological progress, even more and more cultivated lands are needed. The purpose of our research is to examine the proportion of local products that are being used by those who follow different alternative diets, which can also be used to test the behaviour towards sustainability. In order to reach our goals, we have developed a national survey including 504 Hungarian consumers. The survey consists of several questions about alternative diets, food-oriented lifestyle, and local products. The answers were weighted in order to properly represent the gender distribution of the population and were analysed using descriptive statistics and factor analysis. According to the results, environmental conscious behaviour appears among the alternative diet followers, but for sustainability this is not a sufficient condition. Local products are bought by 82.9% of the respondents. The biggest incentives of buying local products are the origin, the support of local producers / merchants, the reduction of food kilometres, the healthy and natural characteristics of the products, and the positive experiences with local products. In contrast, the reasons why local products are mostly refused by consumers are the facts that they are time consuming and difficult to obtain.
JEL codes: C38, D70, I12, M31, Q56
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Impact of the Financial and Economic Crisis of 2009 on the Hungarian Food Retail Sector in the Light of Consumer Confidence – Improving Trends, Increasing Consumer Confidence
47-59Views:79As a result of the international financial and economic crisis of 2009, Hungarian customers started to make informed purchasing decisions. Merchants recognizing this phenomenon formed their strategies accordingly, while trying to meet the requirements of the constantly changing government regulations. This strategy ensured primarily that they could maintain their position in trading, new consumer expansion was, however, limited. Limited because consumers have realized the situation, i.e. traders have been competing for their income and complex shop visiting has become widely common, implying the weekly tour of different shops in retail chains with an eye on the current promotions. Based on the data of the last eight years, the year most affected by the economic crisis was 2009 – which proved to be the deepest point. It has to be highlighted however that though signs of recovery are clearly visible, the volume of food retail returned to its growth path only in 2014, while sale increase in value has been continuous since 2008. This suggests that the impulses of the crisis starting in the fourth quarter of 2008 formed the domestic food trade for full six years. Also, this period was required to regenerate consumer trust. The more favourable prospects of the finances of both individuals and the economy encourage an increase of willingness to buy. The six-year period impacted by the crisis intensified concentration among trade stakeholders. The forecasts proved realistic, supermarkets have become more popular sites for shopping, although hypermarkets as strong competitors have been able to keep pace due to tailored promotions in the 6 trading days permitted by law until April 2016. Due to the massive social and political pressure the Government repealed the Act prohibiting work on Sundays in most retail shops with effect from 16 April 2016.
JEL code: M30 General
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Chocolate Consumption Habits of Hungarian Women and Their Consumer Behaviour Regarding Sugar-free Chocolate
3-20Views:243In line with the global trend of health and wellness, there is now an increased demand for products that have a positive effect on health (or that are at least less unhealthy), such as sugar-free or reduced-calorie chocolate, especially among female consumers. Therefore, in our research, we set out to explore the chocolate consumption habits of Hungarian women, with particular regard to consumer acceptance of sugar-free chocolate. In the course of our primary research, we conducted an online questionnaire survey with the participation of 370 female respondents, during which we explored some elements of their consumer behaviour related to conventional and sugar-free/reduced-calorie chocolates; moreover, possible differences in the willingness to pay for sugar-free and conventional chocolates were also examined by using the packaging of two real, 100 g Stühmer milk chocolate bars and their modified versions as well. According to our results, the vast majority of women interviewed like chocolate, with milk chocolate being the most popular. Most of them eat chocolate a few times a week, but consumption of sugar-free/reduced-calorie chocolate is much less common. When buying chocolate, the respondents are clearly most influenced by the taste, which is followed far behind by the price, and then the healthiness of the chocolate. Most of the women asked are interested in sugar-free and reduced-calorie chocolates, the majority of them consume such products because of health awareness. The respondents’ willingness to pay for sugar-free chocolates is not lower compared to the versions sweetened with sugar, but the willingness to pay reaches the market price only in the case of a gift purchase; in the case of a purchase for one’s own consumption, it mostly falls short of it.
JEL-Code: M31 -
Adaptation Possibilities of the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire in the Field of Marketing Research – Differences Based on Gender and Generation
3-20Views:191Overweight and obesity is an endemic that appears in the developed countries of the world. Overweight and obesity means a serious expenditure for the consumers, for the employers and for the national states both in the prevention and in the treatment phases. In the national and international literature more authors deal with the research of the dimensions of healthy lifestyle either in a complex way or focusing on a special area (e. g. smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity or eating behavior). There are more tests investigating food consumption, but the most widely used one is the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ). The revised TFEQ (TFEQ 21 and TFEQ 18) scales were validated in Hungary on the population with normal weight and overweight obese individuals and three types of eating behavior were identified, namely (1) emotional eating (EE), (2) cognitive control eating (CR) and (3) uncontrolled eating (UE). The aim of this study is on the one hand to introduce the Hungarian adaptation possibilities of the revised scale (TFEQ 16) measuring eating habits and on the second hand to explore the connections with demographics. In an empirical research 919 adult people were interviewed: 45.2% males and 54.8% females. Based on age the authors defined three generations, the “Baby boomers”, the X and the Y generations. Their ratio in the sample is the following: 14.7, 42.5 and 42.8%. Relying on the results of the empirical research it can be said that the adaptation of TFEQ 16 is possible in Hungary. The former explored factor structure is valid among Hungarian population that is adults can be characterized by emotional, uncontrolled and cognitive control eating. The EE and CR are typical eating styles among women and CR is typical for people belonging to Y generation. In the future the authors plan to extend the research to segment the population based on their eating styles in order to develop an effective marketing program for them.
JEL codes: I12, M30, M39
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Game-meat Consumption Behavior the Image and Market Positioning of Quality Venison
141-147Views:44The purpose of our research is to understand the wild game meat, and more specifically, venison consumption behavior of the Hungarian population. In order to examine the issue, we have conducted questionnaire surveys as well as focus group interviews. Only 36.6% of the respondents reported that they consume game-based foods with some frequency. The main reason for the low consumption rate is related to the price of wild game meat which consumers consider too high. Based on focus group interviews, we concluded that the main problem is that most people do not even consider trying game-meat as they do not know about possible preparation methods. The results of our questionnaire survey reveal that 22.4% of the population has consumed red deer, while fallow deer has only been consumed by 7.7%. The respondents primarily associate deer meat with men, as they consider hunting and the preparation of wild-game foods a masculine activity. In Hungary, deer meat is a lesser known product considered to be a luxury good, for which a new marketing communication and sales strategy is needed. Limiting factors include unfamiliarity, high price and that respondents consider wild-game a seasonal product.
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The Actual Questions of the product and the Consumption of Soltvadkert' Wine
125-131Views:47In our work looking for the answer for the next questions: What is the current situation for winemakers nowadays in Soltvadkert. What is the reputation of their wine? What do local habitants think about the wine of their city? What is the opinion about it the tourists? Do the people remember to the counterfeit wine? To know the answers we make qualitative and quantitative survey. We made 5 interviews with viticulturist on Soltvadkert. We asked them about the market-opportunities, the effects of economic crisis, the impact of import wines, the connection between the local winemakers, the trends of Hungarian wine-consumption. The questions for the consumers are the follow: The consumption habits linked to the wine, the knowledge about the winemakers of Soltvadkert, the wine-purchasing habit. We asked 100 local residents and 100 tourists. The result of this survey is the SWOT analysis, which we made and show in this article.
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Main Characteristics of Confectionery Products Consumption in Hungary
119-123Views:133Present study focuses on the purchase and consumption craftsman confectionery products. Domestic confectionery has been subject to many changes in the recent decades, this sector suffers from internal problems and tries to reply to the changed consumer habbits. The specific Hungarian confectionery section – according to the professional literature – has not yet investigated earlier. Our objective is to analyse the changed consumer habbits and that’s influence factors. As the primary research method we used personal interviews and online inquiry. The personal interviews are in progress, therefore this study introduces only the results of the online inquiry (n=468). The majority of the respondents consume and purchase confectionery products. Most of people are looking for quality
products, even they spend more money for this. The consumers mostly purchase products from confectioneries, they visit the pastry shops because of relaxation and unique, prime pastries. The products made from light and natural materials, are very popular due to the changed consumer habbits. -
Interpretation of Health-conscious Food Consumption Behavior on the Basis of LOHAS Concept
39-46Views:337In our study, the information search behavior of sustainability committed consumer group is analyzed. Furthermore, consumer opinions about nutrition labels on food packaging are highlighted. According to the international literature, LOHAS (Lifestyle of Health and Sustainability) group is the most committed consumer segment to sustainability.
Exploration of Hungarian sustainability committed consumer groups’ opinion about food labels is supported by the closing part of a research chain which was started in 2010. This, last research was carried out in 2012, where, with the aid of quota sampling, Trend followers’ and Unconcerned’s judgment on food labels was investigated. The quota and the two mentioned groups were formed on the basis of a national representative research, which was performed in 2011. Information search behavior was evaluated according to the structure of Grunert-Wills’ information search model. In this study we focus on our research results, which connect to the last two steps (understanding, interferences and use) of the mentioned model.
Goal of this research is to investigate in a practical aspect of information search behavior of domestic sustainability committed consumer group (“Trend followers”) in connection with food labels proving health effects of foodstuffs. Four hypotheses were defined to reach our goal:
H1: Among health information on food packaging, labels stating energy value, are getting a higher influencing role in food purchasing process, where conscious consumer groups have a deeper knowledge about the objective meaning of food labels.
H2: Consumer knowledge about objective meaning of food labels is getting a highlighted role in formation of brand loyalty.
H3: Trust has an essential role in consumer acceptation of food labels, where common qualifier activity of different organizations (state, profit and nonprofit area) come into the front.
H4: Correct understanding of food labels has a positive influencing effect on acceptation of higher prices and on real use of food labels during food purchasing.
One- and multivariate analysis and cross table analysis were calculated to investigate our assumptions. In the closing part of our study, three practical recommendations are defined, which relate to follows: optimization of communication strategy of food industries, way of introduction of new food labels and need of objective guidance of consumers about food information. -
Pilot-study for the Investigation of School Meals’ Preference and Main Factors of Restaurant Service
53-63Views:120In Hungarian public educational institutions (nurseries, kindergartens, primary and secondary schools) it is compulsory to provide food for schoolchildren at least by one meal per day. Schoolchildren represented 14% of the total population of Hungary in 2016. Although school catering is compulsory task for educational institutions, many students refuse this service, because of food intolerances or based on external reasons such as „I don’t like’, ”it is not tasty” or because of negative opinions and rumours about school catering services. Surveys have already been conducted in some countries on the acceptance of school catering services in order to explore the reasons of the negative experiences, but in Hungary, our research was the first in this topic. Our main goal was to explore the acceptance level of the school catering services and their meals in the sample of schools in Budapest. The first step of our research was to launch a pilot study, where 202 students and teachers of five schools in Budapest filled a questionnaire. The most preferred meals of the students were roasted and fried meats (they would like to have these meals more frequently), and cakes/desserts. The least preferred meals were pottage, and simple soups, which they would like to consume less frequently. Teachers preferred healthier food, e.g. fish, stewed or grilled vegetables. In almost half of the different meal types, a significant difference was detected between the answers of teachers and students. Noodle dishes, cakes and desserts were preferred at significantly higher level by the students. The different characteristics of the meals (taste, aroma, nutritional value, temperature, serving style) were assessed as significantly less important by the students than by teachers. Food hygiene, healthy food and diversity of meals were assessed equally well by the two respondent groups. Both respondent groups indicated that adapting to the individual needs of the consumers is inadequate.
JEL codes: D12, L83