Analysis of wine consumer preferences: an experimental approach

• Autor(a) principal: Ferreira, Carla Cristina
• Data de Publicação: 2020
• Tipo de documento: Livro
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10348/10354

Wine consumption is an integral part of Portuguese life and culture. Wine is considered an “information-intensive” product, as its quality can an only be evaluated post-consumption. The complexity of wine market renders the choice of wine as a risky decision for most consumers. The decision-making process is very complex and involve a number of wine features combined with consumers’ specific characteristics, such as gender, knowledge, and consumer habits. Thus, the understanding of wine consumer behaviour is key for the successful development of firms and for the economic development of any wine region. The aim of this thesis is to contribute to a better understanding of the wine consumption experience, particularly on how different extrinsic cues influence consumers’ decision-making process, thus contributing for the development of more competitive products and firms enhancing the sustainability of wine regions. Specifically, we explore the influence of consumers’ gender on the effect of extrinsic cues influencing consumers’ behaviour at the moment of choosing a wine bottle (chapter 2); how self-reported wine knowledge influences the choice behaviour (chapter 3); the effect of region of origin on experienced, expected and perceived quality of wine (chapter 4); and the effect of region of origin on wine consumer’s willingness to pay under different information conditions (chapter 5). In first study (chapter 2) five focus groups, involving 45 regular wine consumers (22 women and 23 men) from four Portuguese wine regions were conducted. Two projective techniques and a short questionnaire were included in each session. The results suggest that women and men conceptualize wine in different ways: women associate wine to the context of consumption; while men associate wine to convivial and sensorial pleasure. Regarding wine choice, region of origin and prior knowledge experience seem to be the main reasons for men to choose a particular wine bottle. On the other hand, women seem to opt more for a particular wine brand taking into account previous wine experience. Front label descriptors, such as region of origin, awards and illustration of region, seem to be most relevant to women. For men the back-label information (grape variety, world heritage site and wine history) is more important at moment of choice. This paper is published in the International Journal of Wine Business Research, Vol. 31 No. 4, pp. 618-639. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJWBR-08-2018-0040. In second paper (chapter 3), a source triangulation combining qualitative and quantitative methods was applied. The findings suggest that self-reported wine knowledge is an important variable to understand wine consumers’ behaviour. For example, low knowledgeable participants evaluate the quality of wine considering the brand, food pairing, alcohol content, and wine image. Inversely, very knowledgeable participants base their evaluation on quality cues such as region of origin, grape variety, and alcohol content. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of the effect of self-reported knowledge on the evaluation of quality cues, differentiating consumer liking. Additionally, a source triangulation was used to provide a means to cross-validate results from two information sources within a context mimicking real choice. The third paper (chapter 4) uses an experimental design to elicit consumer preferences through liking scores in three different information conditions. A sample of 136 regular wine consumers from several Portuguese wine regions was collected. The findings indicate that the region of origin affects both the sensory profile, the consumer expectations, and the consumer informed liking. Using the assimilation-contrast approach, the percentage of dissonance and moderating effect of information vary by region of origin. These findings show that consumers’ knowledge provides a useful basis for segmenting the wine market and offer interesting possibilities in terms of how to understand the strength of a region as a brand. Lastly, in the fourth paper (chapter 5) an experimental auction mechanism was developed to evaluate consumers’ willingness to pay under two information scenarios: i) blind tasting followed by extrinsic information and ii) full information provided at once. A sample of 168 regular wine consumers from several Portuguese wine regions was collected. The findings reveal that on average consumers are willing to pay higher prices in the full information condition. Taste scores have a positive effect on individual willingness to pay, and the region of origin influences the hedonic evaluation. However, purchase frequency and less selfknowledge have a negative effect on willingness to pay. This thesis intends to contribute to a better understanding of Portuguese wine consumers’ choice behaviour through an integrative approach of perceptions, liking measurements, wine knowledge and willingness to pay.