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Blissed ignorance? The role of process information on consumer evaluation of a typical Italian salami

Gianluca Stefani (Department of Economics and Management, University of Florence, Florence, Italy)
Alessio Cavicchi (Department of Education, Cultural Heritage and Tourism, University of Macerata, Macerata, Italy, and)
Donato Romano (Department of Economics and Management, University of Florence, Florence, Italy)

Nutrition & Food Science

ISSN: 0034-6659

Article publication date: 8 July 2014

212

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of information on origin, “typicalness”, production method and flavour on the willingness to pay and the sensorial appreciation of Tuscan sanguinaccio (Italian Salami).

Design/methodology/approach

The goal of the study was to explore how differences between willingness to pay and sensorial appreciation (measured using a hedonic score) for the three types are influenced by the nature of the sensorial and non-sensorial information available to the consumer. To evaluate reaction to sensorial information, typical information regimes used in works on degree of disconfirmation (Schifferstein, 2001) were adopted, that is, visual examination of the product with indication of the name and tasting of the labelled product.

Findings

Analysis of the results of the experiments indicates that Mallegato and Biroldo have particular characteristics that make it critical to promote them to a vast public. The information on the production methods and ingredients seemed to interact negatively with the sensorial perception of the product after tasting, probably because of the presence of blood and other problematic components (for example, components of the pig head in Biroldo) among the ingredients.

Research limitations/implications

Limited size of the sample and a gastronomic niche product analyzed.

Practical implications

The negative influence of the processed information has to be considered to efficiently communicate the typicalness of these salami products. In fact, whilst for other traditional products, different kinds of information related to process, raw materials, recipes and, more generally, tradition can be jointly used to increase the arousal and the expectation on products quality characteristics, in this case, the communication strategy has to carefully consider the limit of these product components.

Originality/value

For the first time the use of experimental auctions investigate the role of problematic information, such as the presence of blood, on consumers’ preference towards a typical gastronomic product.

Keywords

Citation

Stefani, G., Cavicchi, A. and Romano, D. (2014), "Blissed ignorance? The role of process information on consumer evaluation of a typical Italian salami", Nutrition & Food Science, Vol. 44 No. 4, pp. 345-362. https://doi.org/10.1108/NFS-12-2013-0144

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2014, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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