Country of origin and the effect on consumers' purchase intention of Norwegian salted cod : a study of the Spanish market
Research report
Åpne
Permanent lenke
http://hdl.handle.net/11250/301143Utgivelsesdato
2015Metadata
Vis full innførselSamlinger
- NTNU i Ålesund [12]
Sammendrag
The Spanish seafood market is one of the most attractive markets in Europe, having the second highest per capita expenditure on seafood. The Norwegian market share in the Spanish market for salted cod has, however, decreased significantly over the past decades. Norwegian producers have apparently not been able to deliver products that are in line with the consumers' preferences, and the quality of the delivered products are believed to be inferior to that of the competitors. In this study the following research questions have been adressed: 1) How does country-of-origin affect purchase intention of Norwegian salted cod in Spain? 2) Are there different product preferences between different regions in Spain? and 3) Can Spanish consumers differentiate between Norwegian and Icelandic salted cod?
Theory indicates that Country-of-origin (COO) perceptions may be an important quality indicator, and thus have an influence on consumers' purchase intentions. The empirical literature is however non-conclusive, but this can partly be due to different empirical approaches. Previous research has mainly focused on either a qualitative or a quantitative approach. The present study is a combination of a quantitative consumer survey and in-depth interviews with consumers and other agents in the distribution chain.
One important finding is that one must differentiate between COO and Brand awareness. Findings from the survey indicate that COO awareness of Norwegian salted cod is low, and very few consumers in Spain can differentiate between Norwegian and Icelandic salted cod. Brand awareness has an indirect effect on purchase intention via brand image. The most import drivers of purchase intention of Norwegian salted cod are, however, product attributes connected to quality, whereas prices does not seem to be that important. Product preferences seem to differ between the studied regions (Cantabria, Cataluna, Comunidad Valenciana) with regard to product attributes like thickness, freshness, color and texture.