Impact of Innovation on Consumers Liking and Willingness to Pay for Traditional Sausages

Transcription

1 Originl rticle Section: Nutritionl Reserch Pol. J. Food Nutr. Sci., 06, Vol. 66, No., pp. 9 7 DOI: 0.55/pjfns Impct of Innovtion on Consumers Liking nd Willingness to Py for Trditionl Susges Sylwi Żkowsk-Biemns *, Mrt Sjdkowsk, Sylvie Issnchou,, Fculty of Humn Nutrition nd Consumer Sciences, Deprtment of Orgniztion nd Consumption Economics, Wrsw University of Life Sciences SGGW, ul. Nowoursynowsk 66, Wrszw, Polnd CNRS, UMR665 Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l Alimenttion, F00 Dijon, Frnce INRA, UMR Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l Alimenttion, F00 Dijon, Frnce Univ. Bourgogne Frnche-Comté, UMR Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l Alimenttion, F00 Dijon, Frnce Key words: trditionl food, consumer cceptnce, innovtion, experimentl uction, willingness to py The min objective of the study ws to evlute Polish consumers liking nd willingness to py for innovtions in trditionl susges Kbnos. The study lso ttempted to determine whether regionl differences my influence cceptnce of innovtions nd the willingness to py for such products. As both sensory fctors nd prices re importnt in food choice decisions, the methodologicl pproch combined hedonic liking nd experimentl uctions. The study involved consumers of trditionl pork susges who evluted intrinsic nd extrinsic product ttributes in blind (tsting only), expectncy (product informtion only) nd fully informed (tsting nd product informtion) experimentl conditions. The results show tht cceptnce of innovtion in trditionl susges is determined by the type of innovtion proposed. Innovtion relted to extrinsic ttributes like pckging i.e. biodegrdble pckging seem to be the most welcome regrdless experimentl conditions while innovtions improving helthiness of trditionl susges but violting their sensory properties i.e. lower slt level tend to be dispproved. There re regionl differences observed in cceptnce nd willingness to py for innovtive vrints of Kbnos. In generl, consumers in Wrsw re more inclined to py more for innovtive vrints of Kbnos thn consumers in Crcow. Prticipnts from the two regions hd lso different hedonic rections towrds orgnic nd spicy vrint of Kbnos. Prior reserch concerning cceptnce of innovtion in trditionl food products in Polnd is scrce. Therefore, such informtion is prticulrly pertinent to SMEs nd distributors operting in trditionl food sector to support innovtion nd development of dequte communiction strtegies. INTRODUCTION The ongoing diversifiction of consumer expecttions regrding food, implied both by globlistion nd striving to preserve own culturl vlues nd ntionl identity, fcilittes the interest in trditionl food products (TFP). The unique vlues of trditionl food result from combintion of specific chrcteristics of rw mterils, processing methods nd the plce of origin, which in turn influences genuineness of tht food ctegory. Trditionl food is n importnt element of Europen culture nd identity, thus contributing to the socio-economic sustinbility of Europen rurl res nd incresing the vriety of food choice for consumers. Consumer demnd for trditionl food rises in mny western economies [Trichopoulou et l., 007] tht is implied by the unnimous positive imge consumers hve of trditionl foods [Guerrero et l., 009; Almli et l., 0b]. To fcilitte development of trditionl food mrket it is essentil to djust the trditionl food offer to the expecttions of contemporry consumers who, on the one hnd, declre their inclintion for buying trditionl food, but on the other hnd, seek products with functionl nd convenience ttri- * Corresponding Author: E-mil: sylwi_zkowsk_biemns@sggw.pl butes tht result from modern wys of food processing, pckging nd distribution [Gellynck & Molnár, 009]. In order to respond to these diverse nd often contrdictory consumers vlues, it is essentil to crete innovtive trditionl food products nd innovtions throughout the food chin. However, trdition nd innovtion re considered ntonyms, which mkes innovting trditionl food products very chllenging [Gellynck & Kühne, 008; Jordn, 000]. Nevertheless, to increse their mrket shre, trditionl food products need to be improved by introducing innovtions in line with the Europen consumers demnd from different perspectives, including helth, sfety, tste nd convenience chrcteristics [Cyot, 007]. In generl, the cceptnce of n innovtion depends on the innovtion itself s well s on the crrier product to which it is pplied, especilly in the food domin [Guerrero et l., 00]. Vnhoncker et l. [0] nd Almli et l. [0] indicted tht the chrcteristic fetures of offered innovtions re importnt fctors influencing their perception mong consumers. The reserch of Guerrero et l. [009] mong consumers from six Europen countries shows tht consumers generlly ccept innovtions in TFPs tht tend to improve the helth nd sfety of the product, nd pckging tht prolonged the shelf life nd the sensory qulity. Copyright by Institute of Animl Reproduction nd Food Reserch of the Polish Acdemy of Sciences 06 Author(s). This is n open ccess rticle licensed under the Cretive Commons Attribution-NonCommercil-NoDerivs License (

2 0 Impct of Innovtion on TFP Suggested innovtions tht significntly chnged the intrinsic product chrcteristics were commonly dispproved. The results of explortory reserch mong Polish consumers using focus group interviews show tht they pertin to the possibility of introduction of innovtions in TFP rther scepticlly [Gutkowsk et l., 009]. There re numerous studies on cross culturl differences in the perception of trditionl food nd cceptnce of innovtion in TFP [Guerrero et l., 009, 00; Almli et l., 0,b; Vnhoncker et l., 0]. The imge of trditionl food is positive mong Europen consumers but there re cross- -culturl differences in the conceptuliztion of TFP [Guerrero et l., 009]. For Polish consumers, trdition in foods ws mostly linked to sensory properties nd fmily, while for Itlins the most frequent ssocition ws homemde [Guerrero et l., 00]. According to Vnhoncker et l. [00], while the Poles define trditionl food minly s specilty dishes consumed on festive occsions, the Belgins mostly consider trditionl food s fmilir food of dily chrcter. The reserch of Almli et l. [0] shows tht tste is n ttribute of primry importnce while conceptulizing TFP. Polish consumers chrcterise TFP by good nd specil tste, high yet not highly consistent qulity, high environmentl friendliness, good support for the locl economy, high preprtion time nd rther high prices. Belgin consumers focus more on good tste, high qulity nd high vilbility while Norwegins chrcterise TFP with good tste, high qulity, reltively low helthiness, high sfety nd long preprtion time. Guerrero et l. [009] found out in their qulittive reserch tht Polish consumers were the most reluctnt to ccept innovtions in food in generl but more specific with regrd to trditionl food. Study of Kühne et l. [00] revels tht Polish consumers ppered to be more open to innovtions in trditionl food, wheres Belgin consumers were more innovtion verse. However, Kühne et l. [00] covered in their study innovtions tht re positively connoted nd do not significntly chnge the intrinsic ttributes of TFP tht certinly ffect the results. As Almli et l. [0] pointed out there re cross-culturl differences in doption of product relted innovtion nd e.g. Norwy my focus on developing helthier TFP, such s low-ft nd/or slt-reduced met products while strong environmentl friendly, supportive of locl economy model from Polnd my be exported to other countries, especilly Norwy nd Belgium. Polnd like mny other Europen countries hs experienced numerous occuptions by different cultures over the centuries nd prticulrly Russin, Germn nd the former Austrin-Hungrin Monrchy. All of these peoples, prticulrly if they hd styed in country for some time, left their culinry trces [Weichselbum et l., 009]. Despite the fct tht ntionl culture is the set of collective beliefs nd vlues tht distinguishes people of one ntionlity from those of nother [Hofstede, 00], regionl culturl differences might ffect the perception of TFP nd the willingness to ccept innovtion in TFP tht in turn might hve implictions for the stkeholders involved in this sector. To get insight into drivers of innovtion in TFPs it is essentil to go beyond studying consumers ttitudes towrds innovtion. Thus, experiments with consumers combining sensory nd economic mesures seem very promising to get insight into drivers of innovtion in TFPs nd eliciting willingness to py vlues in order to obtin more ccurte nticiption of the mrket potentil for trditionl food. Therefore, the min objective of the study ws to evlute Polish consumers liking nd willingness to py for innovtions in one of the most populr trditionl susges Kbnos. The study lso ttempted to determine whether regionl differences my influence cceptnce of innovtions in trditionl met products nd the willingness to py for such foodstuffs. The reminder of the study is divided into five min sections including introduction, mteril nd methods, results, discussion nd conclusions. In the mteril nd methods section ppers detiled informtion on the chrcteristic fetures of trditionl pork susge, n overview of the innovtion proposed nd the reserch pproch using Becker, De Groot nd Mrschk (BDM) uction mechnism [Becker et l., 96]. The results of hedonic liking nd reservtion prices in blind, expectncy nd full informtion condition re presented seprtely for Wrsw nd Crcow. This section provides lso results of the ttitudinl questionnire on the imge of trditionl food nd cceptnce of innovtion in TFP. MATERIAL AND METHODS Kbnos susge belongs to the commonly used trditionl cold mets in Polnd [Borowsk, 007]. On 0 October 0 Commission Implementing Regultion (EC) No 0/0 of 9 October 0 registered Kbnos s trditionl specilities gurnteed [Kbnos susge, 0; Officil Journl, 0]. The nme Kbnosy (plurl of Kbnos ) expresses the specific chrcter of the product. In the 9th century, in the territory of Polnd nd Lithuni, young fttened hog fed extensively with pottoes ws clled kbn, or diminutively kbnek. The im of proper feeding ws to obtin met chrcterised by higher intrmusculr ft level. Met of such fed kbn ws delicte nd exquisite, nd it ws customrily referred to s kbnin. The distinctive feture of Kbnos mong other susges is their tste nd rom. These fetures result from implementtion of sesonings like nturl pepper, nutmeg, crwy, s well s smoking process tht lso intensifies the tste properties of tht product. The chrcteristic feture of Kbnos is lso its clerly udible sound of crck when they re broken (the so clled shot ). To get insight into potentil impct of regionl differences, the study ws conducted in two urbn loctions: Wrsw nd Crcow in 00 nd 0. The cities differ with both the number of inhbitnts nd its culturl context. Wrsw, s the cpitl city, hs some chrcteristics of metropolis with lrge shre of immigrnt dwellers, very low unemployment rte nd reltively high level of income per cpit nd higher expenditure on food [Gutkowsk & Murwsk, 0]. Crcow, locted in southern Polnd (Młopolsk Province), is considered culturl cpitl of Polnd nd the Provincil uthorities plce prticulr emphsis on promotion of the regionl culturl heritge nd ctively supports registrtion

3 S. Żkowsk-Biemns et l. TABLE. Socio-economic chrcteristic of the consumers smples in Wrsw nd Crcow. Chrcteristics Gender Age Level Wrsw n=0 (%) Crcow n=9 (%) Men 7 9 Women Finncil* sitution Men.9 b**.6 Eduction Below university 5 6 University 9 8 * Scle: = difficult, 7 = well off; **the difference is significnt [t=.0, p=0.0]. of products with protected designtions. In 05 there were 6 trditionl products registered in Młopolsk s compred to 88 in Mzovi Province where Wrsw is locted [Polish registry, 05]. Culinry trditions in Mzovi Province re influenced more by Estern nd Russin cuisine while culinry heritge in Młopolsk Province is shped by the Southern neighbouring countries nd prticulrly the former Austrin-Hungrin Monrchy. Consumers in Crcow re more conservtive nd could be less inclined to ccept innovtion in TFP, while consumers in Wrsw re believed to be open to novelties nd less devoted to trditionl vlues. As result they should be more open to innovtions, becuse it is noted tht there is reltion between culturl diversity, popultion density nd interest in innovtive food products [Sojkin, et l., 009]. The prticipnts were recruited by mrket reserch gency bsed on their frequency of trditionl food consumption nd responsibility for food shopping. There were in totl consumers recruited to tke prt in the study of whom 0 in Wrsw nd 9 in Crcow. Demogrphic chrcteristics of the consumer smples in Wrsw nd Crcow re provided in Tble. The number of respondents of vrious ge ctegories differed nd high proportion of respondents who declred high eduction level ws noted in both loctions reflecting the profile of trditionl food consumers in Polnd [Vnhoncker et l., 00]. Subjective ssessment of income sitution ws mesured on seven-point intervl scle nchored from difficult to well off. This subjective ssessment is considered n indictor of socio-economic clss [Almli et l., 0b]. The results show tht the consumers from Crcow ssessed their finncil condition better thn the ones from Wrsw. The proposed innovtions in trditionl susge reflect contemporry trends in Polish consumers food choices nd tckle issues like public helth benefits nd environment protection. The innovtion referred to: () method of production orgnic, () helth benefits reduced slt level, () tste spicy vrint, nd () pckging biodegrdble pckging. There were innovtive vrints nd control smple (referred s trditionl) of Kbnos prepred exclusively for the experiment by the processing compny specilised in trditionl food. In the cse of orgnic Kbnos, there hve been no chnges in the recipe, wheres the non-orgnic ingredients were replced with orgnic ones, so s tht, the obtined product would fully meet the criteri of orgnic food production. The observed incresing interest in orgnic food mong Polish consumers ws the decisive fctor tht influenced the choice of tht innovtion. Polish consumers hve very positive ttitude to orgnic food ssigning it with ttributes such s helthy, nturl, nd sfe [Żkowsk-Biemns, 0]. However, the question remins whether the use of orgnic ingredients in production of trditionl food my constitute dded vlue in the consumers opinion nd increse cceptnce of tht product. The innovtive vrieties of Kbnos with helth benefits nd spicy tste concerned modifiction in the originl recipe of Kbnos nd relted to 0% decrese in slt content (low slt vrint) nd ddition of sesonings like red pepper powder nd curry in order to obtin spicy tste (spicy vrint). These innovtions respond to two complementry tendencies. On the one hnd, the necessity to lower slt consumption is more nd more pronounced due to public helth concerns like prevention of crdiovsculr system diseses nd prticulrly hypertension [Newson et l., 0]. On the other hnd, contemporry consumers seek for new sensory senstions, which is in line with the proposed modifiction of sensory properties. In the selection of potentil innovtions, lso environmentl concerns were covered. Offering Kbnos susges, tht most often re sold in unitry plstic vcuum-pckging, in biodegrdble pckging could hve positive impct on the perception of consumers nd mrket positioning. Design of the experiment The consumer experiment consisted of five stges: () Auction informtion nd trining, () Blind test (tsting only), () Expecttions test (product informtion only), () Full informtion test (tsting nd product informtion combined), nd (5) Auction sle. At the end of the session consumers filled in short ttitudinl questionnire imed t getting some insight into their perception of trditionl nd orgnic food nd ttitude towrds vrious type of innovtion in trditionl food products. Consumers evluted on 7-point semntic scle items describing the imge of both food ctegories in terms of overll qulity, sensory spects, helthiness, vilbility nd environmentl impct. To evlute which innovtions re in line with their expecttion the prticipnts were sked the following question Could you plese indicte which innovtions re pproprite for Kbnos? Put x in the proper plce in the tble, where mens I ssocite this innovtion not t ll with Kbnos nd 7 mens I ssocite this innovtion very much with Kbnos. The method chosen to elicit consumers willingness to py ws the Becker, De Groot nd Mrschk (BDM) uction mechnism [Becker et l., 96]. Advntge of employing the experimentl uctions is tht rel product nd rel

4 Impct of Innovtion on TFP money re used. Therefore, the procedure replictes s closely s possible the ctul purchse decision process. At the beginning of ech session, it ws explined to the consumers tht they would evlute different products in different informtion conditions nd would hve to give the mximum price they would ccept to py for pck of ech of the products presented (reservtion price). In order to void endowment effects nd strtegic behviours, consumers were informed tht only one sitution (tht is one product pck in one informtion condition) would be rndomly selected t the end of the set of uctions. It ws explined tht sle would tke plce if the price drwn t rndom, in distribution similr to the mrket price distribution, is lower thn, or equl to, the price offered by the consumer nd the consumer would hve to buy the product nd to py for it t the rndomly determined price. If the rndomly drwn price is higher thn the price offered by the consumer, the prticipnt does not buy ny product. The key point ws to mke consumers understnd tht their best strtegy is to submit the true mximum price they would ccept to py for ech pckging of Kbnos, i.e. their reservtion price. In order to mke sure tht consumers understood the uction rules correctly, the experimenter presented the cse of n imginry uction for pckge of cheese of 00 g. The ide ws to present food product different from the trget product but in the sme price rnge. Consumers who greed to prticipte in the experiment were sked to sign the consent form nd received 55 PLN (± ). Evlution conditions Blind test Consumers were presented with the smples in rndom order without ny informtion bout the smples. After tsting smple, they rted their liking of tht product on 0-cm liner hedonic scle nchored with I do not like it t ll nd I like it very much. The smples were served cold in rndomised order. Due to the persistent flvour of the product, consumers were given te nd sliced bguettes in order to rinse the mouth. Expecttion test Consumers were presented with informtion bout ech vrint. Lbels with the bsic mndtory informtion nd dditionl clims (lower slt content, orgnic, spicy, biodegrdble pckging) were presented. Prticipnts evluted their expecttions fter looking t the informtion included on the pckging but without tsting the smple nd submitted their reservtion price nswering the question How much re you willing to py for 00 g pckge of this Kbnos?. Full informtion test In the full informtion test prticipnts tsted ech vrint with the product informtion provided on the pckging nd gin, they rted their liking for ech vrint on the hedonic scle nd gve their reservtion price. The smples were served in rndomised order in the sme conditions s in the blind session. At the end of session prticipnts were sked to fill in n ttitudinl questionnire. Sttisticl nlysis All dt were coded in Ms Excel nd nlysed by using SAS/STAT softwre, version 9. (SAS Institute Inc., Cry, NC, USA, 00 00). Two-wy ANOVA models with effects of vrint, city nd consumer within city s rndom fctor were run for ech dependent vrible (liking score nd willingness to py) s well s for ech test condition. These models included n interction between city nd vrint. Since this interction ws significnt for ech dependent vrible nd ech test condition, two-wy ANOVAs were conducted for ech vrible per city nd informtion condition with effects of vrint nd consumers (rndom). To ssess the differences in hedonic liking scores nd WTP multiple comprisons of mens were performed with Bonferroni tests. In order to exmine if the differences nd similrities between the two cities tht we observed on their responses (hedonic liking nd reservtion price) could be linked to their responses to the ttitudinl questionnire, t-tests for continuous vribles were performed for the different items of the questionnires relted to the imge of trditionl nd orgnic food s well s cceptnce of innovtions tested during the experiment. RESULTS Hedonic liking A significnt vrint effect ws observed in Wrsw for ech test condition (F,0 =7.09, 6.80, nd.08, respectively for blind, expectncy nd full informtion conditions; ll p vlues <0.000). However, there re some differences in the rnking of the vrints ccording to the test condition s shown in Figure. In the blind condition, none of the innovtions obtined significntly higher liking score thn the trditionl vrint. The vrint in biodegrdble pckging (5.90) nd the spicy vrint (5.9) were s much liked s the trditionl vrint (5.6). This seems fully justified in the cse of the Kbnos in biodegrdble pckging s it did not differ from the trditionl vrint with regrd to recipe nd sensory properties. On the contrry, two of the tested innovtions obtined lower score thn the trditionl vrint: the low-slt nd the orgnic vrints (.7 nd.69, respectively). In the expectncy condition, the vrint in biodegrdble pckging ws the most liked (6.7); this liking score ws not significntly higher thn the scores of the low-slt nd the spicy vrints (5.7 nd 5.8, respectively) but ws significntly higher thn the score obtined by the trditionl vrint (5.0). The orgnic vrint ws the innovtion which induced the lowest expectncy (.90). In the full informtion condition, the vrint in biodegrdble pckging ws the most liked (6.5) s in the expectncy condition; this liking score ws not significntly higher thn the score of the spicy vrint (5.89) but ws significntly higher thn the score obtined by the trditionl vrint (5.9). It is noticeble thn, in the full informtion condition, the low-slt vrint (.68) ws mongst the lest liked vrints s in the blind condition. The liking scores of the trditionl vrint nd the orgnic vrint (.8) were not significntly different from the liking score of the low-slt vrint.

5 S. Żkowsk-Biemns et l. Linking scores b b b bc b c b bc c c b Blind Expectncy Full informtion Linking scores b b b b b b b b b b Blind Expectncy Full informtion trditionl reduced slt biodegrdble pckging orgnic spicy trditionl reduced slt biodegrdble pckging orgnic spicy FIGURE. Liking scores of Kbnos in the three informtion conditions in Wrsw (n=0): mens ± 95% CI, vlues with different letters re significntly different (p 0.05, Bonferroni tests). FIGURE. Liking of Kbnos in the three informtion conditions in Crcow, (n=9): mens ± 95% CI, vlues with different letters re significntly different (p 0.05, Bonferroni tests). A significnt vrint effect ws lso observed in Crcow for ech test condition. However, the effect ws less significnt in the expectncy nd full informtion conditions thn in Wrsw (F,7 =0.9,.6, nd.0, nd p<0.000, p=0.0, nd p=0.05, respectively for blind, expectncy nd full informtion conditions). There re some differences in the rnking of the vrints ccording to the test condition s shown in Figure. In the blind condition, none of the innovtions obtined significntly higher liking score thn the trditionl vrint. As in Wrsw, the vrint in biodegrdble pckging (6.9) ws s much liked s the trditionl vrint (6.09). Consumers in Crcow, s those in Wrsw, gve lower liking score to the low-slt vrint (5.). Prticipnts in Crcow differed from those in Wrsw concerning their liking of the two other innovtions: they liked the orgnic vrint (6.0) s much s the trditionl one, but they gve lower score to the spicy vrint (5.06). In the expectncy condition, s observed in Wrsw, the vrint in biodegrdble pckging ws the most liked (6.7); this liking score ws not significntly higher thn the scores of the low-slt nd the spicy vrints (6.00 nd 5.8, respectively) but ws significntly higher thn the score obtined by the trditionl vrint (5.6). Contrry to wht ws observed in Wrsw, the orgnic vrint ws s much liked (5.97) s the other innovtions. In the full informtion condition s in the blind condition, the most liked vrint ws the one in biodegrdble pckging (6.5) nd the lest liked ws the low-slt vrint (6.0). The trditionl vrint nd the two other innovtions (i.e. orgnic nd spicy vrints) obtined intermedite vlues of liking scores. Willingness to py (WTP) Men reservtion price elicited by BDM uctions re presented in Figure nd Figure. Price levels for 00 g pckge of Kbnos rnge between 5.59 PLN nd 7.95 PLN on verge cross sessions in both cities. The price rnge corresponds to the verge mrket prices for non-orgnic Kbnos but re fr below the prices for orgnic ones tht were offered with the price of 0 PLN (± 5 ) per 00 g t the time of the experiment. The price levels for orgnic Kbnos reflect lso the immture chrcter of the Polish orgnic food mrket, where there is limited vilbility of orgnic met nd the price premium for such products is reltively high. A significnt vrint effect ws observed in Wrsw for ech test condition. The effect ws less importnt thn for the liking scores in prticulr for the blind nd expectncy conditions (F,0 =.65,.76, nd 6.89, nd p<0.006, p=0.0009, nd p<0.000, respectively for blind, expectncy nd full informtion conditions). However, the rnking of the vrints in terms of reservtion prices ws quite similr to the rnking in terms of liking s shown in Figure. In the blind condition, none of the innovtions obtined significntly higher reservtion price thn the trditionl vrint. As for hedonic liking, the orgnic vrint ws less well evluted in terms of reservtion price thn the trditionl vrint (6.9 PLN nd 7.8 PLN, respectively). Contrry to wht ws found for the liking scores, the low-slt vrint (6.9 PLN) ws not significntly deprecited compred to the trditionl vrint in terms of reservtion price. As for the liking scores, the ptterns of results between the blind nd the expectncy conditions differed. In the expectncy condition, consumers were willing to py the highest price (7.95 PLN) for the vrint in biodegrdble pckging; this reservtion price ws not significntly higher thn the reservtion prices of the low-slt nd the spicy vrints (7.7 nd 7.8 PLN, respectively) but ws significntly higher thn the reservtion price given to the trditionl vrint (7. PLN) nd to the orgnic vrint (7.6 PLN). In the full informtion condition, consumers were lso willing to py the highest price (7.9 PLN) for the vrint in biodegrdble pckging s in the expectncy condition; this reservtion price ws not significntly higher thn the reservtion price of the spicy vrint (7. PLN) or of the trditionl vrint (7.8 PLN). The lowest reservtion prices were given to the low-slt nd to the orgnic vrints (6.8 nd 6.80 PLN, respectively) but these reservtion prices were not significntly lower thn the prices of the trditionl vrint. In Crcow, the vrint effect for the reservtion price ws significnt only in the blind condition (F,7 =5.7,.7, nd.5, nd p<0.000, p=0.057, nd p=0.9, respectively for blind, expectncy nd full informtion conditions). This mens tht even if prticipnts gve different liking scores to the different vrints of Kbnos in expectncy nd full informtion conditions, they vlued them similrly. This is prticulrly noticeble for the vrint in biodegrdble pckging for which the prticipnts in Crcow hd higher expecttions but were not redy to py more thn for the trditionl vri-

6 Impct of Innovtion on TFP Linking scores b b b b b b b b b b b Blind Expectncy Full informtion Linking scores b b Blind Expectncy Full informtion trditionl reduced slt biodegrdble pckging orgnic spicy trditionl reduced slt biodegrdble pckging orgnic spicy FIGURE. Reservtion prices for Kbnos in the three informtion conditions in Wrsw (n=0): mens ± 95% CI, vlues with different letters re significntly different (p 0.05, Bonferroni tests). FIGURE. Reservtion prices for Kbnos in the three informtion conditions in Crcow (n=9): mens ± 95% CI, vlues with different letters re significntly different (p 0.05, Bonferroni tests). nt. In the blind condition, s in Wrsw none of the innovtions obtined significntly higher reservtion price thn the trditionl vrint s shown in Figure. The spicy vrint which ws less liked thn the trditionl vrint ws lso less well vlued (5.60 nd 6.5 PLN, respectively). Contrry to wht ws found for the liking scores, the low-slt vrint (5.79 PLN) ws not significntly deprecited compred to the trditionl vrint in terms of reservtion price. Prticipnts in Wrsw nd Crcow hve similr rections towrds the low slt vrint tht they liked less thn the trditionl vrint in the blind condition. However, in both cities prticipnts did not give significntly lower reservtion price for this innovtion. Prticipnts of the two cities hd lso similr rections towrds the vrint in biodegrdble pckging giving it higher liking score in the expectncy condition. However, only prticipnts in Wrsw were redy to py more for this innovtion thn for the trditionl vrint. The two cities hd different hedonic rections towrds the two other innovtions, i.e. the orgnic nd the spicy vrint: the orgnic vrint being less liked thn the trditionl vrint in Wrsw while the prticipnts in Crcow less liked the spicy vrint. Consumers perception of trditionl food nd ttitudes towrds innovtion in TFPs The results show tht prticipnts from Crcow hve more positive imge of TFP thn consumers in Wrsw (5. nd 5.89, respectively in Wrsw nd Crcow, t=-.9, p=0.00) nd ssocite more trditionl food with high overll qulity (5.6 nd 5.87, respectively in Wrsw nd Crcow, t=-.7, p=0.008) while consumers in Wrsw re more convinced tht trditionl food hs positive impct on niml welfre (.0 nd.5, respectively in Wrsw nd Crcow, t=.97, p=0.05). However, when it comes to orgnic products, consumers in Crcow do not differ from consumers in Wrsw in their perception of overll qulity (5.75 nd 5.9, respectively in Wrsw nd Crcow, t=-.06, p=0.86) but they scored significntly higher on sensory spects of orgnic food like better tste (5.0 nd 5.6, respectively in Wrsw nd Crcow, t=-.6, p=0.0), specil tste (.77 nd 5., respectively in Wrsw nd Crcow, t=-.5, p=0.0) nd better ppernce (.58 nd 5.0, respectively in Wrsw nd Crcow, t=-.8, p=0.0) thn consumers in Wrsw. Their imge of orgnic food seems driven by conviction tht orgnic food hs superior sensory qulity. This could explin why the prticipnts in Crcow gve higher expected liking scores to the orgnic vrint despite the fct tht they did not ssocite more n innovtion using met from orgnic production with Kbnos thn prticipnts from Wrsw (Figure 5). When sked to indicte to wht extent they ssocite ech innovtion proposed with Kbnos, prticipnts from Wrsw nd Crcow gve the highest score to Kbnos in n environmentl friendly pckging in reltion with their liking scores nd reservtion prices observed in the expectncy condition. The lowest score ws given to n innovtion with ddition of new/unusul ingredients. Looking t the liking scores nd reservtion prices given to the spicy vrint, it seems tht spices were probbly not considered s n unusul ingredient in Kbnos. Prticipnts in Wrsw declred to ssocite more n innovtion concerning lower level of slt with Kbnos thn prticipnts from Crcow (5.50 nd 5.05, respectively for Wrsw nd Crcow, t=.00, p=0.05). However, this does not result in different pttern of liking or reservtion prices in the expectncy condition. Concerning reduction in slt, prticipnts were lso sked bout their generl ttitude nd hbits. Almost ll prticipnts in both cities (9.0%) declred tht slt consumption should be reduced, mjority (7.0%) declred tht they reduce their slt consumption but only tiny percentge (.7%) declred to buy lwys food with lower level of slt. DISCUSSION Polish consumers re inclined to ccept innovtion in trditionl met products but their willingness to ccept innovtion vries depending on the type of innovtion proposed. Biodegrdble pckging seems to be the most welcome innovtion regrdless region nd experimentl conditions. This is in line with results showing tht environmentl friendliness is positive driver of TFP development in Polnd [Almli et l., 0]. This is lso coherent with the fct tht Polish consumers scored highest on environmentl friendliness while ssessing trditionl food imge compring to other Europen countries [Guerrero et l., 009]. The findings of Guerrero et l. [009] showed lso tht consumers re open to pckging nd convenience-oriented innovtions, on the condition tht they do not modify the fundmentl intrinsic chrcteristics of the product. In cse of Kbnos in biodegrdble pckging this condition ws met since the recipe ws not ltered. Despite the high liking scores for Kbnos in biodegrdble pckging, consumers in Crcow re not redy to py more for such vrint.

7 S. Żkowsk-Biemns et l b Lowering the level of slt Wrsw Environmentl friendly pckging Crcow Using met from orgnic production Addition of new/unusul ingredients FIGURE 5. Assocition of the studied innovtion with Kbnos in both cities (mens ± 95% CI, vlues with different letters re significntly different (p 0.05, t-tests). Assessments on 7-point greement scle where = I do not ssocite this innovtion with Kbnos t ll nd 7 mens I ssocite this innovtion very much with Kbnos. The regionl differences do not ply much role in ssimiltion of globl trends for environmentl friendly pckging but my imply differentited pproches in developing pricing strtegies for SME operting on these regionl mrkets. The results of Guerrero et l. [009] revel lso tht the chnges in sensory qulity such s modified flvours re not welcomed in trditionl foods. As result the proposed innovtion relted to sensory properties like lowering the slt level might be perceived by consumers s thret to the uthenticity of TFP. The low cceptnce of reduced slt vrint of Kbnos might lso result from reluctnce to lower slt consumption s reported in cross culturl studies mong Europen consumers [Newson et l., 0]. Another issue is the fmilirity tht is much more ssocited with motives to consume trditionl food thn helthiness [Pienik et l., 009]. Reduced slt Kbnos might be despite its helth benefits mrket filure due to inferior nd unfmilir tste properties. This is lso reflected in reserch of Vnhoncker et l. [00b] who found out tht Europen trditionl food consumers ccept innovtions tht highlight the uthenticity nd origin of trditionl foods nd improve their shelf-life, but reject innovtions tht my ffect the sensory properties. Vnhoncker et l. [0] verified to wht extent the perceived impct of the innovtion on the trditionl chrcter contributed to the cceptnce of innovtion. Depending on the type of innovtion, the cceptnce ws relted to reinforcement of the trditionl chrcter (e.g. lbel tht gurntees the origin of the rw mteril) or to benefits tht either outweighs the importnce of the trditionl chrcter or improve negtive ttributes ssocited with the trditionl chrcter like reduction of ft content [Vnhoncker et l., 0]. Despite positive ttitude towrds slt reduction, consumers in Wrsw nd in Crcow did not give high liking scores nd reservtion prices to the low slt vrint; this is certinly due to their low pprecition of this vrint in the blind condition mening tht they did not like its sensory properties. Consumers in Wrsw ccepted quite well some sensory modifictions in Kbnos since they gve quite high scores nd reservtion prices to the spicy vrint. On the contrry, the spicy vrint of Kbnos tended to be dispproved in Crcow s reveled by the liking scores nd reservtion prices. The results for these prticipnts re in line with Kühne et l. [00] who found tht moderte nd low cceptnce scores were found for innovtions in TFP tht chnge the conformity of the product nd tht combine existing ingredients into new products. The min difference between the two regions in the cceptnce of ll innovtive vrints refer to the orgnic product which ws more liked nd more vlued in Crcow thn in Wrsw. Adding orgnic ingredients or using orgnic met nd complying with orgnic processing stndrds should result in dded vlue. Poles perceive orgnic food s helthy nd sfe [Żkowsk-Biemns, 0] nd using orgnic ingredients could reinforce the imge of trditionl food s helthy product. According Kühne et l. [00] the use of orgnic rw mteril in TFP were vlued more positively, corresponding with the incresed vriety-seeking behviour of consumers nd the positive imge of orgnic in terms of helth nd rtisnl production methods. This issue needs further considertion to sses if orgnic nd trditionl re complementry or contrdictory concepts in Polish consumers mind. In generl, Polish consumers hve high expecttion towrds orgnic food products [Żkowsk-Biemns, 0]. Using orgnic met nd orgnic spices in Kbnos production should result in similr liking scores to trditionl vrint in blind condition but this ws not the cse in Wrsw. Another importnt spect is the immture chrcter of Polish orgnic mrket nd the shortge of orgnic met. As result processors fce difficulties relted to quntity nd consistent qulity of orgnic met tht might ffect sensory ttributes of the end product. Provision of informtion on orgnic origin in the expectncy nd full informtion condition did not ffect the liking scores of prticipnts in Wrsw. As Npolitno et l. [00] pointed out informtion bout orgnic frming cn be mjor determinnt of beef liking, thus providing potentil tool for met differentition to trditionl frms. Moreover, consumers in the study of Npolitno et l. [00] showed willingness to py for orgnic beef higher thn the suggested price, the ltter corresponding to the locl commercil vlue for orgnic beef. Our dt shows tht consumers in Crcow despite their liking of orgniclly produced Kbnos re not redy to py price premium for such vrint. The mximum price levels for orgnic Kbnos re much below the mrket prices in both regions nd suggest tht orgnic origin of ingredients used in trditionl food processing will not contribute to dded vlue. CONCLUSIONS The continuous development nd lunch of new food products re two mjor fctors of compnies long-term success. In the incresingly globlising food mrket, innovtion is key strtegic tool for SMEs operting in the TFP sector to chieve competitive dvntge. The results of the hedonic evlution nd experimentl uctions suggest tht the trditionl food industry in Polnd should focus more on innovtion relted to extrinsic ttributes like e.g. environmentl friendly pckging since they seem to be n importnt driver for incresing mrket shres regrdless of the regionl differences observed. Orgnic production, despite its environmentl benefits, is less vlued thn environmentl friendly pckging nd prticulrly consumers in Wrsw were scepticl towrds orgniclly produced

8 6 Impct of Innovtion on TFP Kbnos. The results suggest lso tht Polish consumers re less inclined to ccept innovtion in TFP relted to intrinsic product ttributes nd prticulrly sensory qulity. As the result the proposed innovtion relted to lowering the slt level despite its potentil helth benefits might be perceived by consumers s thret to the uthenticity of trditionl susges, key credence ttribute of trditionl food. Altering sensory properties of trditionl susges with dditionl ingredients to ttrct consumers seeking for sensory senstions is in line with new mrket trends but consumers from Wrsw seem to be more inclined to ssimilte such trends while consumers in Crcow pprecite less such innovtions. Our results hve lso some mngeril implictions relevnt for the compnies operting in the trditionl food sector. Informtion from studies combining hedonic evlution nd economic experiments give more insights into expected nd experienced food liking nd is prticulrly pertinent to food mnufcturers nd distributors to support successful introduction of innovtion. This study shows lso tht BDM uction mechnism combined with hedonic liking is effective in eliciting significnt differences in consumer vlutions for different vrints of food products. Our results confirm previous studies nd suggest tht when innovtions re pplied to TFP their degree of cceptnce is strongly dependent on the type of innovtion concerned. Pckging innovtions tht re in line with n emerging trend of environmentl sustinbility seem to be the most welcome. The outcomes of our reserch show lso tht compnies operting in TFP mrket should be more ttentive to the sensory improvements of TFP since ny modifiction of sensory properties regrdless its potentil benefits might result in lower pprecition of Kbnos. Regionl differences in cceptnce of innovtive vrints of Kbnos re prticulrly visible when it comes to orgnic nd spicy vrint of Kbnos. Consumers in Crcow were firly positive towrds Kbnos produced from orgnic met but not redy to py more for it while consumers in Wrsw ppered rther scepticl, tht ws reflected in their liking scores nd reservtion prices. Therefore, our results hve lso implictions for opertors in the orgnic food sector. To increse the cceptnce of trditionl met products produced with orgnic ingredients other benefits resulting from orgnic production methods like niml welfre should be more pronounced becuse consumers in Wrsw seem to be more concerned with such ethicl ttributes. The observed regionl differences pose some chllenges on emerging Polish trditionl food sector since they require tilored mde communiction nd pricing strtegies respecting differences observed in liking nd reservtion prices for innovtive vrints of TFP. The study hs lso some limittions relted to the generlizbility of the results to broder popultion. Further reserch is needed to explore consumers drivers of liking nd WTP for trditionl met products in other mrkets nd regrding other type of innovtion to support product differentition. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This study ws supported by the TRUEFOOD Trditionl United Europe Food n Integrted Project finnced by the Europen Commission under the 6th Frmework Progrmme (Contrct nº FOOD-CT ). The informtion in this document reflects only the uthors views nd the Community is not lible for ny use tht my be mde of the informtion contined therein. REFERENCES. Almli V.L., Nes T., Enderli G., Sulmont-Rosse C., Issnchou S., Hersleth M., Consumers cceptnce of innovtions in trditionl cheese. A comprtive study in Frnce nd Norwy. Appetite, 0, 57, Almli V.L., Verbeke W., Vnhoncker F., Nes T., Hersleth M., Generl imge nd ttribute perceptions of trditionl food in six Europen countries. Food Qul. 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