Manuel Parras-Rosa

Purpose: Growing concern about sustainability has made green perceived value a key factor in food purchase decisions. This study aims to examine how consumers interpret extrinsic cues (packaging, certification, origin and price) to construct green perceived value. It compares the United States of America and Japan to explore how sociocultural contexts shape this decoding. Design/methodology/approach: An exploratory, qualitative study was conducted through six focus groups in the United States of America and Japan. A choice task involving extra virgin olive oil elicited spontaneous evaluations. Data were analysed using inductive content analysis to identify key themes and cross-cultural patterns. Findings: All four extrinsic attributes influenced sustainability perception, with packaging emerging as the most salient cue. Sustainability cues were multidimensional, simultaneously shaping perceptions of quality, safety and health alongside green value. Cultural differences influenced interpretation. Japanese consumers linked these cues to safety and risk avoidance, whereas USA consumers prioritised individual health benefits and expressed greater scepticism towards sustainability claims. Green perceived value is not a direct response to objective information but a complex construction in which environmental and functional values are interwoven. Marketing strategies should manage these cues holistically, aligning them with local sociocultural expectations. Originality/value: This study integrates the stimulus–organism–response paradigm with cue utilisation theory to explain how inferential processes transform signals into green perceived value. By adopting a cross-cultural perspective, it advances understanding of the mechanisms shaping green perceived value and reconceptualises the role of attributes such as price in sustainability evaluations.

The term “traditional olive grove” is widely used, yet remains imprecise from a scientific standpoint. Despite this, traditional olive groves are already the subject of specific subsidies and differentiated treatment by public administrations, as they are considered to be less economically competitive than intensive or super-intensive systems, while offering superior environmental and social benefits. The term is also employed as a marketing tool on olive oil labeling aimed at distinguishing products by emphasizing this specific origin. This study seeks to approach the concept of traditional olive groves in Spain from a conceptual, quantitative, and spatial perspective. To this end, we first reviewed the scientific and gray literature on this type of olive cultivation, as well as the regulations and other resources aimed at promoting its continued existence. The main finding is that although numerous sources refer to the concept of "traditional olive groves," there is no clear consensus on a conceptual definition of the term. Next, we developed a spatial database using the 2023 version of the Agricultural Plots Geographic Information System (SIGPAC) as the primary source. From this database, we selected key variables to establish different identification criteria based on agronomic and economic criteria. The main result is a statistical and spatial definition of what we identify as “economically vulnerable olive groves.” The findings of this research support the targeted design of policy measures to backing olive oil producers operating in these less competitive systems that nevertheless provide valuable public goods.

La mejora de la posición del sector primario en las cadenas de valor agroalimentarias ocupa un lugar prioritario en la agenda pública comunitaria, apuntándose el impulso de la cooperación y del movimiento cooperativo como instrumentos clave para conseguirla. Ahora bien, para poder implementar políticas públicas que fortalezcan la posición de los agricultores en las cadenas de valor, hay que realizar estudios rigurosos sobre las mismas, con una doble finalidad. En primer lugar, para evaluar y, en su caso, diseñar políticas públicas, esto es, para conocer la medida en que éstas están consiguiendo mejorar la posición de los agricultores enla cadena de valor y, en segundo lugar, y esta cuestión está poco tratada en la literatura, para que los agentes que operan en el mismo eslabón de la cadena adopten medidas para ser más eficientes, a partir de las señales que emite la propia cadena en costes, precios y márgenes.En este sentido, en este trabajo nos centramos en analizar la cadena de valor del aceite de oliva virgen extra, en dos campañas, la 2018/2019 y 2019/2020, para exponer la utilidad de la cadena de valor para el logro de los dos objetivos señalados. Los resultados muestran que el eslabón más débil de la cadena es el sector primario, sector olivarero, aunque también elsector de primera transformación, las almazaras, donde el cooperativismo es protagonista, sufren pérdidas en ambas campañas.

Amidst the public’s growing preoccupation with healthy eating, both inside and outside the home; an increase in people eating out; and the importance that olive oil has acquired in the markets due to its health benefits, the aim of this study is to find out whether health is also a relevant criterion for chefs in their olive oil purchase decisions. To this end, a survey was conducted of 400 chefs in Spain belonging to the international chefs’ association Euro-Toques. The results show that only 2% of the sample consider health to be a relevant criterion in the purchase of olive oils and that the attribute of “health” is not used by restaurants as an element of differentiation by which to position themselves in the market. These results lead us to conclude that the consumer demand for healthy foods (in this case, olive oils) is not being met by the restaurant sector. Moreover, this raises the question as to whether chefs actually make good opinion leaders, with all that this social role implies.

In current times, the man-made problems affecting our planet (climate change, loss of biodiversity, etc.) are making an urgent case for shifting towards a more sustainable kind of consumption. One of the ways these problems can be addressed is to promote organic agriculture, which means boosting levels of organic food consumption. This study examines the relationship between the number of organic foods consumed and the specific values that consumers look for in foods, in order to deepen the current knowledge regarding the behaviour of the organic food consumer. To this end, data was analysed from a face-to-face survey of 776 people in Spain through bivariate analysis techniques. Results show that organic food consumers have a different pattern of values from non-consumers and a greater level of involvement with food in general. Moreover, within the group of organic consumers, the effect of values on the quantity or variety of foods consumed is not as marked, although there are differences in favour of those that consume more frequently. Lastly, the main implication of the results obtained is that, in order to increase consumption, selfish values should be connected with altruistic ones. For this reason, instilling a specific value based on the term or concept “life” is proposed.

Over time, sustainability has gained a greater presence in companies and with consumers around the world, although it can be said that there is still some confusion in its conceptualization and in the identification of the driving factors. A part of the literature considers that environmental management systems (EMS) such as ISO 14001 are facilitating factors that allow organizational remodeling towards more sustainable production. For a better understanding, this paper presents a qualitative study with semi-structured interviews to analyze the perceptions that managers, employees, and quality managers have about the concept of sustainability and, given that environmental management systems are considered as motivational factors, it also analyzes the perceptions they have about the motivations, barriers, and expected benefits of their adoption in the olive food industry in southern Spain. It is possible to point out the existence of some confusion about the concept of sustainability, and that both regulatory and market factors such as image and reputation improvement, differentiation, and sales increases, especially in exports, are considered to be motivational for their implementation. This work contributes to the literature on sustainability and environmental management systems in sectors of activity with high environmental involvement, such as the agri-food industry.

Although Spain is the world’s top organic extra virgin olive oil (OEVOO) producer, domestic consumption is low. Most of the OEVOO produced is destined for external markets. As access to these markets is rife with challenges, developing internal demand has become a matter of utmost importance. Therefore, the general objective of this study is to analyse what is limiting OEVOO consumption levels in Spain. Although a review of the literature reveals some potential explanatory factors, this study analyses the relationship between consumption levels and the limiting factors perceived by consumers. The main novelty of the study is that these limiting factors are divided into two distinct dimensions: difficulties perceived by consumers in the purchase of OEVOO, and the impact of these on their buying behaviour. Based on the results of a survey of 793 people, this distinction throws up a clear paradox: although practically all the factors considered as difficulties are perceived to exist, these do not appear to fully explain the decision not to purchase the product. The suggested explanation for this is simply that the “organic” attribute or label is not highly valued or appreciated by Spanish consumers. Considering the quantitative significance of the group of non-consumers in the population, promoting social and environmental awareness emerges as the best strategy to improve the public’s appreciation of the organic label and boost internal demand.