Maria Angela Perito

Purpose: Despite the growing research on cultured meat, the psychological factors influencing consumer behaviour are still underexplored. This study investigates how anticipated social identification, openness to other cultures and locavorism shape behavioural intentions toward cultured meat. The findings aim to inform strategies for promoting alternative proteins, especially in contexts where food identity plays a key role. Design/methodology/approach: In December 2023, we fielded a nationwide online survey to a quota-representative sample of 800 Italians (age, gender, region) recruited via a professional market-research panel, in line with ESOMAR standards. The questionnaire measured attitudes toward cultured meat and examined how social identification, openness to other cultures and locavorism relate to willingness to try (WTT), to eat regularly and to substitute conventional meat. Findings: Anticipated social identification with prospective cultured-meat consumers positively influences three behavioural intentions: WTT, willingness to consume regularly and willingness to substitute farmed meat with cultured meat. Openness to other cultures is positively associated with the willingness to consume cultured meat regularly. In contrast, locavorism does not significantly influence behavioural intentions, suggesting that local food preferences may not conflict with the acceptance of cultured meat. Originality/value: This study advances the literature by jointly testing anticipated social identification, locavorism and openness to other cultures, rarely examined together, in a meat-centric setting (Italy, 2023 ban). We find stage-differentiated effects across WTT, eat regularly and substitute, clarifying psychological pathways to acceptance. The results provide actionable guidance for policy and practice and a basis for future research on food identity and innovation.

The increasing number of supermarkets and hypermarkets poses a risk to the survival of small local shops in rural areas. As a result, people living in remote areas might need to travel several kilometers to obtain food, and this can create objective difficulties for those who do not drive or cannot afford the cost of owning a car. This study uses a natural experiment to analyze outshopping practices in Italian remote areas using the database of the multipurpose survey on Italian families carried out by Italian National Institute of Statistics. For this study, we used the COVID-19 lockdown as a state of nature when long-range shopping trips were less frequent, and we compared it with the pre-COVID-19 habits, in order to identify changes in consumption and shopping behavior. Our study is the first to explore outshopping behaviors in remote areas of Italy, offering original insights into food access and healthy eating where research is currently lacking. We performed a difference-in-difference analysis, comparing remote areas with other areas in Italy, to highlight the effect of outshopping in remote areas. Our results show how a considerable share of consumer food expenditure is paid to firms outside the local area, supporting the hypothesis of financial resources shift from the local business to large retailers. Moreover, we found limited food access and diet issues in Italian internal areas when outshopping practices are constrained.

Digital agriculture technologies represent a solution for improving productivity levels and environmental sustainability, thanks to data with great potential. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms of adoption and diffusion of digital farming technologies is crucial. Notably multiple factors are responsible for farmers’ technology adoption rate. The objective of this paper is to analyze the barriers to technology adoption and drivers of diffusion for a group of Italian stakeholders by using qualitative research methods. Results identify many barriers to technology adoption and point out that cooperation between stakeholders, along with collaborative efforts through technical support and training activities are key strategies.

Purpose: This study investigates the relationship between the hedonic pleasure of trying new food and emotional responses to insect-based bakery products. Design/methodology/approach: A laboratory tasting was conducted with 131 Italian high school students in the province of Teramo (Italy). Participants completed a questionnaire to assess their general hedonic liking of new food and ranked the intensity of negative and positive emotions after tasting the food products. Findings: The findings show that general hedonic liking of new food significantly influences both negative and positive emotions. In the case of negative emotions, individuals who declared to like trying new food were more likely to experience lower levels of disgust, fearful, worry and distrustful. Meanwhile, in the case of positive emotions, individuals who liked trying new food had a greater probability of feeling higher levels of calm, energy, enthusiasm and contentment. We further found that women were more likely to experience negative emotions (i.e. disgust, fearful and worry) to a higher extent than men. Practical implications: The results add useful information about food and marketing research by showing which emotions should be encouraged or avoided in the case of consumers with different degrees of liking new food. Originality/value: This study is the first to assess how hedonic liking impacts emotions in the case of an insect-based food.

L’article analyse deux politiques publiques mises en œuvre pour réduire les pertes alimentaires post-récolte : une politique basée sur une norme logistique minimale (MLS) imposée aux producteurs et une politique basée sur le subventionnement de la logistique des producteurs. Nous proposons un modèle de différenciation spatiale où les producteurs de produits périssables sont géographiquement situés et plus ou moins éloignés d’un marché de gros. Nous évaluons différents effets de ces politiques : effets directs (sur les pertes alimentaires) et effets « collatéraux » (sur les prix et sur l’exclusion des producteurs). Par rapport à la situation sans intervention publique, l’imposition d’un MLS améliore uniquement l’infrastructure des producteurs les plus proches du marché, tandis qu’une subvention publique est plus efficace pour améliorer l’infrastructure des producteurs les plus éloignés du marché. Nous montrons que les autorités publiques peuvent être confrontées à un dilemme : i) choisir un MLS plus efficace pour réduire le risque de perte alimentaire mais avec des effets plus négatifs sur l’inclusion des producteurs et sur le bien-être social ; ii) choisir une politique de subvention moins efficace pour réduire les pertes alimentaires mais (si le niveau n’est pas trop élevé) avec des externalités plus positives sur les autres critères. Classification JEL : L11, R39, C61, D21

Consumers’ perception of the region of origin represents a critical issue for building a valuable and sustainable business in the wine sector. The aim of this study is to investigate the role of the region of origin in Italian sparkling wines, comparing consumers’ perception of emerging wines with a designation of origin in regions not traditionally associated with sparkling wine production (Abruzzo and Romagna), with an affirmed brand (Prosecco) and with generic Italian sparkling wine. The three most important markets for Italian sparkling wines (Italy, the USA, and the UK) are considered. The importance of the region of origin is analyzed within a set of wine attributes, including color and sugar content, applying the conjoint analysis technique to simulate realistic market conditions, offering multiple options for wine attributes. There is no cumulative effect of the perception of wines with a Protected Designation of Origin in the three markets since consumers who positively perceive a specific designation do not extend this positive perception to others in comparison with generic sparkling wine. Positive and negative utilities associated with each designation of origin are calculated and used to discriminate consumers according to socio-demographic variables, consumers’ behavior, and attitudes.