Dubravka Užar

The COVID-19 pandemic affected many aspects of human life including consumer behavior. The main aim of this paper was to identify basic patterns of changes in consumer attitudes towards agri-food products under the influence of the 2020 pandemic and to better understand to what extent and what kind of food market problems appeared for the inhabitants of the Danube microregion. For this purpose, an explorative study was elaborated. Assuming that the experience of COVID-19 affected consumer attitudes and sense of food security, a hybrid survey was conducted in the Danube microregion (Croatia, Serbia and Romania) during 2022. Data collected from a total of 903 respondents were statistically analyzed in SPSS. Descriptive statistics, PCA, ANOVA and t-Test were employed. The main results have shown that although the surveyed population of the Danube microregion during the pandemic in 2020 was generally not afraid of food shortages, food was in most part available for their families and their shopping habits have not changed to a large degree, the experience of the pandemic has raised the level of awareness about some issues related to food and specifically the prices of food products. Also, three different patterns of attitude and behavior towards food and agriculture, which emerged as a result of the experience of the pandemic in 2020, were identified. These patterns also proved to be different for different segments of the population. The findings suggest the need for stronger support for the development of locally affordable food systems with the use of ICT as a coping mechanism in crises.

This study aimed to investigate determinants of purchase cheeses with GIs in developing country and to analyze to what extent these factors affected individuals’ purchasing intention, because there is a growing interest in geographical indications of origin (GIs) as a tool for product differentiation. An extension of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) is used as the framework of the study. To get a deeper insight into the influence of unobserved exogenous latent variables on consumers’ intentions to purchase GI cheeses, SEM and Logit models were combined and the SEM-Logit integration model was constructed. The study supports extended model of TPB, which includes trust and loyalty, as a useful framework to understand the consumers’ intentions to buy the investigated product category. The results from SEM-Logit show that attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, trust, loyalty, education and monthly income have significant impacts on intention to purchase cheeses with GIs. The findings of this research provide important contribution for understanding GI cheeses’ consumption intention and behavior.

The main purpose of this study is to shed light on consumers’ knowledge of geographical indications in Serbia. We therefore present the results obtained from a consumer survey on a sample of 806 respondents in the territory of Serbia. Differences in consumers’ knowledge of geographical indications as well as in the self-perceived level of knowledge of GI food were tested according to several socio-demographic criteria. The results showed that there are significant statistical differences in gender, age, and level of education regarding consumer knowledge of GIs. In addition, the respondents indicated a low level of knowledge about the GIs, qualities, benefits, and method of production of these products, as well as the existence of an adequate control system. As consumers consider themselves insufficiently informed, this finding suggests that it is necessary to undertake actions that will contribute to the consumers’ education and information. Based on the obtained results, recommendations useful for marketing managers, decision-makers, agricultural producers as well as future research are given in the paper.

Geographical indications, as part of product labeling and packaging, are used extensively worldwide as a powerful tool for product diversification and branding. The main purpose of this study is to shed light on consumers' awareness and knowledge of geographical indications in Serbia. Aiming to bridge this gap, we present the results obtained from a consumer survey on a sample of 806 respondents in the territory of Serbia. Differences in consumers' awareness of geographical indications have been tested according to several socio-demographic criteria. The results showed that there are significant statistical differences in monthly income and level of education regarding consumer awareness of GIs. In addition, the respondents indicated a low level of knowledge about the GIs, qualities, benefits, and method of production of these products, as well as the existence of an adequate control system. As consumers consider themselves insufficiently informed, this finding suggests that it is necessary to undertake actions that will contribute to the consumers' education and information. Based on the obtained results, recommendations useful for marketing managers, decision-makers, agricultural producers as well as future research are given in the paper.

In recent years, GI cheese consumption has attracted increasing interest among consumers, due to its beneficial properties for local economies and the surrounding environment. Given the high importance that consumers ascribe to geographical indications, considered one of the most relevant attributes for agro-food consumers, this study aims at detecting the main variables that influence purchasing intention for GI cheese. A total of 806 consumers took part in the study from all four regions of the Republic of Serbia. For this purpose, a binary logistic regression model analysis was performed. The research highlights that tradition and origin, education, and higher knowledge only had a significant effect on consumer attitudes toward GI cheeses.

The main idea in this paper was to investigate how agriculture and processing sectors are connected through commercial activity, and how they influence municipal economic development in Serbia. This was examined through the influence of relevant non-price structural factors related to agricultural and processing sector on the ratio between agricultural product procurement and overall agricultural production. The focus was placed on agricultural investments and subsidies. A multi regression model was developed based on hard data provided by SORS and SBRE on a municipal level in Serbia. The analysis confirmed the relation between agricultural commercial activity and municipal level of economic development. In addition, important findings concerning municipal investment and agricultural subsidies allocation have been provided as well.

Although the use of various forms of marketing channels is increasing within agricultural marketing, there have been only a limited number of research efforts exploring the influencing factors on the structure of agricultural marketing channels and the decisions to select individual intermediaries. Due to the specific nature of agricultural production and its products, complex transportation and storage problems require a greater number of intermediaries in their movement from producers to consumers. Management of sales channels is an important factor for the success of farmers, so it is necessary to evaluate the impact of changes in the environment on them. In order to adapt sales to the demands of the contemporary market, cheese producers are faced with the dilemma of expanding existing sales channels, adding modern channels to existing traditional channels, or making more radical changes to the market access. This paper defines the distribution methods and key players in cheese delivery that should point to strengthening the competitiveness of producers in the global market.

Summary: Over the past few decades, private label brands have been gaining market share in numerous retail outlets. This paper first elucidates the concepts of brand positioning, brand management and branding itself. The term brand has been used as a means of identifying the same or similar products or services present in the market. The private label brand is a quality tool providing competitive advantage under modern market conditions. The influence of the basic attributes which, knowingly or not, shape the private brands of local cheeses will be emphasized, as well as the influence of other factors affecting the brand positioning. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the role, importance and concept of private label brands in cheese production, which improve the competitive position of cheese producers.

THE ROLE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF RURAL TOURISM IN SERBIA: CASE STUDY OF VOJVODINA REGION Branislav Vlahović University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Agriculture, Trg Dositeja Obradovića 8, 21 000 Novi...