TY - JOUR

T1 - Situational appropriateness of beer is influenced by product familiarity

AU - Giacalone, Davide

AU - Frøst, Michael Bom

AU - Bredie, Wender Laurentius Petrus

AU - Pineau, Benedicte

AU - Hunter, Denise C.

AU - Paisley, Amy G.

AU - Beresford, Michelle K.

AU - Jæger, Sara Roust

PY - 2015

Y1 - 2015

N2 - Explicit account of contextual variables can enhance the ability to understand and predict consumers’ food-related behavior. One aspect that has hitherto received little attention is whether context equally affects familiar and unfamiliar food products. The matter is investigated in four consumer studies (N = 76, N = 97, N = 93, and N = 145), using beer images varying in familiarity as test stimuli. Using the situational appropriateness framework, we derived a quantitative characterization of product – context associations, revealing major differences between beers. The data analysis showed a two-dimensional product space that separated beers according to familiarity and beer styles. Familiar beers were primarily considered appropriate for refreshments and while attending sport events, while novel ones were perceived as more self-indulgent and appropriate for dining events and special occasions. These associations were robust across studies, suggesting that contextual evaluations are important in this product category. The level of familiarity strongly correlated with usage versatility, and significantly affected the perceived appropriateness for specific usage-contexts, possibly acting as a cue to infer product quality and performance.

AB - Explicit account of contextual variables can enhance the ability to understand and predict consumers’ food-related behavior. One aspect that has hitherto received little attention is whether context equally affects familiar and unfamiliar food products. The matter is investigated in four consumer studies (N = 76, N = 97, N = 93, and N = 145), using beer images varying in familiarity as test stimuli. Using the situational appropriateness framework, we derived a quantitative characterization of product – context associations, revealing major differences between beers. The data analysis showed a two-dimensional product space that separated beers according to familiarity and beer styles. Familiar beers were primarily considered appropriate for refreshments and while attending sport events, while novel ones were perceived as more self-indulgent and appropriate for dining events and special occasions. These associations were robust across studies, suggesting that contextual evaluations are important in this product category. The level of familiarity strongly correlated with usage versatility, and significantly affected the perceived appropriateness for specific usage-contexts, possibly acting as a cue to infer product quality and performance.

U2 - 10.1016/j.foodqual.2014.06.012

DO - 10.1016/j.foodqual.2014.06.012

M3 - Journal article

VL - 39

SP - 16

EP - 27

JO - Food Quality and Preference

JF - Food Quality and Preference

SN - 0950-3293

ER -