Do we all consider the same packaging elements as critical? Empirical findings from food product packaging

Volume 6, Issue 1, February 2021     |     PP. 1-24      |     PDF (1468 K)    |     Pub. Date: January 26, 2021
DOI: 10.54647/economics79202    198 Downloads     6123 Views  

Author(s)

A. Konstantoglou, Department of Production Engineering and Management, Democritus University of Thrace, Greece
T. Fotiadis, Department of Production Engineering and Management, Democritus University of Thrace, Greece
D. Folinas, Department of Supply Chain Management, International Hellenic University, Greece

Abstract
A cross-sectional survey was conducted from March to June 2019 of identifying and evaluating packaging elements of food products. A sample of 1,219 customers (657 women – 562 men) participated in the study. Based on a review of existing research, a pool of 43 packaging elements for food products was developed, aiming to examine the most important packaging elements that have a positive relationship on consumer behavior in buying food products. Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) were conducted on a random split-half sample of the data to examine the factor structure of the 43 items in the general population. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted in the holdout sample. The HCA and EFA of the packaging items resulted in a seven-factor solution: (1) Informational content, (2) Content protection and recognition, (3) Smart functioning, (4) Geometry, (5) Environmental friendliness, (6) Endurance and (7) Coloration. CFA in the holdout sample supported this factor structure. It was found that sociodemographic factors such as gender, place of residence and age are related to the customer’s evaluation of a food item’s packaging. The findings of the present study are enlightened by the consumers’ attitudes and predispositions towards packaging, thus having possible managerial applications.

Keywords
Marketing, Package, Food Products, Consumer Behavior, Packaging Elements

Cite this paper
A. Konstantoglou, T. Fotiadis, D. Folinas, Do we all consider the same packaging elements as critical? Empirical findings from food product packaging , SCIREA Journal of Economics. Volume 6, Issue 1, February 2021 | PP. 1-24. 10.54647/economics79202

References

[ 1 ] Ahmed, A., Ahmed, N. and Salaman, A. (2005), “Critical Issues in Packaged Food Business”, British Food Journal, 107 (10), pp. 760-80.
[ 2 ] Bjarnemo, R., Jonson, G. and Johnsson, M. (2000), “Packaging Logistics in New Product Development”, in J. Singh, S. C. Lew and R. Gay (eds), Proceedings of the 5th International Conference: Computer Integrated Manufacturing Technologies for New Millennium Manufacturing, pp. 135-146.
[ 3 ] Bloch, P. (1995), “Seeking the ideal form: product design and consumer response”, Journal of marketing, vol. 59, pp.16-29.
[ 4 ] Bowersox, D. and Closs, D. (1996), Logistical Management: The Integrated Supply Chain Process, McGraw-Hil.
[ 5 ] Committee for Economic Development of The Conference Board (2017), Economic Contribution of the Food and Beverage Industry, A Report by the Committee for Economic Development of The Conference Board, [online], Available at https://www.ced.org/pdf/Economic_Contribution_of_the_Food_and_Beverage_Industry.pdf.
[ 6 ] Coulson, N.S. (2000), “An application of the stages of change model to consumer use of food labels”, British Food Journal, Vol. 102 No. 9, pp. 661-8.
[ 7 ] Davis, F. D. Bagozzi, R. P. and Warshaw, P. R. (1989), “User acceptance of computer technology: a comparison of two theoretical models”, Management Science, vol. 35, no. 8.
[ 8 ] DiStefano, C. and Morgan, G. B. (2014) A Comparison of Diagonal Weighted Least Squares Robust Estimation Techniques for Ordinal Data, Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 21:3, 425-438, DOI: 10.1080/10705511.2014.915373
[ 9 ] Foundation for Economic & Industrial Research (2018), Greek food and drink industry - Facts and figures [online], Available at http://iobe.gr/docs/research/ RES_05_B_05042019_REP_GR.pdf.
[ 10 ] Grand View Research (2020), Food Packaging Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Type (Rigid, Flexible), By Material (Paper, Plastic), By Application (Bakery and Confectionery, Dairy Products), By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2020 - 2027 [online], Available at https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/food-packaging-market.
[ 11 ] Grossman, R.P. and Wisenblit, J.Z. (1999), “What we know about consumers’ colour choices”, Journal of Marketing Practice: Applied Marketing Science, Vol. 5 No. 3, pp. 78-88.
[ 12 ] Holmes G. R. and Paswan, A. (2012), “Consumer reaction to new package design”, Journal of Product & Brand Management, vol. 21, no. 2, pp. 109-116.
[ 13 ] Horn, J. (1965) A rationale and test for the number of factors in factor analysis. Psychometrika, 30, 179-185.
[ 14 ] IPSOS (2018), Most Americans Say That the Design of a Product’s Packaging Often Influences Their Purchase Decisions 2018, [online] Available at https://www.ipsos.com/en-us/news-polls/Most-Americans-Say-That-the-Design-of-a-Products-Packaging-Often-Influences-Their-Purchase-Decisions.
[ 15 ] Johnson, M. (1998), Packaging logistics - a value added approach, PhD dissertation, Department of Engineering Logistics, Lund Institute of Technology, Lund University.
[ 16 ] Jönson, G., (2000), Packaging Technology for the Logistician, 2nd Ed., Lund University.
[ 17 ] Lambert, D. M., J. R. Stock, and Ellram, L. M. (1998), Fundamentals of Logistics Management, Irwin/McGraw-Hill, Boston, MA.
[ 18 ] Louw, A. and Kimber, M. (2007), The Power of Packaging, The Customer Equity Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of TNS (UK), [online] Available at www.tnsglobal.com/_assets/files/The_power_of_packaging.pdf.
[ 19 ] Madden, T. J., Hewett, K., and Roth, M. S. (2000), “Managing images in different cultures: A cross-national study of colour meanings and preferences”, Journal of International Marketing, 8(4), 90-107.
[ 20 ] Marsh, K. and Bugusu, B. (2007), “Food packaging? Roles, materials, and environmental issues”, Journal Food Science, 72 (3), pp. 39-55.
[ 21 ] Meyers-Levy, J. and Peracchio, L. (1995), “Understanding the effects of colour: how the correspondence between available and required resources affects attitudes”, Journal of consumer research, 22(2), pp.121-139.
[ 22 ] Mîndril, D. (2010). Maximum Likelihood (ML) and Diagonally Weighted Least Squares (DWLS) Estimation Procedures : A Comparison of Estimation Bias with Ordinal and Multivariate Non-Normal Data.
[ 23 ] Mitchell, V.W. and Papavassiliou, V. (1999), “Marketing causes and implications of consumer confusion”, Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. 8 No. 4, pp. 319-39.
[ 24 ] Molina-Besch, K., Wikström, F., and Williams, H. (2018), “The environmental impact of packaging in food supply chains-does life cycle assessment of food provide the full picture?”, The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. 10.1007/s11367-018-1500-6.
[ 25 ] Muhammad, A. and Kamran, A. (2014), “Impact of Visual Elements of Packaging of Packaged Milk on Consumer Buying Behaviour”, Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business, 5(11), pp.118-160.
[ 26 ] Mutsikiwa, M. and Marumbwa, J. (2013), “The Impact of Aesthetics Package Design Elements on Consumer Purchase Decisions: A Case of Locally Produced Dairy Products in Southern Zimbabwe”, IOSR-Journal of Business and Management, 8(5), pp.64-71.
[ 27 ] Nancarrow, C., Wright, T.L. and Brace, I. (1998), “Gaining competitive advantage from packaging and labeling in marketing communications”, British Food Journal, Vol. 100, No. 2, pp. 110-8.
[ 28 ] Prendergast, G. and Pitt, L. (1996), “Packaging marketing logistics and the environment are there trade-offs?”, International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management, 26(6), 66-72.
[ 29 ] Raghubir, R. and Krishna, A. (1999) Vital Dimensions in Volume Perception. Can the Eye Fool the Stomach?, Journal of Marketing Research, 36 (3), pp. 313-26.
[ 30 ] Rettie, R. and Brewer, C. (2000), “The verbal and visual components of package design”, Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. 9 No. 1, 56-70.
[ 31 ] Revelle, W. (2019). psych: Procedures for Psychological, Psychometric, and Personality Research. Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois. R package version 1.9.12, https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=psych.
[ 32 ] Rosseel. Y. (2012). lavaan: An R Package for Structural Equation Modeling. Journal of Statistical Software, Vol. 48, Iss. 2, pp. 1-36.
[ 33 ] Rundh, B. (2009), “Packaging design: creating competitive advantage with product packaging”, British Food Journal, 111 (9), pp. 988-1002.
[ 34 ] Rundh, B., (2013), “Linking Packaging to Marketing: how packaging is influencing the marketing strategy”, British Food Journal, 115(11), pp. 1547-63.
[ 35 ] Silayoi, P. and Speece, M. (2004), “Packaging and purchase decisions: an exploratory study on the impact of involvement level and time pressure”, British Food Journal, Vol.106, Iss.8, 607-628.
[ 36 ] Silayoi, P. and Speece, M. (2007), “The importance of packaging attributes: a conjoint analysis approach”, European Journal of Marketing, 41 (11/12), 1495-1517.
[ 37 ] Singh, S. (2006), “Impact of colour on marketing”, Management decision, 44.6 (2006): 783-789.
[ 38 ] Sonsion, (1990), Packaging design: graphics, materials, technologies, Van Nostrand Reinhold, Technology & Engineering.
[ 39 ] Underwood, R. L. and Ozanne, J. L. (1998), “Is your package an effective communicator? A normative framework for increasing the communicative competence of packaging”, Journal of Marketing Communications, 4 (4), pp. 207-220.
[ 40 ] Vila, N., and Ampuero, O. (2007), “The role of packaging in positioning an orange juice”, Journal of Food Products Marketing, 13 (3), 21-48.
[ 41 ] Vyas, H. (2015), “Packaging Design Elements and Users Perception: A Context in Fashion Branding and Communication”, Journal of Applied Packaging Research, Vol. 7: No. 2, Article 5, pp. 95-107.