The influence of context upon consumer sensory evaluation of chicken-meat quality

There is an apparent lack of research investigating how different test conditions influence or bias consumer sensory evaluation of food. The aim of the present pilot study was to determine if testing conditions had any effect on responses of an untrained panel to a novel chicken product. Assessments of flavour, texture and overall liking of corn-fed chicken were made across three different testing conditions (laboratory-based under normal lighting; laboratory-based under controlled lighting; and, home testing). Least favourable evaluations occurred under laboratory-based conditions irrespective of what lighting was used. Consumers perceived the product more favourably in terms of flavour (p < 0.001), texture (p < 0.001) and overall preference (p < 0.001) when evaluated in the familiar setting of the home. Home testing produced more consistent assessments than under either of the two laboratory-based test conditions. The results imply that home evaluation should be undertaken routinely in new food product development.

Parallel pipelined array architectures for real-time histogram computation in consumer devices

The real-time parallel computation of histograms using an array of pipelined cells is proposed and prototyped in this paper with application to consumer imaging products. The array operates in two modes: histogram computation and histogram reading. The proposed parallel computation method does not use any memory blocks. The resulting histogram bins can be stored into an external memory block in a pipelined fashion for subsequent reading or streaming of the results. The array of cells can be tuned to accommodate the required data path width in a VLSI image processing engine as present in many imaging consumer devices. Synthesis of the architectures presented in this paper in FPGA are shown to compute the real-time histogram of images streamed at over 36 megapixels at 30 frames/s by processing in parallel 1, 2 or 4 pixels per clock cycle.

The voice of the consumer speaks forcefully in brand identity: user-generated content forces smart marketers to listen

User-generated content (UGC) is attracting a great deal of interest - some of it effective, some misguided. This article reviews the marketing-related factors that gave rise to UGC, tracing the relevant development of market orientation, social interaction, word of mouth, brand relationships, consumer creativity, co-creation, and customization, largely through the pages of the Journal of Advertising Research over the last 40 (or so) of its 50 years. The authors then discuss the characteristic features of UGC and how they differ from (and are similar to) these concepts. The insights thus gained will help practitioners and researchers understand what UGC is (and is not) and how it should (and should not) be used.

Consumer-based brand equity conceptualisation and measurement: a literature review

Although there is a large body of research on brand equity, little in terms of a literature review has been published on this since Feldwick's (1996) paper. To address this gap, this paper brings together the scattered literature on consumer-based brand equity's conceptualisation and measurement. Measures of consumer-based brand equity are classified as either direct or indirect. Indirect measures assess consumer-based brand equity through its demonstrable dimensions and are superior from a diagnostic level. The paper concludes with directions for future research and managerial pointers for setting up a brand equity measurement system.

Consumer robotic products: studying the factors that influence market adoption

The aim of this article is to identify the key factors that are associated with the adoption of a commercial robot in the home. This article is based on the development of the robot product Cybot by the University of Reading in conjunction with a publisher (Eaglemoss International Ltd.). The robots were distributed through a new part-work magazine series (Ultimate Real Robots) that had long-term customer usage and retention. A part-work is a serial publication that is issued periodically (e.g., every two weeks), usually in magazine format, and builds into a complete collection. This magazine focused on robotics and was accompanied by cover-mounted component parts that could be assembled, with instructions, by the user to build a working robot over the series. In total, the product contributed over half a million operational domestic robots to the world market, selling over 20 million robot part-work magazines across 18 countries, thereby providing a unique breadth of insight. Gaining a better understanding of the overall attitudes that customers of this product had toward robots in the home, their perception of what such devices could deliver and how they would wish to interact with them should provide results applicable to the domestic appliance, assistance/care, entertainment, and educational markets.

The cost of choice: how corporate real estate managers evaluate business space options

Firms are faced with a wider set of choices when they identify a need for new office space. They can build or purchase accommodation, lease space for long or short periods with or without the inclusion of services, or they can use “instant office” solutions provided by serviced office operators. But how do they evaluate these alternatives and are they able to make rational choices? The research found that the shortening of business horizons lead to the desire for more office space on short-term contracts often with the inclusion of at least some facilities management and business support services. The need for greater flexibility, particularly in financial terms, was highlighted as an important criteria when selecting new office accommodation. The current office portfolios held were perceived not to meet these requirements. However, there was often a lack of good quality data available within occupiers which could be used to help them analyse the range of choices in the market. Additionally, there were other organisational constraints to making decisions about inclusive real estate products. These included fragmentation of decisions-making, internal politics and the lack of assessment of business risk alongside real estate risk. Overall therefore, corporate occupiers themselves act as an interial force to the development of new and innovative real estate products.

Measuring the consumer benefits of improving farm animal welfare to inform welfare labelling

Policy makers in the European Union are envisioning the introduction of a community farm animal welfare label which would allow consumers to align their consumption habits with their farm animal welfare preferences. For welfare labelling to be viable the market for livestock products produced to higher welfare standards has to be sufficiently segmented with consumers having sufficiently distinct and behaviourally consistent preferences. The present study investigates consumers’ preferences for meat produced to different welfare standards using a hypothetical welfare score. Data is obtained from a contingent valuation study carried out in Britain. The ordered probit model was estimated using Bayesian inference to obtain mean willingness to pay. We find decreasing marginal WTP as animal welfare levels increase and that people’s preferences for different levels of farm animal welfare are sufficiently differentiated making the introduction of a labelling scheme in the form of a certified rating system appear feasible.

Social networks and occupational choice: the endogenous formation of attitudes and beliefs about tax compliance

The paper analyses the emergence of group-specific attitudes and beliefs about tax compliance when individuals interact in a social network. It develops a model in which taxpayers possess a range of individual characteristics – including attitude to risk, potential for success in self-employment, and the weight attached to the social custom for honesty – and make an occupational choice based on these characteristics. Occupations differ in the possibility for evading tax. The social network determines which taxpayers are linked, and information about auditing and compliance is transmitted at meetings between linked taxpayers. Using agent-based simulations, the analysis demonstrates how attitudes and beliefs endogenously emerge that differ across sub-groups of the population. Compliance behaviour is different across occupational groups, and this is reinforced by the development of group-specific attitudes and beliefs. Taxpayers self-select into occupations according to the degree of risk aversion, the subjective probability of audit is sustained above the objective probability, and the weight attached to the social custom differs across occupations. These factors combine to lead to compliance levels that differ across occupations.

Pianos for the people: the manufacture, marketing and sale of pianos as consumer durables, 1850-1914

During the second half of the nineteenth century, British society experienced a rise in real incomes and a change in its composition, with the expansion of the middle classes. These two factors led to a consumer revolution, with a growing, but still segmented, demand for household goods that could express status and aspiration. At the same time technological changes and new ways of marketing and selling goods made these goods more affordable. This paper analyzes these themes and the process of mediation that took place between producers, retailers, and consumers, by looking at the most culturally symbolic of nineteenth century consumer goods, the piano.

Entrepreneurial opportunities, implicit contracts and market making for complex consumer goods

This article extends the theory of entrepreneurial opportunity exploitation, outlining how under certain conditions, opportunity exploitation is dependent on market making innovations. Where adverse selection and moral hazard characterize markets, consumers are likely to withdraw regardless of product quality. In order to overcome consumer resistance, entrepreneurs must signal credible commitments. But because consumers purchase without fully specifying requirements, entrepreneurs' commitments take the partial form of implicit contracts, creating strong mutual commitments to repeated transactions. These commitments enable novel markets to function, but introduce additional costs. This article illustrates the theory with the historic case of Singer in sewing machines

Documents as 'critical incidents' in organisation to consumer communication

A diary study tracked the paper documents received by nine UK informants over one month. Informants gave simple ratings of individual documents’ attractiveness and the ease of understanding them; more detailed reactions to the documents were gathered through informant diaries and follow-up interviews. The detailed reactions extended beyond the feedback gathered through the rating task. Informants showed sensitivity to the content, language, design and circumstances of receipt of documents, with indications that they developed opinions of originating organizations based on their experience of using their documents. Documents that failed to provide all the information needed, that failed to make their intentions clear (or obscured their intentions) or that were perceived as miss-targeted received negative comment. Repeat experiences of receiving either well- or poorly-conceived documents strengthened informant reactions to individual originating organizations. The paper concludes with recommendations for steps document originators, writers and designers need to take to prepare documents that enhance organization to consumer communication. We recommend that organizations evaluate and act on consumers’ reactions to their documents, beyond user testing in document development or scorecard ratings in use.