Ouvindo o silêncio: a construção identitária por meio da prática do mergulho scuba como consumo hedônico

This work aims to explore the context and emotions related to the experience of scuba diving as hedonic consumption, as well as to understand in which conditions the benefit arising from the regular practice of this activity impact the identity construction of the practitioner. Through in-depth interviews, data were collected from scuba divers living in the city of Rio de Janeiro, during the months of January and February of 2008. In order to obtain the expected objectives, the chosen methodology of research was qualitative, with priority of the subject and the subjectivity, using an interpretative approach for the data analysis. The research results confirm some benefits of high-risk sports practice such as flow, self-evolution and communitas. Two additional benefits are presented: the condition of alterity of the ¿underwater world¿, which attributes extraordinany meaning to scuba diving and impacts identity construction, and the scuba ¿buddy¿ practice, that helps to build-up an overall sense of trust to the other. The work is concluded with some managerial recommendations aiming the development of scuba diving industry and related tourism. These above mentioned suggestions include a new industry positioning, integrated marketing communications with specific references to alterity and flow, market segmentation, the creation of gathering spaces and a gradation scale among practitioners.

Co-creation of tourism experience: attention, involvement and memorability

Tese de Doutoramento, Turismo, Faculdade de Economia, Universidade do Algarve, 2016

The interactions of consumption characteristics on social norms

Purpose: An extended Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) model tests how customer loyalty intentions may relate to subjective and descriptive norms. The study further determines whether consumption characteristics – product enjoyment and importance – moderate norms-loyalty relationships.----- Methodology: Using a two-study approach focusing on youth, an Australian study (n = 244) first augmented TPB with descriptive norm. A Singapore study (n = 415) followed up with how consumption characteristics might moderate norms-loyalty relationships. With both studies, linear regressions tested the relationships among the variables.----- Findings: Extending TPB with descriptive norm improved TPB’s predictive ability across studies. Further, product enjoyment and importance moderated the norms-loyalty relationships differently. Subjective norm related to loyalty intentions significantly with high enjoyment, whereas descriptive norm was significant with low enjoyment. Only subjective norm was significant with low importance.----- Research limitations: Single-item variables, self-reported questionnaires on intended rather than actual behavior, and not controlling for cultural differences between the two samples limit generalizablity.----- Practical implications: The significance of both norms suggests that mobile firms should reach youth through their peers. With youth, social pressure may be influential particularly with hedonic products. However, the different moderations of product enjoyment and importance imply that a blanket marketing strategy targeting youth may not work.----- Originality/Value: This study extends academic knowledge on the relationships between norms and customer loyalty, particularly with consumption characteristics as moderators. The findings highlight the importance of considering different norms with consumer behavior. The study should help mobile firms understand how social influences impact customer loyalty.

The ghrelin signalling system is involved in the consumption of sweets

The gastric-derived orexigenic peptide ghrelin affects brain circuits involved in energy balance as well as in reward. Indeed, ghrelin activates an important reward circuit involved in natural- as well as drug-induced reward, the cholinergic-dopaminergic reward link. It has been hypothesized that there is a common reward mechanism for alcohol and sweet substances in both animals and humans. Alcohol dependent individuals have higher craving for sweets than do healthy controls and the hedonic response to sweet taste may, at least in part, depend on genetic factors. Rat selectively bred for high sucrose intake have higher alcohol consumption than non-sucrose preferring rats and vice versa. In the present study a group of alcohol-consuming individuals selected from a population cohort was investigated for genetic variants of the ghrelin signalling system in relation to both their alcohol and sucrose consumption. Moreover, the effects of GHS-R1A antagonism on voluntary sucrose- intake and operant self-administration, as well as saccharin intake were investigated in preclinical studies using rodents. The effects of peripheral grelin administration on sucrose intake were also examined. Here we found associations with the ghrelin gene haplotypes and increased sucrose consumption, and a trend for the same association was seen in the high alcohol consumers. The preclinical data show that a GHS-R1A antagonist reduces the intake and self-administration of sucrose in rats as well as saccharin intake in mice. Further, ghrelin increases the intake of sucrose in rats. Collectively, our data provide a clear indication that the GHS-R1A antagonists reduces and ghrelin increases the intake of rewarding substances and hence, the central ghrelin signalling system provides a novel target for the development of drug strategies to treat addictive behaviours. © 2011 Landgren et al.

Service convenience and social servicescape : retail vs hedonic setting

Purpose – While there have been numerous studies on the antecedents and consequences of service quality, there has been little investigation of the moderators of service quality. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the effects of two moderators: service convenience and the social servicescape. The moderating effects are tested in two service settings: retail and hedonic (concert). Design/methodology/approach – A survey of 270 customers at kitchen display showrooms and 320 concert-goers was undertaken. The results were analysed using regression analysis. Findings – The results show support for ten of the 12 hypotheses. Service convenience moderated the relationships between perceived service quality and its three sub-dimensions (interaction, environment, and outcome quality), differently in different settings (retail vs hedonic). This supports the authors' general argument that the outcome dimension tends to be more important to customers in a retail setting, while interaction and environment quality dimensions tend to be more important in hedonic service consumption. Practical implications – These findings suggest that managers need to use different service management tactics in retail and hedonic service settings. Specifically managers in retail settings need to pay more attention to service convenience to achieve service quality and managers in hedonic settings should concentrate on the social servicescape. Originality/value – This paper is the first to test the moderating factors of service convenience and social servicescape on service quality.

Sweetpotato consumer research: insights to increasing consumption

This report provides an evaluation of the behaviours and purchasing drivers of key sweetpotato consumers defined by Nielsen consumer research as Established Couples (two or more adults with no children 17 and under, and head of house 35-59), Senior Couples (two or more adults with no children 17 or under, and head of house 60 or over), and Independent Singles (one person household 35 or over, no children 17 or under). Research was qualitative in nature. Methods used included focus groups, depth interviews and shop-a-longs. The report found that preferences for sweetpotato amongst these groups were varied. In general a smaller torpedo shaped vegetable was valued for ease of preparation and the convenience of being of sufficient size for a meal for two. Satisfaction with sweetpotato was high with negative comments on quality exceedingly rare within discussions. However, shop-a-longs revealed that some quality issues were apparent at retail such as withered product, pitting and occasionally damage. A display with stock resting in any amount of water was a barrier to purchase for consumers and this was apparent on two out 15 occasions. A high quality sweetpotato was of a deep orange/red colour, had a smooth skin and was extremely dense and hard. An inferior sweetpotato was wrinkly, spongy, pitted and damaged. Awareness of sweetpotato was a relatively recent phenomenon amongst the respondents of this study with most recalling eating the vegetable in the last five to 10 years. Life-time eating patterns emerged as a consequence of childhood food experiences such as growing up with a ‘meat and three’ veg philosophy and traditional Australian meals. However, this was dependent on cultural background and those with ties to diverse cultures were more likely to have always known of the vegetable. Sweetpotato trial and consumption coincided with a breaking away from these traditional patterns, or was integrated into conventional meals such as a baked vegetable to accompany roasts. Increased health consciousness also led to awareness of the vegetable. A primary catalyst for consumption within the Established and Senior Couples groups was the health benefits associated with sweetpotato. Consumers had very little knowledge of the specific health properties of the vegetable and were surprised at the number of benefits consumption provided. Sweetpotato was important for diabetics for its low Glycemic Index status. Top-of-the-mind awareness of the vegetable resulted from the onset of the disease. Increasing fibre was a key motive for this demographic and this provided a significant link between consumption and preventing bowel cancer. For those on a weight loss regime, sweetpotato was perceived as a tasty, satisfying food that was low in carbohydrates. Swapping behaviours where white potato was replaced by sweetpotato was often a response to these health concerns. Other health properties mentioned by participants through the course of the research included the precursor β-carotene and Vitamins A & C. The sweetpotato was appreciated for its hedonic and timesaving qualities. For consumers with a high involvement in food, the vegetable was valued for its versatility in meals. These consumers took pride in cooking and the flavour and texture of sweetpotato lent itself to a variety of meals such as soups, salads, roasts, curries, tagines and so on. Participants who had little time or desire to prepare and cook meals valued sweetpotato because it was an easy way to add colour and variety to the plate and because including an orange vegetable to meals is a shortcut to ensuring vitamin intake. Several recommendations are made to the sweetpotato industry. • Vigorously promote the distinct nutritional and health properties of sweetpotatoes, particularly if they can be favourably compared to other vegetables or foods • Promote the salient properties to specific targets such as diabetics, those that are at risk to bowel cancer, and those embarking on a weight-loss regime. Utilise specialist channels of communication such as diabetic magazines and websites • Promote styles of cooking of sweetpotato that would appeal to traditionalists such as roasts and BBQs • Promote the vegetable as a low maintenance vegetable, easy to store, easy to cook and particularly focusing on it as a simple way to boost the appearance and nutritional value of meals. • Promote the vegetable to high food involvement consumers through exotic recipes and linking it to feelings of accomplishment with cooking • Promote the versatility of the vegetable • Devise promotions that link images and tone of communications with enjoying life to the fullest, having time to enjoy family and grandchildren, and of partaking in social activities • Educate retailers on consumer perceptions of quality and ensuring moisture and mould is not present at displays Qualitative information while providing a wealth of detail cannot be extrapolated to the overall target population and this may be considered a limitation to the research. However, within research theory, effective quantitative design is believed to stem from the insights developed from qualitative studies. • Develop and implement a quantitative study on sweetpotato attitudes and behaviours based on the results of this study.

Exploring the relationship between social network sites and the consumption of cultural goods through the lens of affordances

This thesis presents research theorising the use of social network sites (SNS) for the consumption of cultural goods. SNS are Internet-based applications that enable people to connect, interact, discover, and share user-generated content. They have transformed communication practices and are facilitating users to present their identity online through the disclosure of information on a profile. SNS are especially effective for propagating content far and wide within a network of connections. Cultural goods constitute hedonic experiential goods with cultural, artistic, and entertainment value, such as music, books, films, and fashion. Their consumption is culturally dependant and they have unique characteristics that distinguish them from utilitarian products. The way in which users express their identity on SNS is through the sharing of cultural interests and tastes. This makes cultural good consumption vulnerable to the exchange of content and ideas that occurs across an expansive network of connections within these social systems. This study proposes the lens of affordances to theorise the use of social network sites for the consumption of cultural goods. Qualitative case study research using two phases of data collection is proposed in the application of affordances to the research topic. The interaction between task, technology, and user characteristics is investigated by examining each characteristic in detail, before investigating the actual interaction between the user and the artifact for a particular purpose. The study contributes to knowledge by (i) improving our understanding of the affordances of social network sites for the consumption of cultural goods, (ii) demonstrating the role of task, technology and user characteristics in mediating user behaviour for user-artifact interactions, (iii) explaining the technical features and user activities important to the process of consuming cultural goods using social network sites, and (iv) theorising the consumption of cultural goods using SNS by presenting a theoretical research model which identifies empirical indicators of model constructs and maps out affordance dependencies and hierarchies. The study also provides a systematic research process for applying the concept of affordances to the study of system use.

Ethical consumption (in)decisons

Consumers’ indecisions about the ethical value of their choices are amongst the highest concerns regarding ethical products’ purchasing. This is especially true for Fair Trade certified products where the ethical attribute information provided by the packaging is often unacknowledged by consumers. While well-informed consumers are likely to generate positive consumer reactions to ethical products and increase its ethical consumption, less knowledgeable buyers show different purchasing patterns. In such circumstances, decisions are often driven by socio-cultural beliefs about the low functional performance of ethical or sustainable attributes. For instance, products more congruent with sustainability (e.g., produce) are considered to be simpler but less tasty than less sustainable products. Less sustainable products instead, are considered to be more sophisticated and to provide consumers with more hedonic pleasures (e.g., chocolate mousse). The extent that ethicality is linked with experiences that provide consumers with more pain than pleasure is also manifested in pro-social social behaviors. More specifically through conspicuous self-sacrificial consumption experiences like running for charity in marathons with wide public exposure. The willingness of consumers to engage in such costly initiatives is moderated by gender differences and further, mediated by the chronic productivity orientation of some individuals to use time in a productive manner. Using experimental design studies, I show that consumers (1) use a set of affective and cognitive associations with on-package elements to interpret ethical attributes, (2) implicitly associate ethicality with simplicity, and that (3) men versus women show different preferences in their forms of contribution to pro-social causes.

The effect of consumption volume on profile and liking of oral nutritional supplements of varied sweetness: sequential profiling and boredom tests

Oral nutrition supplements (ONS) are routinely prescribed to those with, or at risk of, malnutrition. Previous research identified poor compliance due to taste and sweetness. This paper investigates taste and hedonic liking of ONS, of varying sweetness and metallic levels, over consumption volume; an important consideration as patients are prescribed large volumes of ONS daily. A sequential descriptive profile was developed to determine the perception of sensory attributes over repeat consumption of ONS. Changes in liking of ONS following repeat consumption were characterised by a boredom test. Certain flavour (metallic taste, soya milk flavour) and mouthfeel (mouthdrying, mouthcoating) attributes built up over increased consumption volume (p 0.002). Hedonic liking data from two cohorts, healthy older volunteers (n = 32, median age 73) and patients (n = 28, median age 85), suggested such build-up was disliked. Efforts made to improve the palatability of ONS must take account of the build up of taste and mouthfeel characteristics over increased consumption volume.

Clothing consumption in two recent EU Member States: a cross-cultural study

Marketing research efforts across Eastern European countries continue growing since the introduction of market reforms in this region. Nonetheless, questions remain unanswered as to cross-cultural differences in Eastern Europeans' consumer behavior. The present research addresses this knowledge gap by developing and testing hypotheses about cross-cultural variations in a number of clothing-related consumer behavior phenomena in the Czech Republic and Bulgaria. Our findings indicate significant differences regarding consumer interest in clothing, preference for utilitarian, self-expressive and hedonic meanings of clothing artifacts, preference for well-known clothing brands, brand loyalty, and importance of clothing attributes. The study advances research in marketing by investigating clothing value-expressive symbolism and consumption in the tworecentEUMember States. The study provides valuable insights to marketers for developing effective marketing strategies.

The consumer acceptance of novel vegetable-enriched bread products as a potential vehicle to increase vegetable consumption

Currently UK fruit and vegetable intakes are below recommendations. Bread is a staple food consumed by ~95% of adults in western countries. In addition, bread provides an ideal matrix by which functionality can be delivered to the consumer in an accepted food. Therefore, enriching bread with vegetables may be an effective strategy to increase vegetable consumption. This study evaluated consumer acceptance, purchase intent and intention of product replacement of bread enriched with red beetroot, carrot with coriander, red pepper with tomato or white beetroot (80g vegetable per serving of 200g) compared to white control bread (0g vegetable). Consumers (n=120) rated their liking of the breads overall, as well as their liking of appearance, flavour and texture using nine-point hedonic scales. Product replacement and purchase intent of the breads was rated using five-point scales. The effect of providing consumers with health information about the breads was also evaluated. There were significant differences in overall liking (P<0.0001), as well as liking of appearance (P<0.0001), flavour (P=0.0002) and texture (P=0.04), between the breads. However, the significant differences resulted from the red beetroot bread which was significantly (P<0.05) less liked compared to control bread. There were no significant differences in overall liking between any of the other vegetable-enriched breads compared with the control bread (no vegetable inclusion), apart from the red beetroot bread which was significantly less liked. The provision of health information about the breads did not increase consumer liking of the vegetable-enriched breads. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that vegetable-enriched bread appeared to be an acceptable strategy to increase vegetable intake, however, liking depended on vegetable type.

The effect of macro and micro-nutrient fortification of biscuits on their sensory properties and on hedonic liking of older people

BACKGROUND: Under-nutrition in older adults is widespread. Oral nutritional supplement beverages (ONS) are prescribed, yet consumption by older people is often insufficient. A variety of supplement formats may improve nutrient intake. This study developed protein and micro-nutrient fortified biscuits and evaluated their sensory attributes and liking by older people. Two micro-nutrient strategies were taken, to match typical ONS and to customise to the needs of older people. RESULTS: Oat biscuits and gluten-free biscuits developed contained over 12% protein and over 460 kcal 100 g-1 . Two small (40 g) biscuits developed to match ONS provided approximately 40% of an ONS portion of micro-nutrients and 60% of macro-nutrients; however, the portion size was considered realistic whereas the average ONS portion (200 mL) is excessive. Biscuits developed to the needs of older adults provided, on average, 18% of the reference nutrient intake of targeted micro-nutrients. Sensory characteristics were similar between biscuits with and without micro-nutrient fortification, leading to no differences in liking. Fortified oat biscuits were less liked than commercial oat biscuits, partly attributed to flavour imparted by whey protein fortification. CONCLUSION: Macro- and micro-nutrient fortification of biscuits could provide an alternative fortified snack to help alleviate malnutrition in older adults.

The influence of sodium on liking and consumption of salty food

Excessive sodium (Na) intake has been linked to development of hypertension and related pathologies. In this study, we assessed if the sodium chloride (NaCl) concentration in a prototypical food influences the liking and intake of that food. In study 1, detection and recognition thresholds for NaCl were assessed, and perceived salt intensity and liking for hash browns of varying sodium concentrations (40 mg, 120 mg, 170 mg, and 220 mg Na/100 g) were compared in a lab setting. In study 2, detection and recognition thresholds for NaCl were assessed in a lab setting, and lunches consisting of hash browns, basic salad, and beverages were consumed freely in a dining setting on 4 separate occasions. Intake and liking ratings for hash browns were recorded after the lunch. In both studies, detection and recognition thresholds for NaCl were not associated with perceived saltiness, liking, or intake of hash browns. Liking and perceived salt taste intensity of hash browns were correlated (r = 0.547 P < 0.01), and in study 1 the 220 mg sodium hash brown was most liked (P < 0.05). In study 2, there was no association between Na concentration and liking or consumption of hash browns. In summary, liking of hash browns were influenced by whether testing was in a lab or dining room environment. In a dining room environment, large decreases (>50%) of sodium content of food were achievable with only minor decrease in liking and no effect on consumption of the food.