If a product has two dimensions of quality, one observable and one not, a firm can use observable quality as a signal of unobservable quality. The correlation between consumers' valuation of high quality in each dimension is a key determinant of the feasibility of such signaling. A firm may use...

This paper examines the dynamic process of quality adjustment in cases where the economy lacks a sufficient number of markets for coordinating the level of attributes that configure the qualities of products. It shows that an adjustment process through the development and selection of...

In this article, we apply a model of vertical product differentiation to the Japanese beef market. We theoretically derive a system of consumer demand functions for quality-differentiated beef in Japan. We choose a particular utility function which is nonlinear in the consumption of the...

Despite growing interest in meat traceability systems, very little research has been done on consumer needs and perception of traceability. This gap is partly filled by the present study of consumer perception of meat traceability in Belgium, based on cross-sectional data collected in June 2001....

Very little is known about changes in the demand characteristics of food in New Zealand. As far as we can determine, there has never been a complete disaggregated food demand model estimated for New Zealand. The object of this paper is to update these estimates using more recent data to see...

Um Produkte erfolgreich im Markt zu positionieren, müssen diese den Qualitätsanforderungen der Konsumenten entsprechen. Vor diesem Hintergrund wurde an den Fallbeispielen Schweinefleisch und Kartoffeln das verbraucherorientierte Qualitätsurteil analysiert. Produkte unterscheiden sich im...

A substantial expansion of wine supply has induced a strong product proliferation on the market. It is not only the taste of wines that has become more diversified, but quality signals are increasingly utilized, too. Quality signals include information on the wine bottle, such as origin, grape...

Like all markets in the former communist countries, the Eastern European beer market has been strongly affected by the economic reforms in the beginning of the 1990s. In the first years after reforms, there was a substantial decline in the production of barley, malt and beer. However, the...

Quality labels for food products are an important consumer policy tool and are used for product diversification strategies by the producers. In the literature, the effectiveness of such labels concerning the purchase behaviour of consumers has been doubted. In this context, our paper compares...

Der Wandel der Produktions- und Nachfragebedingungen verlangt von Unternehmen immer wieder Anpassungen ihrer Produktpalette. Auf der Basis von repräsentativen Mikrodaten der amtlichen Statistik werden hier diese Anpassungen in Beziehung zum Erfolg und zum Wachstum der Unternehmen gesetzt. Es...