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Consumer preferences for country of origin labeling: Bridging the gap between research estimates and real-world behavior

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  • Kassas, Bachir
  • Cao, Xiang
  • Gao, Zhifeng
  • House, Lisa A.
  • Guan, Zhengfei

Abstract

Studies investigating preferences for country-of-origin labeling (COOL) often overemphasize this attribute, which risks inflating estimated market value. We address this issue by studying consumer preferences for Florida versus Mexico tomatoes in a shopping environment that allows freedom to notice or ignore COOL when making decisions. A significant portion of subjects failed to notice COOL in the study, despite expressing a preference for COOL and a habit of looking at COOL when shopping. We find a significant difference in preferences between subjects who noticed COOL and subjects who did not, which points to a potential mismatch between research results and real-world behavior.

Suggested Citation

  • Kassas, Bachir & Cao, Xiang & Gao, Zhifeng & House, Lisa A. & Guan, Zhengfei, 2023. "Consumer preferences for country of origin labeling: Bridging the gap between research estimates and real-world behavior," Journal of choice modelling, Elsevier, vol. 48(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eejocm:v:48:y:2023:i:c:s1755534523000301
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jocm.2023.100429
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Consumer attention; Country of origin; Tomatoes; Willingness-to-pay;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M31 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Marketing and Advertising - - - Marketing
    • M37 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Marketing and Advertising - - - Advertising

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