IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i15p11953-d1209967.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Consumer Preferences and Willingness to Pay for Clams with Sustainability Certification in Mediterranean Countries

Author

Listed:
  • Vilma Xhakollari

    (Department of Agri-Food Economics and Marketing, School of Agriculture Policy, and Development, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6BZ, UK)

  • Sina Ahmadi Kaliji

    (Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum—University of Bologna, 40127 Bologna, Italy)

  • Marija Cerjak

    (University of Zagreb Faculty of Agriculture, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia)

  • Damir Kovačić

    (University of Zagreb Faculty of Agriculture, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia)

  • Luca Mulazzani

    (Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum—University of Bologna, 40127 Bologna, Italy)

  • Luca Camanzi

    (Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum—University of Bologna, 40127 Bologna, Italy)

Abstract

For some types of seafood, such as clams, there are now sustainability certificates that guarantee their sustainable production. However, their consumption may be associated with some ethical and sustainability concerns, as clams are harvested in ways that may be harmful to the environment. The aim of this study is therefore to investigate consumers’ sustainability concerns based on their purchasing preferences and WTP for clams with sustainability certification in three Mediterranean countries—Italy, Spain and Croatia. Data were collected online and consumer preferences were elicited using a labelled discrete choice experiment. The results show that in general all consumers prefer clams from their country of origin, while there are differences in their appreciation for the sustainability certification. While Croatian consumers are not very interested in the current Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) sustainability certification, consumers in Spain are willing to pay a higher price for it. At the same time, consumers in Italy are more interested in new certifications such as Responsible Fisheries Management (RFM). These results could be of interest to clam production and distribution companies trying to advance their corporate social responsibility activities and positioning.

Suggested Citation

  • Vilma Xhakollari & Sina Ahmadi Kaliji & Marija Cerjak & Damir Kovačić & Luca Mulazzani & Luca Camanzi, 2023. "Consumer Preferences and Willingness to Pay for Clams with Sustainability Certification in Mediterranean Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-18, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:15:p:11953-:d:1209967
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/15/11953/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/15/11953/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Natale, Fabrizio & Borrello, Alessandra & Motova, Arina, 2015. "Analysis of the determinants of international seafood trade using a gravity model," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 98-106.
    2. Davide Menozzi & Thong Tien Nguyen & Giovanni Sogari & Dimitar Taskov & Sterenn Lucas & José Luis Santiago Castro-Rial & Cristina Mora, 2020. "Consumers’ Preferences and Willingness to Pay for Fish Products with Health and Environmental Labels: Evidence from Five European Countries," Post-Print hal-02935812, HAL.
    3. Bong-Tae Kim & Min-Kyu Lee, 2018. "Consumer Preference for Eco-Labeled Seafood in Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-11, September.
    4. Train,Kenneth E., 2009. "Discrete Choice Methods with Simulation," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521766555, January.
    5. Mickael Bech & Dorte Gyrd‐Hansen, 2005. "Effects coding in discrete choice experiments," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 14(10), pages 1079-1083, October.
    6. Sallie James & Michael Burton, 2003. "Consumer preferences for GM food and other attributes of the food system," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 47(4), pages 501-518, December.
    7. Laura O. Taylor & Ronald G. Cummings, 1999. "Unbiased Value Estimates for Environmental Goods: A Cheap Talk Design for the Contingent Valuation Method," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(3), pages 649-665, June.
    8. Davies, R.W.D. & Cripps, S.J. & Nickson, A. & Porter, G., 2009. "Defining and estimating global marine fisheries bycatch," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 661-672, July.
    9. Kelvin J. Lancaster, 1966. "A New Approach to Consumer Theory," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 74(2), pages 132-132.
    10. Natali, F. & Cacchiarelli, L. & Branca, G., 2022. "There are plenty more (sustainable) fish in the sea: A discrete choice experiment on discarded species in Italy," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    11. Sergio Vitale & Federica Biondo & Cristina Giosuè & Gioacchino Bono & Charles Odilichukwu R. Okpala & Ignazio Piazza & Mario Sprovieri & Vito Pipitone, 2020. "Consumers’ Perception and Willingness to Pay for Eco-Labeled Seafood in Italian Hypermarkets," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-13, February.
    12. Grunert, Klaus G., 2011. "Sustainability in the Food Sector: A Consumer Behaviour Perspective," International Journal on Food System Dynamics, International Center for Management, Communication, and Research, vol. 2(3), pages 1-12, December.
    13. Jayson L. Lusk & Darren Hudson, 2004. "Willingness-to-Pay Estimates and Their Relevance to Agribusiness Decision Making," Review of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 26(2), pages 152-169.
    14. Tzu-Ming Liu & I-Jean Chen & Ho-Ching Jenny Yuan, 2021. "Using Stated Preference Valuation to Support Sustainable Marine Fishery Management," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-12, April.
    15. Asche, Frank & Bronnmann, Julia, 2017. "Price premiums for ecolabelled seafood: MSC certification in Germany," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 61(4), October.
    16. Salladarré Frédéric & Guillotreau Patrice & Perraudeau Yves & Monfort Marie-Christine, 2010. "The Demand for Seafood Eco-Labels in France," Journal of Agricultural & Food Industrial Organization, De Gruyter, vol. 8(1), pages 1-26, December.
    17. Hensher,David A. & Rose,John M. & Greene,William H., 2015. "Applied Choice Analysis," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107465923, November.
    18. Gro Steine & Kari Kolstad, 2006. "Consumers' Willingness to Pay for the Color of Salmon: A Choice Experiment with Real Economic Incentives," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 88(4), pages 1050-1061.
    19. Alfnes, Frode & Guttormsen, Atle G. & Steine, Gro & Kolstad, Kari, 2006. "Ajae Appendix: Consumers’ Willingness To Pay For The Color Of Salmon: A Choice Experiment With Real Economic Incentives," American Journal of Agricultural Economics APPENDICES, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 88(4), pages 1-8, November.
    20. Isaac Ankamah-Yeboah & Jette Bredahl Jacobsen & Søren Bøye Olsen & Max Nielsen & Rasmus Nielsen, 2019. "The Impact of Animal Welfare and Environmental Information on the Choice of Organic Fish: An Empirical Investigation of German Trout Consumers," Marine Resource Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 34(3), pages 247-266.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Precious Chikezie Ezeh & Kaitano Dube, 2024. "Willingness to Pay in Tourism and Its Influence on Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(23), pages 1-16, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Wongprawmas, Rungsaran & Canavari, Maurizio, 2017. "Consumers’ willingness-to-pay for food safety labels in an emerging market: The case of fresh produce in Thailand," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 25-34.
    2. Ana I. Sanjuán‐López & Helena Resano‐Ezcaray, 2020. "Labels for a Local Food Speciality Product: The Case of Saffron," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 71(3), pages 778-797, September.
    3. Yu-Hui Chen & Kai-Han Qiu & Kang Ernest Liu & Chun-Yuan Chiang, 2020. "Are Consumers Willing to Pay a Premium for Pure Rice Noodles? A Study of Discrete Choice Experiments in Taiwan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-18, July.
    4. Natali, F. & Cacchiarelli, L. & Branca, G., 2022. "There are plenty more (sustainable) fish in the sea: A discrete choice experiment on discarded species in Italy," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    5. Migena Proi & Emilia Cubero Dudinskaya & Simona Naspetti & Emel Ozturk & Raffaele Zanoli, 2023. "The Role of Eco-Labels in Making Environmentally Friendly Choices: An Eye-Tracking Study on Aquaculture Products with Italian Consumers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-15, March.
    6. Wang, Shuxian & Wu, Linhai & Zhu, Dian & Wang, Hongsha & Xu, Lingling, 2014. "Chinese consumers’ preferences and willingness to pay for traceable food attributes: The case of pork," 2014 Annual Meeting, July 27-29, 2014, Minneapolis, Minnesota 165639, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    7. Helen Scarborough & Jeff Bennett, 2012. "Cost–Benefit Analysis and Distributional Preferences," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 14376.
    8. Sckokai, Paolo & Veneziani, Mario & Moro, Daniele & Castellari, Elena, 2014. "Consumer willingness to pay for food safety: the case of mycotoxins in milk," Bio-based and Applied Economics Journal, Italian Association of Agricultural and Applied Economics (AIEAA), vol. 3(1), pages 1-19, April.
    9. Doherty, Edel & Campbell, Danny, 2011. "Demand for improved food safety and quality: a cross-regional comparison," 85th Annual Conference, April 18-20, 2011, Warwick University, Coventry, UK 108791, Agricultural Economics Society.
    10. Mohammed H. Alemu & Søren Bøye Olsen & Suzanne E. Vedel & John Kinyuru & Kennedy O. Pambo, 2016. "Integrating sensory evaluations in incentivized discrete choice experiments to assess consumer demand for cricket flour buns in Kenya," IFRO Working Paper 2016/02, University of Copenhagen, Department of Food and Resource Economics.
    11. Onozaka, Yuko & Saue, Vegar Veseth & Costanigro, Marco, 2018. "The Moderating Effect of Heterogeneous Beliefs on Consumer Preferences for a New Food Technology: The Case of Modified Atmospheric Packaging," 2018 Annual Meeting, August 5-7, Washington, D.C. 274068, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    12. Ballco, Petjon & Gracia, Azucena, 2020. "Do market prices correspond with consumer demands? Combining market valuation and consumer utility for extra virgin olive oil quality attributes in a traditional producing country," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    13. M. Lefebvre & C. Biguzzi & E. Ginon & S. Gomez-y-Paloma & S. R. H. Langrell & S. Marette & G. Mateu & A. Sutan, 2017. "Mandatory integrated pest management in the European Union: experimental insights on consumers’ reactions," Review of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Studies, Springer, vol. 98(1), pages 25-54, July.
    14. Rombach, Meike & Widmar, Nicole Olynk & Byrd, Elizabeth & Bitsch, Vera, 2018. "Do all roses smell equally sweet? Willingness to pay for flower attributes in specialized retail settings by German consumers," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 91-99.
    15. Chad M. Baum & Robert Weigelt, 2019. "How Where I Shop Influences What I Buy: The Importance of the Retail Format in Sustainable Tomato Consumption," Economic Complexity and Evolution, in: Andreas Chai & Chad M. Baum (ed.), Demand, Complexity, and Long-Run Economic Evolution, pages 141-169, Springer.
    16. Resano, Helena & Sanjuán, Ana I. & Albisu, Luis M., 2012. "Consumers’ response to the EU Quality policy allowing for heterogeneous preferences," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 355-365.
    17. Ladenburg, Jacob & Olsen, Søren Bøye, 2014. "Augmenting short Cheap Talk scripts with a repeated Opt-Out Reminder in Choice Experiment surveys," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 39-63.
    18. Yang, Xiaoke & Chen, Qiuhua & Lin, Nenmei & Han, Mengzhu & Chen, Qian & Zheng, Qiuqin & Gao, Bin & Liu, Fengbo & Xu, Zhongyue, 2021. "Chinese consumer preferences for organic labels on Oolong tea: evidence from a choice experiment," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 24(3), February.
    19. Lingling Xu & Xixi Yang & Linhai Wu & Xiujuan Chen & Lu Chen & Fu-Sheng Tsai, 2019. "Consumers’ Willingness to Pay for Food with Information on Animal Welfare, Lean Meat Essence Detection, and Traceability," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-22, September.
    20. Julia Ihli, Hanna & Chiputwa, Brian & Winter, Etti & Gassner, Anja, 2022. "Risk and time preferences for participating in forest landscape restoration: The case of coffee farmers in Uganda," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:15:p:11953-:d:1209967. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.