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Consumers’ Attitudes for Sustainable Mountain Cheese

Author

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  • Chiara Mazzocchi

    (Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Milan, 20122 Milano, Italy)

  • Luigi Orsi

    (Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of Milan, 20122 Milano, Italy)

  • Guido Sali

    (Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Milan, 20122 Milano, Italy)

Abstract

The shift towards more sustainable consumptions and habits have had tangible impacts on food markets, which have accepted this challenge by offering a variety of certification systems to pull consumers aside. However, food purchasing choices are also guided by ethical, environmental and cultural motivations, functioning as drivers of food acquiring. This study aimed at assessing the influence of consumers’ attitudes in purchasing an Alpine cheese labelled with a food sustainability logo, as the mountain product brand, following a two-step approach. We estimated the consumers’ preferences for some sustainable labels by using Choice Experiments (CE), followed by a Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) approach to assess the influence of three attitudinal scales on the consumers’ behavior. The main results show the influence of green consumers’ values on the mountain product brand choice, and a strong relationship between green consumers’ and animal well-being values. In the conclusions, some policy indications are provided.

Suggested Citation

  • Chiara Mazzocchi & Luigi Orsi & Guido Sali, 2021. "Consumers’ Attitudes for Sustainable Mountain Cheese," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-17, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:4:p:1743-:d:494464
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Dimitris Skalkos & Katerina Bamicha & Ioanna S. Kosma & Elpida Samara, 2023. "Greek Semi-Hard and Hard Cheese Consumers’ Perception in the New Global Era," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-18, March.
    3. Leonardo Cei & Edi Defrancesco & Paola Gatto & Francesco Pagliacci, 2023. "Pay more for me, I’m from the mountains! The role of the EU Mountain Product term and other credence attributes in consumers’ valuation of lamb meat," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 11(1), pages 1-21, December.
    4. Ivana Bassi & Matteo Carzedda & Enrico Gori & Luca Iseppi, 2022. "Rasch analysis of consumer attitudes towards the mountain product label," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 10(1), pages 1-25, December.
    5. Lin Bai & Zhanguo Zhu & Tong Zhang, 2021. "How to Improve Food Quality in the Domestic Market: The Role of “Same Line Same Standard Same Quality”—Evidence from a Consumer Choice Experiment in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-16, May.
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    7. Francesco Pagliacci & Leonardo Cei & Edi Defrancesco & Paola Gatto, 2022. "The EU Mountain Product Voluntary Quality Term as a Valorization Tool for Livestock Farms: Challenges and Opportunities in an Alpine Context," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-15, March.
    8. Giacomo Staffolani & Deborah Bentivoglio & Adele Finco, 2022. "Consumers’ Purchasing Determinants Towards Mountain Food Products," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-15, July.

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