Packaging as an Offline Method to Share Information: Evidence from the Food and Beverage Industry in the Republic of Korea

With the growing participation by diverse stakeholders in the total flow of products, as seen with supply chains and logistics, it is becoming increasingly complicated to decide what information is to be shared and who is to be a partner. The purpose of this study is to explore the role of packaging as an offline method to share information in the total channel. This is because packaging improves communication among stakeholders and is normally part of the first contact between them and the product. Thus, it has the strategic potential to share product information that meets stakeholders’ needs. To accomplish this objective, we built a research framework that depicts four hypotheses and tested it with structural equation modeling (SEM). Data were collected by surveys and measured for statistical analysis. After identifying the role of packaging, we showed nine specific related variables and the information’s perceived effects on stakeholders and their directions and relative values. This will help future researchers to discuss packaging’s extended roles, the needs of information separation, and its priority to be shared to help executives develop packaging strategies as an offline means to share information. Additionally, as packaging is considered to be an information generator, it gives participants the opportunity to extend its roles and to assign additional information to the product along the offline flow of goods from manufacturers to end users.