Understanding How Consumers Cope with Food Safety Concerns: Using Qualitative Panel Data to Obtain a Complete Picture
Abstract:
American consumers are increasingly concerned about the microbial safety of the fruits and vegetables they consume. A random survey of 3,619 consumers from the Gallup Panel performed in October 2008 investigated the extent to which American consumers were concerned about the microbial safety of produce and how they coped with those concerns in the food marketing channel. Quantitative analysis found that consumers who were moderately to moderately highly concerned about microbial safety used a variety of coping methods. However, it was unclear if the individual coping methods, as expanded on by consumers through several qualitative open-ended questions, were correlated with other individual consumer practices and demographics. We were primarily interested in how consumers may change their fruit and vegetable purchases, preparation, or eating behavior. To investigate the potential relationship, the survey’s qualitative information was analyzed using qualitative software with three independent coders. The qualitative results were then analyzed along with the quantitative results to obtain a fuller picture of how consumers cope with concerns in the food marketing channel. This paper discusses the findings from this study and the implications of our findings for marketing theory, marketing practice, and further research.
Recommended Citation:
Pennington, J. R., Rao, K., Krush, M., & Ball, D. (2010). Understanding How Consumers Cope with Food Safety Concerns: Using Qualitative Panel Data to Obtain a Complete Picture. Paper presented at the American Association for Public Opinion Research, Chicago.
Attached Documents:
- AAPOR 2010 Program (see page #170 for the mention)
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