Why Might Organic Labels Fail to Influence Consumer Choices? Marginal Labelling and Brand Equity Effects

An organic label offers a market signal for producers of organic food products. In Western economies, the label has gained high recognition, but organic food still represents a small part of total food consumption, which raises questions about the label's efficacy. By considering organic labels...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Consumer Policy 2012-03, Vol.35 (1), p.85-104
Main Authors: Larceneux, Fabrice, Benoit-Moreau, Florence, Renaudin, Valérie
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Brand equity
Brands
Business administration
Certification
Co-branding
Cobranding
Commercial Law
Consumer attitudes
consumer preferences
Consumers
Consumption
Descriptive labeling
Economic Policy
Equity
experimental design
farmers
Food
Food consumption
food industry
food labeling
Food quality
Humanities and Social Sciences
Influence
Information policy
Label equity
Labeling
Labelling
Labels
Marketing
Markets
Natural & organic foods
Organic farming
organic foods
Organic label
Original Paper
Perceived quality
Perceptions
Product quality
Public health
Public policy
Shopping
Social Sciences
Studies
Trust
Western countries
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Summary:An organic label offers a market signal for producers of organic food products. In Western economies, the label has gained high recognition, but organic food still represents a small part of total food consumption, which raises questions about the label's efficacy. By considering organic labels as a signal of quality for consumers, this article studies how this signal interacts with brand signals when both are visible to consumers, applying a cobranding framework. This research examines the moderating effect of the brand on organic label effects. In a 2 × 2 experimental design using real consumers (N = 122) in a shopping context, it found that, depending on brand equity, the marginal effect of organic labelling information in terms of perceived product quality varies. In particular, when brand equity is high (low), the organic label appears less (more) effective. However, regardless of the brand equity level, an organic label makes the environmentally friendly attribute salient, which has a positive impact on perceived quality. Pertinent implications for marketing and public policy are discussed.
ISSN:0168-7034
0342-5843
1573-0700
DOI:10.1007/s10603-011-9186-1