MARKETING OF SCIENTIFIC AND RESEARCH ORGANIZATIONS,...

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MARKETING OF SCIENTIFIC AND RESEARCH ORGANIZATIONS, 2020, Vol. 36, Issue 2, p. I–VI

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Ladies and gentlemen,

The scientific quarterly "Marketing of Scientific and Research Oraganizations"has been published for the second time in a new graphic design. Starting from issue1/2020, the magazine has not only a new layout but also a logotype. The roots of themagazine are the scientific conference of the same title, organized for the first timein the Institute of Aviation (currently the Łukasiewicz Research Network Institute ofAviation) in 2010.

In issue 2/2020, articles qualified by the Scientific Council of the XXVIIICongress of the Chairs of Marketing, Trade and Consumption, Szczecin 2020 (due tothe epidemic postponed to March 2021) have been published. The subject matter of thearticles is diverse, including. issues of sustainable consumption; challenges, methodsand perspectives for marketing, trade and consumption in the era of Revolution 4.0,as a new approach to achieving success through technological progress.

I warmly encourage you to read the June issue of the quarterly "Marketing ofScientific and Research Institutions", containing six articles on marketing andconsumption.

Sustainable consumption based on the gathering of information on food, the costof gathering information and the perception of messages by consumers is hardlyused by the stakeholders themselves. This has been proven by Elżbieta Goryńska--Goldmann, PhD Eng and Michał Gazdecki, PhD, in their research. From theperspective of consumers, the most reliable information about food, consumptionand the market comes from reports and research studies, from family or friends. A new perspective for market analysis, popularization of ideas, change of ingrainedhabits and behaviors of consumers is created by the network approach, theperspective of active involvement of the industry and consumer processing in theprocess of creating open innovations, food creation.

The subject of sustainable consumption was also taken up by GrzegorzMaciejewski, PhD DSc who shows the attitude of consumers towards the idea ofsustainable food consumption, manifested in sustainable behaviours both on themarket and in households. The most frequently undertaken sustainable behavioursinclude avoiding over-consumption, caring for healthy nutrition, as well assegregation and recycling of waste.

The informative value of food packaging is one of the important factors inconsumers' purchasing decisions. This issue was presented by Magdalena Ankiel,PhD DSc and Mariola Brzezińska-Grzybowska, PhD DSc, in an article presentingthe results of research on the importance of particular information placed onpackaging. On the basis of the analysis of the main components, the significance ofdetailed information about the product was determined, indicating the priority forthe buyer.

In recent years, the purchasing behaviour of residents has been restricted by theAct on Restriction of Trade on Sundays and holidays and on some other days. Thishas changed the frequency and distribution of weekly shopping. Piotr Cyrek, PhDpresented the results of three editions of his own research (2014, 2016, 2018)concerning the preferences of customers of retail outlets in terms of the days of theweek when they make major purchases of general and industrial products. Hepresented in the article changes in the weekly shopping schedule and its frequencyin the period before and after the introduction of the Act.

Another issue in his article was taken up by Prof. Bogdan Gregor and EmilianGwiaździński, M.Sc., who tried to answer the question concerning the level ofknowledge about the wearebles and the degree of their use in modern economy. Itturned out that despite the knowledge of worn devices and relatively positiveattitudes, the degree of their use is low.

The subject of consideration undertaken by Beata Nowotarska-Romaniak, PhDDSc in the last article is loyalty of customers on the insurance services market.Based on the results of the research, determinants of customer satisfaction arepresented. Insurance companies focus on activities related to building the image andtrust and giving intangible insurance services distinctive features, which involvespaying more attention to the values that enrich the service than to the essence of theservice itself.

The June issue of the quarterly will be continued in September, where you willfind further articles from the Congress of the Chairs of Marketing, Trade andConsumption (Zjazd Katedr Marketingu, Handlu i Konsumpcji), Szczecin 2020.

On behalf of the entire editorial team, I would like to thank both the authors andthe readers for 10 years of co-creating our magazine. I invite you to read and sendarticles with the results of research and analysis of the completed scientific andresearch work.

PPrrooffeessssoorr BBooggddaann SSoojjkkiinnEditor-in-Chief

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TABLE OF CONTENTSFrom the Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I

Scientific Committee. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IV

Editorial Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . V

Searching for and perception of information by consumers in the light of the sustainableconsumption idea — on the example of food markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Poszukiwanie i percepcja informacji przez konsumentów w świetle idei zrównoważonej konsumpcji — przykład rynków żywnościowych dr inż. Elżbieta Goryńska-Goldmann, dr Michał Gazdecki

Consumers towards sustainable food consumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Konsumenci wobec zrównoważonej konsumpcji żywności dr hab. Grzegorz Maciejewski, prof. UE

Informative value of packaging as a determinant of food purchase. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Wartość informacyjna opakowań jako determinanta zakupu żywności dr hab. inż. Magdalena Ankiel, prof. UEP, dr hab. Mariola Grzybowska-Brzezińska, prof. UWM

Diversification of customer shopping styles as a result of changes in the weekly work schedules of retail outlets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45Dywersyfikacja stylów zakupowych klientów w kontekście zmian w tygodniowym rozkładzie pracy placówek handlu detalicznegodr Piotr Cyrek

Wearable technology in the perception of young consumers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61Technologia wearable w ocenie młodych konsumentówprof. dr hab. Bogdan Gregor, mgr Emilian Gwiaździński

Customer loyalty on the insurance services market in Poland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77Lojalność klientów na rynku usług ubezpieczeniowychdr hab. Beata Nowotarska-Romaniak, prof. UE

Publication rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VII

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Scientific Committee

PPrrooffeessssoorr MMiirroossłłaawwaa PPlluuttaa OOlleeaarrnniikk,, Wrocław University of Economics and Bussines, Poland —— CChhaaiirrmmaann ooff tthhee SScciieennttiiffiicc CCoouunncciill

PPrrooffeessssoorr AAggnniieesszzkkaa IIzzaabbeellaa BBaarruukk,, Lodz University of Technology, PolandPPrrooffeessssoorr GGiiaanniittaa BBlleeoojjuu,, Universitatea Dunarea de Jos Galati, RomaniaPPrrooffeessssoorr HHoorrsstt BBrreezziinnsskkii,, Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg, GermanyRRooccssaannaa BBuucceeaa--MMaanneeaa--Ţoniș,, PPhhDD,, Spiru Haret University, RomaniaPPrrooffeessssoorr JJooaannnnaa CCyygglleerr,, Warsaw School of Economics, PolandPPrrooffeessssoorr AAnnnnaa DDrraappiińńsskkaa,, Gdańsk University of Technology, PolandPPrrooffeessssoorr JJaarroossllaavv DDvvoorraakk,, Klaipeda University, LithuaniaPPrrooffeessssoorr EEggoonn FFrraanncckk,, University of Zurich, SwitzerlandPPrrooffeessssoorr MMaarrcciinn GGęębbaarroowwsskkii,, Cracow University of Economics, PolandPPrrooffeessssoorr EElliinnaa GGaaiillee--SSaarrkkaannee,, Riga Technical University, LatviaPPrrooffeessssoorr BBooggddaann GGrreeggoorr,, University of Lodz, PolandPPrrooffeessssoorr EElleennaa GGuurrgguu,, Spiru Haret University of Bucharest, RomaniaPPrrooffeessssoorr HHååkkaann HHååkkaannssssoonn,, Norwegian Business School in Oslo, NorwayJJaaddrraannkkaa JJeezzeerrššeekk TTuurrnneess,, PPhhDD,, Kontekst, SloweniaAAnniittaa KKoollnnhhooffeerr--DDeerreeccsskkeeii,, PPhhDD,, Óbuda University, HungaryPPrrooffeessssoorr LLeeaa KKuubbíícckkoovváá,, Mendel University in Brno, Czech RepublicPPrrooffeessssoorr SSuussaannaa LLaappoorrsseekk,, University of Primorska, SloveniaPPrrooffeessssoorr JJuuaann GGaarrcciiaa MMaacchhaaddoo,, Univesity of Huelva, SpainPPrrooffeessssoorr VVaannddaa MMaarraakkoovvaa,, Matej Bel University of Banská Bystrica, SlovakiaPPrrooffeessssoorr BBoobbaann MMeelloovviićć,, University of Montenegro, MontenegroPPrrooffeessssoorr PPeettrraa MMoorrsscchhhheeuusseerr,, Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University, GermanyMMaarrggaarreettaa NNaaddaannyyiioovvaa,, PPhhDD,, University of Zilina, SlovakiaPPrrooffeessssoorr ÐÐuurrððaannaa OOzzrreettiićć DDooššeenn,, University of Zagreb, CroatiaPPrrooffeessssoorr JJooeerrnn RReeddlleerr,, Mainz University of Applied Sciences, GermanyMMaarriiaa RRyybbaacczzeewwsskkaa,, PPhhDD EEnngg..,, Stirling University, UKPPrrooffeessssoorr EEddggaarr JJuuaann SSaauucceeddoo AAccoossttaa,, University of Veracruz, MexicoPPrrooffeessssoorr HHaannnnaa SShhvviinnddiinnaa,, Sumy State University, UkrainePPrrooffeessssoorr MMaarriinnaa SSoolleessvviikk,, Nord University, NorwayPPrrooffeessssoorr AAnnddrreeaa SSuujjoovvaa,, Technical University in Zvolen, SlovakiaPPrrooffeessssoorr DDiinnddaayyaall SSwwaaiinn,, International Management Institute, IndiaPPrrooffeessssoorr RRoommaann ŠŠppeerrkkaa,, Silesian University in Opava, Czech RepublicPPrrooffeessssoorr WWłłooddzziimmiieerrzz SSrrookkaa,, WSB University, PolandPPrrooffeessssoorr RRiicchhaarrdd SSzzaannttoo,, Corvinus University of Budapest, HungaryPPrrooffeessssoorr LLiibbeennaa TTeettrreevvoovvaa,, PPhhDD EEnngg..,, University of Pardubice, Czech RepublicPPrrooffeessssoorr DDaarriiuusszz TTwwoorrzzyyddłłoo,, University of Warsaw, PolandPPrrooffeessssoorr NNeevveenn VVrrcceekk,, University of Zagreb, CroatiaPPrrooffeessssoorr JJoolliittaa VVvveeiinnhhaarrddtt,, Vytautas Magnus University, LithuaniaPPrrooffeessssoorr HHaabbttee GG.. WWoolldduu,, The University of Texas at Dallas, USAPPrrooffeessssoorr WWiilllliiaamm BBrraaddlleeyy ZZeehhnneerr IIII,, University of Texas at Austin, USA

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EEddiittoorr--iinn--CChhiieeff

Professor Bogdan Sojkin — Poznań University of Economics and Bussines, Poland

EEddiittoorriiaall BBooaarrdd

Professor Anna Dąbrowska, Warsaw School of Economics, Poland — Theme Editor Professor Dariusz Trzmielak — University of Lodz — Theme EditorProfessor Grażyna Dehnel, Poznań University of Economics and Bussines, Poland — Statistical Editor Professor Andrzej Leski, Łukasiewicz Research Network — Institute of Aviation, PolandAneta Olejniczak, PhD, Łukasiewicz Research Network — Institute of Aviation, Poland — Assistant EditorRadosław Suchożebrski, Łukasiewicz Research Network — Institute of Aviation, Poland — GraphicDesignKatarzyna Wrona, Łukasiewicz Research Network — Institute of Aviation, Poland — GraphicDesignAnna Surzycka-Kucharczuk, Koncept, Poland — Layout & Typesetting

eeIISSSSNN 22335533--88441144ppIISSSSNN 22335533--88550033

The journal is indexed in:Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ),European Reference Index for the Humanities and the Social Sciences (ERIH PLUS),The Central European Journal Of Social Sciences And Humanities (CEJSH),Index Copernicus Journals Master List,Google Scholar,De Gruyter,BazEkon,BazHum,ROAD Directory of Open Acces Scholarly Resources,Baidu Scholar,Celdes,CNKI Scholar (China National Knowledge Infrastructure),CNPIEC,EBSCO Discovery Service,J-Gate,KESLI-NDSL (Korean National Discovery for Science Leaders),Naviga (Softweco),Primo Central (ExLibris),ReadCube,Summon (Serials Solutions/ProQuest),

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TDNet,WanFang Data,WorldCat (OCLC).

Based on decisions of the Minister of Science and Higher Education (The announcement of July 31,2019) there are 20 points attributed to the author's academic achievements for publishing scientificarticles in the Quarterly.

The magazine was entered into the Polish Court Register of Journals and Magazines with number PR 18803.The journal is originally published in electronic format.

Publishing funded by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education.

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Address of Editors:

Łukasiewicz Research Network — The Institute of Aviational. Krakowska 110/114, 02-256 Warsaw, Polande-mail: [email protected] Editor — Phone: +48 22 846 00 11 ext. 249www.minib.pl

Publishers:

Łukasiewicz Research Network — The Institute of AviationScientific Publishersal. Krakowska 110/114, 02-256 Warsaw, Polande-mail: [email protected]: +48 22 846 00 11https://ilot.lukasiewicz.gov.pl/


POSZUKIWANIE I PERCEPCJA INFORMACJI PRZEZ KONSUMENTÓW W ŚWIETLE IDEIZRÓWNOWAŻONEJ KONSUMPCJI — PRZYKŁAD RYNKÓW ŻYWNOŚCIOWYCH

Elzbieta Gorynska-Goldmann, PhD Eng.Poznan University of Life Sciences, Facuty of Economics and Social Sciences, Department of Economics and Economics Policy in Agribusiness, Poland, Wojska Polskiego 28, 60-637 [email protected] ORCID: 0000-0002-0884-4772

Michał Gazdecki, PhDPoznan University of Life Sciences, Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, Department of Economics and Economics Policy in [email protected] ORCID: 0000-0002-6594-5350

DDOOII:: 1100..22447788//mmiinniibb--22002200--00001133

SEARCHING FOR AND PERCEPTION OFINFORMATION BY CONSUMERS IN THE LIGHT

OF THE SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION IDEA —ON THE EXAMPLE OF FOOD MARKETS

Open Access

The aim of this paper is to present the sources of information about food, the cost of collecting the information and theperception of messages by consumers in the light of the sustainable food consumption idea. We used primary materials froma direct, personal survey which were later analyzed with the use of Berelson’s content analysis method. We found that aconsumer shows low interest in sourcing the information about sustainable food consumption. The most credible, from theconsumer’s point of view, information about food, consumption and the food market, comes from reports and scientificpapers, as well as from the consumers’ families or friends. Gathering information is connected with devoting time which wespend on finding the right content. The information connected to environmental issues was the most distinctive for therespondents; other categories of information concerned the waste of food, shopping planning, the direction of changes,personal health issues and the influence of food products on one’s health, as well as consumption in connection withrecommendations concerning health (among others, in the scope of nutrition, recommendations and specialistic advices). Theknowledge of the most credible sources of the information about food consumption, the frequency of acquiring suchknowledge, the costs of gathering information and the perception of messages should be reflected in properly chosencommunication channels for the promotion of sustainable food consumption. In the research over sustainable foodconsumption we should focus more on our information needs. The network approach and the perspective of activeengagement of consumers in the process of creating innovations in food products give us a new approach for the marketanalysis, popularization of the idea of sustainable food consumption and let us change some deeply rooted habits andbehaviors of consumers. As a result of such engagement, consumers will be more willing to cooperate and trust one another,and thanks to the feeling of social effectiveness, they will be more interested in the development of the sustainable foodconsumption model and food policy.

ABSTRACT

Key words: sustainable consumption, education, information, perception, messages

MARKETING OF SCIENTIFIC AND RESEARCH ORGANIZATIONS, 2020, Vol. 36, Issue 2, p. 1–18pISSN 2353-8503eISSN 2353-8414

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Searching for and perception of information by consumers in the light of the sustainable consumption idea — on the example of food markets

Introduction

One of the key elements of both the EU and the country's food policy isto keep high quality of food offered to the market (when it comes, forexample, to nutrition and safety) (Pawlak, 2016) and to ensure that foodproducts are produced in a sustainable way. That element reflects a practical implementation of the sustainable development conception1, a postulate aimed at introducing changes in production and taking actionsin order to develop some alternative, more sustainable practices. The saidissue, apart from changes in production, influences also changes in food andnutrition, including consumers' interest in the model of the sustainable

Celem pracy jest zaprezentowanie źródeł pozyskiwania informacji na temat żywności, kosztu gromadzenia informacji orazpercepcji komunikatów przez konsumentów w świetle idei zrównoważonej konsumpcji żywności. Wykorzystano materiałypierwotne pochodzące z badania ankietowego wykonanego techniką bezpośrednich wywiadów osobistych, poddając jeanalizie merytorycznej z wykorzystaniem analizy treści rozwiniętej przez Berelsona. Stwierdzono, że konsumenci wykazująniskie zainteresowanie poszukiwaniem informacji z zakresu zrównoważonej konsumpcji żywności. Z perspektywykonsumentów najbardziej wiarygodne informacje na temat żywności, konsumpcji i rynku pochodzą z raportów i opracowańbadawczo-naukowych, od rodziny lub znajomych. Gromadzenie informacji wiąże się z poświęcaniem czasu na znalezienieinteresujących treści. Informacje związane z troską o środowisko najbardziej zapadły w pamięci badanych; inne dotyczyłynp. marnotrawstwa żywności, planowania zakupów, zdrowia człowieka. Wiedza o wiarygodnych źródłach informacji natemat żywności w oczach konsumentów, częstotliwość jej poszukiwania, koszty gromadzenia i percepcja komunikatówpowinna być odzwierciedlona w odpowiednio dobranych kanałach komunikacji na potrzeby promocji idei zrównoważonejkonsumpcji żywności. W badaniach nad zrównoważoną konsumpcją żywności należy poświęcić więcej uwagi potrzebominformacyjnym. Nową perspektywę dla analizy rynku, popularyzacji idei, zmiany zakorzenionych przyzwyczajeń i zachowańkonsumentów stwarza podejście sieciowe, perspektywa aktywnego zaangażowania konsumentów w proces tworzeniaotwartych innowacji, kreacji żywności. W wyniku takiego zaangażowania konsumenci będą czuli się skłonniejsi dowspółpracy i zaufania, a mając zwiększone poczucie skuteczności społecznej, będą bardziej zainteresowani rozwojemmodelu zrównoważonej konsumpcji i polityką żywnościową.

JJEELL:: D12, D13, D83, D91, M31

ABSTRAKT

Słowa kluczowe: konsumpcja zrównoważona, edukacja, informacja, percepcja, komunikaty

food consumption and diet. It can be an answer for, inter alia, the problemof obesity (even among kids), the lack of microelements, nutrients, theproblem of undernourishment, as well as other challenges connected withthem both in Europe (WHO, 2018) and in Poland2.

Sustainable consumption3 is a conscious, optimal and responsible use ofavailable natural resources, goods and services on different levels(individuals, households, communities, local groups, businessenvironments, local governments, country's official government andinternational organizations) (Balderjahn, Hüttel, 2019; Cerria, Thogersen,Testab, 2019; Lewandowska et al., 2018; Stanszus et al., 2017). The idea ofsustainable food consumption cannot be only a theory. Market'sparticipants, especially consumers, should understand it and decide tofollow the relations and connections that exist between naturalenvironment, economy and society. We should develop an education systemaimed at common understanding of values. It is also necessary to makepeople aware of the relations between the quality of life and right andhealthy relations between people and nature. It is necessary to formulateguidelines and to take actions which will allow us to further implement thesustainable consumption principles and create space for cooperationbetween scientists and governments, as well as governmental and non-governmental organizations. Only cooperation and strong relations buildwith a longer perspective in mind will allow market participants to acquirethe natural skills of developing practices that help to rise interest in thesustainable food consumption and create a sustainable society. The issue ofconsumers' behaviors on food markets with regard to the idea of thesustainable food consumption is part of an innovative direction of research(Cerria, Thogersen, Testab, 2019; Richter, Thogersen, Klöckner, 2017). Weare currently seeing the forming trend and looking for its conditions(Goryńska-Goldmann, Adamczyk, Gazdecki, 2016; Goryńska-Goldmann,2019b).

Consumers are more interested in parameters and features of foodproducts before they decide to buy them. They try to filter someinformation and sources of information, check products and compare them.Such behaviors show the significance of information needs and effortsaimed at satisfying those needs by consumers (Gazdecki, Goryńska-Goldmann, 2019). In the age of the Internet and constantly growing

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MARKETING OF SCIENTIFIC AND RESEARCH ORGANIZATIONS, 2020, Vol. 36, Issue 2, p. 1–18


databases, groups of information are growing (Èervenka et al., 2018) alsovery quickly what causes the searching of information to be time-consuming. Our notice can be attracted also by the costs that consumershave to bear in connection to the selection of information and the rightinterpretation of information in order to gain valuable insights (they arecharacterized, inter alia, by adequacy, completeness, currency andcredibility). Those elements are specific for the process of searching for theinformation necessary for the buyer (on the way to recognize and realizeneeds), who, with the help of selected data, can make decisions. Publicinterest in the conception of the sustainable consumption and engagementof that idea to wider scope of activities promoting health and healthy food,demands taking promotional actions which will allow to increase theefficiency of market initiatives and will bring some advantages(environmental, economic and social). In order to ensure that we have toknow exactly what communication channels are used by consumers, whatkind of information about food they are looking for (in order to satisfy theirneeds and the needs of their households' members), and what kind of costswill they have to bear. On the basis of such kind of information, it will bepossible to list tools used for marketing communication about thesustainable food consumption that allow to increase the interest ofcustomers and promote more sustainable attitudes, as well as increase theeffectiveness of the messages. The aim of our paper is to present the sourcesof information about food, the cost of information gathering and theperception of messages by consumers in the light of the sustainable foodconsumption idea.

The theory of social communication and social attitudes in the light of the sustainable food consumption promotion

The process of the implementation of the sustainable food consumptionidea is inseparably connected to not only the need of tracking documentsneeded for the creation of the right conditions, planning andimplementation of informational and promotional activities, but also fortheir assessment on the way to achieve a given result (inter alia in the

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context of usefulness, effectiveness and stability of the actions taken). Itdemands defining some theoretical conditions, which are fundamental forsuch type of research. The theoretical basis for the discussed issue is thetheory of social communication and the theory of social attitudes. Eachindividual, according to the theory of social attitudes, has got a relativelystable tendency to react in a given way for actions or behaviors of others(people, social groups), as well as for different events and circumstances,taking into account also different values (both material and non-material)(Aronson, Wilson, Akert, 1997; Wojciszke, 2003). Such attitude consists ofthree components, which are related to its core (the cognitive, emotionaland behavioral component). This paper refers to the cognitive andbehavioral component. We analyzed consumers behaviors in relation todifferent information sources and the perception of messages that appearin their environment with the idea of the sustainable food consumption, aswell as the amount of time spent on searching for information. It allowedus to determine the costs of information gathering. Direct contact betweenconsumers and the information about food, consumption and the foodmarket result in adapting specific attitudes towards those information,their sources, credibility and content.

In the process of social communication, in its classical perspective,the main participants are a sender and a recipient of messages, and thewhole process takes place in a defined context and is determined byspecific conditions (the sender, the recipient and the rest of marketparticipants that can influence their decisions). The process ofcommunication is analyzed on different levels, inter alia cultural, time,economic and social. Within the process of communication are definedthe main parts of it, i.e. 1) a message (its content and information), 2)chosen communication channels and supplementing channels, 3) coding(the information contained in the message and chosen communicationchannels) and 4) decoding (the message decoded by the recipients). Therecipient's answer creates a feedback. The sender, because of thedecoding mechanism, should know and take into account thosemechanisms in order to reduce "information noises".

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Research method and material

While working on this paper we used both the results of our ownresearch, as well as the results from other authors' research, andsupplemented them with our own knowledge and experience. We used thedesk research method and the basis material comes from a surveyconducted with the use of personal interviews method at the PoznanUniversity of Life Sciences' Department of Economics and EconomicsPolicy in Agribusiness in 2017 by Goryńska-Goldmann i Czechorowski,entitled: Analiza źródeł i kosztów pozyskiwania informacji oraz percepcjakomunikatów w obszarze zrównoważonej konsumpcji żywności (TheAnalysis of Sources and Costs of Information Gathering and the Perceptionof Messages in the Area of the Sustainable Food Consumption). The testedsample was chosen with the non-random, quota method. The survey wasconducted among 433 inhabitants of the Greater Poland Voivodeship; thestructure of the sample was defined on the basis of the general structure ofthe society, trying to make them as similar as possible4.

In order to identify the sources of information gathered by consumersabout food and to determine the cost of information sourcing we askedthe following questions: "Are you looking for the information about food,consumption and food market" (closed question), "If yes, please list theinformation that you are interested in?" (open question), "How often doyou get the information (e.g. read articles, watch TV programs, listen tothe radio) about food, consumption and the food market?" In thequestions regarding the frequency of information sourcing we used thefollowing scale: ("every day", "2–3 times a week" "4–5 times a week", "oncea week", "2–3 times a month", "once a month", "less frequently"). In thefurther part of the survey, the respondents were asked to rate thecredibility of the given sources of the information about food,consumption and the food market (closed question). The task of therespondents was to think about every single source of information and torate its credibility. Thanks to such approach, we were able to rate thecredibility level on a scale from 1 to 5, where 1 means "unreliable", and 5"totally reliable" (1 — unreliable, 2 — dubious reliability, 3 — ratherreliable, 4 — highly reliable, 5 — totally reliable). On the basis of the

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answers we were able to get the arithmetic average. The informationabout the cost of the time devoted by consumers were gathered on thebasis of the question: "How much time do you spend, on one occasion, onsearching for such information — please define it in minutes" (openquestion). The results underwent further analysis and thedifferentiation of the values of different sources' credibility and the costof information sourcing was verified. In order to determine theperception of the sustainable food consumption we used a closedquestion: "Did you come across any information about the sustainablefood consumption during the last year?". Then we asked an openquestion: "What do you remember from that information?" Openquestions allowed the respondents to freely express their opinions andhelped us to gain knowledge about them. In order to analyze the content,we used the content analysis5 method, developed by Berelson6 (Lisowska--Magdziarz, 2004).

The results of our own research: the sources of information about food, consumption and market, as well as the assessment of their credibility

Taking actions by market's participants (companies, institutions, stateauthorities) in the area of choosing the right communication channelsused to communicate with consumers, demands understanding of thetypes of information that a consumer needs in order to make marketchoices aimed at satisfying his or her own needs and the needs of otherhousehold members. Precise identification of consumer's informationneeds is one of the conditions necessary to improve the effectiveness ofcommunication. The results of our own research show that only one-thirdof the respondents are interested and actively take part in searching forthe information about food, consumption and the food market. From theconsumers' perspective, the biggest interest in the above-mentionedinformation concerned the products influence on health (35% ofrespondents), nutritional and energy value (22%) and ingredients (20%).

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Significant was also the origin of products, their character, way ofpreparation and usage, price, as well as issues connected with ecology anddiet. Little attention was put to the information concerning the quality ofproducts (e.g. certificates, symbols, marks confirming the high quality ofproducts), data about GMO or the fact of processing the products andinformation about their expiry date. An extended set of information is a proof of contacts between consumers and other market participantsregarding the information about food and consumption. Consumers whohave knowledge about their information needs, with regards to the foodmarket, and who define their own needs should be called "informedconsumers". For example, women and people who have higher education,living in relatively good financial conditions, are especially concernedwith the health issues. While looking for the information, women putmore attention to the issues connected with diet and ecology. In contrast,men place a little bit more attention to prices of products, the way thatproducts are prepared and used. Health issues are more important for people aged 35–44; the situation is different when it comes to thenutritional and energy value — it is more interesting for people aged18–24.

Another important issue in the process of sourcing information is thecredibility. While rating the credibility of different sources, the respondentsshowed that the most credible information about food, consumption andthe market comes from reports and scientific papers (43% of therespondents said that such information is totally reliable and another 43%said that it is highly reliable) and from family members (20% of therespondents said that such information is totally reliable and 42% said thatit is highly reliable) or friends (10% of the respondents said that suchinformation is totally reliable and 32% said that it is highly reliable). Only1% of the respondents when it comes to the family, and 3% when it comesto friends, rated the information as unreliable. The results show howpowerful the word-of-mouth marketing is, as it helps to reach peopledirectly through recommendations and word-of-mouth messages. Nearlyone-fourth of the respondents considered knowledge from magazines or theInternet to be totally reliable or highly reliable. The same number of peopledoubted the credibility of such sources of information (respectively 24% and

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25%), and 8% of people said that such sources of information are unreliable.The sources like newspapers, radio or television were appreciated by oneout of seven respondents; around 30% of respondents doubted theircredibility (Table 1).

Table 1. The credibility of different sources of information about food, its consumption and the market

Sources of information5 — totally reliable, 1 — unreliable

5 4 3 2 1 Average

Reports and scientific papers 43% 43% 10% 3% 1% 4.3Family 20% 42% 29% 8% 1% 3.7Friends 10% 32% 38% 17% 3% 3.3Magazines 4% 26% 38% 24% 8% 2.9The Internet 1% 27% 39% 25% 8% 2.9Radio 1% 16% 47% 29% 7% 2.8Newspapers 1% 18% 42% 31% 8% 2.7TV 1% 16% 41% 30% 12% 2.6

Source: author's own study based on the survey.

The results of our own research: the cost of information gathering

Searching for information is inseparably connected to the costs of timethat a consumer has to spend on looking for the right information. Thequestion about the frequency of searching for the information concerningfood, consumption and the food market showed that one-fifth of therespondents is looking for it once a week (21% of the total answers given)and one-seventh of the respondents is looking for it 2–3 times a week(around 15%). Nearly 20% of the respondents could not say how often theysearch for the information. Not many people search for the informationfrom the food market every day — such answer was given only in the caseof 2% of the respondents. The results show that the respondents only oncea week or once every 2–3 days search for the information. The survey alsoproves that despite an easy access to different sources of information, the

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consumers not very often and not very intensively search for theinformation about food, the market and consumption what is not a positivefact and should be changed in the future.

In the context of gathering the information concerning food,consumption and the market, very important is time that has to be spenton sourcing such information. The respondents were asked about theaverage time they spent on searching for those information. The resultsshowed that 87% of the respondents were able to answer that question(13% said that they do not look for such information). Among people thatfilter information regarding food, consumption and the food market, theaverage time spent on searching for the information was a little bit over 30 minutes (while the maximum time was 180 minutes and the minimumtime was 2 minutes).

While I was analyzing the results from the perspective of therespondents' gender, I noticed, that both men and women on averagespent the same amount of time on searching for the information aboutfood, consumption and the food market; and at the same time women aremore likely to extend that time to even 3 hours. People aged 18–24 searchfor such information more often: 2–3 times a month, 2–3 times a week oronce a week. Young people also spend more time on sourcing theinformation about food than older people (aged 45–65). People aged morethan 55 were not interested in searching for the information. Elderlypeople (65+) spend on it the least time, on average 0.5 hour, but not morethan 1 hour. People with intermediate or higher level of education searchfor the information once a week. The highest amount of time spent onsearching for information was in households consisting of 3 and 4 people(35 minutes), while the least time was spent in families of 5 or morepeople (25 minutes). The respondents that describe their financialconditions as "neither good nor bad" spend less time on searching for theinformation about food than people living in good conditions.

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The results of our own research: perception of marketing messages connected to the idea of the sustainable food consumption

The results of the research showed that 4/5 of the respondents havenever come across any information concerning the idea of the sustainablefood consumption. Only one-fifth of the respondents (22%) declared thatthey have seen messages concerning sustainable food consumption. Takinginto consideration the gender of the respondents, we can assume that thegroup mostly interested in such information were women living inrelatively good financial conditions. People with higher education who livein good conditions search for the information about the sustainable foodconsumption most often.

In order to deepen the analysis, the respondents interested in thesustainable food consumption were asked to answer a question concerningthe facts that they remembered from the provided information. The resultsshow that the average number of remembered information was 1.4, whatmay mean that the respondents focused on the most important issues fromtheir perspective. The information concerning the environmental issueswas the easiest to remember (they consist of 28% of the whole answersprovided), and included information about the protection of theenvironment, waste segregation, recycling, protection of nature andsolutions from municipal or urban engineering. The next perceivedmessages concerned: 1) food waste issues (including high level of food wasteand the need to reduce it); 2) shopping planning (including the rightshopping planning when it comes to the relations between needs and thenumber of products); 3) changes and their direction (including increase inconsumption, high prices of ecological food, low share of ecological goods inthe overall food consumption, collaborative consumption); 4) human healthand the products' influence on our health (including the connectionbetween nutrition and health issues, the issue of healthy food products, theneed to take care of health and information about balanced diet); 5)consumption in relation to the nutrition recommendations (i.e.:information about the number of ingredients and their composition, timesof eating, the share of fruit and vegetables in one's diet); 6) stricterconsumption recommendations (avoiding products containing lactose,

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focusing on the consequences of individual choices). Interest in such issueswas confirmed by one-eighth of the respondents. Among other information,gathered or searched for not as often as the information mentioned above,were the ecological aspects, range, and character of the packaging.

The analysis of the marketing messages in connection to the idea ofsustainable food consumption led to a conclusion that such type ofinformation were easier to remember for women than for men. When itcomes to the age groups (in comparison with other groups), the young(18–24 years old) remembered the information about shopping planningand connection between consumption and nutrition recommendations,people aged 25–34 were more interested in environmental issues, thedirection of changes and issues of consumption and ecology, while peopleaged 35–44 were interested in food waste. The respondents with highereducation level and living in better financial conditions were more likely toremember the above mentioned categories of information connected to thesustainable food consumption.

Undoubtedly, the information about health and environmental issuesare the most important kinds of information for consumers. Nevertheless,it should also be mentioned that the quality of life, as well as the pace ofdevelopment of production and distribution of goods and services and someeconomic issues of socio-economic development (their changes) play the keyrole in the development of food consumption and improvement of thequality of life. From an international and domestic perspective, as well asfrom the point of view of the smallest consumers (i.e. individuals and theirhouseholds), taking actions aimed at improving the quality of life may be along-term task that starts from every person's attitude or a social needwhen it comes to the whole society. An increase in the consumers'awareness as a result of their experiences (inter alia connected withavailability of food products rich in preservatives and food adulteration),and the awareness of the depletion of resources (e.g. energy) in the worldmake people focus on the need to search for the information about a newway for both production and consumption, including a modern model offood consumption that would provide tasty and healthy food. Rising peopleawareness of social, economic, environmental and healthy advantagesshould increase the interest in the sustainable food production and

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sustainable products. For example, Young, Hwang, McDonald, Oatest(2010) noticed that 30% of consumers express worries about environmentalissues, but only 5% turn that worries into actions. Shrinking the gapbetween the "attitude/plan" and the "real consumers' behavior" is a challenge of practical and theoretical matter in the light of hugediversification of market's participants that want to encourage consumers(Barnett, Cloke, Clarke, Malpass, 2010) to take actions leading to somemore sustainable results.

Food production and industrial processing should engage in creatingopen innovations while building market networks and connections betweenentities, and actively incorporating consumers in the development of theidea. It creates a new perspective for the analysis of the food market and thenetwork approach becomes an important theoretical structure for thescientific research (Gazdecki, Goryńska-Goldmann, 2019). It is worth tofurther develop practices allowing to incorporate consumers into the foodcreation process which results in creating new, more sustainableconceptions of food products or services, introduced to the market by foodproducers. Such approach will allow us to faster implement the sustainableconsumption model and change deeply rooted habits of consumers.Cooperation between many participants (inter alia producers, tradecompanies, scientists and consumers), exchange of experiences andknowledge help to develop product innovations that are really likely to comeinto life.

Informed consumers, as a group of citizens able to spread informationamong other groups, e.g. their family and friends, create good conditions toovercome the, so-called, "gap between attitude and behavior" in the scope ofthe sustainable consumption and development barriers, including the time,organizational and social barrier). After joining a group of consumers andtrying to implement more sustainable practices, the citizens who rely notonly on regulations but also on other, closer sources of information (i.e.family and friends recommendations), should be more open to change theirbehaviors connected to food consumption. They will be more likely tocooperate and trust others, and thanks to the improved social effectiveness,they will be more interested in the sustainable food idea and the food policydevelopment.

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Limitations concerning the carried out research

Despite the unquestionable value of the presented research results, theyhave some limitations as a source of scientific evidence. One of the limitationsof the carried out research was the scale of credibility applied. Two of theaccepted answers (1 — unreliable, 2 — dubious reliability) are of negativecharacter, while three other answers (3 — rather reliable, 4 — highly reliable,5 — totally reliable) are positive. That certainly influenced the results.Moreover, it cannot be changed in the presented studies. It seems necessary toapply one neutral answer in case of using the Likert scale (5 or 7) in the future.

Another thing that may rise concerns is whether the answers of therespondents about the time spent on searching for information are reliabledue to some objections, including whether they have access to historicalbehaviors and if they are generally aware of the fact when they aresearching for information, in what situations they do it and how much timethey actually spend on it. One may be afraid that the reliability of therespondents' declarations on these subjects is very limited.

Conclusion

The knowledge of the credible sources of information about food, thefrequency of searching for such information, the costs of gatheringinformation and the perception of messages should be reflected in correctlychosen information channels for the need of promoting the sustainable foodconsumption idea, from the consumers perspective:

the most credible sources of information about food, consumption andthe market are reports and scientific papers, as well as friends andfamily members;searching for information is inseparably connected to bearing some costs,as we have to devote our time to find interesting content; one-fifth of therespondents filter the information about food, consumption and themarket once a week, and one-seventh of them search for the information2–3 times a week, usually spending on that activity over 30 minutes;

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the information connected to the environmental issues was the easiestto remember for respondents and included such aspects as theenvironment protection, waste segregation, recycling, respect for thenature and municipal or urban engineering solutions;those marketing messages that were easily remembered in connection withthe idea of the sustainable food consumption concerned also the problems offood waste, shopping planning, the direction of changes, personal healthissues and the influence of food products on one's health, as well as theconsumption in connection with some recommendations concerning health.

The awareness of our influence on the environment, the knowledgeabout the vulnerabilities of the environment and the care for ecology areissues that rise our interest and which are necessary to further buildcommunication focused on promoting the sustainable food consumptionidea. We should try to provide wider access to the information about thesustainable consumption, inter alia by gathering the information aboutgood practices of consumers, food waste, shopping planning and thedirection of changes in the current consumption model, the value of healthand the influence of food products on our health, as well as the connectionbetween nutrition and different recommendations, e.g. regarding nutrition,consumption and other specialistic recommendations.

It is worth to focus more on the sustainable food consumption andconsumers needs regarding information because of the potential of suchresearch, especially in the scope of cognitive and emotional processes andthe possibility to stimulate discussion about the issues driving routineconsumption practices. Not many people know what is the sustainable foodconsumption and what kind of information allow to obey the rules of it inorder to draw benefits for consumers and the society as a whole.

We need to increase the customers' awareness towards foodconsumption. Educating people about the sustainable food consumptionshould for example include the element of stress reduction (because ofwrong, improper eating practices and the lack of knowledge about them),based on our awareness, the development of different programs, as well aspromoting values with the use of the electronic sources of information.

Capabilities of a given country and economy to create open conditionsfor innovations and successful introduction of them to the market will

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influence the pace of development of the sustainable food consumptionmodel. An important role plays the marketing communication systemwhich allows to present the idea and the right solutions, as well as toeducate the society with the use of the right communication channels,informational and educational instruments and by organizing events thatpromote the idea and provide information about it.

Footnotes1 Report: Realizacja Celów Zrównoważonego Rozwoju w Polsce (Implementation of the sustainable developmentgoals in Poland) (2018). Retrieved from: http://unic.un.org.pl/files/259/Polska_VNR_20180615.pdf (17.09.2019).2 http://www.izz.waw.pl (20.10.2019).3 The meaning of the "sustainable consumption" idea and the knowledge about the issue have been developing sincethe United Nations Conference: The Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro (so called "Earth Summit")during which one hundred seventy-nine governments signed the Agenda 21 (UN) (Hinton, Goodman, 2010), andwhere the term was used for the first time (1992) (Schrader, Thogersen, 2011). During the summit it was pointed outthat the condition of our environment has been worsening and the differences between social welfare increasing, whatis caused by non-balanced consumption and production. The participants agreed on the need to increase thesustainable consumption but did not fully defined the term. The full definition of the sustainable consumption: "theuse of services and related products which respond to basic needs and bring a better quality of life while minimizingthe use of natural resources and toxic materials as well as emissions of waste and pollutants over the life cycle of theservice or product so as not to jeopardize the needs of future generations" was introduced later, during the NordicRoundtable in Oslo (Norwegian Ministry of the Environment, 1994). On the basis of international papers we shouldconfirm, that it is the most popular definition, despite being from time to time criticized (Di Giulio, Fischer, Schäfer,Blättel-Mink, 2014). Tasks and actions posing a challenge for the idea of the sustainable consumption can be found inthe draft document of the European Commission "Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe" (2011)(https://ec.europa.eu/environment/resource_efficiency/about/roadmap/index_en.htm, 21.10.2019).4 Because the paper is an another publication focused on consumers' behaviors on the market in the context of thesustainable food consumption, based on research from 2017, the detailed description of the structure of thepopulation sample and the profile of the respondents were presented in the article by Goryńska-Goldmann (2019aand 2019b). 5 While creating the key we used the emergent technique in which categories are created only on the basis ofgathered empirical data (Wimmer. Dominick, 2008) that were prepared after gathering spontaneous answers of therespondents. The final key consisted of 11 categories. The content analysis allowed to define consumers' attitudeby the analysis of the answers.6 The detailed description of the method was presented in the paper (Goryńska-Goldmann, Poloreczki, 2018).

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5. Červenka, P., Naščáková, J., Bednárová, L., Daneshjo, N., Dudáš-Pajerská, E. (2018). De-velopment Tendency Testing and Success of Marketing Communications. 16th Interna-tional Conference on Emerging eLearning Technologies and Applications (ICETA),87–92. DOI: 10.1109/ICETA.2018.8572144.

6. Di Giulio, A., Fischer, D., Schäfer, M., Blättel-Mink, B. (2014). Conceptualizing sustaina-ble consumption: Toward an integrative framework. Sustainability: Science, Practice &Policy, 10(1), 45–61.

7. Hinton, E., Goodman, M. K. (2010). Sustainable consumption: developments, considera-tions and new directions. In: M. R. Redclift, G. Woodgate (Eds), The International Hand-book of Environmental Sociology (245–261). London: Edward Elgar.

8. Gazdecki, M., Goryńska-Goldmann, E. (2019). The system of interorganizational linka-ges in agri-markets. W: Relationship, Interactions and networks in Competitive Environ-ments. 35th Annual IMP Conference. Paris: IÉSEG School of Management.

9. Goryńska-Goldmann, E. (2019a). Barriers to the development of consumption sustainabi-lity: The consumers„ perspective on the food markets. In: P. Jedlicka, P. Maresova, I. So-ukal (Eds), Hradec Economic Days, 9(1), 243–251. Hradec Kralove: University of HradecKralove.

10. Goryńska-Goldmann, E. (2019b). Disadvantageous behavior for achieving sustainablefood consumption accoridng to consumer opinions. Annals PAAAE, XXI(3), 102–111.DOI: 10.5604/01.3001.0013.4084.

11. Goryńska-Goldmann, E., Poloreczki, Z. (2018). Consumers perception of risks to the de-velopment of sustainable consumption. Handel wewnętrzny, 4(375), 101–109.

12. Goryńska-Goldmann, E., Adamczyk, G., Gazdecki, M. (2016). Awareness of sustainableconsumption and its implications for the selection of food products. Journal of Agribusi-ness and Rural Development, 3(41), 1–8.

13. Lewandowska, A., Witczak, J., Giungato, P., Dierks, Ch., Kurczewski, P., Pawlak-Lema-nska, K. (2018). Inclusion of Life Cycle Thinking in a Sustainability-Oriented Consu-mer’s Typology: A Proposed Methodology and an Assessment Tool. Sustainability, 10(6).

14. Lisowska-Magdziarz, M. (2004). Analiza zawartości mediów. Przewodnik dla studentów.Kraków: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego.

15. Norweskie Ministerstwo Środowiska. (1994). Report from the Oslo Ministerial Roundta-ble Conference on Sustainable Production and Consumption. Oslo.

16. Pawlak, K. (2016). Food security situation of selected highly developed countries againstdeveloping countries. Journal of Agribusiness and Rural Development, 2(40), 385–398.DOI: 10.17306/JARD.2016.42.

17. Realizacja Celów Zrównoważonego Rozwoju w Polsce (2018). Retrieved from:http://unic.un.org.pl/files/259/Polska_VNR_20180615.pdf (17.09.2019).

18. Richter, I., Thogersen, J., Klöckner, Ch. A. (2017). Sustainable seafood consumption inaction: Relevant behaviors and their predictors. Sustainability, 9(12). DOI: 10.3390/su-9122313.

19. Schrader, U., Thogersen, J. (2011). Putting Sustainable Consumption into Practice. Journal of Consumer Policy, 34, 3–8.

20. Stanszus, L., Fischer, D., Böhme, T., Pascal, F., Fritzsche, J., Geiger, S., Harfensteller,J., Grossman, P., Schrader, U. (2017). Education for sustainable consumption through

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mindfulness training: Development of a consumption-specific intervention. Journal ofTeacher Education for Sustainability, 19(1), 5–21. DOI: 10.1515/jtes-2017-0001.

21. WHO (2018). World health statistics 2018: Monitoring health for the SDGs, sustainabledevelopment goals. Geneva: World Health Organization.

22. Wimmer, R., Dominick, J. (2008). Mass media. Metody badań. Kraków: WydawnictwoUniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego.

23. Wojciszke, B. (2003). Postawy i ich zmiana. In: J. Strelau (Ed.), Psychologia. podręcznikakademicki, tom 3 — Jednostka w społeczeństwie i elementy psychologii stosowanej.Gdańsk: Gdańskie Wydawnictwo Psychologiczne.

24. Young, W., Hwang, K., McDonald, S., Oates, C. J. (2009). Sustainable consumption: Gre-en consumer behaviour when purchasing products. Sustainable Development, 18(1),20–31. DOI: 10.1002/sd.394.

Elżbieta Goryńska-Goldmann, PhD Eng., Poznan University of Life Sciences, Poland — PhD in agriculturalsciences in food and nutrition technology; she received her doctorate at the Warsaw University of LifeSciences at the Faculty of Human Nutrition and Consumption Sciences. Since 2007 she has been working asan adjunct professor at the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences at the Poznań University of Life Sciences.The research activity focuses on two leading issues, i.e. the analysis of consumer behaviour and the responseof businesses to changes in consumer behaviour. This resulted in research on: food consumer behaviour andhabits as an important element of society's culture, analysis of the agri-food market, its entities and theirinnovation and competitiveness, marketing analyses. The practical expression of scientific works is to engagein transnational projects, grants, scientific conferences (e.g. within the "Food Markets" project). She conductsexpert cooperation with institutions and enterprises giving opinions on innovation projects. Together with thetheoretical recognition and practical implementation of the concept of sustainable development in Poland, shefocuses her interest on the desired direction of changes in consumption — its balancing.

Michał Gazdecki, PhD, Poznan University of Life Sciences, Poland — is employed at the PoznańUniversity of Life Sciences at the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences. He defended his doctoral thesisat the Faculty of Economics and Agriculture of the Warsaw University of Life Sciences and obtained a doctoraldegree in economics, specialization in organization and management of the company. His current researchfocuses on distribution systems in food markets with a network approach. The key topic of his research is therelations between enterprises and their dynamics. The second area of his scientific interest is consumerbehaviour and consumption economics. In particular, he is interested in the factors of making purchasedecisions, organization of food supply to households and balancing food distribution and consumption.Moreover, he is a leader of the "Food Markets" project, which was established in 2012 and serves the purposeof organizing scientific conferences on current and important issues for the broadly understood food markets,especially in the context of the problems of food distribution and trade and interorganizational relations. Theambition of people involved in this project is to create a platform for the exchange of views betweenrepresentatives of the world of science and practice.

18


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KONSUMENCI WOBEC ZRÓWNOWAŻONEJ KONSUMPCJI ŻYWNOŚCI

Grzegorz Maciejewski, PhD, Assoc. Prof.University of Economics, Katowice, Faculty of Economics, Department of Market and Consumption, Poland, ul. 1-go Maja 50, 40-287 [email protected] ORCID: 0000-0002-1318-0747


CONSUMERS TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE FOOD CONSUMPTION

Open Access

MARKETING OF SCIENTIFIC AND RESEARCH ORGANIZATIONS, 2020, Vol. 36, Issue 2, p. 19–30 pISSN 2353-8503eISSN 2353-8414

The progressive and unprecedented growth of the Earth’s population and the shrinking of the planet’s naturalresources make it necessary to look at contemporary consumption from the point of sustainable developmentgoals. The purpose of the paper is to characterise consumers’ attitude towards the idea of sustainable foodconsumption, which manifests itself in declared undertaking of sustainable behaviours both on the market and inhouseholds. The research employed the exploratory survey technique (direct survey) on a sample of 900consumers from Poland and Slovakia. The most common declared sustainable behaviours include: avoidingoverconsumption, monitoring healthy eating, as well as sorting and recycling of waste. On the other hand, thecustomers of both countries should be more strongly encouraged to reduce the consumption of water, electricityand natural gas when preparing meals. Less than half of all respondents declared such behaviour.

ABSTRACT

Key consumer behaviour, sustainable consumption, food market, marketing, Poland, Slovakia


Consumers towards sustainable food consumption

Introduction

The concept of sustainable consumption has been known in economicsfor some time. It is a key category of consumer utility theory. However, dueto the soaring population growth on a global scale and dwindling planet'sresources, there is the problem of long-term sustainability of consumption.An important issue is also the balance between the consumption potentialof current and future generations, related to the issue of their access toresources consumed and used in consumption processes (Kiełczewski,2007). It should therefore come as no surprise that sustainableconsumption, including sustainable food consumption, has become thefocus of economists in this century.

Postępujący i niespotykany dotąd przyrost ludności Ziemi oraz kurczenie się zasobów naturalnych planety powodująkonieczność spojrzenia na współczesną konsumpcję z punktu widzenia celów zrównoważonego rozwoju. Celem artykułujest scharakteryzowanie stosunku konsumentów do idei zrównoważonej konsumpcji żywności, który przejawia się m.in. w deklarowanym podejmowaniu przez nich zachowań zrównoważonych zarówno na rynku, jak i w gospodarstwachdomowych. Badania przeprowadzono techniką ankiety rozdawanej (bezpośredniej) na próbie 900 konsumentów z Polski i Słowacji. Badani najczęściej deklarowali podejmowanie zachowań zrównoważonych takich jak: unikanie nadkonsumpcji,troska o zdrowe odżywianie, a także segregowanie i recykling odpadów. W obu krajach należy natomiast bardziejzdecydowanie zachęcać konsumentów, by podczas przygotowania posiłków ograniczali zużycie wody, energii elektryczneji gazu. Zachowania takie deklarowała bowiem niespełna połowa ogółu badanych.

JJEELL:: D12, D91, M31, Q56

ABSTRAKT

Słowa kluczowe: zachowania konsumentów, zrównoważona konsumpcja, rynek żywności, marketing, Polska, Słowacja

The paper aims at presenting consumers' attitude to the concept ofsustainable food consumption by identifying their behaviours on themarket and in households. The paper assumes that consumers take a positive view of the concept of sustainable consumption when theyoperate on the market and in their households in a sustainable way (or atleast declare such behaviour), i.e. they avoid excessive consumption, foodwaste, consume organic food and ethical products, and also responsiblymanage resources (water, electricity, natural gas) and post-consumer waste.

This is a research paper and is organised as follows: the second sectioncarries out a brief literature review to define the issue of sustainabledevelopment and to relate it to the idea of sustainable consumption andsustainable behaviours. The third section describes the source materials ofthe paper and provides the details of how the study and data analysis wereconducted. The fourth section presents the results obtained, referring themto other research in this field. The paper ends with the conclusions section,in which the main outcomes from the analyses are presented. It alsoindicates the limitations of the study described.

The conclusions of the presented material do not deliver exhaustiveinsights into the topic taken up, but they can be considered as a voice in thediscussion on the development of research and analysis regardingconsumer attitudes and behaviours towards the idea of sustainableconsumption, as well as the marketing strategies of enterprises targetingtheir food offer at contemporary consumers.

Literature review

Regarding economics as the science of rational use of resources that arein short supply and have an alternative use (Sowell, 2014), one can noticethe interrelationship of sustainable consumption with the economy. Inparticular, such a connection is visible with such its subdisciplines asenvironmental economics, ecological economics, sharing economy, as wellas the sustainable development economics, which has clearly been cominginto shape in the last twenty years (Zalega, 2016; Zrałek, 2018). There arealso clear links between sustainable consumption and managementsciences, especially marketing, including sustainable, ecological and social

21



marketing (Arunachalam, Kumar, 2018; Lutz, Newlands, 2018; Maciej-ewski et al., 2019).

Sustainable consumption is at the core of the definition of sustainabledevelopment (Kramer, 2011, p. 7), which is described in the UN documents(2019) as development that meets the basic needs of all people andpreserves, protects and restores the health and integrity of the Earth'secosystem, without exceeding the long-term limits of the planet's ecosystemcapacity. The definition is based on two concepts: the concept of needs andthe concept of restrictions imposed by the ability of the naturalenvironment to meet current and future needs. Therefore, sustainableconsumption means the use of material goods and services that allowsconsumers to meet basic needs and achieve a higher quality of life, whileminimising the use of natural resources, toxic and environmentallyharmful materials which arise at all stages of production and, at the sametime, not limiting the rights of future generations to such consumption(NME, 1994).

In the light of the definitions adopted, a group of consumer behaviourscan be identified, which can be described as sustainable. They can beobserved both on the market and in the household. Following Zrałek (2018,p. 64), sustainable market behaviours consist of purchasing organicproducts, purchasing ethical (socially responsible) products, and avoidingwaste. The latter can also be included in sustainable household behaviours.In addition, sustainable household behaviours also combinedeconsumption, collaborative (shared consumption) and post-consumerwaste disposal.

Consumers who behave in a sustainable way adopt positive attitudestowards sustainable consumption and its goals (Annunziata, Agovino,Mariani, 2019). Therefore, it is important that the largest possibleproportion of societies adopts and begins to achieve the goals of sustainabledevelopment, in the awareness that the Earth in their hands has not beeninherited from their ancestors but borrowed from future generations. Thisissue is particularly important when it comes to consumption, foodconsumption in particular (Aertsens, Verbeke, Mondelaers, VanHuylenbroeck, 2009), where, on the one hand, there is consumerism,ostentatious consumption and tons of expired and unconsumed foodthrown into the dumps of the rich North — and, on the other, poverty and

22



widespread famine in the poor South. For one thing, there are civilisationdiseases such as obesity, diabetes, increase in the incidence of cancer — forthe other, malnutrition, death from exhaustion and thirst.

Sustainable consumption as a goal and condition for eco-development isand should be enriched with knowledge about its various aspects(Gustavsen, Hegnes, 2020). Still, both the definition and the components ofthis concept, from a scientific point of view, do not seem to be fullyrecognised and complete.

Materials and methods

The basis for the empirical part of the study is direct researchconducted as part of the research project entitled 'Changes in foodconsumption models in Poland' implemented at the Department of Marketand Consumption of the UE in Katowice in 2018–2019 and funded by theMinistry of Science and Higher Education. Part of the research carried outunder the project concerned the identification of sustainable consumerbehaviours observed on the food market and in the households. Thesetests were carried out using the survey method and the distributed surveytechnique. The questions in the questionnaire were formulated in theform of ordinal scales, bipolar, seven-degree and interval scales. The reliability of the scales used was assessed by calculating theCronbach's alpha coefficient for them and if the acceptable level of thecoefficient α > 0,7, is adopted, the scales used in the study can beconsidered reliable (Henson, 2001).

The research was conducted among non-randomly (purposive sampling)selected people representing their households from the Mazowieckie andŚląskie Provinces and from Slovakia.1 The reason for the decision to choosea non-random selection for the sample was primarily the lack of anappropriate sampling frame and the need to reduce the test cost. Limitedfinancial resources also determined the field of the conducted research.Adults who were responsible for purchasing food and preparing meals werequalified for the sample. They were mostly women — housewives (82.2%Polish and 88.7% Slovak respondents).

23



As a result of the tests and after formal verification of the research materialreceived, 900 fully qualified questionnaires were adopted for analysis (300 eachfrom the Mazowieckie and Śląskie Provinces and 300 from Slovakia).

The sample of Polish consumers included respondents from a varyingsize of household set. Most often they were 4-person households (30.2%)and 2- and 3-person households (20.7% and 20.8%, respectively). Single-person households (16.0%) and 5- and more-person households (12.3%)were relatively more numerous. Consumers from cities predominated inthe sample (81.0%), among which the largest group were respondents fromcities with more than 200 thousand inhabitants. Rural consumersaccounted for 19.0% of respondents. The survey participants, when askedabout the assessment of their household's financial situation, most oftenadmitted that it was good or average (47.5% and 34.5%, respectively). 2.8%declared a bad or very bad situation, while 15.2% declared a very good one.The majority of respondents had secondary education. The youngestrespondent was 19 years old — the oldest 82 years old. The median age ofthe housewife was 45 years, of the householder — 48 years.

In the sample of respondents from Slovakia, the majority wererespondents from 4-person (27.8%) and 2-person (26.1%) households. Therewere little fewer 3-person households (24.4%). The smallest percentage in thestudied sample was single-person and households of 5 and more people(12.4% and 9.4%, respectively). In the surveyed sample, rural consumersconstituted 18.4%. Others lived in cities of up to 50,000 inhabitants (27.1%),from 51–100 thousand (26.4%) and more than 100,000 residents (28.1%).Survey participants from Slovakia, when asked about the assessment of theirhouseholds' financial situation, most often admitted that it was good (48.8%)or average (29.5%). 1.8% declared a bad or very bad situation and 20.4%claimed it to be very good. Most of the respondents had secondary education.The youngest respondent was 21 years old — the oldest 89 years old. Themedian age of the housewife was 46 years, of the householder — 48 years.

The study used 12 diagnostic variables characterising sustainableconsumer behaviours on the food market and in the households (Tables 1and 2). They formed a seven-degree ordinal scale, where the number –3meant 'I totally disagree' and +3 meant the answer 'I completely agree.' TheCronbach's alpha value was 0.764 (Polish version) and 0.811 (Slovakversion), which indicates a good level of reliability of the scale used.

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In addition to the structure indicators and location measures, thePearson's Chi-Square test of independence and Cramer's V coefficient wereused to describe the obtained test results. IBM SPSS Statistics 25 was usedfor the calculations.

Results and discussion

Respondents from Polish provinces declared that they engaged inbehaviours that should be considered moderately sustainable (Me = 1 ineight out of twelve analysed behaviours). The respondents most oftendeclared sustainable deconsumption behaviours, i.e. shopping after priordetermination of their needs and paying attention to the sell-by date.Appropriate post-consumer waste management, i.e. sorting and recycling ofwaste, was also relatively important for them. Respondents generally thinkthat they eat healthily, which is why, most often, they declared no interestin the advice and guidelines from dieticians (Table 1). Such declarationsshould not come as a surprise, even looking at the results of the July CBOSresearch, according to which 80% of Poles are convinced that they eathealthily or very healthily (CBOS, 2019). However, the respondents'relatively low awareness about the limited resources and the need forrational use of energy sources may be worrying. Only 14.3% of respondentsfully agree with the need to save electricity and natural gas when preparingmeals. In the case of water usage, there are even fewer customers whodeclare its rational consumption — only 13.5% (Table 1).

Slovak respondents also declared taking on moderately sustainablebehaviours. The most important focus was put on the same issues thatdominated among Polish respondents: paying attention to the sell-by date,thinking about what is really needed or paying attention to recycling andsorting waste. Similarly, as among Polish respondents, the prevailing beliefis that healthy meals are prepared in the households of respondents, so itis not necessary to use the advice and guidelines of a dietician. In turn,declarations of behaviours aimed at reducing water and energyconsumption are even less frequent than among Polish respondents. Only8.4% of Slovak respondents completely agree with the need to save water,and only 6.0% — electricity and gas (Table 2).

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Table 1. Respondents towards sustainable food consumption (Poland; N = 600)

SpecificationEvaluation* (%) Position measures**

–3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 Me Mo M

My family eat healthily 1.8 4.2 10.8 18.5 35.2 22.5 7.0 1 1 0.77We happen to throw food away 8.5 8.3 5.5 10.5 33.7 22.0 11.5 1 1 0.65When preparing meals, we use dietary

advice and guidelines 25.7 16.8 13.3 16.8 14.7 8.7 4.0 –1 –3 –0.80We purchase food on the basis of

a previously prepared shopping list 10.3 7.8 7.0 14.5 17.8 21.0 21.5 1 3 0.77

When buying food, we pay attention to its ingredients 8.8 6.8 9.5 12.8 22.3 21.0 18.7 1 1 0.71

When buying food, we pay attention to its sell-by date 2.0 1.8 2.0 3.8 12.0 21.7 56.7 3 3 2.14

When buying food, we pay attention to the type of packaging 12.0 7.8 10.2 19.2 28.7 13.8 8.3 1 1 0.20

When buying food, we pay attention to its origin 8.7 7.8 9.5 13.8 29.3 16.2 14.7 1 1 0.55

Before purchasing, we consider what we need 0.2 1.3 1.3 6.0 21.7 34.5 25.0 2 3 1.91

We pay attention to waste sorting and recycling 9.8 7.3 7.7 10.2 13.8 20.3 30.8 2 3 0.95

When preparing food, we pay attention to water consumption 12.5 10.2 9.8 14.5 24.0 15.5 13.5 1 1 0.28

When preparing food, we pay attention to electricity / gas consumption 15.0 14.2 9.5 14.2 19.0 13.8 14.3 1 1 0.07

* The respondents marked their answers on a seven-point scale, where — –3 meant totally disagree and +3meant completely agree. ** Me — median, Mo — modal value, M — arithmetic mean. Due to the fact that the variables are measured onthe ordinal scale, only the median can be interpreted. The arithmetic average value is given for illustrativepurposes only.

Source: own research.

The declared behaviours of Polish and Slovak consumers are similar,the level of expenditure on food and non-alcoholic beverages is similar inthese countries. According to Eurostat data, in 2016, Slovaks spent EUR1,400 on food per person — Poles 1,100, this expenditure accounted for17.8% and 17.1% of total expenditure in their budget respectively(Maciejewski, 2018).

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Table 2. Respondents towards sustainable food consumption (Slovakia: N = 300)

SpecificationEvaluation* (%) Position measures**

–3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 Me Mo M

My family eat healthily 2.7 5.0 10.3 15.0 20.3 31.7 15.0 1 2 1.01We happen to throw food away 10.8 11.8 16.6 12.2 23.6 15.2 9.8 0 1 0.11When preparing meals, we use dietary

advice and guidelines 16.6 18.3 16.6 18.0 15.3 8.8 6.4 –1 –2 –0.51We purchase food on the basis of

a previously prepared shopping list 8.7 6.0 12.1 12.1 18.1 21.1 21.8 1 3 0.76When buying food, we pay attention to

its ingredients 12.1 7.7 8.1 11.4 25.2 20.5 15.1 1 1 0.52When buying food, we pay attention to

its sell-by date 6.0 2.3 4.4 9.4 13.4 24.2 40.3 2 3 1.55When buying food, we pay attention to

the type of packaging 14.4 8.7 10.4 20.8 26.5 14.4 4.7 0 1 –0.21When buying food, we pay attention to

its origin 9.0 6.0 8.0 9.4 18.1 25.1 24.4 1 2 0.94Before purchasing, we consider

what we need 3.7 3.3 9.7 10.0 25.4 27.4 20.4 1 2 1.14We pay attention to waste sorting

and recycling 5.4 4.7 8.1 8.4 18.1 23.2 32.3 2 3 1.28When preparing food, we pay attention

to water consumption 16.4 11.1 14.4 14.1 21.8 13.8 8.4 0 1 –0.11When preparing food, we pay attention

to electricity / gas consumption 17.7 11.4 16.7 16.4 18.1 13.7 6.0 0 1 –0.29

* The respondents marked their answers on a seven-point scale, where — –3 meant totally disagree and +3meant completely agree. ** Me — median, Mo — modal value, M — arithmetic mean. Due to the fact that the variables are measured onthe ordinal scale, only the median can be interpreted. The arithmetic average value is given for illustrativepurposes only.


Avoiding waste is a key sustainable behaviour in the area ofconsumption. The problem of throwing food away has been pointed outmany times (Dąbrowska, Janoś-Kresło, 2013; Śmiechowska, 2015). Theobtained research results confirm the existence of this phenomenon amongthe respondents in both countries. Looking at the declaration of both groupsof respondents, food is thrown away more often in Poland than in Slovakia.

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The focus is increasingly shifting towards the awareness of the residents ofboth countries of the need to pay attention to the rational use of resourcessuch as water, electricity or natural gas — Tables 1 and 2.

Using the Pearso χ2 variables independence test and Cramer's Vcoefficient to test the strength of the relationship of variables, it was foundthat descriptive variables such as the age of the person responsible for foodpurchases and its preparation, place of residence, material situation or thenumber of people in the household have a moderate impact on taking onsustainable behaviours in the households surveyed (V < 0.3; p ≤ 0.1).

Conclusions

To sum up, it is worth noting that the surveyed consumers declaretaking on sustainable behaviours towards food consumption both on themarket and in their households. They can be defined as moderatelysustainable. Undoubtedly, their rationalization of consumption andconcern for healthy eating are very positive behaviours, while their lowawareness of limited resources and disregard for the problem of water andgas consumption or the use of electricity, the production of which has animpact on the natural environment, are causes for concern.

Therefore, there is still a lot to be done in promoting the idea ofsustainable consumption, but one can already count on a fairly largepercentage of informed consumers who want to act for sustainabledevelopment. This is also indicated by studies of other authors (e.g. Zrałek,2018). This is an important message for institutions seeking support for theconcept of sustainable development among ordinary inhabitants of theEarth, as well as for enterprises that should increasingly take into accountgoals related to achieving sustainable values in their marketing strategies.They can be manifested, for example, in the production of only healthy fooddelivered to the market in environmentally friendly packaging or thepromotion of a healthier diet.

However, the author is fully aware that the presented researchresults should be approached with caution due to the burden ofmeasurement error primarily resulting from the non-random selection of

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the sample, its size, as well as the relatively narrow area of research. Atthe same time, the author hopes the findings presented do contribute tothe existing body of research and emphasise the importance researchputs into sustainable consumer behaviours and sustainableconsumption.

Footnotes1 The author would like to thank here for substantive and technical assistance in conducting the study in theMazowieckie Province, prof. dr hab. Irena Ozimek from the Department of European Policy, Public Finance andMarketing at the Warsaw School of Economics and doc. Ing. Pavol Kita from the Department of Marketing at theUniversity of Economics in Bratislava for substantive and technical assistance in conducting the study in Slovakia,as well as the translation of the questionnaire into Slovak. The translation of the questionnaire was carried out inaccordance with the principles of equivalence of international studies, for which see, among others, Jaciow (2018)and Barska (2019).

References 1. Aertsens, J., Verbeke, W., Mondelaers, K., Van Huylenbroeck, G. (2009). Personal deter-

minants of organic food consumption: A review. British Food Journal, 111(10),1140–1167. DOI: 10.1108/00070700910992961.

2. Annunziata, A., Agovino, M., Mariani, A. (2019). Measuring sustainable food consump-tion: A case study on organic food. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 17, 95–107.DOI: 10.1016/j.spc.2018.09.007.

3. Arunachalam, D., Kumar, N. (2018). Benefit-based consumer segmentation and perfor-mance evaluation of clustering approaches: An evidence of data-driven decision-making.Expert Systems with Applications, 11, 11–34.

4. Barska, A. (2019). Konsumenci pokolenia milenium na rynku innowacyjnych produktówżywnościowych na obszarach przygranicznych Polski, Niemiec, Czech i Słowacji. ZielonaGóra: Uniwersytet Zielonogórski.

5. CBOS (2019). Jak zdrowo odżywiają się Polacy? (106), 1–22. 6. Dąbrowska, A., Janoś-Kresło, M. (2013). Marnowanie żywności jako problem społeczny.

Handel Wewnętrzny, (4), 15–27. 7. Gustavsen, G. W., Hegnes, A. W. (2020). Individuals’ personality and consumption of or-

ganic food. Journal of Cleaner Production, 245, 1–9. DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.118772. 8. Henson, R. K. (2001). Understanding internal consistency reliability estimates: A concep-

tual primer on coefficient alpha. (Methods, plainly speaking). Measurement and Evalu-ation in Counseling and Development, 34(3), 177–189.

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9. Jaciow, M. (2018). Ekwiwalencja w międzynarodowych badaniach rynku. Katowice: Wy-dawnictwo Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego w Katowicach.

10. Kramer, J. (2011). Konsumpcja — ewolucja ról i znaczeń. Konsumpcja i Rozwój, (1), 5–15. 11. Lutz, C., Newlands, G. (2018). Consumer segmentation within the sharing economy:

The case of Airbnb. Journal of Business Research, 88, 187–196. 12. Maciejewski, G., Mokrysz, S., Wróblewski, Ł. (2019). Segmentation of Coffee Consumers

Using Sustainable Values: Cluster Analysis on the Polish Coffee Market. Sustainability,11(3, 613), 1–20.

13. Maciejewski, G. (2018). Food consumption in the Visegrad Group Countries — towardsa healthy diet model. Studia Ekonomiczne. Zeszyty Naukowe Uniwersytetu Ekonomiczne-go w Katowicach, 361, 20–32.

14. NME (1994). Report from the Oslo Ministerial Roundtable Conference on SustainableProduction and Consumption. Oslo Symposium. Norwegian Ministry of the Environ-ment. Retrieved from http://enb.iisd.org/consume/oslo004.html (03.09.2019).

15. Sowell, T. (2014). Basic Economics: A Common Sense Guide to the Economy. New York:The Perseus Book Group.

16. Śmiechowska, M. (2015). Zrównoważona konsumpcja a marnotrawstwo żywności. Anna-les Academiae Medicae Gedanensis, 45, 89–97.

17. UN (2019). Sustainable Development and Sustainable Development Goals. Retrievedfrom https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/ (03.09.2019).

18. Zalega, T. (2016). Rozwój zrównoważony a ekonomia zrównoważonego rozwoju — zarysproblematyki. Studia i Materiały, 1(20), 101–126.

19. Zrałek, J. (2018). Konsument wobec wyzwań zrównoważonej konsumpcji. Zrównoważonezachowania konsumenckie i ich determinanty. Katowice: Wydawnictwo UniwersytetuEkonomicznego w Katowicach.

Grzegorz Maciejewski, PhD, Assoc. Prof., University of Economics, Katowice, Poland — holds a Postdoctoral Degree in Economic Sciences. He is a Professor at the University of Economics in Katowice,Head of the Market and Consumption Department. He is a research projects manager at the Centre forKnowledge Research and Transfer in Katowice and the manager and contractor of six grants from the Ministryof Science and Higher Education. Behavioural economics is the main area of his scientific interests. He is theauthor of over 130 articles in the area of consumer behaviour, the marketing strategies of enterprises andmarket and marketing research methodologies.

30 Published online 30 June 2020




WARTOŚĆ INFORMACYJNA OPAKOWAŃ JAKO DETERMINANTA ZAKUPU ŻYWNOŚCI

Magdalena Ankiel, PhD Eng., Assoc. Prof.Poznań University of Economics and Business, Institute of Marketing, Poland, Al. Niepodległości 10, 61-875 Poznań[email protected] ORCID: 0000-0003-2594-1600

Mariola Grzybowska-Brzezińska, PhD, Assoc. Prof.University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Institute of Economics and Finances, Poland [email protected] ORCID: 0000-0002-6571-1140


INFORMATIVE VALUE OF PACKAGING AS A DETERMINANT OF FOOD PURCHASE

Open Access

The purpose of the article is to present the concept of information value of food packaging, characterizedeterminants of information value and present the results of own research on the identification of key informationon packaging affecting purchasing decisions of food consumers. Unit packaging constituting an inherent elementof food products equipment should fulfill numerous, overlapping functions, which include: protection, transportandinformation — functional, as well as ecological and promotional. One of the priority functions of productpackaging (not just food) is the informative function. It is assumed that the proper selection of informationencoded on the packaging should inform the consumer exhaustively, reliably and comprehensively about thepacked product, its composition, nutritional values or storage conditions. Analyzing the information included onfood packaging, it can be stated that entities introducing these products onto the market still show a tendency to"excessively" label the packaging (as part of optional labeling). It is therefore reasonable to specify whatinformation is analyzed by consumers in the purchasing process and what information constitutes the informationvalue of unit packets from the point of view of individual consumers. The above will allow identifying keydeterminants of the information value of packaging and may constitute valuable information for entitiesintroducing products to trade in the field of proper selection of characters and codes of unit packets on the foodmarket.

ABSTRACT


Key words: packaging informative value, food, purchasing decisions


Informative value of packaging as a determinant of food purchase

Introduction

Individual packaging is an integral element of food products — a vastmajority of goods cannot be introduced into the merchandise trade withoutproper packaging (Jamal, Khan, Tsesmetzi, 2012). Packaging fulfills manyfunctions — protective, transport, informative (basic functions) but alsomarketing, utilitarian, ecological or economic (secondary functions)

Celem artykułu jest zaprezentowanie pojęcia wartości informacyjnej opakowań żywności, scharakteryzowanie wyznaczni-ków wartości informacyjnej oraz przedstawienie wyników badania własnego dotyczącego identyfikacji kluczowych infor-macji umieszczonych na opakowaniach wpływających na decyzje nabywcze konsumentów żywności. Opakowania jed-nostkowe, stanowiące inherentny element wyposażenia produktów żywnościowych, powinny spełniać rozliczne, zazębia-jące się funkcje, do których należą: ochronna, transportowa, informacyjna oraz użytkowa, ekologiczna i marketingowa. Jed-ną z priorytetowych funkcji opakowań produktów (nie tylko żywności) jest funkcja informacyjna. Zakłada się, iż odpowied-ni dobór informacji zakodowanych na opakowaniach powinien wyczerpująco, rzetelnie i zrozumiale informować konsumen-ta o opakowanym produkcie, jego składzie, wartościach odżywczych czy też warunkach przechowywania. Analizując in-formacje zawarte na opakowaniach żywności, można stwierdzić, iż podmioty wprowadzające te produkty do obrotu towa-rowego nadal wykazują tendencje do nadmiernego znakowania opakowań (w ramach znakowania fakultatywnego). Zasad-ne jest więc określenie, jakie informacje są analizowane przez konsumentów w procesie nabywczym oraz jakie informacjestanowią o wartości informacyjnej opakowań jednostkowych z punktu widzenia konsumentów indywidualnych. Pozwolito na zidentyfikowanie kluczowych wyznaczników wartości informacyjnej opakowań i może stanowić cenną informację dlapodmiotów wprowadzających produkty do obrotu towarowego — w zakresie właściwego doboru znaków i kodów opa-kowań jednostkowych na rynku żywności.

JJEELL:: D12, D91, J14, O39

ABSTRAKT

Słowa kluczowe: wartość informacyjna opakowań, żywność, decyzje nabywcze

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(Soroka, 2002; Robertson, 2013; Shah, Ahmed, Ahmad, 2013). Anenormous potential of food products packaging (resulting from suchelements as a design and construction, shape, fabric, colours and graphics,label) results in the fact that they become an effective tool in marketingactivities: they are distinctive elements of product/brand value, a tool tobuild up a competitive advantage, a creator of brand's image (Silayoi,Speece, 2004; 2007; Grundey, 2010; Hota, Charry, 2014; Fenko, Kersten,Bialkova, 2016; Ankiel, Sojkin, 2018; Nura, 2018). It should be also stressedthat from the perspective of a consumer, individual packaging is a source ofnumerous vital pieces of information about the food product and one ofsignificant purchasing determinants (Butkeviciene, Stavinskiene,Rutelione, 2008; Wang, Chou, Wen Lan, 2010; Wang, 2013, Manijeh,Azadeh, 2017; Bigoin-Gagnan, Lacoste-Badie, 2017). A dynamicallydeveloping food products sector is inseparably connected with the branch offood packaging producers — their products have to comply with the stillgrowing demands of the market (directed to producers, commercial dealersas well as final purchasers). They should be characterized by maximumsecurity for the products inside, modern design, innovative designer —graphic solutions, high degree of utility for customers, environmentalfriendliness and high communicative value (Lee, Yam, Piergiovanni, 2008;Grundey, 2010; Ankiel-Homa, Czaja-Jagielska, Korzeniowski, 2011,Auttarapong, 2012; Jamal, Khan, Tsesmetzi, 2012; Casillas, 2013; Barska,Wyrwa, 2018).

While analyzing food distribution channels in Poland it can be noticedthat self-service stores (hyper and supermarkets, convenience stores) havebecome a core distribution channel; it should be also noticed that internetfood sales develops dynamically (www.wiadomościhandlowe,2020.01.15).The aforementioned distribution channels require foodpackaging to be thoroughly informative (apart from having a protective,logistic or marketing function) due to the fact that in self-service storespackaging is the main source of information about the product and playsthe role of a 'silent shop assistant' in the customer — product relationship(Ankiel, Walenciak, 2016; Magnier, Crie, 2015; Bininnger, 2017). In thiscontext an informative function (generated by the informative value ofpackaging) gains a special meaning both in the process of purchasing andconsuming food products. The essence of food products unit packaging

informative function refers to the relationship in the following scheme:packaging — product — consumer — environment (Ankiel-Homa, 2012). Inthis structure the aim of the informative function is to provide a customerwith reliable, professional and comprehensible information about theproduct (its features, properties, attributes and options of using) (Dörnyei,Gyulavári, 2015; Fenko, Kersten, Bialkova, 2016). The information placedon food packaging (or the labels being an integral part of them) may becoded in form of language (words, expressions and ideographic such asnumbers, combinations of letters and digits) and/or iconographic (pictures,drawings and other graphic signs) (Ankiel-Homa 2012, p. 178).

The rules of branding food packaging in the European Union areincluded in regulations of the European Parliament and Council (UE) no.1169/2011. The regulation in question specifies the list of obligatoryinformation placed on food packaging, among which the following areincluded:

information about the origin and contents, properties and other featureof a given food product,information about customers' health protection, application of theproduct, its durability, storing and safety measures in use,information about characteristic features, which enables the consumersto make informed choices about purchases and consumption, information about allergens (regardless of their amount),information about nutritive value of the product (energy and fatcontents, saturated fatty acids, carbohydrates, sugar, protein and salt)(European Parliament and the Council of Europe regulation No1169/2011, 25 October 2011).

Apart from compulsory information a producer/trader introducing theproduct onto the market may place some additional information,particularly of educational and marketing nature, among which there arethe following:

emphasizing particular, distinguishing features and attributes of theproduct (e.g. product certificates, market institutes' recommendations);

34



creating a demanded image of the product and its brand (e.g.decorations, ornaments and other graphic-linguistic signs); informing about promotion activities connected with the food product(e.g. QR code redirecting to the product advertisement, fan page).

Depending on the category of food, brand and urgency of needs or a place where the product is sold, particular informative elements ofpackaging are perceived and analyzed by a consumer to various extent. Bythe means of perceived and analyzed information coded in form of signs onpackaging, a customer identifies features and attributes of products andestimates its value, what influences the selection and purchasing decisionfor a particular food product.

Aim, scope and methodology of the research

The main aim of this research was to identify purchasing behaviours ofcustomers with reference to selected categories of food products in Poland.One of the key research aspects was to analyze the perception of consumersregarding information included on food packaging, both obligatory andoptional, which are studied during the purchasing process. Moreover, theconducted research allowed to single out and evaluate the core informationincluded on the packaging and determining purchasing decisions inrelation to these products. The subject of the research was food productspackaging and to be more precise information on the packaging or labelswhich are their integral parts. The research method was personal interviewconducted all over the territory of Poland between April and May 2019. Theresearch tool was a questionnaire prepared and verified in the pre-researchstage. The research group were housewives declaring shopping for foodsystematically. The selection of research sample (N = 900) was conductedby the quota method (the criteria of the selection: age and dwelling place),which complied with the condition of keeping a 'relatively' representativeresearch sample.1

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Identification of information on the packaging which influences food purchasing decisions

As it has already been mentioned, one of essential aims of the conductedresearch was to identify and evaluate information placed on unit packagingin the context of its influence on food products purchase decisions. Unitpackaging is a source of numerous (compulsory and additional) pieces ofinformation and it seems obvious that purchasing conditions result in thefact that not all contents are analyzed during the food products selectionand not all of them influence purchasing decisions of customers, mainly dueto time pressure. It is therefore legitimate to identify the information whichis vital for consumer — it is noticed and analyzed during the foodpurchasing process. This seems particularly important in the context of'abundance' of additional information on the packaging, hence establishingwhich information important for the customer is crucial. At the same timeit will become an important hint for producers and entities introducing thegoods into merchandise trade, which may result in levelling the flow ofinformation between producers and customers. During the research 26categories of information presented on the food packaging were evaluated,the measurement was conducted by the means of Likert scale.2 The resultsof evaluating the meaning of each piece of information for the purchasingprocess of a customer has been presented in Table 1.

As it can be seen from the data presented in Table 1, the most importantdetails placed on food packaging from the consumer's perspective (a housewife), influencing the purchasing process refer to the durability ofa product (minimum sell-by date, expiry date) with average 4.49 and a product ingredients — average 4.34. These kinds of information belong tothe category of compulsory and are crucial in the process of foodconsumption mostly due to minimizing health hazards (connected with e.g.consuming a product past the sell-by date or consuming a product whichcontains particularly strong allergen for the consumer). An interestingthing is — besides the categories of information mentioned above, no otheranalyzed category scored over 4.0 average. The group of analyzedhousewives pointed out that a vital element in the process of selection andpurchase of food products is also information referring to: the storageconditions of a product — average 3.98, nutritive value of product —

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Table 1. Information on packaging considered in purchasing process of food

No. Information on food packaging Number of responses Average

1. Name of the product 893 3.752. Product ingredients 896 4.343. Producer/dealer 892 3.314. Brand 892 3.485. Minimum sell-by/durability date 900 4.496. Storage recommendations 894 3.987. Net contents/number of pieces 891 3.638. Nutrition value 879 3.939. Fat contents 894 3.75

10. Carbohydrates contents 895 3.7011. Protein contents 895 3.6612. Salt contents 896 3.6913. Energy 895 3.6714. % of daily consumption which the product covers 894 3.2715. Daily consumption recommendations 892 3.2616. Suggested price 892 3.9217. Declarations/health and nutrition statements 892 3.4218. Information about production 892 3.2919. Infographics 883 3.1120. Certificates 897 3.1021. Information identifying packaging material 896 3.1522. Guarantee of quality 895 3.2423. WWW of the producer 893 2.6424. QR codes 894 2.4725. Bar codes 896 2.5926. Drawings/decorations 895 2.55


average 3.93 and suggested price of a product — average 3.92. After theanalysis of the above it can be noticed that both storage conditions of a product and nutritive values of it are also vital pieces of information inthe process of product consumption and — similarly to the informationwith the highest score — they influence minimizing health hazard.However, the suggested price of the product (if it is printed on thepackaging) is the key economic determinant of purchase. As for the leastinfluential in the process of food purchasing decision making therespondents pointed out: QR codes — average 2.47, drawings and

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ornaments — average 2.55, bar codes — average 2.59 and producers website— average 2.64. All the aforementioned categories of packaging taggingbelong to the category of non-compulsory and placing them is an arbitrarydecision of the entity introducing the product into the merchandise trade.

It is also worth noticing that whereas QR codes and the producer's websiteas the information of typically marketing nature are of no particular meaningin the selection process and food products purchase, they may play a part in theprocess of consumption e.g. in a situation when a customer is interested inparticipating in an advertising campaign involving the customer (redirectingby the means of QR code to the promotion rules or onto the producer's website).Therefore, in the context of tags and codes mass presence on the food productspackaging it is vital to select the additional information thoughtfully so that theone which is present on packaging is important for the customer, does nothinder communicative clarity and value of an outer cover or a label on foodproduct.

Identifying the key indices of food packaging informative value

In order to reduce a multi-element collection of the analyzed categories ofinformation placed on food packaging (measurable variables) and todistinguish the core information in packaging informative value, the method ofprincipal component analysis (method of factor analysis) was used. In order toverify the accuracy of the principal component analysis application, Bartlett'ssphericity test was conducted and Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin indicator (KMO) wascalculated (Gatnar, Walesiak, 2007). The value of KMO over 0.9 confirmedlegitimacy of the research (Table 2).

Table 2. KMO indicator and Bartlett's test

The measure of Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin factor adequacy 0.928

Bartlett's sphericity test Estimated value of Chi-square 12319.343Number of the degrees of freedom (df) 351Validity 0.000


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For the benefit of the research there was applied the method of principalcomponents with Varimax factor rotation. In the research there weredistinguished principal factors referring to the information influencingpurchasing decisions coded on food products packaging (using Kaisercriterion). Then by the method of principal components with theabovementioned rotation the factors impact was calculated. Finally, inorder to interpret common factors, variables correlated with particularfactors were singled out.

Table 3. Key information presented on food packaging (factor impact calculated by principal components analysis)

Information on packagingComponents

1 2 3 4 5

Name of the product .707Product ingredientsProducer/dealer .707Brand .775Minimum sell-by/durability date .686Storage recommendations .774Net contents/number of pieces Nutrition value .763Fat contents .854Carbohydrates contents .894Protein contents .891Salt contents .856Energy .830% of daily consumption which the product covers .716Daily consumption recommendations Suggested price .885Declarations/ health and nutrition statementsInformation about production .560Infographics .646Certificates .674Information identifying packaging material .673Guarantee of quality .656WWW of the producer .735QR codes .762Bar codes .705Drawings/decorations


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As can be seen from the analysis, the core information for housewivesplaced on unit packaging which influences the purchase is this referring toproduct and brand — important details characterizing the product,producer and informing about the storage recommendations and expirydate. The second in row was information which characterizes nutritivevalue of the product in detail (energy value, fat contents, saturated fattyacids, carbohydrates, sugar, protein and salt contents) — since January2016 these are also compulsory. Other crucial information present on foodpackaging is also data of marketing nature — e.g. quality certificates of theproduct/producer and other material certifying quality of the product andsuggested retail price.

It can therefore be assumed that the key indices for individualpackaging informative value which determine consumers purchasingprocess are the following:

factor 1 — identification of a product (name, brand, producer);factor 2 — qualitative and marketing differentiating traits of theproduct (certificates and quality declarations, information aboutproduction process, information about the producer's website);factor 3 — product storage (recommended storing conditions, durabilityperiod of the product);factor 4 — nutritive value of the product (including fat, saturated fats,carbohydrates, sugar, protein and salt contents);factor 5 — suggested price.

Having evaluated the selected indices of food packaging informativevalue it can be stated that the information which is crucial for theconsumers belongs to the category of compulsory signs and codes. Theresults of the research confirm the legitimacy of placing them on foodproducts packaging. The components of food products informative value,due to their communicative nature, should allow the identification of theproduct, point out how long to store it and which conditions are suitablefor this and make a customer aware of its nutritive value as well as ofparticular nutrients contents. The aforementioned information is crucialin the purchasing process and minimizes health hazard during the

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process of food consumption. As it has already been mentioned, apartfrom the obligatory information, food packaging includes also selectiveinformation among which quality and marketing distinguishing featuresand suggested price of products turned out to be crucial for theinformative value.

Summary

Summarizing the results of the research, which aimed to identifycrucial information placed on food products unit packaging (in otherwords indices of informative value) it can be stated that during thepurchasing process a consumer is mainly interested in the information,which is placed there due to the EU legal regulations demands. Theseinclude: name of the product, name of the producer and brand (meaningbasic information identifying a cosmetic); expiry date of the product andstorage requirements, detailed information about nutritive values andsingle nutrients contents in the product (proteins, carbohydrates,saturated fatty acids and salt). Moreover, during the purchasing processalso information on promotions, showing additional benefits to beobtained by the customer selecting the product is important (certificatesand quality declarations, specific, distinguishing methods of productione.g. traditional methods). Worth noticing is the fact that whileexamining food products packaging it can still be noticed that producersplace too much (possibly irrelevant) information or iconographies(although the trend of 'blank label' starts to be noticed -product has notcomplicated composition and the label contains only the informationrequired by the law). Furthermore, considering limited amount of timethat the consumer has while purchasing a product, the abundance ofinformation (optional) may discourage from selecting a brand instead ofbeing the encouraging stimulus. Hence it seems reasonable to verifycrucial information placed on food products packaging from theconsumers/purchasers point of view and to design informative value ofpackaging in a way which allows to balance the information flow in theproducer — consumer relationship.

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Footnotes1 The research included women/housewives in 8 cities in Poland: Warsaw, Wrocław, Poznań, Szczecin, Kraków,Katowice, Olsztyn and Zielona Góra. The age structure of the research sample in each city was respectivelycorresponding — the age range 20-60+ years.2 Values on Likert scale: (1) definitely unimportant, (2) quite unimportant, (3) neither yes nor no, (4) quiteimportant and (5) definitely important.

References 1. Ankiel, M., Sojkin, B. (2018). Wartość informacyjna opakowań kosmetyków jako deter-

minanta decyzji nabywczych konsumentów. Handel Wewnętrzny, (4/375), t. II, 296–306. 2. Ankiel, M., Walenciak, M. (2016). Determinanty wartości informacyjnej opakowań jed-

nostkowych produktów kosmetycznych. Opakowanie, (10). 3. Ankiel-Homa, M. (2012). Wartość komunikacyjna opakowań jednostkowych. Poznań:

Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego w Poznaniu. 4. Ankiel-Homa, M., Czaja-Jagielska, N., Korzeniowski, A. (2011). Innowacje w opakowal-

nictwie. Poznań: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego w Poznaniu. 5. Auttarapong, D. (2012). Packaging design expert system based on relation between pac-

kaging and perception on consumer. Procedia Engineering, (32). 6. Barska, A., Wyrwa, J. (2017). Innovations in the food packaging market — intelligent

packaging — a review. Czech Journal Food Science, (35), 1–6. 7. Bigoin-Gagnan, A., Lacoste-Badie, S. (2017). Symmetry influences packaging aesthetic

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8. Bininnger, A. S. (2017). Perception of naturalness of food packaging and its role in con-sumer product evaluation. Journal of Food Products Marketing, 23(3), 251–266.

9. Butkeviciene, V., Stavinskiene, J., Rutelione, A. (2008). Impact of Consumer PackageCommunication on Consumer Decision Making Process. Engineering Economics, (1).

10. Casillas, C. (2013). Food packaging’ role in food safety. Food Processing, (5). 11. Dörnyei, K. R., Gyulavári, T. (2015). Why do not you read the label? — an integrated fra-

mework of consumer label information search. International Journal of Consumer Stu-dies, 40(1), 92–100.

12. Fenko, A., Kersten, L., Bialkova, S. (2016). Overcoming consumer scepticism toward fo-od labels: The role of multisensory experience. Food Quality and Preference, 48 (part A),81–92.

13. Gatnar, E., Walesiak, M. (2007). Statystyczna analiza danych. Warszawa: WydawnictwoNaukowe PWN.

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15. Hota, M., Charry, K. (2014). The impact of visual and child-oriented packaging elementsversus information on children's purchase influence across various age groups. Interna-tional Journal of Retail and Distribution Management, 42(11/12), 1069–1082.

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16. Jamal, A., Khan, M. S., Tsesmetzi, M. S. (2012). Information cues roles in product eva-luations: The case of the UK cosmetics market. Journal of Strategic Marketing, 20(3),249–265.

17. Lee, D. S., Yam, K. L., Piergiovanni, L. (2008). Food Packaging Science and Technology.CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group.

18. Magnier, L., Crie, D. (2015). Communicating packaging eco-friendliness: An explorationof consumers' perceptions of eco-designed packaging. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 43(4/5), 350–366.

19. Manijeh, B., Azadeh, R. (2017). Consumers’ perception of usability of product packagingand impulse buying. Journal of Islamic Marketing, 9(2), 262–282

20. Nura, A. (2018). Advances in food packaging technology: A review. Journal of Postha-rvest Technology, 06(4), 55–64.

21. Robertson, G. L. (2013). Food Packaging: Principles and Practice. Boca Raton: CRCPress.

22. Rozporządzenie Parlamentu Europejskiego i Rady (UE) Nr 1169/2011 z 25 października2011 r. w sprawie przekazywania konsumentom informacji na temat żywności (Dz.U.UE L304/18 z 22.11.2011).

23. Shah, S., Ahmed, A., Ahmad, N. (2013). Role of Packaging in Consumer Buying Beha-vior. International Review of Basic and Applied Sciences, 1(2), 35–41.

24. Silayoi, P., Speece, M. (2004). Packaging and purchasing decisions: An exploratory stu-dy on the impact of involvement level and time pressure. British Food Journal, 66(8),607–628.

25. Silayoi, P., Speece, M. (2007). The importance of packaging attributes: A conjoint analy-sis approach. European Journal of Marketing, 41(11/12), 1495–1517.

26. Soroka, W. (2002). Fundamentals of Packaging Technology. Naperville: IOPP. 27. Wang, E. (2013). The influence of visual packaging design on perceived food product

quality, value, and brand preference. International Journal of Retail and DistributionManagement, 41(10), s. 805–816.

28. Wang, R. W. Y., Chou, M. C., Wen Lan, P. (2010). Research into the elements of designdifferentiation in the findability of beverage packaging. The International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, 5(2), 1–24.

Magdalena Ankiel, PhD Eng., Assoc. Prof., Poznań University of Economics and Business, Poland —is a Professor at the Poznań University of Economics and Business. She is employed in Product MarketingDepartment at the Institute of Marketing. Her research and teaching interests concern on the areas ofconsumer behaviour, innovation design and development and informational value of packages. She is anauthor of several scientific papers and books. She has experience in product management and packaginginnovation projects implemented for companies.

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Mariola Grzybowska-Brzezińska, PhD, DSc- academic researcher at UWM in the Chair of Market andConsumption, Institute of Economics and Finance — A female scientist, but also an important figure inthe authorities of the University of Warmia and Mazury. Her success is a combination of theory and practice,a rare thing, because usually scientists do not understand business although they write about it. She willinglycooperates with entrepreneurs, engages in merging the worlds of science and business, believes in theusefulness of science. She is valued by both the scientific and business community and liked by students.In her scientific work she deals with the issue of consumer behaviour, as well as various aspects of foodmarket functioning. She is the author or co-author of over one hundred and thirty original scientificpublications. She has completed several internships and scientific stays at universities in the USA, Germany,Spain, Slovakia, Ukraine and other countries. She has participated in a number of nationally and internationallyfunded programmes as a lecturer, consultant and scientific supervisor. Manager of post-graduate studiesQuality Manager, she holds the position of a PhD student manager at the Faculty of Economic Sciences. Herpopularization activities also include cooperation with local government and business environment units.

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wwwwww..mmiinniibb..ppllPublished online 30 June 2020


DYWERSYFIKACJA STYLÓW ZAKUPOWYCH KLIENTÓW W KONTEKŚCIE ZMIAN W TYGODNIOWYMROZKŁADZIE PRACY PLACÓWEK HANDLU DETALICZNEGO

Piotr Cyrek, PhDUniversity of Rzeszów, Collegium of Social Sciences, Institute of Economics and Finance, Poland, ul. Ćwiklińskiej 2, 35-601 Rzeszó[email protected] ORCID: 0000-0002-8306-1612


DIVERSIFICATION OF CUSTOMER SHOPPINGSTYLES AS A RESULT OF CHANGES IN THE WEEKLY WORK SCHEDULES

OF RETAIL OUTLETS

Open Access

The article presents the results of three studies conducted by the author concerning the preferences of retail outletcustomers with regard to the days of the week on which they most frequently purchase general food and non-foodmerchandise. This issue has become relevant within the context of the enactment of the Act of 10 January 2018 on limitingtrade on Sundays, holidays and certain other days. Previous customer shopping styles as regards weekly shoppingschedules must have changed. The aim of the article is to identify consumers' habits and their changes concerning theweekly shopping schedules before and after the Act implementation. The results are based on direct surveys conductedin 2014, 2016 and 2018 among customers in Podkarpackie Province. A descriptive analysis of the results is supported bythe statistical test chi square usage. It may be concluded that both in relation to food and non-food merchandise, theimplementation of the Act resulted in a decrease in the number of customers engaging in shopping on Sundays. In thecase of food items, the shopping activity moved to Mondays and Tuesdays of the following week, the purpose being toresupply. No increase was identified in the number of customers purchasing food on Fridays or Saturdays preceding non-trading Sundays. The opposite was true for non-food merchandise, where non-trading Sundays resulted primarily inincreased sales on Saturdays, with minor increases on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays as well. The differences inweekly shopping schedules observed between every edition of the study also proved to be more significant than thoseidentified in the individual respondent classification groups used for the purpose of the article.

ABSTRACT

MARKETING OF SCIENTIFIC AND RESEARCH ORGANIZATIONS, 2020, Vol. 36, Issue 2, p. 45–60 pISSN 2353-8503eISSN 2353-8414

Key words: trade, consumers' behaviour, shopping days, trade on Sundays


Diversification of customer shopping styles as a result of changes in the weekly work schedules of retail outlets

Introduction

A number of dilemmas arise within the context of the legislationprecluding retail outlets from operating on Sundays. These dilemmasconcern the process of households being able to successfully resupply withgeneral food and non-food items. The article analyses the changes in habitsrelated to shopping for the above product groups on particular days of theweek. Its main aim includes identifying consumers' preferences concerningweekly shopping schedules and changes of such habits between 2014, 2016and 2018 year. The scale of the changes during and after the enactment of

W artykule zaprezentowano wyniki trzech edycji własnych badań preferencji klientów placówek handlowych dotyczącychdni tygodnia, kiedy realizują główne zakupy produktów ogólnospożywczych oraz przemysłowych. Zagadnienie to nabrałoznaczenia w kontekście wprowadzenia 10 stycznia 2018 r. Ustawy o ograniczeniu handlu w niedziele i święta oraz w nie-które inne dni. Dotychczasowe style zakupowe klientów wyrażone tygodniowym rozkładem zakupów musiały ulec zmia-nie. Celem artykułu jest identyfikacja zwyczajów konsumenckich w zakresie tygodniowego rozkładu realizacji zakupów i ichzmian w okresie przed wprowadzeniem ustawy i po jej wprowadzeniu. Wnioskowanie oparto na wynikach wywiadów bez-pośrednich przeprowadzonych w 2014, 2016 i 2018 roku wśród konsumentów w województwie podkarpackim. Analizaopisowa otrzymanych wyników została uzupełniona wykorzystaniem statystycznego testu chi kwadrat. Przeprowadzonebadania wskazują, że w przypadku produktów zarówno żywnościowych, jak i przemysłowych ustawa faktycznie ograni-czyła odsetek klientów realizujących niedzielne zakupy. W przypadku produktów ogólnospożywczych przenieśli oni swojąaktywność zakupową na poniedziałek i wtorek kolejnego tygodnia, uzupełniając ewentualne braki. Nie odnotowano nato-miast wzrostu odsetka osób, które realizowałyby zakupy żywności na zapas w piątek czy sobotę poprzedzające niedzielęniehandlową. Przeciwnie, w przypadku produktów przemysłowych ograniczenie zakupów w niedziele skutkowało ichzwiększeniem głównie w sobotę, choć wzrosty odnotowano także w poniedziałek, wtorek i środę. Różnice w tygodnio-wych rozkładach zakupów zaobserwowane między kolejnymi edycjami badania okazały się przy tym bardziej istotne niż teodnotowane w poszczególnych grupach klasyfikacji respondentów wykorzystywanych w opracowaniu.

JJEELL:: D10, D12, D19, L81, R20, K23

ABSTRAKT

Słowa kluczowe: handel, zachowania konsumentów, dni zakupów, handel w niedziele

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the relevant legislation limiting Sunday trade is thus analysed. Thehypothesis of this article is that there exist statistically significantdifferences in weekly shopping schedules between years before and afterthe entering into force of the act prohibiting trade on Sundays. Thenecessity to comply with the provisions of the act by both businesses andtheir customers leads to the adoption of the premise that the changes whichoccurred in the analysed period (2014, 2016 and 2018) are morepronounced than the differences identifiable in the weekly shoppingschedules of the diversified subgroups analysed in the article.

The above premises are verified based on the results of the author's ownresearch conducted in 2014, 2016 and 2018. The data was collected usingthe direct survey method, utilising the author's own questionnaire, inrandom locations and retail outlets in Podkarpackie Province. Every tenthcustomer was surveyed until 10 respondents in total were found in a givenshop. The surveys were then assessed to eliminate those which wereincomplete. The final number of participants was 787, 611 and 250,respectively. The survey of customers allowed the author to analyse theissue of shopping patterns according to a number of demographic, socialand economic criteria, as well as using the dynamic approach. Thedifferences between groups of customers as well as the differences betweenyears under research were tested with the usage of chi square atsignificance level α = 0,05.

Literature review

The legislative changes prohibiting commerce on Sundays werecontroversial and gave rise to social and political discussions. Economicswas used as an instrument in this discourse to provide both sides of thedispute with arguments. Within this context, Sundays were treated asworking days (production goods) or rest days (consumer goods), generatingopportunity costs of their use in both cases (Drobny, 2015, pp. 110–111).However, the public discussion expanded beyond economic calculations toinclude more complex, cultural and axiological reasons as to why Sundayshould be a rest day. Justifications for prohibiting commerce on Sundays

were raised as early as at the bill stage, and focused primarily on matterssuch as resting, religion, private and family life, as well as developingdomestic businesses (Strzała, Grygutis, 2018, p. 9). A great number of theprohibition's opponents brought up the economic costs of limitingcommerce (presented e.g. in a report by PwC from December 2016, cf.Szromnik, 2017a, pp. 416–417), as well as the issue of freedom of business.Its supporters, on the other hand, emphasised the necessity to cultivatehuman and social capital (Dylus, 2013, p. 195), protecting labour rights, thesignificance of family life and rest, as well as the religious aspects (Adamiec,Grodzka, 2017, p. 1). The issue of public support was also raised, which wasseen as necessary for the new regulations to be implemented (Dylus, 2013,p. 199).

Numerous surveys painted an ambiguous picture of public opinion onthe prohibition, in addition to indicating that Poles do actually shop forconsumer goods on Sundays. As an example, a CBOS study conducted inSeptember 2016 indicated that the majority of Poles shopped on Sundays(79%) (as cited in Adamiec, Grodzka, 2017, p. 1), which was supported bythe results of a study by Ceneo (September 2016), according to which asimilar percentage of Poles shopped on that day. According to the results ofa study by TNS (October 2016), the majority of Poles (approx. 2/3 of allrespondents) did not support the new law (Szromnik, 2017a, pp. 415–418).On the other hand, research conducted by Szromnik (2016) in south-eastPoland indicated a dichotomous division of the population regarding theprohibition of trade on Sundays (Szromnik, 2017b, p. 192).

Results of studies on the consequences of implementing the prohibitionare also of interest in this context. Data published by the Polish CentralStatistical Office indicates that the sales achieved by super andhypermarkets actually increased compared to the year prior during the firstmonth after the act entered into force (as cited in: Jękot, 2018, p. 13). Theresults of the study on the weekly shopping habits conducted in June 2018,i.e. after the new law entered into force, indicate that most customerspreferred to shop on Saturdays. The majority of the respondents wereopposed to the prohibition, with only a third of the respondents supportingshops closing on Sundays. In addition, no significant decrease in shoppingvolume was identified on Sundays — only 1/3 of the respondents did not

48



shop on non-trading Sundays (Jękot, 2018, pp. 14–20). However, thenumber of studies on the changes in weekly shopping cycles is relativelylow (Szromnik, 2017a, p. 411). Such research, provided that it considers thelong-term outlook, is justified due to the fact that, as pointed out by Dylus(2013, p. 196), the law, in addition to its restricting function, also serves toeducate and change attitudes and behaviours in the long term. It istherefore to be expected that the social acceptance of the prohibition willgradually increase, and that the legislatively-determined shopping patternswill eventually change.

Weekly shopping patterns and their changes over time

Three editions of research conducted among consumers in PodkarpackieProvince shed some light on changes in purchasing behaviours in a periodof implementation of the Act on limiting trade. Regardless of the periodanalysed and type of product, the respondents preferred to shop onSaturdays. The reason for this is the greater availability of free time, aswell as the traditional approach to organising household chores, accordingto which Sunday is treated as a rest day. However, the sales volume onSaturdays was higher for non-food merchandise — non-perishables,products which are purchased relatively more rarely, and whose purchasinginvolves more involvement and risk. Products from this group were alsopurchased relatively frequently on Fridays, indicating a planned, long-termnature of the decision-making process. In the case of food merchandise,purchases were made much more frequently on Mondays, which isdetermined by the relatively short shelf life of many types of food and theneed to replenish "weekend" supplies.

Despite the significant limitation in the ability to purchase foodmerchandise on Sundays after the new legislation was introduced, thenumber of customers shopping on Monday increased only by 3.5 percentagepoints in 2018 compared to the previous edition of the study (Table 1). A similar increase was identified in the percentage of customers whoresupplied on Tuesdays. Wednesday was only slightly affected by the

49



implementation of the prohibition on Sunday trading. A significantincrease was identified in relation to shopping on Thursdays, which werethe least popular days to shop both before and after the law entered intoforce.

Table 1. Weekly shopping preferences for food and non-food merchandise identified in individual editions of the study (total %)

Merchandise Food merchandise Non-food merchandise

Year 2014 2016 2018 2014 2016 2018

Total percentage of respondentscustomers shopping on: 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Monday 22.2 20.9 24.4 9.5 7.7 10.0Tuesday 7.8 7.4 11.2 6.9 6.1 7.6Wensday 6.1 9.2 9.2 6.5 7.2 11.6Thursday 5.2 3.8 6.8 5.8 7.0 5.2Friday 18.8 23.4 17.6 21.7 25.9 18.8Saturday 32.9 30.6 29.2 45.0 40.8 45.2Sunday 7.0 4.7 1.6 4.6 5.4 1.6

Source: calculations based on results of the own research.

The decrease in the number of respondents selecting Friday andSaturday as their food shopping day is slightly surprising within thecontext of shops being closed on Sundays. It would appear that the naturalconsequence of the prohibition should be an increased interest in these twodays as an opportunity to amend potential deficiencies. In actuality,however, consumers tended to resupply at the beginning of the followingweek. This may be indirectly caused by the increased interest in cateringservices, which is an indication of a social trend, as well as being able toaccess food establishments on Sundays. The significant decrease in thenumber of respondents shopping on Sundays is in line with the legislativeintention behind the prohibition and is a result of the act entering intoforce.

A similar trend could be observed in the behaviour of customersshopping for non-food merchandise. Within this context, a slightly

50



more pronounced decline in Sunday shopping was identified comparedto food products. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday have witnessedincreased shopping activity, with Thursday and Friday becoming lesspopular. Non-food items were purchased most frequently on Saturdays,which was the most popular day in all editions of the study, with a significant increase in 2018 compared to 2016. The increased non-food merchandise sales volume was a result of the nature of the goods.The decision-making process usually requires more effort in thisproduct category, and involves, among others, comparing alternativemeans of satisfying the customer's needs, which translates to suchpurchases being postponed until a day on which they have more freetime available.

Weekly general food merchandise shopping schedules in different consumer groups

In 2018, the first two days of the week were more popular as days toshop for food merchandise among respondents living in rural areas (Table2). On the other hand, inhabitants of urban areas preferred Wednesday andThursday. Friday was preferred by those living in less urbanised areas, andshopping activity was higher on Saturdays among urban residents, whoalso shopped more frequently on Sundays.

The analysis of income brackets (Table 2) indicates that the popularity ofshopping on Mondays is inversely proportional to the respondents' level ofwealth. Consumers whose income exceeded PLN 1000 shopped relativelymore often on Tuesdays, and those whose income exceeded 1500 — onWednesdays. Thursdays were most frequently chosen by those from thePLN 1001–1500 bracket.

The number of household members grew proportionally to the frequencyof shopping on Mondays (Table 3), the purpose being to replenish foodconsumed on the preceding Sunday. It is not surprising that the largestfamilies continued their shopping on Tuesdays, and that such families werealso most likely to shop on Saturdays. Single-person households were twiceas likely as other respondents to select Wednesday as their main shoppingday. While Thursday was of equal importance to single and double-person

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households, families of 3–5 were significantly less likely to shop on that day,with Thursday being completely marginalised among the largest of familiesstudied.

Table 2. Preferred days for purchasing general food merchandise in 2018 (by location and income level) (%)

Location Income in PLN per household member

Total

urban rural area area

Total percentage of respondents customers shopping on: 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Monday 24.4 23.0 27.0 40.7 27.1 23.3 19.1 20.6Tuesday 11.2 9.3 14.6 7.4 8.3 13.7 10.3 14.7Wensday 9.2 9.9 7.9 7.4 8.3 5.5 13.2 11.8Thursday 6.8 8.1 4.5 3.7 4.2 11.0 7.4 2.9Friday 17.6 17.4 18.0 11.1 12.5 19.2 22.1 17.6Saturday 29.2 30.4 27.0 29.6 37.5 26.0 26.5 29.4Sunday 1.6 1.9 1.1 0.0 2.1 1.4 1.5 2.9


Table 3. Preferred days for purchasing general food merchandise in 2018 (by number of household members and gender) (%)

No. of household members Gender

Total female male

Total percentage of respondents customers shopping on: 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Monday 24.4 5.6 18.6 27.3 29.4 25.6 22.3Tuesday 11.2 11.1 14.0 9.9 17.6 12.8 8.5Wensday 9.2 22.2 11.6 7.0 11.8 7.7 11.7Thursday 6.8 11.1 11.6 5.8 0.0 5.1 9.6Friday 17.6 11.1 9.3 21.5 5.9 18.6 16.0Saturday 29.2 33.3 32.6 27.3 35.3 28.8 29.8Sunday 1.6 5.6 2.3 1.2 0.0 1.3 2.1


52



up t

o 6

00

1 2 3–5-

6 an

dm

ore

601–

1000

1001

–150

0

1501

–250

0

mor

eth

an25

00

Women were more likely than men to prefer to shop on Mondays,Tuesdays and Fridays, with men preferring Wednesdays and Thursdays toa greater degree (Table 3). While both genders were equally likely to shop onSaturdays, men purchased food merchandise twice as often on Sundays.This may be a result of making food purchases while visiting filling stations,which also operate on Sundays.

The age of respondents did not clearly determine the day on which theypreferred to shop (Table 4). The youngest respondents were relatively mostlikely to purchase food merchandise on Mondays. Monday was slightly lesspopular among respondents from the oldest age bracket, and significantlyless popular among the remaining groups. Consumers above 50 years of agewere relatively most likely to make purchases on Tuesdays. Thursdays werenot popular among young respondents. The popularity of Fridays wasinversely proportional to the age of the respondents, but this trend wasbroken by the oldest age group, in which case purchases were made lessfrequently compared to 15–25-year-olds. Saturday was selected as the mainshopping day by a similar percentage of respondents (27.9–31.7%) in all agebrackets.

Table 4. Preferred days for purchasing general food merchandise in 2018 (by age and education) (%)

Age Education

Total15–25 26–35 36–50 older primary or secondary tertiary

than 50 vocational

Total percentage of respondents customersshopping on: 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0



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Those possessing secondary education most frequently purchased foodmerchandise on Mondays (Table 4). The level of education was inverselyproportional to the number of customers who preferred to shop for suchproducts on Tuesdays, and was directly proportional to the percentage ofcustomers who shopped on Fridays. Respondents with secondary educationand above were more likely to shop on Saturdays.

Weekly non-food merchandise shopping schedules in different consumer groups

When comparing respondent behaviours regarding food and non-foodmerchandise in 2018, it is important to note the lesser diversity indeclarations related to non-food products among urban and rural residents(Table 5). To a similar degree, rural and urban respondents selectedMondays (10.1 and 9.9), Wednesdays (11.2 and 11.8), Fridays (18.0 and19.3) and Saturdays (44.9 and 45.3) as their shopping days. Differenceswere slightly more pronounced in the case of Tuesdays, which were morepopular among urban residents, and Fridays, which were more popularamong rural inhabitants.

Table 5. Preferred days for purchasing non-food merchandise in 2018 (by location and income level) (%)

Location Income in PLN per household member

urban ruralTotal

area area

Total percentage of respondents customers shopping on: 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0



54



up t

o60

0

601–

1000

1001

–150

0

1501

–250

0

mor

eth

an

2500

An analysis of the income brackets (Table 5) indicates that Mondays wererelatively less popular for non-food purchases among respondents whoseincome ranges between PLN 1501 and 2500, who are in turn more likely thanother brackets to make such purchases on Tuesdays. A similar percentage ofrespondents from every income bracket (between 10.3 and 14.8%) made non-food purchases on Wednesdays, and Thursdays were similarly popularfor non-food merchandise among respondents whose income ranged betweenPLN 601 and 2,500. Customers whose income per person did not exceed PLN600 were half as likely to make purchases on Thursdays, and the wealthiestrespondents did not shop for non-food merchandise at all on that day.

Table 6. Preferred days for purchasing non-food merchandise in 2018 (by number of household members and gender) (%)

No. of household members Gender

Total female male

Total percentage of respondentscustomers shopping on: 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Monday 10.0 0.0 11.6 11.0 5.9 10.9 8.5Tuesday 7.6 11.1 11.6 5.8 11.8 6.4 9.6Wensday 11.6 16.7 9.3 11.0 17.6 9.0 16.0Thursday 5.2 5.6 4.7 5.8 0.0 6.4 3.2Friday 18.8 5.6 20.9 20.9 5.9 18.6 19.1Saturday 45.2 55.6 41.9 43.6 58.8 48.1 40.4Sunday 1.6 5.6 0.0 1.7 0.0 0.6 3.2


Non-food items were most frequently purchased on Mondays bycustomers from 2–5 person families (Table 6). Members of larger familieswere less likely to make purchases then (5.9%), and no single-personhousehold declared Monday as their main shopping day. A similarpercentage (approx. 11.5%) of respondents across all household sizesubgroups made non-food purchases on Tuesday, the only exception being3–5-person families, where the percentage was half the average.

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1 2 3–5-

6 an

dm

ore

Wednesday was the most popular day among respondents from thelargest families, as well as single-person households. Approximately 5% ofrespondents from 1–5 person households made purchases on Thursdays,while families numbering at least 6 members did not shop on Thursdaysat all. Single-person households and those numbering 6 and moremembers were significantly less likely than 2–5-person households topurchase non-food items on Fridays, and were significantly more likelythan other size subgroups to make such purchases on Saturdays. Single-person households were most likely to make non-food purchases onSundays.

Women purchased non-food items on Mondays, Thursdays andSaturdays more frequently than men, who preferred Tuesdays,Wednesdays and Fridays. Men were also more likely to visit shops offeringnon-food merchandise which are open on Sundays (Table 6).

Monday was the most popular shopping day among respondentsbetween 36 and 50 years of age, and the least popular in the 26–35 agegroup, in which Tuesday was also an unpopular day for shopping. OnWednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, customers aged between 36 and 50were relatively unlikely to purchase non-food merchandise, and were muchmore likely than other subgroups to shop on Fridays. Saturday was themost popular day among the youngest respondents (Table 7).

Interest in shopping on Monday and Wednesday was inverselyproportional to the level of education (Table 7). Despite there being nolinear trend, it is important to note that Tuesday was the least popularday for purchasing non-food merchandise among those with highereducation, who were more likely to postpone such purchases until theend of the week, most frequently Friday and Saturday, though in thelatter case, they were less likely to do so than respondents possessingsecondary education. In addition, tertiary education degree holderswere most likely to patronise non-food retail outlets on tradingSundays.

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Table 7. Preferred days for purchasing non-food merchandise in 2018 (by age and education) (%)

Age Education

Total15–25 26–35 36–50 older primary or secondary tertiary

than 50 vocational

Total percentage of respondents customersshopping on: 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0



An analysis of the presented research result utilising a chi-squaredtest for the purpose of verifying whether statistically significantdifferences actually exist in the distribution for the defined subgroupsalso renders it possible to determine the existence of such differences(for α = 0.05) in the distribution of shopping across individual days ofthe week in 2014, 2016 and 2018, both in the case of food and non-foodmerchandise. This level of statistical significance is insufficient toobserve this level of diversity when categorising according to thedefined demographical, social or economic features, which serve aninformational purpose only. Thus, it is valid to claim that the analysedphenomenon is more diverse across time than across the presentedsubgroups.

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Conclusions

The implementation of the Act on limiting trade on Sundays, holidaysand certain other days on 10 January 2018 resulted, on the one hand, in a number of protests by enterprises, who were forced to reorganise theirwork schedules to take into account the legislative changes, and inopposition from customers, who were concerned about their convenientaccess to retail outlets offering general food and non-food merchandise,on the other. The numerous discussions and awareness initiatives whichtook place before the act entered into force allowed the demand to adaptto the new conditions. In line with the premise behind the newlegislation, the number of customers doing their main shopping of theweek on Sundays decreased. Purchases of food merchandise shifted toMondays and Tuesdays of the following week, which is contrary to theexpectation that preceding Saturdays would be chosen instead. This mayindicate greater interest among customers in catering services, whichwere not affected by the legislation, as well as a degree of pragmatism —customers would rather avoid the inconvenience of crowded shops andqueues on Saturdays. Saturday has become the day on which themajority of customers shop for non-food items. No longer able to makesuch purchases on Sundays, a negligible percentage of consumersmigrated to Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. In 2018, the groupwhich displayed the most attachment to shopping for food merchandiseon Sundays were urban men aged 26–35, who had at least secondaryeducation, whose income exceeded PLN 2,500 and whose householdsnumbered only 1 person. For non-food items, this statistic shifts slightlytowards higher education and rural areas. The changes observed overtime were more statistically significant than the differences identified in2018 among respondents belonging to the diverse subgroups defined forthe purpose of the analysis.

The conducted research allows to conclude that legislation cansignificantly influence both consumers behaviours and the way inwhich retailers should organise their activities. Recommendation for

58



retail trade enterprises may, however, differ concerning type of theirassortment. Taking into account the analysed issue, it is suggested forfood retailers to engage their labour resources to wider extend onMondays and Tuesdays following the Sunday without trade, whilenon-food retailers should shift the employees to Saturday work.Moreover, some conclusions may be specified concerning marketingactivities of such retailers who are allowed to trade on Sundays. Tosuccessfully run their businesses they should focus on meeting theneeds of their typical clients: single, relatively wealthy and educated.Nevertheless, considering negligible differences between consumersgroups, the offer should be accessible and attractive for the others aswell.

References1. Adamiec, J., Grodzka, D. (2017). Społeczne uwarunkowania handlu w niedziele. Infos,

1(224), 1–4. 2. Drobny, P. (2015). Zakaz pracy w niedzielę jako problem granic ekonomii. Studia Ekono-

miczne, 210, 108–117. 3. Dylus, A. (2013). Ochrona prawna niedzieli. Próba uzasadnienia. Prakseologia, 154,

187–199. 4. Jękot, A. (2018). Ograniczenie i zakaz handlu w niedziele w opinii konsumentów. Zeszyty

Naukowe Wyższej Szkoły Ekonomiczno-Społecznej w Ostrołęce, 3(30), 9–22. 5. Strzała, M., Grygutis, J. (2018). Założenia aksjologiczne ustawy o ograniczeniu handlu

w niedzielę i święta. Studia z Zakresu Prawa Pracy i Polityki Społecznej, 25(1), 1–18; DOI: 10.4467/25444654SPP. 18.001.8273.

6. Szromnik, A. (2017a). Handel i zakupy w niedzielę w opinii społecznej — studium porów-nawcze (cz. I). Handel Wewnętrzny, 3(368) t. II, 409–422.

7. Szromnik, A. (2017b). Handel i zakupy w niedzielę w opinii społecznej — studium porów-nawcze (cz. II). Handel Wewnętrzny, 4(369) t. I, 180–199.

8. Ustawa z dnia 10 stycznia 2018 r. o ograniczeniu handlu w niedziele i święta oraz w nie-które inne dni, Dz. U. z 2018 r. poz. 305.

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Piotr Cyrek, PhD, University of Rzeszów, Collegium of Social Sciences, Institute of Economics andFinance, Poland — researcher at the University of Rzeszów since 2001. Holds a Doctoral Degree inEconomics. Research interests focus on consumers behaviour connected with purchasing decisions at theFMCG market. Simultaneously they include efficiency issues of organizational strategies in retail tradeenterprises.

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TECHNOLOGIA WEARABLE W OCENIE MŁODYCH KONSUMENTÓW

Bogdan Gregor, Prof., PhD, DSc.University of Lodz, Faculty of Management, Department of Marketing, Poland, ul. Jana Matejki 22/26, 90-237 Łódź[email protected] ORCID: 0000-0003-1681-2073

Emilian Gwiaździński, M.Sc.University of Lodz, Faculty of Management, Department of Marketing, [email protected] ORCID: 0000-0002-7125-9955


WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY IN THE PERCEPTIONOF YOUNG CONSUMERS

Open Access

The paper presents the issues of wearable technology, their role and use in the current economy. Ubiquitous digitaltransformation and universal access to broadband Internet are the foundation for the creation of interoperable ecosystems,where wearable technology is responsible for communication often in the relationship between machine to machine andmachine to human. The authors researched the level of knowledge about these devices and the degree of their use. Itturned out that despite the knowledge of worn devices and relatively positive attitudes, the degree of their use is low. Thearticle is theoretical and empirical.

ABSTRACT


Key words: wearables technologies, digital transformation, young consumers


Wearable technology in the perception of young consumers

Introduction

The XXI century is called the time of digital transformation in theeconomy. Klaus Schwab, founder and president of the World EconomicForum in Davos, described this period as the fourth industrial revolution.He characterized it as an era of intelligent technology and sensors,interacting in one ecosystem, which affects not only the business area, butalso the everyday life of communities (Schwab, 2018). According toIDTechEx forecasts, the market for sensors and wearable technology (WT)is to reach USD 100 billion by 2023, and USD 150 billion by 2026 (Mazurek,2019). The transformations were also strongly influenced by broadband

Opracowanie przedstawia problematykę urządzeń noszonych, ich rolę oraz wykorzystanie we współczesnej gospodarce.Wszechobecna transformacja cyfrowa oraz powszechny dostęp do szerokopasmowego internetu są fundamentemtworzenia współdziałających ekosystemów, gdzie urządzenia noszone odpowiadają za komunikację często w relacjachmachine to machine oraz machine to human. Autorzy zbadali poziom wiedzy na temat tych urządzeń oraz stopień ichwykorzystania. Okazało się, że pomimo znajomości urządzeń noszonych oraz względnie pozytywnych postaw stopień ichwykorzystania jest niski. Artykuł ma charakter teoretyczno-empiryczny.

JJEELL:: M310, M370, O330, O320

ABSTRAKT

Słowa kluczowe: technologie wearables, transformacja cyfrowa, młodzi konsumenci

Internet access, especially on mobile devices. In 2018, the number ofsubscribers for this type of connection to the global network exceeded 60per 100 inhabitants worldwide (Frąckiewicz, 2019). In turn, according toBest Computer Science reports, by 2020 the number of smart devices(including the WT) connected to the Internet will amount to approximately200 billion (Tarabasz, 2018).

The aim of the article is an attempt to identify the degree of knowledgeand use of the mentioned WT by young consumers and attitudes towardsthem. Its realization was based on empirical research conducted on a sample of 173 units.

Literature review

The literature review is based on four scientific databases: ScienceDirect, Scopus, Springer and Web of Science (Table 1).

Table 1. The results of the literature review

Selection criteriaNumber of records in the repository

Science Direct Scopus Springer Web of Science

"Wearable technologies" or "wearable technology" — title, abstract and keywords 318 13 571 2 623 1 282

Articles published in English, in journals as research articles and literature reviews 209 4 495 757 619

Articles in the areas of business, management and marketing 15 8 15 46

Articles in open access 5 215 6

Total quantity after removal of duplicates 25

Source: own elaboration.

The process of reviewing the scientific bases consisted of several stages.The first stage included filtering based on the search for "wearabletechnologies" and "wearable technology" in the titles of works, abstracts andkeywords. In the next stage, the results were narrowed down by anothercategory — an article published in English, in journals as research articles

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and as literature reviews. The criteria of the thematic area — business,management, marketing or social sciences — were then added. The nextselection level consisted in selecting only those works which were publishedwithin the framework of open access or co-financing of the Ministry ofScience and Higher Education. At the very end, the articles that appearedsimultaneously in several indicated databases were removed. Finally, 25studies were received. The oldest of them — and these are two works —date back to 2015. The first one describes the phenomenon of the WT quitesuperficially and the authors focus on the use of this technology in tourismand e-tourism (Gretzel et al., 2015). The second article describes the WT asa near future. These devices help to blur the border between man andcomputer, which the authors call a cyborg. They are characterized by a certain extension of the body's capabilities. They describe applicationpossibilities such as real-time sweat composition analysis based ontemporary intelligent tattooing, water and electrolyte level measurement,oral health monitoring and human body language translation (Yeoman,McMahon-Beattie, 2015).

The following year it was written about the era of the WT. They werefocused on their use as sensors and measurement points, which enablemonitoring both the states of activity and physiology, however, a certaindirection related to medicine was also defined. The use of this type of deviceas a limb prosthesis was described. This direction gave potential for thedevelopment of transgressive ideas such as trans- or post-humanism(Matos et al., 2016; Vinay et al., 2016).

In 2017, the WT was described as a potential tool for communicationbetween a brand and a consumer (Wu et al., 2017; Tanti, Buhalis, 2017).These devices, due to their permanent connection to the Internet, collectlarge amounts of data, which enables the brand to analyse consumerbehaviour in real time, e.g. through solutions based on sharing customerlocation or an effective payment channel, ensuring high quality marketingservice and special sales services on customer request (Wu et al., 2017). Onthe other hand, the subject of personal data protection, privacy and therisks and consequences of continuous Internet connection is discussed.Specialists pointed out such risks as monitoring and interception of data,among others in the form of private photos from the device's memory ortaking pictures of the environment without the user's knowledge. It also

64



describes the essence of awareness of the type of private data exposed tosharing and their security (Ghazinour et al., 2017).

In 2018, a completely new approach to the WT was shown. They beganto interfere more in the lives of consumers by designing things that werepart of their everyday lives, with additional functionality and sensors, suchas intelligent jewellery, duvets or sleeping bags (Wissinger, 2018; Biswas etal., 2018). There is also a classification of these devices as components ofthe Internet of Things ecosystem (Maglogiannis et al., 2018; Srinivasa etal., 2018; Koo, Fallon, 2018; Tussyadiah, Jung, Dieck, 2018). Thedevelopment of this technology has further enabled the creation of a WBSNnetwork that automatically monitors the heart rate of the user andindicates the abnormalities that may be indicative of the disease (Soudani,Almusallam, 2018).

This year's publications have also covered the use of WT in medicine, forexample as an IR detector with which communication takes place byblinking of the eyes and simple head movements of paralysed people (Malik,Mazhar, 2019). Public safety (Alsamhi et al., 2019) and customercommunication (Cena, Likavec, Rap, 2019; Alt et al., 2019; Berkemeier etal., 2019) were also discussed.

Methodology of empirical research

The aim of the empirical study was to try to answer the followingquestions:

Is the WT phenomenon known among the representatives of the younggeneration?To what extent do young consumers declare the use of these devices? What are the attitudes of the young generation towards the WT andwhat are they dependent on?

The empirical survey was based on two survey techniques: auditorialand internet using a questionnaire. The research instrument consisted oftwo parts. The first one concerned the recognition of whether the

65



participants of the survey know and use the WT. Next, the respondentswere asked about their preferred forms of payment and asked to respondto the scale (from 3 to –3 with antonyms at the poles of the scale, where0 is a neutral value) to the terms characterizing payment with a smartphone and an intelligent watch. The last question in the first partconcerned the identification of consumer attitudes, based on the Likert'sscale question (from 1 to 5, where 1 meant "I definitely do not agree",while 5 meant "I definitely agree"), relating to the implantation of the WTunder the skin, the replacement of smartphones by the WT in the futureor treating these devices as a new channel of communication between thebrand and the consumer. The second part of the questionnaire includedmetric questions on the demographic and social characteristics ofrespondents.

Respondents to the survey were selected on purpose. The category ofbelonging to the sample was age. Only young people — up to 30 years ofage — were included, due to the fact that they are consumers withparticularly high technological competences (Linkiewicz, Bartosik--Purgat, 2017; Gregor, Gotwald-Feja, Łaszkiewicz, 2017; Tkaczyk, 2018;Stopczyńska, 2018; Gregor, Kaczorowska-Spychalska, 2018), whichfavour the propensity to use new technologies without which they cannotimagine life (Twenge, 2019). Detailed data on respondents are presentedin Table 2.

The study involved 173 persons. 43% of them are men, the remaining57% — women. As already mentioned, the age of respondents was limitedto 19–30 years. Most of them (75%) were people aged 19–24, the rest(25–30) were 25%. More than half of the respondents (almost 57%) werepeople with secondary education, slightly more than 43% with highereducation. Nearly 3 of the respondents are students, 18% are employedpeople who do not study. On the other hand, over 8% of respondentsdeclared that they combine professional work with studies. The vastmajority of the respondents live in cities (almost 83%), mainly in cities withmore than 500 thousand inhabitants (almost 54%).

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Table 2. Sample characteristics (n = 173)

VariablesRespondents

Count %

GenderMan 74 42.8Woman 99 57.3

Age19–24 years old 130 75.125–30 years old 43 24.9

EducationMedium 98 56.7Higher 75 43.3

Occupation statusStudent 127 73.4Professional (work) 32 18.5Student working 14 8.1

Place of residenceVillage 30 17.3A city with a population of up to 50 000 inhabitants 18 10.4A city of between 50 000 and 200 000 inhabitants 27 15.6A city of between 200 000 and 500 000 inhabitants 4 2.3A city of more than 500 000 inhabitants 94 54.3

Source: empirical research.

Analysis of test results

One of the detailed objectives of the empirical research was to identifythe knowledge of the concept of WT and to find out whether therepresentatives of the studied group use them. Knowledge of the concept ofwearables was declared in over 44% of cases.

Then, the percentage of respondents who know and use the citedexamples of WT was examined (Table 3).

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Table 3. Declared knowledge and use of WT of respondents (n = 173)

WTPercentage of respondents

Knowledge Usage

AR glasses (Augmented reality) 67.6 6.4

Smartband 85.6 22.0

Smartwatch 97.1 17.9

Smart jewellery (ring, bracelet, earring, cufflinks/tie) 34.7 2.9

Headphones 92.5 42.8

Smart clothes 28.9 0.0

Smart tattoos 9.8 0.0

Smart contact lenses 27.2 2.9

Smart implants/chips implanted under the skin 61.9 0.0


The most well-known devices, among respondents, are smart watches,indicated by over 97% of respondents, headphones — almost 93% andsmart band, which knowledge was determined by over 85% of respondents.Smart clothes, lenses and tattoos are the least known. However, it is worthpaying special attention to the results determining the knowledge of smartchips, which are implanted under the skin and AR glasses — bothexamples were indicated as known by more than 60% of respondents. Thefirst one, smart chips, was made popular by a test conducted in Sweden in2018 on a sample of 3 000 people (Ma, 2018). The rice grain-size devicesimplanted under the skin around the wrist enabled, among other things,payment for shopping, opening the door or unlocking secure storagedevices (Gillenson et al., 2019). AR glasses, on the other hand, weredistributed, mainly through Google Glass by Google, which enabled,among other things, quick access to information from the Internet,discreet taking photographs and recording video material (Kęsy, 2017).However, the use of WT is low. Almost 43% say they use headphones, 22%use smart bands and almost 18% use smart watches. In the case of otherdevices, the respondents did not declare using them or did so to a negligible extent.

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One important detail should be noted here. Comparing the level ofknowledge of the term WT and the results from Table 3, we can see thatthey are not compatible with each other. This means that respondentsprobably do not associate this concept with devices such as smart watchesor bands.

In a next step, the preferred payment methods were examined toidentify which percentage of the sample uses the WT for this purpose(Table 4).

Table 4. Preferred forms of payment among the representatives of the research group (n = 173)

Methods of paymentRespondents

Count %

Cash 111 64.1Payment card (debit, credit card, etc.) 162 93.6Blik 105 60.7Contact stickers 23 13.3NFC tag 6 3.5Smartphone 55 31.8Smart watch 9 5.2Smart band 7 4.1


Interestingly, only 64% of respondents indicated payment in thetraditional form — in cash. Almost everyone uses payment cards (debitand/or credit). Over 60% use the Blik system offered by banks. This is oneof the examples of instant payments. In Poland, it was launched by thePolish Payment Standard in 2014 on the initiative of six major commercialbanks (Jagodzińska-Komar, 2019). The smartphone, whose use amongyoung people until 2019 is to exceed 90% (Gregor, Gwiaździński, 2019), wasindicated in the study by less than 32%. Other proposed forms of payment,including WT examples, were declared by less than 15% of respondents.

After identifying payment preferences, attitudes towards the paymentprocess using a smartphone and a smart watch were examined (Figure 1).

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Figure 1. Semantic differential for the attitudes of respondents towards smartphones and smart watches (n = 168)


The attitude of respondents to both smartphone and smart watchpayment is above neutral (0), which means it is positive. In the case ofsecurity of personal data, paying with a smartphone is better perceived,but the difference between these ways of buying is small. Respondentsargue that the payment process is more intuitive for smartphones as well.They also believe that a smartphone provides greater security forpayment transactions and is more attractive than a smart watch. On theother hand, innovation is perceived in the same way.

Comparing the results from Table 4 and Figure 1, it can be seen thatdespite the positive attitudes with little differentiation, respondentsrarely declared such payment methods. The question should be askedhere: why is this the case? In the case of a smart watch, the price of thedevice may be the barrier, while a smartphone is a device with a very highpenetration rate among young consumers; the price is not a problem. Themarket for mobile devices is very saturated and this form of payment isavailable in most of the models available on the market. Consumers maynot be aware of this, that it is available and how to use it. Identifying thereasons for this is essential and could be a separate research objective inthis area.

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Table 5. Respondents' assessments in relation to the proposed statements (n = 173)

Structure of responses w %

WeightedStatements average of I definitely I rather It's hard I rather I definitely

responses agree agree to say dis- disagree(5) (4) (3) agree (1)

(2)

WT is secure for my personal data such as passwords, 3.24 5.8 38.2 34.1 18.5 3.5access codes, etc.

WT makes everyday life easier 4.24 41.0 43.4 15.0 0.0 0.6WT allow me to take better care

of my health and physical 3.93 28.3 45.7 20.8 1.2 4.0condition

WT can replace smartphones in the future

3.67 28.9 32.9 20.2 12.1 5.8

WT are a new channel of contact between a brand and 3.80 22.5 42.8 28.3 5.2 1.2a consumer

I would like to implant a WT (chip) under my skin

1.92 3.5 9.2 16.2 18.5 52.6

Using WT means I'm less likely to use my smartphone 2.60 4.0 9.8 45.7 23.1 17.3

WT are just a gadget 2.68 5.8 18.5 31.2 27.2 17.3


The last aspect to be examined was the respondents' attitudes towards theproposed statements on the WT (Table 5). In the process of the analysis,internal dependencies occurring in a set of eight variables describingrespondents' feelings were examined. The coefficients on the diagonalcorrelation matrix exceeded the threshold value of 0.5. For the eightvariables analysed, Bartlett's sphericity test was 257.326 (approximate χ2)at 28 degrees of freedom and the value of p = 0.000,1 while the KMOcoefficient was 0.723.2 The theoretical accuracy of the structure wasverified in the next step by using exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The

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method of identifying generalised factors of the smallest squares was used.As a result of the analysis, the eight output variables were reduced to threefactors explaining in total only 47.356% of the overall variability (whichmeans that less than half of the variability of individual items wasexplained by the constructed constructs). The factor load matrix wasrotated using the Varimax method with Kaiser normalization. The resultsof the analysis showed that only one or two primary variables can beincluded in each of the dimensions, and three of them have not entered intoany of the factors. No homogeneity of construction was demonstrated andtherefore it was decided to analyse individual variables.

Respondents rather agree that the WT is secure for their personal datasuch as passwords or access codes. The same applies to statements that theWT makes their daily life easier and allows them to take better care of theirhealth and physical condition. Most respondents believe that WT canreplace smartphones in the future and are a new channel of contact betweena brand and a consumer. More than half of the respondents would definitelynot want to have WT implanted under their skin. Most said it was difficultfor them to say whether using WT would result in less frequent use of a smartphone, but they rather disagreed that it was just a gadget. It was alsonoted that:

variable "gender" differentiates responses for statements 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6; variable "age" differentiates responses for statements 1 and 4; variable "education" differentiates responses for statements 1, 4 and 5; variables: "occupation status" and "place of residence" differentiateresponses for all statements.

Conclusion

To sum up, the role and potential of UW is growing year by year. Thereports presented by research companies show that in the future therewill be more and more devices connected to the Internet. However, the

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presented research results illustrate the low level of use of this type ofdevices, twice as low as the level of knowledge. It is also interesting tonote that the UW usage is low in the process of making payments by therespondents, despite their positive attitude. The practice of companies,especially key players in the technology industry, shows that this typeof solution is slowly becoming a new standard of payment. In the futureit will be possible to make payments not only with a smart watch orchip, but also with smart tattoos, smart jewellery or smart nails.Respondents' attitudes in this area usually depend on their place ofresidence, gender and age. However, it should be remembered that thepresented research results describe only a limited part of reality due tothe rather small size of the sample, which leads to the inability toformulate general conclusions. However, the results give a certain viewon the discussed issues, setting the directions for future research, whichwill be more and more frequent due to the growing trend of using thiskind of technology.

Footnotes1 1 The null hypothesis that the correlation matrix is a unit matrix was rejected in favour of the opposite hypothesis(Malarska, 2005).2 It is recommended that the value of K-M-O > 0,5 which means that the test sample is adequate for theassumptions of the factor analysis (Malarska, 2005).

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Bogdan Gregor, Prof., PhD, DSc., University of Lodz, Poland — is a full professor of economic sciences.Since 1992, he has headed the Marketing Department of the University of Lodz. He is the author and co-authorof about 350 publications. He published, among others, in 2002 (co-author M. Stawiszyński) a pioneering e-Commerce book on the Polish publishing market, in 2014 the monograph Marketing Research for the Use ofManagerial Decisions (co-author M. Kalińska-Kula), in 2016 two books: Blogs in the marketing communicationprocess (co-author D. Kaczorowska-Spychalska) and Transfer of knowledge and technology from researchorganizations to enterprises (co-authors: D. Trzmielak, M. Grzegorczyk), in 2018 two works: Marketing in thedigital technology era. Modern concepts and challenges (scientific co-editor and co-author of two chapters)and Market Intelligence as a programme to support decision-making processes in a modern enterprise (co-author M. Kalińska-Kula). He held many responsible functions. He was, among others, Deputy Dean and Deanof the Faculty of Economics and Sociology of the University of Lodz (1990–1994), one of the founders of theFaculty of Management of the University of Lodz — its first and long-term dean (1994–2002, 2005–2008). Inthe years 2008–2016, he was the vice-rector of the University of Lodz for economic affairs, and in the years2012–2016 he was the chairman of the University Financial Commission, the body of the Conference ofRectors of Polish Universities. He is a scholarship holder of the Humboldt Foundation (1980–1982) and DAAD(1990). He has completed numerous scientific internships at American and Western European universities. Hepromoted 20 PhDs. He also promoted the honorary doctorate awarded to Professor Lee Preston from theUniversity of Maryland (USA) by the University of Lodz. His research interests include broadly understoodissues of marketing, with particular emphasis on the evolution of this scientific specialization and its newconcepts, the role of marketing research in the management of a modern organization, as well as the use ofnew information and communication technologies in business (mainly in marketing activities).

Emilian Gwiaździński, M.Sc., University of Lodz, Poland — is an assistant and a PhD student at theFaculty of Management at the University of Lodz and a winner of the award for the highest number of pointsin the recruitment procedure for the PhD studies for the academic year 2018/2019. His research interestsfocus on the transformation of the digital economy, digital technologies, wearables, the ecosystem of theInternet of things, artificial intelligence, digital marketing, a new type of consumer in the market and newmarket opportunities. His doctoral dissertation, written under the direction of Prof. Bogdan Gregor (supervisor)and Dr. Dominika Kaczorowska-Spychalska (supporting supervisor), is devoted to the issues of the Internet ofthings ecosystem in creating the competitive advantage of an enterprise. He gave a lecture on labelling at theAcademy of Young Economist — it was rated highest by the project students. He is actively involved in theactivities of the doctoral community and performs many responsible functions — he is, among others, Vice-Chairman of the Faculty Council of PhD Students of the Faculty of Management, a member of the Commissionfor Social and Pedestrian Affairs, a representative of the Faculty of Management to the Council of ScientificCircles of the University of Lodz and a representative of doctoral students to the Council of the Faculty ofManagement of the University of Lodz.

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LOJALNOŚĆ KLIENTÓW NA RYNKU USŁUG UBEZPIECZENIOWYCH

Beata Nowotarska-Romaniak, PhD, Assoc. Prof.University of Economics in Katowice, College of Management, Department of Marketing, Poland, ul. ks. bpa S. Adamskiego 7, 40-069 [email protected] ORCID: 0000-0003-3563-2596


CUSTOMER LOYALTY ON THE INSURANCESERVICES MARKET IN POLAND

Open Access

Insurance companies are currently carrying out tasks related to building trust, image creation and giving distinctivefeatures to intangible insurance services, which is associated with paying more attention to the packaging of the servicethan to the service itself. The packaging of the insurance service consists of people, the appearance of branches, theavailability of insurance services and flexibility in customer service. For insurance companies, the knowledge of not onlymarketing practice, but also the knowledge about customer behaviours or factors affecting their loyalty is becomingimportant. The purpose of the article is to review the loyalty on the insurance services market in Poland and to examinethe factors influencing it. The article discusses the methods of testing customer loyalty on the insurance services market.On the other hand, based on the results of the survey, factors affecting customer that may affect customer loyaltysatisfaction are presented.

ABSTRACT


Key words: loyalty, insurance services, customer


Customer loyalty on the insurance services market in Poland

Introduction

Customer behaviour forms the basis of the company's loyalty activities.The knowledge of the process of loyalty building plays an important role inthe activities of an insurance company. Loyalty is a complex,interdisciplinary category and thus it is difficult to be clearly defined. Thedefinition of loyalty is constantly being reinterpreted, because there aremany doubts in the way it is described and this generates difficulties whencomparing the results of research. The freedom that prevails wheninterpreting issues related to customer loyalty has negative impact onresearches into existing regularities in customer behaviour (Chłodnicki &Rogoziński, 2006, pp. 44–45).

In many publications, the authors do not undertake to define thisconcept, while others treat loyalty in different ways. Loyalty from the

Zakłady ubezpieczeń realizują obecnie zadania związane z budowaniem zaufania, kreowaniem wizerunku oraz nadaniem nie-materialnym usługom ubezpieczeniowym cech wyróżniających, co wiąże się ze zwróceniem uwagi bardziej na opakowa-nie usługi niż na samą usługę. Na opakowanie usługi ubezpieczeniowej składają się ludzie, wygląd placówek, dostępnośćusług ubezpieczeniowych, elastyczność w obsłudze klienta. Dla zakładów ubezpieczeniowych istotna staje się wiedza w za-kresie nie tylko praktyki marketingowej, ale również wiedza na temat zachowań klientów czy też czynników wpływającychna ich lojalność. W artykule zostały omówione metody badania lojalności klientów na rynku usług ubezpieczeniowych. Na-tomiast na podstawie wyników badania ankietowego przedstawiono czynniki wpływające na zadowolenie klienta, któremogą wpłynąć na jego lojalność.

JJEELL:: I13, J11

ABSTRAKT

Słowa kluczowe: lojalność, usługi ubezpieczeniowe, klient

company's point of view is considered as regular buying of services,putting the company in a positive light by customers and taking intoaccount purchases in a given company when the need arises. Manyliterature references do not mention the importance of customer-company relations, which is a basis for creating loyalty (Chłodnicki &Rogoziński, 2006, p. 46).

Loyalty can be understood as the relationship between the client andthe company for a long period of time. Clients establish a relationshiptaking into account cognitive and affective factors, thanks to which thevalue of relations between clients and the company is increasing. Byfocusing on gaining customer loyalty, a company can get a higher return onbusiness. Loyalty is associated with attachment, reliability, faithfulnessand commitment. The shortest definition means faithfulness and devotionto a company or person (Kopaliński, 1998. p. 306).

Loyal customer means a person who makes regular, repetitivepurchases, uses products or services offered by a company, spreads positiveinformation about this company and is resistant to promotional activitiesof competing companies (Rudawska, 2007, p. 51).

A loyal customer is a customer "attached" to the company, unyielding tothe actions of competitors (the so-called customer difficult to acquire) andrepresenting the interests of their company on the market (Altkorn &Kramer, 1990). Therefore, we can be considered a loyal customer when wepurchase the same services always in the same company. Loyal customeralso gives positive opinions about the chosen company, encourages otherclients to use the services of this company and also is resistant tocompetitive activities of the competition. The issue of customer loyaltyplays a significant role in companies that have direct contact with the finalpurchasers of products or services. This way, the real success have thosecompanies whose customers make repetitive purchases.

It was noticed that customers are more likely to shop in one company.They can also purchase products for a higher value only when they feelsatisfied with previous experiences in the company (Chłodnicki &Rogoziński, 2006). It can be seen that the clients also become loyal to thecompany when they receive services that fully satisfy them. The degree ofattachment to the company depends on satisfaction with the quality ofservices. Customers who are satisfied with the quality of services make

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further purchases in the given company. The company's loyalty is alsoinfluenced by the fact that the company shows interest to the client,providescompetent service and meets client's needs. Loyalty has been a concept used in marketing, because it is very important to keep regularcustomers who are cheaper than acquiring new ones due to lower costsconnected with the flow of information, promotion and service. There is a fairly widespread belief that the increase in customer satisfactiontranslates into an increase of their loyalty, which affects the size of theprofit (Doyle, 2003, p. 100). Companies that currently operate in a competitive environment and deal with increasingly demanding, awarecustomers must strive not only to satisfy the customers, but to delightthem. Only such a customer can remain loyal to the company andrecommend it to other clients. Satisfied customer can still look for otheropportunities and benefits in other companies. On the other hand,delighted customer will be loyal and will come to their company first, evenif the company does not offer such service yet. Loyal customers will be a source of new ideas, helping to create a new service to meet their needs.Therefore, knowledge about customer satisfaction and their loyalty is veryimportant for the company. Customers on the insurance services marketare increasingly demanding and are able to use websites of the insurancecompanies and make comparisons of the offers or the amount of insurancepremiums. For that reason, it is extremely important to create such a bondwith the customer that would be a true definition of the customer loyaltyin the insurance company.

Methods for checking customer loyalty on the insurance services market

Loyalty is associated with attachment, reliability, faithfulness andcommitment. Insurance companies should measure their customers'loyalty. As part of these tests, the most common measurement is individualcustomer relations. Most often, the frequency, the repeatability and thequantity of purchases of insurance policies. This study allows you toexamine the lack or existence of loyalty, however, without explaining thebehaviours of such actions or the feelings of customers.

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The divided indicators for measuring customer loyalty into threecategories that can be used in the insurance services market are as follows(Jones & Sasser, 1995, p. 97):

the intention to make repeated purchases with the same insurancecompany,the possibility of a client recommending "his" insurance company toothers,the examination of basic customer behaviours such as the frequency ofshopping, continuation of insurance in the same insurance company,how long he or she was a customer of the company or when was the lasttime he made the purchase.

Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) and TRI*M Index, Net PromotorScore (NPS) methods are also used to test customer loyalty and satisfaction.NPS is a method of measuring how many clients of a given company willrecommend it to their friends. The CSI method is used in marketing todetermine the level of customer satisfaction with products or servicesoffered by the company. This method is relatively simple to calculate, butgathering complete, reliable and useful information requires quite advancedmarketing research. TRI*M is a method of testing customer loyalty, whichconsists of two tools: TRI*M map and TRI*M index. The TRI*M index is aquantitative measure of consumer satisfaction and attachment (expressedby one number). The TRI*M map identifies those factors that determinecustomer loyalty (Nowotarska-Romaniak, 2013, p. 108).

Net Promoter Score is a method used to measure customer loyalty. Itwas developed by Frederick F. Reichhelda in cooperation with researchcompanies and described in details` in the article "The One Number YouNeed to Grow" (Reichheld, 2003, pp. 8–10). His idea is to ask the client onequestion: "How likely is it that you would recommend [company X] to yourfriend or colleague?". The respondent marks the answer on an 11-pointscale: 0 — I will not recommend it at all, 10 — I will certainly recommendit. Then all study participants are divided into:

Promoters — enthusiastic loyal customers who will recommend thecompany and drive its development,

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Passives — satisfied people, but not loyal, are susceptible to competitiveoffers,Detractors — dissatisfied customers, will not recommend us.

Next, we use the indicator to count the "promoters'" share in our studyand subtract the "detractors'" share from it. The result we get is the NetPromoter Score. The higher and the more positive value of the indicator,the better for the company being surveyed.

Insurance companies in Poland use this indicator to study:

focusing on the client's emotions and feelings related to the company,which is very restrictive, because only clients who rate the insurancecompany at 9 and 10 are considered by the company as true clients.all customers are asked the same question and then analyzed, with whatis most strong association with the insurance company X, with whatarea, department and whether their feelings are positive or negative.studies are carried out on a continuous basis, on a few hundred samplesper month: after purchasing a life and property policy, after theliquidation of damage, on the next anniversary of having a life policy,after paying the premium refund, after partial purchase, changing thepremium allocation or after a medical visit.NPS requires listening, learning and changes thanks to feedback fromthe client. Insurance companies in Poland conduct research on a quarterly basis, at the same time comparing the effects of actionstaken by the company in order to improve cooperation with their clients.There is little research on the Polish insurance market about customerloyalty. They mainly concern information on factors influencing thedemand for insurance services or factors determining the choice ofinsurance services and which insurance services are of the biggestinterest (Nowotarska-Romaniak, 2009).

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Factors influencing customer loyalty in the insurance services market

Insurance companies become competitive when they skilfully use thefactors inherent in their internal structure or through external factors.This allows not only to create a competitive advantage, but also to study thefactors influencing customer loyalty (Walczak, 2010, p. 7).

Factors affecting customer loyalty include endogenous and exogenousfactors. Endogenous factors directly affect customers. They include: thevalues obtained by purchasing insurance services from insurancecompanies, the degree of involvement in the active acquisition, or thedangers that may arise. However, exogenous factors are not dependent oncustomers. They focus only on the characteristics of the company and theservices offered (Kwiatek, 2007, pp. 38–39).

Figure 1. Factors affecting loyalty

Source: Kwiatek, 2007, p. 39.

According to P. Kwiatek, customer loyalty is influenced by such factorsas: customer characteristics, social environment, market conditions and

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Social environment- culture- values and standards applicable- recommendations

Market conditions1. Type of market:

- the degree of development ofthe market,

- industry2. Market characteristics:

- level of competition,- number of entities

Brand features- identity,- reputation,- marketing mix instruments

Customer features - attitude to risk,- the search for novelty,- succumbing to influence,- experience to date

Loyalty- out of desire,- seemingly,- real

brand characteristics (see Figure1). These are factors that interweave ordetermine each other.

Knowing the factors affecting customer loyalty and monitoring loyaltyin the insurance services market is fundamental to providing informationthat helps insurers to define the level of competitiveness and its impact onthe stability of their business. Additionally, customer loyalty monitoringprovides information about the company's market position and helpsinsurers effectively address customer acquisition and retention strategies.Important information that insurance companies must have in order to beable to monitor customer loyalty is presented in Table 1.

Table 1. Important for loyalty testing information about the customer of insurance companies

No. Content of the information Type of information

1. Basic demographic information Age of the holder of the insurance serviceSexAddress of residenceNumber of household members

2 Basic information about insurance Customer's cooperation with an insurance company (period of cooperation and continuation of insurance)Number and type of policies held Additional benefits that the customer gets for continuing insurance in the same insurance company (lower premiums, discounts, bonuses)

3 Information about the service insurance Scope of coverPremium rate and method of paymentInformation on changes in the amount of premiums on a going concern basis

4 Claims Claims submitted to an insurance service providerLoss elimination processCompensations paidDates of claims and circumstances in which claims occurred

5 Cancellation Reasons for cancellation of an insurance contractForeign firms involved in the cancellation

6 Customer Satisfaction Level From the amount of contributionsFrom the bonus systemLoss adjustment processCustomer serviceSatisfaction with the whole cooperation

Source: own elaboration based on Guillen, Nielsen, Perez-Marin, 2008, pp. 207–218.

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Customer information in the insurance services market plays a veryimportant role in loyalty research. It is necessary to know the dataconcerning whether the customer withdrew from the insurance servicebecause the risk for the policyholder ceased to exist (e.g. sale of a car) orsigned a contract with another insurance company after the end of theinsurance period (e.g. for a specific property or a car). The increase incustomers' purchasing funds affects the increase in the scope of thecustomer's decisions and the variety of insurance services to satisfy them.It should be remembered, however, that the customer's behaviour ischaracterised by variability and susceptibility to external factors and thepurchase of a service does not end the process of the customer's behaviour.An important role is played by the process of selling the insurance serviceand its evaluation after the purchase. A very important process is the lossadjustment and assessment of the process by the customer. This stageseems to be particularly important for insurance companies, because ithelps shape opinions on insurance by the customer and then decides onfurther cooperation with the insurance company, which affects the futureloyal behaviours of the customer. Therefore, a very important activity ofinsurance companies is the study of customer behaviour in the insurancesector, including customer loyalty to these companies.

Survey of customer loyalty in the insurance services market

The insurance services market is highly competitive, both in terms ofthe insurance companies themselves and their offer. These companies offerlife and non-life insurance services to existing and potential customers. Theknowledge of customer loyalty to insurance companies is very important.Therefore, to meet the needs of this article, the author conducted thesurvey on 10–20 May 2019, by means of an interactive survey (www.Docs.google.com), displayed on a social networking platform Facebook. Thesurvey was addressed to adults who were customers of insurancecompanies.The selection of the sample was random and purposeful. Thequestionnaire contained three metric questions (gender: women (59%),men (41%), age: 18–30 (39%), 31–60 (38%) and above 60 (23%) and

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education: professional (28%), secondary (37%), higher (35%) and five sub-topic questions concerning the loyalty test of customers of insurancecompanies. 187 correctly completed questionnaires were received. The firstquestion referred to the factors which determine a customer's satisfactionwith the insurance service he or she uses. The respondents mentioned suchaspects as: the amount of compensation received at the moment of aninsurance accident, the speed of the loss liquidation process, professionalservice, ease of access and parking. The level of satisfaction and trust doesnot guarantee that the customer will buy again from the same insurancecompany. But it gains the trust of customers, we gain the loyalty ofcustomers (Nowotarska-Romaniak, 2013).

The next research question was the frequency with which the clientschange the insurance companies. The study concerned the users of lifeinsurance, as well as customers buying property insurance. On the basis ofa questionnaire survey it can be stated that life insurance customers do notchange their insurance company (82%). If they give up anything, it is thecontinuation of life insurance. In the case of non-life insurance (49%),however, the insurance company did not change (47%), changed (4%) anddoes not remember (4%). The results show that there is a large group ofcustomers who do not change their insurance company, are attached to it orare loyal to it. At the same time, there is a large group of customers whochange insurance companies. On the basis of the survey it can be stated thatit is caused by comparing prices (74%) or because of dissatisfaction with theloss adjustment process carried out (68%). Analysing these results accordingto the metric, they are comparable to the total results. An importantquestion was what factors influence the satisfaction of customers ofinsurance companies, which may influence loyalty (see Figure 2).

The factors influencing customer satisfaction with insurance companiesthat may influence loyalty are: the amount of compensation and the speedof the loss adjustment process. The amount of insurance premium is onlythe third factor in the order. Insurance companies have groups of loyalcustomers. Customers of life insurance companies (87%) declare that theyare loyal to their companies. On the other hand, customers of non-lifeinsurance companies (59%) declare that they are loyal. Depending on age,the loyalty index varies. The most loyal are the elderly, who definitelydeclare that they will use the services of "their" insurance company. Young

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customers are the least loyal (58%) who, when buying insurance servicesagain, despite being satisfied with the cooperation to date, re-examine themarket offer. Gender analysis shows that women are more loyal (78%) thanmen (57%). Research has confirmed that insurance companies have loyalcustomers. It is important that they are able to take care of them, becausethis loyalty can quickly be undermined by competing insurance companiesoffering additional benefits to customers.

Figure 2. Factors influencing customer satisfaction of insurance companies, which may affect loyalty*

*Arithmetic mean of ratings indicated by customers on a scale from 1 — least satisfied to 6 — most satisfied.

Source: own study on the basis of a questionnaire survey.

Conclusion

Customer loyalty in the insurance services market is an importantproblem, especially since this market is highly competitive and "fights" for

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Ease of access, parking

Location

Design of the insurance company

Professional service

Amount of compensation

Speed of claims handling process

Efficiency of services

Insurance rate

Attractiveness of the offer

customers. Insurance companies need to know and apply factors thatinfluence customer loyalty. Research has shown that a large number ofcustomers, especially older customers, are loyal. Therefore, insuranceundertakings should not only offer good insurance services to their loyalcustomers with a rapid and fair claims handling process, but should alsotake steps to build up this loyalty, in order to ensure that their loyalcustomers are well cared for. That is, getting to know the customer andsearching for opportunities to make an agreement is fundamental. Thepossibility of agreement between the seller and the customer allows todiscuss and determine the current state of the customer in terms ofperceived needs, risks and insurance services.

References1. Altkorn, J., Kramer, T. (1990). Leksykon marketingu. Warszawa: Polskie Wydawnictwo

Ekonomiczne. 2. Chłodnicki, M., Rogoziński, K. (2006). Zarządzanie relacjami w usługach. Zarządzanie

relacjami w usługach. Warszawa: Difin, Warszawa: 3. Doyle, P. (2003). Marketing wartości. Warszawa: Felberg SJA. 4. Guillén, M., Nielsen, J. P., Pérez-Marín, A. M. (2008). The need to monitor customer loy-

alty & business risk in the European insurance industry. Geneva Papers on Risk and In-surance-Issues and Practice, 33(2), 207–218.

5. Jones, T., Sasser Jr, W. E. (1995). Why Satisfied Customers Defect. Harvard BusinessReview, (2).

6. Kopaliński, W. (1998). Słownik wyrazów obcych i zwrot ów obcojęzycznych. Warszawa:PWN.

7. Kwiatek, P. (2007). Programy lojalnościowe. Budowa i funkcjonowanie. Kraków: Wol-ters Kluwer Polska.

8. Nowotarska-Romaniak, B. (2009). Loyalty within market of Insurance Service. Econo-mica. Problemy teorii na praktyki, (258), 1139–1144.

9. Nowotarska-Romaniak, B. (2013). Zachowanie klientów indywidualnych w procesie za-kupu usługi ubezpieczeniowej. Warszawa: Wolters Kluwer.

10. Reichheld, F. F. (2003). The One Number You Need to Grow. Harvard Business Review,(December), 8–10.

11. Rudawska, E. (2007). Trwałe relacje z klientem z zasobowej teorii przedsiębiorstwa.Handel Wewnętrzny, (special issue).

12. Walczak, W. (2010). Analiza czynników wpływających na konkurencyjność przedsię-biorstw. E-mentor, 5(37).

88



Beata Nowotarska-Romaniak, PhD, University of Economics in Katowice — is a DSc and prof. at theUniversity of Economics in Katowice. She is the author and co-author of several works in the field of healthand insurance services and over 150 science publications on the marketing strategies and marketingadaptation for the insurance companies and healthcare units as well as on consumer behaviour on theinsurance market, published both in Poland and abroad. She gives lectures and seminars for the managersand workers of the healthcare units, banks and insurance companies. She collaborated in the project:Managerial Support For the Executives of Healthcare Entities co-financed by EU through the European SocialFund.

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MINIB, 2020, Vol. 36, Issue 2, p. VII–VIII


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