Date of Award
4-25-2006
Degree Type
UG Dissertation
Department
Marketing and International Business
First Advisor
Dr. CUI Geng
Second Advisor
Dr. Paul A. Whitla
Abstract
Executive summary
While Hong Kong consumers are increasingly concerned with food safety and a healthy diet, their usage of food labels during purchase remains significantly low. In order to prospect for effective moves in the future, one concordant step for both the government and pre-packaged food manufacturers is to understand the consumers’ perceptions and usage of food labels. This research explores what factors lead to such phenomenon and subsequently its implications in Hong Kong. The research also examines the behavioral variations of consumers in processing food labels.
The study begins with a literature review to construct research hypotheses, covering aspects of the current practices and regulations in the market, and the reported studies of food labels from overseas. The primary research focuses on the perceptions, information sensitivity, potential biasing filters and processing involvement of the food labels among Hong Kong consumers.
The study finds that the various internal biasing filters interact with respondents’ perceived benefits and sensitivity to food labels, which further affect the processing involvement. These findings may help to explain the current low and incomplete usage of food labels among Hong Kong consumers.
The government, manufacturers and consumers all need to be more aware of the potential benefits from adopting better labeling practices and using food labels for purchase decisions respectively.
Copyright
The copyright of this dissertation is owned by its author. Any reproduction, adaptation, distribution or dissemination of this thesis without express authorization is strictly prohibited.
Recommended Citation
Tse, W. T. (2006). What makes them ignored? Consumers' mindset of food labels (UG dissertation, Lingnan University, Hong Kong). Retrieved from http://commons.ln.edu.hk/mkt_fyp/2