It is hardly an exaggeration to state that producing and consuming mushrooms may provide an answer to several of the challenges facing mankind. This research is related to the UN sustainable development goals relative to different issues. First of all, mushroom production uses agricultural and industrial byproducts as inputs and being labor intensive contributes to the job and income creation for undereducated people in less developed areas. In addition, as mushrooms have high protein content and they are a suitable alternative for meat for populations with a diet lacking in variety; at the same time, they also have the potential for food connoisseurs and consumers who make conscious and educated choices to improve their diet by using healthful and environmentally friendly methods. The nutritional value of mushrooms means that consumption could be an important supplementary therapy for several illnesses. The key issue of sector development is the increasing demand. In order to address this, investigation and research related to consumer behavior is needed. The aim of this research was to explore the dimensions of Hungarian mushroom consumer behavior and to segment Hungarian consumers. An online questionnaire survey was conducted between December 2019 and February 2020 and the final sample of 1768 respondents was considered for the purposes of analysis. Exploratory factor analysis was used to identify groups of correlating variables describing mushroom consumption. The authors identified four dimensions of Hungarian mushroom consumer behavior: (1) medicinal and functional properties, (2) consumption for enjoyment, (3) supplementary food source, and (4) negative assessment of the product range. Using cluster analysis, three consumer groups were identified: (1) health-conscious consumers, (2) indifferent consumers, and (3) average consumers. The research results indicated that consumers’ sociodemographic characteristics (age, educational level, marital status, and place of residence) have a significant impact on mushroom consumption behavior. The results of this paper can have implications for policy makers and business management in diversifying their production and selecting marketing tools.
Graduate Career Tracking System (GCTS) surveys are well-known and widely accepted tools to follow up careers of the graduates and to evaluate their opinion on their jobs and tasks. This survey also may explore how the graduates think about the usefulness of their skills and competencies they gained during their university studies, how these competences are accepted by the labour market. This case study is based on surveys carried on by the Graduate Career Tracking System at the Szent István University (SZIU) in Hungary. In the survey not only the classical economic indicators such as wages, chance of becoming employed and the average time until starting the first job after graduation-were examined, but also some other factors like the link between the current and past job and the qualifications awarded, job satisfaction in various aspects of work, the technical part of the work, wages and benefits were also considered. The target population was analysed not only by the field of study (agricultural sciences, economics, engineering, teachers training, and liberal arts) but also by training level (BA/BSc, MA/MSc) as well. According to the survey results, it is concluded that the graduates of Szent István University are more satisfied with the personal circumstances and the content of job, less satisfied by their opportunities of professional and career development, and they are least satisfied with their wages.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.