Quality assurance and the consumer

Abstract

In recent years, quality assurance schemes have grown considerably in number and scope. Several useful benefits have been claimed for them including their value as marketing advantages. However, there appears to be a paucity of published research to support this claim. This paper, therefore, seeks to substantiate the claim that quality assurance schemes represent useful marketing advantages as well as determining the magnitude of the advantage. The study is based on conjoint analysis as it is argued that this is a more realistic and therefore, appropriate research technique than the direct elicitation approach embodied in simply asking consumers for their opinions concerning quality assurance schemes. The paper concludes that quality assurance is an influence on the consumer decision process for mince beef and in addition provides an indication as to its relative importance. It also speculates on the implications for quality assurance schemes in general.

Understanding the Relationship Between Perceived Quality Cues and Quality Attributes in the Purchase of Meat in Malaysia

“…Walley et al (1999) revealed how consumers valued quality assurance labels as an important indicator of meat quality. Consumers preferred to purchase meat products which were quality assured rather than meat which was not.…”

Consumer Preference and Willingness to Pay for an Officially Certified Quality Label: Implications for Traditional Food Producers

“…Among these instruments are the use of certified labels or seals that guarantee determined differentiating attributes of a product (Oyarzún and Tartanac, 2002). The use of quality labels or seals has brought a "new" attribute into the consumer choice process at the moment of purchasing (Walley et al, 1999). At the same time, the instruments of quality management, such as labels and seals, have been able to transform quality aspects to actively sought food attributes, facilitating the consumer purchasing process (Fotopoulos and Krystallis, 2003).…”

Role of Halaal Logo in Product Quality Perceptions of Consumers: A Literature Perspective

“…On product differentiation reported that the Halaal symbolization is considered to be point of difference in the retail environment. This symbol has brought positive perceptions regarding the product and serves as a positive attribute which leads to Halaal food preferences [51] . The Halaal symbol is considered as a quality management symbol, which makes it one of the actively sought attribute by the consumer in their buying process [18] .The increasing acceptance of Halaal products in non-Muslim countries has also been confirmed by the studies of [9] .…”

“…A significant finding is that Halaal symbolized foods are considered to be superior in quality as compared to non-Halaal [11] . In Malaysian context and reported that Malaysian consumers consider Halaal logo issued by JAKIM to be the quality indicator [51] . Muslim consumers value the products with Halaal logo than any other certification [50] .…”