Strengthening consumer trust in beef supply chain traceability with a blockchain-based human-machine reconcile mechanism

Increased focus towards food safety and quality is reshaping food purchasing decisions around the world. Although some food attributes are visible, many of the attributes that consumers seek and are willing to pay a price premium for are not. Consequently, consumers rely on trusted cues and information to help them verify the food quality and credence attributes they seek. In this study, we synthesise the findings from previous research to generate a framework illustrating the key trust influencing factors that are beyond visual and brand-related cues. Our framework identifies that consumer trust in food and the food system is established through the assurances related to individual food products and the actors of the food system. Specifically, product assurance builds consumer trust through food packaging labels communicating food attribute claims, certifications, country or region of origin, and food traceability information. In addition, producers, processors, and retailers provide consumers with food safety and quality assurances, while government agencies, third-party institutions, advocacy groups, and the mass media may modify how labelling information and food operators are perceived by consumers. We hope our framework will guide future research efforts to test these trust factors in various consumer and market settings.

Section: Food Packaging Labelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Consumer Trust in Food and the Food System: A Critical Review

Zhang

Klinken

et al. 2021

“…However, they often cannot identity the country of origin and the quality of the product. Overcoming this requires shared responsibilities amongst agricultural and supply chain actors and the use of tracking and tracing technologies, such as blockchain [ 34 ]. In particular, consumers in Korea and Japan tend to regard it as important to manage the origin of products imported from China and other countries where prices are relatively lower.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Do Consumers’ Food Values across Countries Lead to Changes in the Strategy of Food Supply-Chain Management?

Lee

2021

Although one of the main goals of supply-chain management is to maximize consumer values, the research to date has mainly focused on the supply side. In the case of the food industry, understanding consumer needs and maximizing its utility are essential. In this study, we analyze consumers’ 12 meta-values (e.g., safety, taste, health, price, environment, etc.), then suggest the strategy of food cold-chain management satisfying consumers’ perception. We focused on consumers from three countries in Asia: Korea, China, and Japan. The survey was conducted with over 1000 consumers in those three countries, and a random parameter logit model was utilized to determine the importance of each food value that could affect consumers’ food choice. Similarities and differences were both found in share of preference of each food value across countries. While safety is one of the top three values in all three countries, naturalness and nutritional value ranked among the top three only in China. To propose the consumer-centric strategy of food cold-chain management, we investigated the relationship between each food value and each node of supply chain based on the big data analysis. It shows that consumers prefer when the entire supply chain is managed where each node is organically connected with each other instead of individual nodes being managed separately. Further, strategies for food cold-chain management should be developed differently by country, incorporating differences of consumers’ preferences on food value. These results would motivate governments and companies related to food cold chain to reconsider their marketing strategies on the import and export food market.

“…Australian beef products are exposed to a higher counterfeiting risk in China [10]. To build consumer trust in the Chinese market, Australian beef industry bodies and exporters have launched various communication approaches with a view to enabling consumers not only to buy and consume true Australian beef products, but also to have more enjoyable experiences.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is where blockchain technology that is described as a trusting machine comes in. Its immutable and tamper-proof characteristics in maintaining data integrity offer interesting possibilities for food product credentialing beyond its original and most prominent use as a cryptocurrency (e.g., Bitcoin) [10][11][12][13]. Various blockchain-based food traceability systems that offer track and trace functionality to verify food products by querying transaction or event updates recorded on a shared ledger have been developed [14,15] and the effects of blockchain on consumer perception have been measured [16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What Are the Effects of Short Video Storytelling in Delivering Blockchain-Credentialed Australian Beef Products to China?

Cao

Foth

Powell

et al. 2021

Self Cite

Short videos have become the most-liked medium for Chinese consumers to learn about a brand’s products or services. This paper assesses how short video storytelling shapes Chinese consumers’ perceptions towards blockchain-credentialed Australian beef and their willingness to pay (WTP). A controlled experiment with a one-minute short video was implemented in an online survey. Respondents in the treatment group watched the video before filling out the survey, whereas respondents in the control group did not. The paper analyses and compares the empirical results from local (n = 76) and foreign (n = 27) consumers. Results illustrate that the short video, as part of our food communications, positively shapes consumer perception towards meat quality, labelling and traceability trust of Australian beef but has only slight or even negative effects on WTP. This could be due to the short video offering consumers a sense of supply chain visibility but not delivering the right messages to meet their expectation of blockchain credentials. Furthermore, short video storytelling effects vary among consumers with different socio-economic characteristics. Our results posit that short video storytelling can be a useful tool in communicating blockchain-credentialed food products but require the design of a tailor-made storytelling experience for diverse consumers.