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 Poznan
gorynska-goldmann@up.poznan.pl | ORCID: 0000-0002-0884-4772
Michał Gazdecki, PhD
Poznan University of Life Sciences, Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, Department of Economics and Economics Policy in Agribusiness
michal.gazdecki@up.poznan.pl | ORCID: 0000-0002-6594-5350
Abstract:
The aim of this paper is to present the sources of information about food, the cost of collecting the information and the perception of messages by consumers in the light of the sustainable food consumption idea. We used primary materials from a direct, personal survey which were later analyzed with the use of Berelson’s content analysis method. We found that a consumer shows low interest in sourcing the information about sustainable food consumption. The most credible, from the consumer’s point of view, information about food, consumption and the food market, comes from reports and scientific papers, as well as from the consumers’ families or friends. Gathering information is connected with devoting time which we spend on finding the right content. The information connected to environmental issues was the most distinctive for the respondents; 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 with recommendations concerning health (among others, in the scope of nutrition, recommendations and specialistic advices). The knowledge of the most credible sources of the information about food consumption, the frequency of acquiring such knowledge, the costs of gathering information and the perception of messages should be reflected in properly chosen communication channels for the promotion of sustainable food consumption. In the research over sustainable food consumption we should focus more on our information needs. The network approach and the perspective of active engagement of consumers in the process of creating innovations in food products give us a new approach for the market analysis, popularization of the idea of sustainable food consumption and let us change some deeply rooted habits and behaviors 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 food consumption model and food policy.
Searching for and perception of information by consumers in the light of the sustainable consumption idea — on the example of food markets
Elżbieta Goryńska-Goldmann, PhD Eng., Poznan University of Life Sciences, Poland — PhD in agricultural sciences in food and nutrition technology; she received her doctorate at the Warsaw University of Life Sciences at the Faculty of Human Nutrition and Consumption Sciences. Since 2007 she has been working as an 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 response of businesses to changes in consumer behaviour. This resulted in research on: food consumer behaviour and habits as an important element of society’s culture, analysis of the agri-food market, its entities and their innovation and competitiveness, marketing analyses. The practical expression of scientific works is to engage in transnational projects, grants, scientific conferences (e.g. within the “Food Markets” project). She conducts expert cooperation with institutions and enterprises giving opinions on innovation projects. Together with the theoretical recognition and practical implementation of the concept of sustainable development in Poland, she focuses 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 Poznań University of Life Sciences at the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences. He defended his doctoral thesis at the Faculty of Economics and Agriculture of the Warsaw University of Life Sciences and obtained a doctoral degree in economics, specialization in organization and management of the company. His current research focuses on distribution systems in food markets with a network approach. The key topic of his research is the relations between enterprises and their dynamics. The second area of his scientific interest is consumer behaviour and consumption economics. In particular, he is interested in the factors of making purchase decisions, 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 purpose of 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. The ambition of people involved in this project is to create a platform for the exchange of views between representatives of the world of science and practice.