The Effect of Information on Willingness to Pay for Canned Tuna Fish with Different Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Certification: A Pilot Study

Magistris, Tiziana de; Del Giudice, T.; Verneau, F.

The Effect of Information on Willingness to Pay for Canned Tuna Fish with Different Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Certification: A Pilot Study

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9414333 (622.51 KB)

Date

2015

Authors

Magistris, Tiziana de
Del Giudice, T.
Verneau, F.

Typology

article
Article

Abstract

The objective of this study was to assess the role of information in consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) for food products with corporate social responsibility (CSR) certification. The item used for the experimental design was canned tuna fish, a product on the market that is already exhibiting various kinds of certification related to social and environmental attributes. Two different kinds of certifications were examined, namely Friend of the Sea, which involves environmental aspects, and SA8000, related to workers' rights and more general social attributes. We implemented experimental auctions, taking into account three information treatments. The initial findings show that the WTP for both CSR labels is higher than the WTP for tuna fish without any CSR certification. Nevertheless, the information provided on CSR certification did not change consumers' WTP among the certification schemes. Our findings could also serve to fine-tune marketing strategies to consumer preferences and determine which CSR activities are worth undertaking.

Bibliographic citation

De Magistris, T., Del Giudice, T., & Verneau, F. (2015). The Effect of Information on Willingness to Pay for Canned Tuna Fish with Different Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Certification: A Pilot Study. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 49(2), 457-471. https://doi.org/10.1111/joca.12046