Tasting quality: the roles of intrinsic and extrinsic cues
Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics
ISSN: 1355-5855
Article publication date: 9 January 2009
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the respective influences of price and country of origin (COO), as extrinsic cues, on consumer evaluations of product quality when all intrinsic cues are experienced through sensory (taste) perception.
Design/methodology/approach
Taste‐testing experiments were conducted (n = 263) using Brie cheese as the test product and a 3(COO) × 3(price) × 3 (fat content) conjoint analysis fractional factorial design.
Findings
Price was clearly found to be the most important attribute contributing to perception of Brie quality, followed by fat content. COO also exerted a substantial influence on respondents’ evaluation. In the case of this sensory experiment, reliance on the extrinsic cues tested was found to remain extremely robust even when all intrinsic cues (through sensory experience) were available for respondent evaluation when objective product quality was manipulated to three differing levels.
Research limitations/implications
The research presents a number of limitations. Convenience sampling was employed, limiting one's ability to generalize results. Further, the use of conjoint analysis for taste‐testing experiment methodology is limited, particularly with a sample of this size with objective quality manipulations that are quantified and precise. A laboratory environment is also a limitation.
Practical implications
The research demonstrated that, even when evaluating a relatively low involvement product, consumer belief in the price value schema dominates quality assessment. These findings mean that marketers cannot assume that intrinsic product attributes, even when experienced, will be interpreted or used accurately when evaluated by consumers. Hence results provide an illustration to managers of the importance of ensuring that consumers take the intended meaning from communicated intrinsic cues in particular.
Originality/value
The research significantly advances understanding of consumers’ use of extrinsic cues (price and COO specifically), and their respective influence in their determination of both expected and experienced quality.
Keywords
Citation
Veale, R. and Quester, P. (2009), "Tasting quality: the roles of intrinsic and extrinsic cues", Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, Vol. 21 No. 1, pp. 195-207. https://doi.org/10.1108/13555850910926326
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2009, Emerald Group Publishing Limited