From consumer values to attributes of natural health products for concentration and cognition: insights from a means-end-chain study
International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing
ISSN: 1750-6123
Article publication date: 6 November 2023
Issue publication date: 15 February 2024
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to determine, which values guide consumers decision-making on natural health products for concentration and cognition (NHPCC) and how they link to choice-relevant product attributes. The purpose is to contribute to a better understanding of NHPCC consumption choices, which can encourage more consumer-centric product development and positioning.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the means-end chain approach, in-depth laddering interviews with 26 consumers of NHP were conducted in Germany from October to December 2020. Qualitative content analysis was applied and a hierarchical value map over the dominant association was built and analyzed.
Findings
Five terminal values were found to be relevant for NHPCC decision-making. The personal focused values security, self-direction and stimulation are via health mainly associated with trust and a conscious decision-making, which is linked to the product attributes of effectiveness, tolerance and declaration. Social focused values of universalism or benevolence guide attention on the attributes of sustainability and regionality.
Originality/value
The study contributes to close the knowledge gap concerning the linkages between abstract values and concrete product attributes of NHP through associated consequences. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that analyzed these links for NHPCC, although such products are gaining more interest among companies and consumers. Companies can benefit from the outcomes by developing more consumer-centric product concepts and marketing communication strategies for NHPCC. Due to higher attention on relevant information, consumers’ decision-making could become safer and more conscious.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Kristin Werner and Hildegard Funk for valuable contributions to this study.
Declaration of interest statement: Informed consent was obtained from all participants included in the study.
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Financial support for this study was provided entirely by a grant from Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Ernährung, Landwirtschaft und Forsten (StMELF) (grant number: G2/N/19/06). The funding agreement ensured the authors’ independence in designing the study, interpreting the data, writing and publishing the report.
Conflict of interest: The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.
Publication ethics: Informed consent was obtained from all participants included in the study. This study received approval from the Ethics Commission of the Faculty of Medicine, Technical University of Munich, ID 546/20 S-EB, on 08th October 2020.
Open data: The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author, Miriam Wolf.
This study received approval from the Ethics Commission of the Faculty of Medicine, Technical University of Munich, ID 546/20 S EB, on October 08, 2020.
Citation
Wolf, M.E., Emberger-Klein, A. and Menrad, K. (2024), "From consumer values to attributes of natural health products for concentration and cognition: insights from a means-end-chain study", International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing, Vol. 18 No. 1, pp. 148-166. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPHM-12-2022-0109
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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