Paradoxes of sustainable food and consumer coping strategies: a comparative study in France and Italy

Romina Moruzzi and Lucie Sirieix
Additional contact information
Romina Moruzzi: Marchés, Organisations, Institutions et Stratégies d'Acteurs - Cirad - Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - CIHEAM-IAMM - Centre International de Hautes Etudes Agronomiques Méditerranéennes - Institut Agronomique Méditerranéen de Montpellier - CIHEAM - Centre International de Hautes Études Agronomiques Méditerranéennes - Montpellier SupAgro - Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier, Montpellier SupAgro - Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier, Unicatt - Università cattolica del Sacro Cuore = Catholic University of the Sacred Heart [Roma]

Post-Print from HAL

Abstract: This article aims to study consumer behaviour towards the paradoxes of Sustainable Food (SF). Consumers may perceive various paradoxes today affecting the sustainable marketing offer, e.g. the concept of the sustainable product, its environment and actors offering these products. Consequently, they cope with these perceptions through different strategies. By adapting Mick and Fournier's (1998) model to SF we investigate two main classes of coping mechanism: avoidance strategies and problem-solving strategies. In order to understand what consumers perceive and how they act in everyday life, we conducted semistructured interviews in two specific countries (France and Italy) using two different consumer profiles: 84 non-engaged individuals and 18 consumers who had already engaged in networks supporting local food purchases, such as members of the Association for the Preservation of Local Farming (AMAP) in France and the Solidarity Purchasing Groups (GAS) in Italy. Findings show different combinations of paradoxes and strategies between non-engaged French and Italian consumers. Their discourses highlight the influence of the context and cultural conditions of each country, whereas participants in AMAP and GAS seem to be similar when they evoke paradoxes and the way they act on the basis of a common culture. In conclusion, the article presents contributions to the conceptual framework, the model adaptation and discusses barriers to Sustainable Consumption (SC) in France and Italy.

Date: 2015
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Published in International Journal of Consumer Studies, 2015, 39 (5), pp.525-534. ⟨10.1111/ijcs.12228⟩

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-02637347

DOI: 10.1111/ijcs.12228

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Post-Print from HAL
Bibliographic data for series maintained by CCSD ().