| dc.description.abstracteng | Over the past decade, changing consumer preferences for variety, convenience, safer, and healthier attributes have been shaping meat demand patterns in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), especially in Ghana. Some of these changes have led to the increasing consumption of poultry meat. This trend has further been spurred by the availability of cheap imports, mainly from the U.S., Europe, and Brazil. Consequently, poultry imports (mainly chicken) have been on the rise, while the supply and demand for domestic poultry meat have been low. Against the background of rising poultry meat imports into Ghana, there have been numerous concerns and criticisms of imports and a call for action to protect the domestic poultry industry and ensure its survival. One way of ensuring the survival of the domestic poultry industry is to address existing gaps in the demand profiles of consumers by identifying important product attributes and related factors that drive their choices and consumption behavior. Accordingly, the main objective of this thesis is to identify the relevant factors that contribute to the patterns of behavior change toward the consumption of poultry meat products. In doing so, the study accounts for the different origins of poultry meat supply (i.e., domestic and imported). Such analysis may allow supply chain actors and policymakers to anticipate trends and future changes in demand, develop effective marketing strategies, and provide products that meet consumers’ needs and expectations.
The first article uses a qualitative approach (focus groups) to explore the drivers of demand for domestic and imported chicken meat, including motives, perceptions, and attitudes. Overall, seven focus group discussions involving 44 participants were conducted in Accra. The findings show that consumers hold positive perceptions of domestic chicken regarding freshness, taste, and healthiness compared to imported chicken. In contrast, most of the participants perceive domestic chicken meat as expensive and inconvenient. Interestingly, consumers generally believe that growth hormones are used in poultry production, although, in reality, they are not used. This suggests a general lack of knowledge about the actual use of growth hormones in production. In particular, concerns about growth hormones and the (over) use of antibiotics resulted in low-quality perceptions of imported chicken meat. Nevertheless, consumers positively value imported chicken in terms of price, availability, and convenience. In addition, the findings show differences in opinions about the use of protectionist measures in poultry trade. While some participants are in favor of banning or restricting imports to protect local poultry industries, others argue that such policies would be detrimental to consumers, especially when supply from domestic sources are inadequate to meet domestic demand.
Article (2) takes the results of the focus groups further by quantifying the effects of personal factors (i.e., psychological and socioeconomic variables) on the frequency of chicken meat consumption. Based on the results from the focus groups, a face-face interview involving 500 respondents was conducted in two major cities (i.e., Accra and Kumasi) in Ghana. The empirical findings from the bivariate ordered probit model indicate that the consumption of domestic and imported chicken meat are not independent of each other. In other words, consumers of one type of chicken meat are less likely to consume the other type. Overall, the findings show that perceptions, attitudes and some socioeconomic characteristics of consumers are the main drivers of imported and domestic chicken consumption. For instance, income, perceived quality, and ethnocentrism are significant drivers of domestic chicken meat consumption, while price consciousness, food safety concerns, and perceived convenience negatively influence consumption. On the other hand, the presence of chicken in the household, formal employment, price consciousness, and availability and convenience orientation positively influence the frequency of imported chicken consumption. However, perceived quality and ethnocentrism are major barriers to imported chicken consumption.
The third article uses a choice experiment approach to understand how future demand for chicken meat will be shaped when value-added products are introduced into the market. The choice profiles consisted of five attributes: country-of-origin (Ghana and foreign), product form (whole-dressed and cuts), storage form (frozen and fresh), production claim (no claim and antibiotic/hormone-free claim), and price (four levels). Under a random utility framework, three models namely the multinomial logit (MNL), random parameter logit (RPL), and latent class (LC) logit are estimated. The results from both the MNL and RPL show that respondents derive positive utility from choosing fresh, cut, and antibiotic-free claimed chicken meat, but negative utility from choosing foreign chicken. The negative utility for foreign chicken compared to domestic chicken indicates a general preference for domestically produced chicken meat. The RPL results suggest that preferences for these attributes are heterogeneous.
Subsequently, the LC model was used to account for the source of heterogeneity among the sample population. The results reveal four consumer segments: domestic chicken advocates (27% of the respondents), foreign chicken lovers (17%), claim conscious (35%), and random choosers (21%) who attach different value to each of the attributes. The domestic chicken advocates assign high economic value to the domestic origin and are willing to pay more than twice [i.e., GH¢65.7/kg (14.9 USD)] the average for the overall sample [GH¢30/kg (6.8 USD) for the RPL model], suggesting a great potential for domestically produced chicken meat. Altogether, the results indicate that attitudes largely explain the choice for the attributes compared to sociodemographic factors.
Article (4) identifies possible consumer groups (market segments) based on both use of and trust in information sources using the same survey data described in article (2). The results show that personal (family and friends and sellers) and electronic media sources (radio and television) are the most used information channels about chicken meat. Using a cluster analysis approach, three consumer groups are identified and profiled. The three clusters are defined as cautious consumers (18%), enthusiasts (53%), and optimists (29%). To describe the segments, chi-square tests and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with post-hoc Tukey comparison of mean scores were conducted. The clusters present significant differences in motivation levels, use of information cues, frequency of chicken consumption, and sociodemographic characteristics, offering prospects for targeted information provision efforts. The enthusiasts represent the largest group, are characterized by high use and trust in most of the information sources and display a significantly higher level of chicken consumption. In terms of targeting, this group is the easiest to reach because they are the most involved consumers who are open to receiving and using more information about chicken and also have high trust for the channels of information seeking.
To conclude, this thesis provides detailed insights into consumer behavior regarding domestic and imported chicken meat products in Ghana and contributes to the debate on the role of poultry imports in SSA. Specifically, the knowledge obtained through the analysis of consumer behavior provides a basis to identify opportunities for developing new chicken meat products or improving existing products to meet the needs of consumers. The findings of this study generally indicate that there is a high potential for domestic chicken meat with a group of consumers willing to pay a high positive price premium. Therefore, campaigns to promote the consumption of domestic chicken should aim at targeting potential consumer segments with appropriate messages that align with their needs and characteristics and communicating through relevant information channels. | de |