Relative importance of price in forming individuals' decisions toward sustainable food: A calibrated auction-conjoint experiment

Abstract

This paper explores the importance of pricing information in dealing with sustainable food preferences. It employs the Calibrated Auction-Conjoint Valuation Method (CACM), by comparing non-adjusted values from a self-explicated (hypothetical) conjoint method to the final calibrated values entered into an adjusted (real) auction. We found consumers significantly reduced their WTP when moving from the initial stage of the CACM (hypothetical self-explicated conjoint method) to the final stage (real auction), primarily by placing more importance on product prices, implying that WTP values from a self-explicated conjoint method used alone would likely lead to overstated estimates of WTP. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.