Students: Dissertation: Koei Kudo
ABSTRACT
The present research used an integrative and multi-disciplinary approach to investigate the relations among food attitudes, food neophobia and acceptance of novel and familiar albacore tuna dishes for Japanese and U.S. consumers.
A pilot survey was employed to select seasonings and cooking methods that were familiar or novel to each culture, and to identify the most relevant health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids.
Consumer responses were self-reported through a web-based survey that had been back-translated to maximize the cross-cultural equivalency of US and Japanese versions. Confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses assessed the reliability and validity of the proposed food neophobia and food attitude scales. Regression analysis was employed to analyze the relations among the variables in the proposed models.
A 3-item Crystallized Neophobia Scale (CNS) was found to be reliable and valid for both cultural groups, while the Food Attitudes Scale (FAS) was found to be reliable and valid only for Japanese respondents, for whom higher neophobia hindered the acceptance of both novel and familiar foods. In addition, the interaction of health-oriented attitudes and prior knowledge on omega-3 FA affected the acceptance of familiar albacore tuna dishes, while willingness to try new albacore dishes was enhanced when written information on health benefits of omega-3 FA was provided.
In contrast to previous findings, among US respondents, neophobia only impacted the willingness to try familiar (and not novel) albacore dishes through an interaction with prior knowledge. Knowledge on health benefits of omega-3 FA (pre-existing and as provided during the survey) enhanced mostly the acceptance of familiar albacore dishes.
Models for U.S. and Japanese consumer samples revealed cross-cultural differences in the patterns of relations among neophobia, food attitudes, knowledge on health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids and food acceptance. The results suggest ways in which culturally specific aspects of neophobia can be overcome with appropriate marketing strategies, and have the potential to aid food companies in targeting variants of a product to different cultural markets.
More broadly, the present research demonstrates that an integrative approach is now essential to extract commonalties across fields, pinpoint "localized" patterns, and lead the way to actionable applications.
August 13, 2008
DISSERTATION COMMITTEE
Wayne W. Wakeland, Chair
Anna Marin
Nancy A. Perrin
Suwako Watanabe
Thomas Gillpatrick, Graduate Studies Rep.
