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Is Designation Of Origin An Important Cue Driving Consumer Loyalty Behaviour? Evidence From Scanner Data On Dry-Cured Ham, Polymeros Chrysochou, Georges Giraud

Polymeros Chrysochou

Reference to origin and region has become a factor of differentiation and added value for food product companies. Although previous studies argue that designation of origin can be considered as an extrinsic cue affecting consumer preferences, the main concern which still exists is whether designation of origin influences their actual purchase behaviour and, moreover, behavioural loyalty towards them. For measuring loyalty we applied the Dirichlet model on scanner supermarket data on dry-cured ham, a common local French food product. Results show that designation of origin is not that an important driver of loyalty comparing to price and brand name.