Consumer involvement and perceived differentiation of different kinds of pork – a Means-End Chain analysis

For firms to be able to differentiate their market offerings from those of competitors, knowledge about the consumer is essential. The Means-End Chain (MEC) approach was used to identify the consequences and values that consumers attach to product attributes. The objective of this study was to investigate the motivational structure of consumers in relation to unbranded, imported, branded and local-organically produced pork. The explanation of consumer behaviour was deepened through investigating whether consumers were more involved in some kind of labelled pork than in others. Laddering interviews with 127 consumers concerning the four kinds of pork were conducted in Swedish supermarkets. Imported pork was bought because it is cheap and was the least involving kind of pork. The most involving were branded pork and local-organically produced pork. Pork had the character of a “think” product, foremost bought for functional values. This was especially true for imported pork.