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Past adoption research has focused on new ideas, services and consumer durable goods where the first purchase is sufficient to be regarded as the act of adoption. Adoption studies rarely expand its application on new consumer packaged goods (CPGs) where subsequent repeat purchases are in high demand. Every year, the CPG industry spends a large amount of budget on developing and launching new products into the market in order to generate competitiveness, hence yielding financial growth. Despite the fact that new products have been carefully designed and tested before launch, the majority of them still fail. Consumers may talk the talk in pre-market tests but walk the walk after product launch. Such a gap between stating an intention for the future and taking action in the proximal may come from a lack of understanding the dynamic nature of the adoption process.
Consequently, this thesis investigates the process and antecedents of adopting new CPGs, which is also known as fast moving consumer goods (FMCGs). This thesis aims to unveil how the influence of adoption antecedents change along the process. Three research questions are raised:
1) What is the adoption process of new CPGs?
2) What are the key factors of adopting a specific product category in an emerging market?
3) How do the effect sizes of these adoption factors change along the process?
The wine category in China is selected to be the research context. The exploratory sequential mixed-method approach is designed in two phases. In Study 1, twenty-six face-to-face, in depth interviews with both wine adopters and non-adopters were conducted in two Chinese cities to outline the adoption process and refine the key adoption antecedents. Then the key adoption antecedents were further discussed and subjected to a hypothetical model. In Study 2, an online survey was launched to collect data from 1,567 alcohol consumers nationwide. Structural equation modelling was applied in testing the effect sizes of the adoption antecedents and corresponding process dynamic effects. The results indicate three major discoveries.
1) The adoption of new CPGs is a long process concerning repeat purchases or consumptions after the first trial.
Unlike Rogers’ process model (Rogers 2003), there are not many cognitive considerations before adoption behaviour occurs. The subsequent repeat purchases after the first trial are more decisive on how far a consumer can reach along the adoption journey. After the first trial, two milestone intermediate stages were identified: increasing exposure and reinforcement. Consumers start to build up the association between products and consumption occasions at the increasing exposure stage. Later into the reinforcement stage, these associations expand to more frequent consumption occasions. This empirical finding highlights the importance of understanding post-trial repeat purchases for the CPG industry and research, not just the first purchase.
2) Adoption intention is different to adoption behaviour.
Different adoption outcomes have been used interchangeably in adoption research and in pre- market tests, especially adoption intention and behaviour. This study finds that adoption intention associates weakly with adoption behaviour. These two different adoption outcomes are influenced by different antecedents. Personal traits are more influential on adoption intention; while consumption behaviour and relative advantages of the new product drive adoption behaviour. This discovery suggests that adoption variables from different time points of the process should not be used interchangeably or utilise one to predict the other one. Furthermore, adoption variables should be selected carefully according to the antecedents of interest.
3) The influence of past consumption behaviour on adoption behaviour is dynamic along the adoption process.
This discovery adds one more empirical evidence that adoption antecedents exhibit different influence on adoption at different behavioural stages. It sheds light on the process dynamic effect of adoption antecedents and responses to the call of process-oriented studies by adoption researchers.
A substantial area of the terrestrial surface is used for agricultural production. In Europe, many farmland species and ecosystems have evolved with traditional agricultural practices and rely on extensive cultivation for their survival. Today, agrobiodiversity is threatened by the abandonment of traditional agricultural land use.
The cultivation of wine is one of the oldest forms of agriculture. On steep slopes, viticulture has shaped landscapes, cultural traditions, and unique ecosystems in many regions. In Germany, steep slope viticulture has been declining dramatically in recent decades due to insufficient profitability. The abandonment of these traditional cultural landscapes threatens the cultural heritage and the flora and fauna adapted to viticultural management. One solution to halt the decline of steep slope viticulture could be a change of cultivation system from vertically oriented rows to modern terraced vineyards. Here, the rows run parallel to the hillside, facilitating cultivation, and thus reducing production costs. At the same time, a large portion of terraced vineyard consists of uncultivated embankments, which can provide valuable habitats within the agricultural system. However, little is known about the effects of a cultivation system change and vineyard abandonment on biodiversity. In addition, information on how to sustainably revegetate terrace embankments is missing.
Within the framework of this dissertation, the overall aim was to evaluate the potential of terraced vineyards to promote biodiversity and investigate measures for sustainable revegetation of terrace embankments. In addition, the effects of distinct vineyard management (vertically oriented vs. terraced) and vineyard abandonment on biodiversity were assessed. The main part of this thesis is based on a field study comparing three vineyard types (vertically oriented vineyard, terraced vineyard, abandoned vineyard) that were arranged in 15 triplets along the Upper Middle Rhine Valley (UMRV) in Germany. The effects of vineyard types, local vineyard parameters, and landscape structure on biodiversity were evaluated using four species groups. Studied groups represented plants and arthropod species (grasshoppers, wild bees, spiders). In a second field study, three newly constructed terrace embankments were revegetated using different seeding techniques and seed mixtures. In addition, measures to support plant establishment were evaluated. Plant establishment was assessed for three consecutive years in permanent vegetation plots.
The first study on the three vineyard types revealed that there was no uniform positive effect of one vineyard type on all investigated groups. Instead, the responses were group and taxon-specific and driven by management-related disturbance intensities, local vegetation structures, soil and landscape structure. In total, the heterogeneous landscape and small-structured vineyard agroecosystem of the UMRV supported high species diversity, hosted high numbers of rare and threatened species, and diverse species communities across vineyard types. Plant species richness was enhanced by vineyard management and particularly benefited from terraced vineyards and rather nutrient-poor and extensively managed embankments. In comparison, plant communities of fallows were completely different with lower plant diversity. Grasshoppers were supported by vineyard management, and bare ground in vineyard inter-rows supported heat- and open-adapted species. Taller vegetation stands on terrace embankments enhanced grasshopper species richness while woody structures and vineyard abandonment reduced grasshopper diversity and abundance at the local and landscape scale. Wild bee species richness and abundance were strongly determined by their nesting needs. For ground-nesting bees, the suitability of soils for nesting was important, irrespective of vineyard management types whereas above-ground nesting bees were enhanced by woody structures of fallows at the local and landscape scale. Moreover, fallows further provided valuable floral and non-floral resources for both ground- and above-ground nesting bees. For spiders, there was no difference in species richness and abundance between vineyard types but many xerophilic species adapted to open habitat structures prevailed in terraced vineyards. Vineyard fallows supported highly distinct spider communities, including some late-successional species. In conclusion, the vineyard cultural landscape of the UMRV with both actively managed and abandoned vineyards led to a high diversity of plant and arthropod communities. Hence, for its preservation, a spatially heterogeneous landscape comprising both (semi) natural and viticultural-management elements is important.
Results from the second study showed that terraced vineyards and especially terrace embankments can contribute to promoting biodiversity, especially if they are revegetated with regional seed mixtures. Seeds of locally adapted populations and hydro-seeding provided higher vegetation cover which is needed to prevent severe erosion whilst non-locally adapted standard seed mixtures and manual seeding had a higher failure risk and were more prone to severe precipitation events. Taken together, vineyard terracing appears to be a win-win solution for both winegrowers and biodiversity and thus helps to maintain viticulture on steep slopes.
Die vorliegende Arbeit befasst sich mit der Herstellung von Würzen und Bieren mittels eines neuartigen Sudprozesses aufgrund einer integrierten, dynamischen Läutertechnologie und dem qualitativen Vergleich zu herkömmlichen Systemen. Das Sudhaussystem OMNIUM by Ziemann® mit dem darin implementierten neuartigen Maischefiltrationsverfahren NESSIE by Ziemann® produziert Würzen, deren Zusammensetzung sich von herkömmlichen Würzen unterscheidet. Erhöhte und erniedrigte Konzentrationen bestimmter Inhaltsstoffe im Vergleich zur herkömmlichen Würzebeschaffenheit verändern die Hefeversorgung und konsequenterweise das fertige Bier. Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit ist es, den Einfluss auf die Würzezusammensetzung sowie das Herauslösen bestimmter Inhaltsstoffe durch die konventionelle und neuartige Sudhaustechnologie zu bilanzieren, zu vergleichen und die Auswirkungen auf den gesamten Brauprozess zu untersuchen.
Hierzu werden ober- und untergärige Biere mittels eines konventionellen und neuartigen Sudwerks im 30 l-Maßstab hergestellt. Die entstehenden ungekochten und gekochten Würzen und die hieraus produzierten Biere werden umfassend analysiert. Hierbei werden neben den Prozessparametern wie Extrakt und pH-Wert, Kohlenhydrate, Gerbstoffe, Eiweißfraktionen, Fettsäuren sowie Mineralstoffe und der photometrische Jodwert erhoben. Die anfallenden Treber werden ebenfalls untersucht. Die Schaumstabilität des fertigen Bieres wird untersucht und das Bier mittels einer Flavournetzverkostung bewertet. Die Ergebnisse dieser Sude bilden den Basisvergleich der Sudhäuser und die Grundlage der weiterführenden Vertiefung.
Die weiterführenden Untersuchungen befassen sich mit dem aufschließbaren Extrakt der Treber des Drehscheibenfilters, dem photometrischen Jodwert und der Enzymaktivität von Würzen, einer möglichen Reduktion der Trubfracht der neuartig hergestellten Würzen, der chemisch-physikalischen Stabilität sowie der Geschmacksstabilität der hergestellten Biere, den Gerbstofffraktionen und deren Einfluss auf die Fermentation und der Verarbeitung verschiedener Rohstoffe und Rohstoffqualitäten mittels des Drehscheibenfilters. Abschließend wird eine theoretische Modellierung der Maischefiltration mittels eines Drehscheibenfilters erstellt und ein Scale-Up der gewonnenen Daten auf Industriegröße durchgeführt. Für die untergärige Fermentation der neuartig hergestellten Würzen wird ein Leitfaden zur Anpassung der Gärungsparameter erstellt.
Die Auswertung der Ergebnisse zeigt, dass sich durch den Drehscheibenfilter im neuartigen Sudhaus im Vergleich zum konventionellen Sudhaus eine Erhöhung des Mineralstoff- und des Fettsäurespektrums und eine Verringerung des Gerbstoffzusammensetzung ergeben. Die stickstoffhaltigen Verbindungen sowie das Zuckerspektrum bleiben unverändert. Die neuartige Würzebeschaffenheit ermöglicht eine um zwei Tage zügigere und intensivere Fermentation. Durch die gesteigerte Hefevermehrung wird mehr Maltose und Maltotriose sowie Zink und Kalium aufgenommen. Dies bewirkt einen höheren Endvergärungsgrad der Biere. Die gute Versorgung der Hefe führt zu einem tendenziell niedrigeren Gärungsnebenproduktespektrum, was durch ein angepasstes Gärverfahren korrigiert werden kann. Die Deckung der Verkostungsergebnisse zeigt, dass die Herstellung geschmacklich gleicher Biere mit den unterschiedlichen Sudhäusern möglich ist. Durch das signifikant niedrigere Gerbstoffspektrum im Bier wird deutlich, dass eine gerbstoffseitige Stabilisierung im neuartig hergestellten Bier zu überdenken ist. Ein Einfluss der Gerbstoffe auf den Hefemetabolismus konnte ausgeschlossen werden. Insgesamt ist die chemisch-physikalische Stabilität und Geschmacksstabilität der neuartig hergestellten Biere als sehr gut zu bewerten. Die Schaumstabilität unterscheidet sich nicht zu konventionell hergestellten Bieren. Die signifikant höhere Würzetrübung ist im Bier nach der Sedimentation mit der Hefe während der Gärung nicht wieder zu finden. Zusätzlich kann großtechnisch die Trubfracht ohne Beeinträchtigung der Inhaltsstoffe mittels einer Zentrifuge verringert werden. Es zeigt sich, dass der photometrische Jodwert unabhängig des Einsatzes eines heißen Malzauszuges über die Fermentation hinweg absinkt. Ein direkter Zusammenhang mit der enzymatischen Aktivität des heißen Malzauszuges konnte nicht nachgewiesen werden. Prinzipiell ermöglicht die dynamische Siebfiltration mit der angeschlossenen diskontinuierlichen Extraktion die Verarbeitung verschiedener Rohstoffe und verschiedener Rohstoffqualitäten. Die Ergebnisse sind auf den industriellen Maßstab übertragbar.
Almost 40% of the world’s terrestrial surface is covered by agriculture. Thus, agricultural land
is of particular importance for the conservation of biodiversity. At the same time, the intensification of management practices and the concomitant homogenization of landscapes are
main drivers for a severe loss of biodiversity. The protection of arthropods in agricultural
landscapes has gained increased attention facing the current biodiversity crisis. In agricultural landscapes, grapevine is a particularly intensively managed crop, which is characterised by frequent application of fungicides. On the other hand, vineyards and especially
the inter-rows between vines with their permanent character can serve as habitats for many
organisms. Additional nesting and feeding resources for beneficial arthropods can be provided. Measures to enhance biodiversity in viticulture mainly encompass organic management and the management of inter-row vegetation cove, for example by tillage regime or the
use of seed mixtures. Little is known about the effectiveness of these measures for the diversity of different species groups, especially in interaction with the surrounding landscape
context.
Within the framework of the presented dissertation, various measures to enhance biodiversity were investigated using different organism groups in vineyards. The main part of
this work is based on a field study in which organic and conventional management were
compared. For this purpose, 15 pairs of organically and conventionally managed vineyards
along a gradient of landscape complexity in Rhinehessen were chosen. The effects of management system, landscape context and inter-row vegetation structure on different species
groups within vineyards were compared. Studied groups included entomopathogenic fungi
in the soil, soil-dwelling spiders and carabid beetles as well as flying, cavity-nesting solitary
bees and wasps. In an additional experiment, four different soil treatments and their effects
on carabid beetles and their weed predation potential were compared in two consecutive
years. Therefore, four experimental plots each were installed in nine additional vineyards in
Rhinehessen. For these vineyards, landscape structure and inter-row vegetation cover was
also characterised.
Overall, each of the investigated species groups benefited from different measures and
landscape or vegetation structure. Organically managed vineyards did not show a general
increase in biodiversity, even though their soils had higher organic matter contents on average and their vegetation cover offered more floral resources. Entomopathogenic fungi were
found to be particularly well adapted to increased copper levels in the soil. Soil copper contents tended to be higher under organic management. Solitary bees and soil-dwelling spiders profited from organic farming. Enhanced landscape complexity, i.e. the connectivity
of semi-natural habitat elements and the area covered by them was particularly beneficial
for solitary bees and spiders. An increasing proportion of area covered by annual crops in
the vicinity of vineyards had a negative effect on carabid beetles and solitary wasps. While
the wasps benefited from dense inter-row vegetation cover, carabid beetles preferred sparse
vegetation cover. Similarly, more intensive tillage regimes did not have a negative effect on
them. It should be emphasized that all the sampled vineyards – whether organically or conventionally managed - hosted species of conservation concern from all investigated groups.
With a diverse mixture of landscape structures as well as a variation of management strategies and soil and vegetation covers within fields, viticultural landscapes can contribute significantly to the protection of agrobiodiversity.
Wine tourism is a growing niche market around the world. Germany seems to offer an ideal platform for this promising market. However, there is very limited knowledge about the economic significance of wine tourism in Germany and about understanding visitors’ needs and expectations. By proposing a framework for three different studies across all 13 German wine regions, including both the travelers’ and the wineries’ perspective, this thesis aims to alter the understanding of wine tourism in Germany. The three main research questions derived from a survey of the literature (see Chapter 1) are:
1. What differentiates wine tourists in Germany from other tourist segments?
2. How large is the economic impact of wine tourism in Germany?
3. How relevant is wine tourism in Germany from a winery operators’ perspective?
In order to separate wine tourists from other tourist segments, a quantitative study with 4,478 visitors to wine regions was carried out. By interviewing visitors at “wine-neutral” locations such as city centers or cultural sites, this approach differed from previous research. After segmentation, travelers were divided into wine tourists and other tourist segments. Then, a modified multiplier model was developed that allows measuring the economic impact of wine tourism. Finally, to include the wineries’ perspective, 199 qualitative in-depth interviews and 703 quantitative online questionnaires were collected and analyzed. It is the aim of the winery surveys to reveal the relevance and main challenges of wine tourism in Germany.
Results show that 7.2 million wine tourists, of whom 89% are Germans, visit the country’s wine regions each year. For them, tasting wine, enjoying nature and combining food and wine experiences are the main motivating factors for visiting a wine region. Wine tourism has a disproportionately large economic impact of EUR 5.0 billion annually, contributing to the income of 71,846 people. From an average winery operator’s perspective, wine tourism accounts for 24% of company sales. Despite an increasing demand in wine-touristic activities, the number of wineries, as well as restaurants, is declining which reduces the attractiveness for culinary-focused wine tourists. To successfully develop wine tourism in Germany, there is a clear need for collaboration among stakeholders. Furthermore, the preservation of cultural landscapes plays an important role in attracting visitors.
This thesis advances the understanding of wine tourism in Germany from a visitor’s as well as a winery’s point of view. The approaches developed for segmenting wine tourists and for assessing the economic impact of wine tourism can be applied in any wine region of the world. They can also be transferred to other forms of special-interest tourism (e.g. alpine tourism and culinary tourism). The findings and discussions can be used for teaching students and training stakeholders at the regional, entrepreneurial and personal level. Wine tourism could help to balance inequalities between rural and urban areas in terms of income and employment levels. This, combined with the preservation of natural resources and cultural landscapes, could lead to sustainable regional development in the German wine regions.
Growing vines in sloping terrain is an integral part of the European viticultural heritage. In recent decades, however, a significant decrease in vineyard acreage on steep slopes has occurred, particularly in Germany. The elevated labour demand at these sites together with stronger international competition and the overall diminished profitability of the sites for wine estates have been implicated as drivers behind this decrease. However, a sound cost assessment of different vineyard setups in terms of general growing conditions and corresponding mechanisation options has thus far not been performed.
This doctoral thesis contributes to explaining the abandonment of steep slope vineyard sites from an economic perspective using the example of Germany. To compare production costs for different growing conditions, working time records based on a transpaent framework of vineyard site types were collected at five management-led wine estates in Germany over three years for 30 reference sites, resulting in 82 observations and over 3,400 single records for labour and machine hours. After valuing the working time records with appropriate cost rates, the cost dataset was analysed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) with fixed and random effects to estimate the influence of different external factors on the structure of viticultural costs.
The analysis revealed that the cost differences between the vineyard site types are attributable to differences in mechanisation intensity and the types of machines used. Flat terrain allows the mechanisation of most viticultural processes with very efficient machinery. Sites with limited mechanisation require specialised machinery to overcome the gradient. The more mechanisation is limited, the higher the demand for manual labour will be. The sites with the most difficult conditions inhibit the mechanisation of single or all processes. In addition to this, specialised steep slope machinery usually entails higher capital costs and operates more slowly, mostly due to additional securing by rope, necessitating the double passing of every row.
The results of the research discussed in this thesis indicate that there are substantial cost disadvantages at vineyard sites that are impeding full mechanisation with standard machinery. Viticultural costs at the most disadvantaged manual sites are more than 1.6 times those at fully mechanised flat terrain sites. In addition to these per hectare disadvantages, vineyards planted on slopes are more often affected by water scarcity, which has intensified in recent years and is expected to further intensify due to the impacts of climate change. Water scarcity causes drought issues that lead, among other negative effects, to below-average yield levels, thereby exacerbating the cost disadvantage of steep slope sites on a per litre level. These cost disadvantages usually cannot be covered by price premiums, thus leaving a gap between elevated costs and stable prices.
These findings raise serious concerns about the future of steep slope viticulture, especially given the prospects of adverse environmental impacts driven by climate change. Worse, most consumers are not willing to pay higher prices for steep slope wines. As such, additional costs cannot be expected to be offset by price premiums. The only possibility for the sustained cultivation of steep slope sites lies in financial support by the public sector. To justify public support, the overall value of steep slope viticulture created by the additional ecosystem services (ES) they provide under certain conditions and with respect to potential social costs must be assessed.
Historically and under cooler climate conditions, steep slope vineyards yielded best quality wines and highest reputation, due to their distinctive light microclimate, especially pronounced at the end of the ripening period. Today, German steep slope viticulture is facing major challenges. The cultivation of steep vineyard sites is costly. Compared to fully-mechanized vineyards, steep slope vineyards are labour-intensive and strenuous to manage, they produce less yield and are at higher risk of the adverse effects of a changing climate.
The modern vineyard terracing may be a viable alternative to the current cultivation method of downslope planted grapevines. The terrace platforms lead along the contour line of the hill and allow a higher degree of vineyard mechanization. The flat terrace platforms reduce surface runoff and allow for greater infiltration of precipitation, thus reducing or preventing runoff of the fertile vineyard soil and enhance the retention of precipitation in the soil.
In the present work, the effects of the transformation of vineyards planted downslope to modern vineyard terraces on microclimatic parameters, soil water dynamics and, finally, on the vegetative and generative performance of the grapevine were investigated. The experimental sites, comprising a vineyard planted downslope and a modern terrace, were selected with regard to their spatial proximity to one another and the comparability of the planting material with each other and monitored over a period of two to four years.
The change in the radiation distribution and the heat balance became apparent due to the inherent row orientation change by vineyard terracing, leading to an alteration of distinctive fruit quality parameters. The concentrations of polyphenols and amino acids in the berries were highly related to the amount of received solar radiation. Vineyard terraces were able to mitigate weather extremes. However, younger vines planted at the outer end of the terrace platform showed high drought stress responses across all experimental years. However, this lessened as the vine age progressed.
The modern terracing of steep slope vineyards proved to be an appropriate tool for high-quality grape production. Additionally, the potential for promoting biodiversity through a sustainable management of the terrace embankments complements the overall positive findings of the present work. In the near future, the challenge to increase the competitiveness of young vines grown at steep slope vineyards to accompanying plants needs to be solved by means of viticultural, technical or breeding measures.
In this doctoral thesis, the effects of moderately reduced water supply and seasonal variations was studied regarding the chemical and nutritionally relevant composition of the edible harvest organs of three different vegetable crops, i.e. cucumber fruit (Cucumis sativus L.), radish roots (Raphanus sativus L. var. sativus), and spinach leaves (Spinacia oleracea L.). The study was conducted to demonstrate putative plant-physiological alterations in their chemical composition that may be evoked by moderate water deficits during cultivation under open field conditions. The vegetable crops were selected according to differing harvest organs (leaves, roots and fruit), being cultivated during three consecutive years under open field conditions and two different water supply treatments within a randomized block design with multiple sets of six plots each. Depending on the vegetable, the provided water amount of the moderately reduced water supply treatment varied between 80-97% of the well-watered control treatment. Chapter 1 dealt with the effects of moderate water reduction of 3-20% on radish. Including one cultivation set per year and an additional set in 2016, i.e. a total of four separate sets, a dry matter-based increase of myo-inositol was observed, whereas the levels of selected minerals and trace elements like iron and manganese as well as those of phenolic compounds and glucosinolates decreased or remained unchanged upon moderately reduced water supply. Only insignificant effects of reduced water supply were seen on the levels of acylated anthocyanins, which represent a highly important commercial quality trait due to their importance for the roots’ or hypocotyls’ color. In contrast, the levels of fresh matter-related analytes were mainly enhanced by reduced water supply due to higher contents of dry matter. Thus, the overall quality of radish tubers seemed to be only marginally affected by moderate water limitation.
Similar results were observed for spinach as presented in Chapter 2. Nevertheless, reducing the total water amount by only 4-10% during cultivation led to various significant alterations in the chemical composition of the leaves. Similar to radish, higher dry matter-based levels of myo-inositol were found in spinach grown under low water reduction. Moreover, increased contents of zinc and manganese were found, while the levels of malic acid, fumaric acid, phosphate and chloride decreased upon slight water reduction in spinach dry matter. In contrast, spinach fresh matter was expectedly characterized by significantly higher contents of polyols, ascorbic acid, potassium, nitrogen, phosphorous, zinc and manganese, as well as total flavonoids and carotenoids, including nutritionally highly relevant compounds like the provitamin A-active β-carotene and the macular pigment lutein. Noteworthy, strong seasonal variations have been observed for numerous minor phytochemicals, such as for example for a series of specific flavonoids, whose contents seemed to be dependent on the respective irradiation conditions of the cultivation set.
In contrast to radish and spinach, cucumber from open field cultivation reacted differently to slightly reduced water supply, as summarized in Chapter 3. When cucumber fruits obtained from plants received 85-90% of the total water amount of the control treatment, they exhibited significantly higher levels of malic acid, calcium, and magnesium, while those of phosphate, phosphorous, nitrogen, and iron decreased based on dry matter. Fruit dry matter-content did not significantly change due to moderate water restriction, and, as a result, the concentration of most analytes tended to decrease in the cucumber fresh matter when grown under reduced water supply. The chemical analyses of single cucumber fruit compartments (exocarp, mesocarp and endocarp) from fruits grown under 60% of the full supply in a separate greenhouse experiment confirmed that malic acid, certain minerals and trace elements, as well as carotenoids like the most abundant lutein were relatively sensitive to moderate water reduction.
Altogether, a moderately reduced water supply was shown to significantly alter the chemical composition of the aforementioned vegetable crops. Considering the broad range of analytes from, e.g., minerals and anions to polyols and acids to micronutrients like provitamin A, it became clear that water supply reduction as studied herein did not lead to generalizable effects such as an undesired decrease or a desired enhancement of valuable compounds. For instance, the levels of selected health-promoting constituents in the fresh matter of radish and spinach were increased, while those of the same compounds contained in cucumber did not benefit at all. Generally, the overall quality of vegetables was clearly shown to be influenced not only by water supply, but also by the interaction with other abiotic factors, especially when cultivation took place in open field. Further study in the future should target interactions of moderately reduced water supply situations with changes in other abiotic factors, such as elevated CO2 concentrations.
With the exception of ingredients that may have an allergenic effect, alcoholic beverages with above 1.2% alcohol by volume are currently exempt from mandatory nutrition and ingredient labelling. In 2017, however, the European Commission decided that, in order to protect consumer interests, further exemption from this special regulation could not be justified. Mandatory nutrition and ingredient labelling for wine will affect not only all European producers but also every international producer who exports wine to an EU member state.
Many studies have investigated how consumers behave in relation to nutrition labelling and ingredient listings for food in general, but only a few have considered alcoholic beverages and wine specifically. Existing studies of wine are limited to quantitative approaches that focus on consumers’ stated interests regarding ingredient and nutrition information, utilising the direct elicitation of stated preferences. These methods are prone to greatly overestimate the effect. There is a lack of more indirect observational studies in more realistic settings that analyse consumers’ emotional and verbal reactions when confronted with ingredient and nutrition information on a bottle of wine as well as the implications that this information will have on their choice behaviour. Finally, there is a lack of empirical research on the consequences that mandatory nutrition and ingredient labelling will have for producers.
In order to fill these gaps, the main objectives of this dissertation are the following: First, to analyse consumers’ reactions to nutrition and ingredient labelling covering their emotional reactions and the effect on wine choice and demand as well as the influences of additional information, time and country. Second, to examine the consequences that producers are facing with regard to nutrition and ingredient labelling for wine by analysing producers’ expectations of consumer reactions as well as the effects on production processes and competitive advantages.
A multi-stage multi-method research design, which combined qualitative focus groups and a discrete choice experiment, was utilised to analyse consumers’ reactions to nutrition and ingredient labelling for wine across several countries. In order to analyse the consequences that the potential new EU labelling law will have for wine producers, an exploratory online survey to ask producers directly was utilised.
The results suggest that the wine industry will face considerable challenges once nutrition and ingredient labelling is mandatory. Consumers’ emotional reactions, especially to the ingredients in wine, are rather negative, and they are becoming less likely to view wine as a very natural product. Average wine-involved consumers were shown to place a considerable amount of importance on nutrition information in a retail setting and prefer to receive complete information. Without additional guidance, consumers only place low importance on ingredient information, but this changes when they are negatively confronted with the topic. Negative information has the potential to affect how consumers choose wine by increasing the attention they pay to ingredients, at the cost of the attention directed at sensory descriptions, and by changing consumers’ preferences to shorter ingredient lists. Some consumers in traditional wine markets are even likely to refrain from buying wine in the case of negative media coverage. While consumers will be strongly affected by nutrition and ingredient labelling in the short term, they are likely to adapt to this information in the mid to long term, which will reduce the effect of negative media coverage.
In addition to the effects on consumer behaviour, mandatory nutrition and ingredient labelling will likely also change production processes and competitive advantages within the wine industry. In order to actively avoid declarable substances, some producers will change their oenological practices, which might lead to a deterioration in wine quality and higher wine prices. Providing correct nutrition and ingredient information for each batch will make the labelling process more difficult and more expensive. Although consumers highly value sensory information, this information is likely to be reduced or eliminated when nutrition and ingredient labelling is introduced as the competition for space on back labels will increase. The introduction of mandatory nutrition and ingredient labelling is also likely to affect competitive advantages between wine producers. Producers that are able to and willing to adapt will have the chance to gain competitive advantages.
Overall, producers are advised to adapt their communication strategies to actively promote the reasons for the use of ingredients in wine production in order to reduce the effects of negative media coverage. The industry should also prepare in advance for changes in production processes and potential changes in consumer preferences because mandatory nutrition and ingredient labelling will likely be introduced within the next few years.
The present dissertation addresses logistics challenges in grocery retailing considered in an omni-channel context. Omni-channel retailing gains in importance as online grocery retailing is continuously growing. Besides pure online retailers, traditional bricks-and-mortar retailers are entering the online market. The development of existing structures towards an omni-channel retailing represents a complex challenge. The first contribution of the dissertation analyzes omni-channel distribution concepts for traditional bricks-and-mortar grocery retailers. A multiple-case study with European grocery retailers serves as the basis for the analysis. Since different concepts dominate in the countries, their respective advantages and differences are elaborated. The focus of this research are the central components of a distribution network design, which are the assortment range, the picking system and the last-mile delivery, in terms of delivery mode and time.
In addition to the growing online business, controlling of logistics processes due to volatile demand is a complex task in grocery retailing. Public holidays are a recurring issue in grocery logistics, which is discussed in the second contribution. The ban on working on holidays in Germany means that grocery retailers have less time to perform the logistics processes. In addition, there is usually a higher weekly volume to manage than in standard weeks. Although holiday weeks are prepared in detail, many challenges have to be met on an ad hoc basis. Consequently, the focus of the analysis of holiday issues is on the operational planning areas of demand planning and disposition, warehouse management and transport management. The results of the second contribution provide potential measures for efficiently and effectively controlling the planning areas considered around public holidays.
The third issue considers the challenge of the Covid-19 pandemic for the German grocery retailing. In contrast to the public holiday challenge, the outbreak of the pandemic led to unexpected demand peaks and uncertainties. Using an exploratory research approach, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the planning and execution areas of demand planning and order dispatching, store management, transport management, warehouse management and procurement is highlighted. Based on a two year review, trends for the German grocery retailing are identified. The findings show in which direction logistics processes might be further developed in order to meet the potential future requirements.
The cumulative dissertation includes the three studies described, which contribute to the qualitative research of omni-channel retail logistics. Current challenges of the grocery retail industry are examined from a European, especially a German perspective. The exploratively generated results provide courses of action for volatile and disruptive times as well as possible development directions for grocery retailers.