Effect of health consciousness on the consumption of olive oil in Japan using an experimental auction approach

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 21K14926
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 41010:Agricultural and food economics-related
• Research Institution: Kyushu University
• Principal Investigator: Ben Taieb Seifeddine (Ben・TaiebSeif) 九州大学, 農学研究院, 助教 (50878238)
• Project Period (FY): 2021-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: Consumer behavior / Olive oil / Experimental auction / willingness to pay

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The objective of this study was to assess the effects of health consciousness on consumption of olive oil in Japan. To do so, an experimental auction was conducted where participants were divided into several groups ranging from 6 to 9 people. The process of the experiment started with an explanation on how the auction works followed by a practice round to get the participants to fully understand the auction mechanism. once the practice round was over, the participants took a quiz to assess their understanding of the auction and finally the actual auctions were conducted. Inbetween the 2 rounds, the participants were given information on the health benefits of the olive oil. The results of this research showed that participants with better understanding of the benefits of olive oil had a higher willingness to pay for it. This suggests that even relatively young people are becoming more health conscious, wanting to prevent diseases in the future.

Free Research Field

Consumer behvaior

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

I demonstrated to what extent participants retained factual knowledge (image/ Knowledge/ Evidence) then I clarified how the difference in cognitive level affects the willingness to pay for olive oil. Research on Olive oil in Japan is very limited making this study's theme unique and new.