Exploring the Factors Influencing Health Food Attitudes of Edible Bird's Nest Consumers in China: The Role of Environmental Concern
2024 Volume 40 Issue 2 Pages 132-141
Details
2024 Volume 40 Issue 2 Pages 132-141
Abstract: Edible bird’s nests, as a traditional Chinese medicine, occupy an important position in the healthcare market. China is the largest edible bird's nest consumer market in the world, and the market has had new opportunities since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in 2020. In this study, the factors influencing the health-food attitudes of consumers of edible bird’s nests and the corresponding moderating effect of environmental concerns are investigated. We designed a structural equation model and conducted a questionnaire survey in mainland China. The sample quota is based on the results of the population census. The content of the questionnaire focuses on the behavior of edible bird's nest consumers during the pandemic. The results showed that awareness of food traceability system, impact of the pandemic, and health concerns have a positive relationship with food health attitudes. Furthermore, environmental concerns moderate the food health attitudes of edible bird’s nest consumers.
1. Introduction
Edible Bird’s nests (EBN) are health products used in traditional Chinese medicine. The global demand for EBN has significantly increased in recent years. However, due to the food safety issues associated with EBN, the Chinese government banned the import of bird nest in 20111),2). To ensure the safety and quality of EBN products, Chinese authorities have introduced regulations for importing EBN with a traceability code and logging the information into the Food Traceability System (FTS) Platform3).
In recent years, most of the food industry has experienced turbulence due to the impact of the pandemic (IPD)4). However, since the lockdown of the city, EBN sales have risen instead of falling3). The pandemic has boosted consumer health concerns (HC) and led to healthier food choices5). EBN is one of the most important health products for Chinese consumers. The pandemic has prompted the selection of EBN products.
Therefore, EBN as a traceable health food product has a huge market potential in recent years. To have a more comprehensive understanding of the market demand, companies must understand the characteristics and preferences of the consumers of EBN products. Although China has the largest EBN consumer market, no studies have targeted EBN consumer groups. Other researchers have conducted surveys on the actual purchasing behavior of EBN products in Malaysia; however, since Malaysia is one of the origins of EBN, its consumer characteristics are not directly applicable to the Chinese market. As a popular nutritional and health product, EBN is strongly preferred by
Chinese consumers. To better understand this consumer group and attract their attention, companies need to comprehensively study the characteristics of EBN consumers and explore the factors that affect their attitudes towards healthy food. Identifying the factors affecting EBN consumers’ food health choices is of great significance for the EBN market. consumers and explore the factors that affect their attitudes towards healthy food. Identifying the factors affecting EBN consumers’ food health choices is of great significance for the EBN market.
This study aimed to explore the factors influencing the attitudes of EBN consumers towards healthy foods. Additionally, it explored the impact of environmental concerns (ECs) on consumers' purchasing decisions, particularly in the context of increasing interest in sustainable consumption. Earlier studies have shown that EBN consumer characteristics differ between male and female, so we also conducted a multigroup analysis to examine potential sex differences among EBN consumers. The findings highlight the importance for companies to cater to consumers’ health consciousness to gain a competitive advantage in a competitive market.
2. Hypotheses development
In recent years, COVID-19 has increased consumer anxiety about food safety, which is further increasing demands for food safety assurance6). The public has shown growing concern about food-related risks during the COVID-19 pandemic7). Furthermore, EBN products, especially freshly stewed EBNs that rely on cold-chain logistics, are also facing food safety challenges8). To address these concerns, Chinese authorities have issued a series of guidelines, including the promotion of FTS, to protect food workers from COVID-19, prevent cross-contamination throughout the food chain, avoid potential viral contact with consumers, and improve food hygiene and hygiene measures9). The implementation of these guidelines facilitates the dissemination of FTS-related information to a wide range of consumers. Accordingly, the following hypothesis was proposed:
H1 - IPD is positively related to the awareness of FTS (FA).
COVID-19 substantially contributed to promoting healthier food choices among individuals5),10). The pandemic has increased discussions and concerns among consumers regarding the safety and fear-related aspects of food6). This suggests that COVID-19 has heightened consumer anxiety about their health in relation to food. In addition, according to the "2020 Edible Bird's Nest Industry Epidemic Survival Report," released by the Edible Bird's Nest Market Committee of the China Agricultural Wholesale Markets Association (EBMC)3), Tmall's EBN sales in the first half of 2020 reached approximately 2 billion yuan, which is approximately 50% more than that of the previous year. This result shows that the pandemic has increased consumer demand for healthy food. Based on the above discussion, the following hypotheses were proposed:
H2 - IPD is positively related to HC.
H3 - IPD is positively related to food health attitudes (FHA).
Consumers' perceptions of traceable raw food safety influence their perceptions of health benefits, which ultimately drive their repurchase intentions11). Customers' perceptions of food safety certification can have a major impact on their willingness to pay.12) Furthermore, consumers choose to buy EBN products as healthy food due to HCs7). Accordingly, the following hypotheses were proposed:
H4 - FA is positively related to FHA.
H5 - HC is positively related to FHA.
Consumers with strong environmental behavior and health awareness are more willing to buy organic food13). Additionally, consumers generally prefer products with carbon footprint credentials14). The traceability system can quickly track the carbon footprint data of enterprises and products to meet the traceability needs of users at all levels15). One study in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic indicated that ECs affect the purchase intentions of consumers16).
ECs can influence people's choices of healthy foods. However, few studies have focused on consumer attitudes towards healthy foods while incorporating ECs. Therefore, to determine whether the level of EC can guide consumers' willingness to choose healthy foods, considering EC as a moderating variable is necessary. The conceptual model used in this study is shown in Figure 1, and accordingly, the following hypotheses were proposed:
H6a - EC is a moderating effect of FA on FHA.
H6b - EC is a moderating effect of IPD on FHA.
H6c - EC is a moderating effect of HC on FHA.
3. Materials and methods
3-1 Questionnaire
Here, respondents were quantified by age and geography based on Chinese demographics to simulate the overall Chinese consumer profile. Respondents were required to have purchased EBN products and were requested to evaluate the products on a 7-point Likert scale, with 1 being strongly disagree and 7 being strongly agree. The questionnaire contained three sections: items on personal information (section one); a survey about food health attitude (section two); and a survey about health concerns, the impact of pandemic, and the awareness of FTS (section three).
3-2 Sampling and data collection
We commissioned a survey company to distribute questionnaires to members via We Chat. The survey company has more than 4 million registered users, and all members use their identity documents for real-name authentication. The survey company distributed questionnaires to all eligible members and screened out unqualified responses until a sample of 1,000 responses was collected. Qualified questionnaire respondents will receive corresponding points, which can be redeemed for prizes on the official website, and can be upgraded to corresponding levels based on the quality of questionnaire answers.
Respondents were required to confirm that they have carefully read the description of the questionnaire material before answering the questions. After completing the questionnaire, they received corresponding points from the survey company, and these points could be exchanged for goods.
Data collection began on March 17, 2022, and lasted for one week with a sample size of 1000. This survey was conducted among consumers aged 20–59 in mainland China who purchased EBN products. The male-to-female ratio was 50% in each region. The age quotas for each group were as follows: 20–29 years (24%), 30–39 years (28%), 40–49 years (26%), and 50–59 years (22%). Four economic regions were used to determine the population quotas, eastern (41%), central (27%), western (25%), and northeastern (7%).
3-3 Data analysis
We used partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), which allows authors to test complete theories and concepts, has become a quasi-standard in marketing research. PLS-SEM can handle reflective and formative measurements almost infinitely and can be adapted to complex models and only requires that the constructs are structurally related to each other. Therefore, PLS-SEM offers more flexibility when it comes to formative measurements. The theoretical model was tested using the Smart PLS 3. To evaluate the hypotheses of this study, bootstrapping was utilized with 5000 subsamples, as follows:17). For multigroup analysis, permutation was used to perform invariance measurement testing. For multigroup analysis, permutation was used to perform invariance measurement testing.
4. Results
4-1 Descriptive statistics of responses
Table 1 presents the respondents’ characteristics. Household size was mainly three (61.2%); among them, about a quarter
of the families were planning to conceive or were pregnant, and 76% of the respondents had children. Personal monthly disposable income was concentrated in the middle-class range, with an average of approximately 8464 Yuan (Approximately $1180). Most of the respondents had a university degree (74.3%). The main occupations of the respondents were middle management (29.8%) and general staff (25.1%). The top concerns for purchasing EBN products
were food safety (19.8%), quality certification (15.9%), nutritional content (14.9%), and product authenticity (9.70%). Of the respondents, 8.7% were concerned about traceable information. The most frequently purchased EBN products were instant swallow nests (26.0%), freshly stewed swallow nests (22.1%), and dried swallow nests (20.4%). 67% of the respondents indicated that they had some knowledge of the FTS.
4-2 Common method bias
The variance inflation factor (VIF) value of each construct was between 1.000 and 3.089, which was less than 3.3, confirming that no serious common method bias existed in this study18). Consequently, common method bias was not considered an issue in this study.
4-3 Model measurement results
Table 2 presents the outcomes of the tests conducted to assess convergent and discriminant validity. Constructs with Cronbach's alpha (CA) values greater than 0.70 demonstrate consistency19). The composite reliability (CR) values of the measures exceeded 0.80, indicating both internal consistency and convergent validity20). Convergent validity is supported when the average variance explained (AVE) values of the study measures exceed 0.50 and are smaller than their corresponding CR values. Additionally, the intercorrelations between the constructs were lower than the square root of their respective AVE values, indicating discriminant validity. The heterotrait–monotrait ratio for discriminant validity resulted in values of ≤ 0.9. A model is considered a good fit when the square root mean residual (SRMR) value is below 0.121). In this study, the SRMR values were 0.064 and 0.095 for the saturated and estimated models, respectively, indicating that both models exhibited a good fit for the data. Furthermore, convergent validity was ensured by examining the outer loadings (factor loadings see Appendix A-1) of the items in each construct. An outer loading of > 0.70 is acceptable17). Overall, the predictive validity and model fit indices were satisfactory.
4-4 Structural model results
Table 3 presents the results of hypotheses test, which confirmed that H1, H2, H3, H4, H5, H6b, and H6c are supported. Therefore, IPD is positively associated with FA (β = 0.659; p < 0.001), HC (β = 0.673; p < 0.001), and FHA (β = 0.129; p < 0.001), while FA (β = 0.176; p < 0.001) and HC (β = 0.440; p < 0.001) is positively associated with FHA. EC has a positive moderating effect of IPD on FHA (β = 0.072; p < 0.05) and a negative moderating effect of HC on FHA (β = -0.052; p < 0.05).
4-5 Multi-group analysis results
All constructs demonstrated a high level of configurational invariance in Step 1, indicating that the overall structural model held well across different groups. Additionally, all constructs exhibited a high level of compositional invariance in Step 2, suggesting that the relationships between the variables were consistent across different groups. Partial measurement invariance indicated that most constructs demonstrated partial measurement invariance. This was indicated by the presence of original differences within the confidence intervals, suggesting that some measurement properties may differ across groups. For constructs with partial measurement invariance (Steps 3a and 3b), the original differences in means generally fell within the confidence intervals. This suggests that the mean values were not significantly different across the groups. However, for the HC and IPD constructs, significant differences existed in the original means, indicating potential variations across groups. The full measurement invariance result indicated that both the structural model and the measurement properties were invariant across different groups. Consequently, constructs were assumed to be comparable across groups, which can be analyzed in multiple groups. The results showed a difference in the effect of gender on attitudes towards food health across pathways (Table 4). For example, in the path "FA to FHA", the coefficient was 0.237 for females and 0.142 for males, indicating that females’ awareness of the FTS has a greater impact on FHA than that of males. In the "HC to FA" path, the female coefficient was 0.391, whereas that of the male was 0.487. This indicates that the effect of HC on attitudes towards food health is greater in males than in females. The path results of “HC to EC to FHA” and “IPD to EC to FHA” both showed that the influence of males was significant while they were insignificant in females. Path results for "IPD to FA", "IPD to HC," and "IPD to FHA" showed slight differences between males and females; these results were statistically significant.
5. Discussion and implications
This study explains the factors influencing the health food choices of EBN consumers and the characteristics of EBN purchasers. Following earlier research, EBN consumers have higher educational levels and more disposable income2). This is the same as our results. We speculated that higher educated people are usually more health conscious. Since EBN is believed to have health benefits, the higher educated population may be more willing to try and accept such food. Moreover, EBN is a relatively high-class food and is more expensive (dried swallow's nest about 300 yen per gram). Therefore, consumers with higher income levels are more likely to be able to afford the price of EBN products. Regarding the preference for the type of EBN purchased, instant swallow nest, freshly stewed swallow nest, and dried swallow nest were predominant. It is speculated that the convenience of preservation and lack of processing make consumers prefer instant swallow nest. However, freshly stewed swallow nests, whose sales have been increasing in recent years, have a small capacity and short shelf life, which can attract people who are lazy but want fresh, healthy food. Therefore, companies need to continue to consider convenience and freshness when designing their products.
Food safety remains the most important concern for consumers, followed by quality certification and nutritional value, when purchasing EBN products. Therefore, EBN companies need to convince consumers of safety and quality-related issues. Consumers were less concerned about traceability information than food safety. This may be because the traceability of EBN is mandatory by law; consumers take the traceability label directly as a guarantee; and tend to ignore the traceability code information. Conversely, companies may not advertise enough information on traceability when promoting their EBN products. Consumers may ignore the traceability code even if they see it. The findings of this study showed that most bird nest consumers were aware of FTS. Compared to earlier studies12), these results showed that consumers have become more knowledgeable about food traceability in recent years. However, whether this tendency is present in other consumer groups remains unidentified. In terms of FHAs, IPD, FTS awareness, and HC were positively related to healthy food choices. IPD was found to be positively related to FTS awareness and HC22). Therefore, companies can include traceability information in the promotion of EBN products to increase consumer attention to FTS.
The moderating effects shown in this study indicated that EC positively moderated the relationship between FHA and the IPD. This suggests that when consumers' levels of EC increase, they are more likely to take positive actions under the influence of the pandemic, including making healthier dietary choices. In the positive relationship between HC and FHA, the positive relationship was weakened when the level of EC was elevated. In other words, when the level of EC of consumers increases, the health consciousness of consumers has less influence on the attitude of choosing healthy food. This could be because healthy food may not necessarily be environmentally friendly; therefore, consumers will face a conflict of values that influence their attitude towards healthy food. Therefore, if EBN companies pay more attention to environmental issues in the process of bird's nest production, it can increase consumer interest. For example, companies can add traceable carbon footprint information related to the environment to more effectively respond to consumers' environmental concerns. This approach is feasible with the existing technology15).
Regarding gender differences, unlike earlier studies23), no significant effect of the pandemic was observed in male or female consumers. FTS perceptions had a greater impact on FHA in females, while for males, HC had a greater impact on FHA. Therefore, companies should design advertising campaigns targeting different groups, addressing their specific concerns.
6. Limitations
There are several limitations in this study. There are several limitations in this study. First, when using Smart PLS 3 software to conduct multiple group analysis, only two groups can be compared at a time; hence in future research, we need to compare the differences between more groups. For example, using three or more groups to analyze comparisons. Secondly, the study on the current situation of EBN consumers is insufficient as the market continues to evolve and needs further investigation in the future.
7.Conclusion
This study delves into the factors influencing EBN consumers in China, particularly focusing on the role of environmental concerns (ECs). By understanding the characteristics of EBN consumers and discussing the various factors affecting health food attitudes, including the moderating influence of ECs, this research provides valuable insights. The findings contribute to not only a better understanding of EBN consumer behavior but also to shed light on the significance of environmental considerations in the health food industry. As the EBN market navigates the opportunities presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, the study offers a theoretical foundation for developing strategies that align with both consumer preferences and environmental sustainability, fostering the long-term development of EBN companies.
References
Acknowledgements
Corresponding Author
JingJing YAO
Nagasaki University
1-14, Bunnkyo, Nagasaki City. Japan, 852-8521
E-mail: syoukira0924@gmail.com
Received: 3 August 2023 Accepted: 20 March 2024
©日本環境共生学会(JAHES) 2024
This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI (Grant No. JP22KK0206). We thank the Nagasaki University WISE Program for supporting the survey and all respondents for participating in this survey.
