B0911
Title: How to measure changing patterns of taste and food consumption in transitional times
Authors: Maria Giovanna Onorati - Pollenzo University of Gastronomic Sciences (Italy) [presenting]
Cinzia Franceschini - Bologna University (Italy)
Francesco Domenico dOvidio - University of Bari Aldo Moro Department of Economics and Finance (Italy)
Abstract: Taste is a compound sociological category that draws on both routinized practices and values and aspirational motives that people associate with their consumption choices. How can we explain consumers' ``doing'' and ``saying'' in transitional times, when routines are disrupted, and human agency becomes crucial in reshaping them? How can this be done in a way that neither neglects consumer agency nor leads to individualistic explanations informed by social desirability? Categorical principal component analysis (CATPCA), a nonparametric method based on alternative least squares optimal scaling (ALSOS) supported by stepwise removal, is useful in linking practices and values including individual personal characteristics. Alternatively, we can use a tandem combination of factor analysis and cluster analysis, to uncover hidden patterns of values and actions and their distribution in the population under study.
