Communication messages

Only six studies treat questions about communication messages. One each originates from Germany and the UK, while the other four originate from the USA. Three of these four stu- dies come from the county Delaware.

Stockebrand and Spiller (2007) from Germany analyzed the effect of advertising texts for regional foods based on an experimental research design. The study was limited to the Uni- versity of Göttingen with a comparably small sample of 120 students. No general statements on the effects of the examined communication measures can be made due to the experimen- tal design of the study.

Two of the other studies used qualitative approaches. Abrams et al. (2010) conducted two group discussions with a total of 15 participants, strongly limiting the explanatory power of the study. Due to the narrow research question - the communication differences between organic labels and natural claim labels in the USA - the conclusions are hardly transferable to the European market. The second qualitative study of Cook et al. (2009), where consumer perception of communication messages was examined, comprised eight focus groups in two different cities in the UK.

The three other studies were conducted in Delaware and examine the effect of information with the help of quantitative methods. In an experimental auction with 139 consumers, the effect of information about the US organic label and the natural claim label on the willingness to pay for chicken was researched (Gifford and Bernard 2011). In the two other studies, writ- ten interviews with 337 (Gifford and Bernard 2006) and 401 (Gifford and Bernard 2004) or- ganic and conventional consumers were performed. Both studies analyzed the effect of posi- tive and negative information on the consumer behavior. None of the three studies applied random sampling.

Due to the geographical coverage and the methodological approaches, no studies on the topic communication messages exist that can serve as general sources.

75

4.6.6 Research recommendations of the authors

In the studies on communication policies, only a few pertinent research recommendations were made. Table 29 displays the research recommendations given. Some of these recom- mendations, for example the first two on public relations, rely very specifically on a certain topic from the USA and are thus not transferrable to Germany.

The research recommendations under the item “others” mainly concern comprehensive re- search problems, which go beyond the topic communication policy. Since communication policy should be perceived in relation to the overall marketing instruments, which are em- bedded in the corporate strategy of a company, such research recommendations are highly valuable.

The last three research recommendations are the only specific research recommendations and refer to studies on fish or aquaculture products. All other research recommendations can hold for different organic foods or organic foods in general.

Table 29: Research recommendations of the authors on communication policy Public relations

Analysis of public relations of USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture)

Analysis of the discussion on natural claim and organic standards in mass media Effects of different (Corporate Social Responsibility) communication channels Relation between CSR communication and consumer behavior

Sales promotion

Consumer surveys before and after sales promotion

Analysis of the effect of sales promotion measures outside of point of sale

Communication messages

Analysis of the effect of pictures in communication messages

Analysis of the effect of current communication messages on packages

Others

Analysis of communication channels in order to enhance consumer knowledge on organic foods

Analysis of the different impact between communication and price political measures Analysis of the relation between marketing orientation and profit

Product specific communication

Consumer study in the field of organic aquaculture products Analysis of species specific consumer communication of fish Analysis of country specific consumer communication of fish

Source: Own illustration

4.6.7 Research gaps based on knowledge analysis

Only few studies (n=29) of the literature research could be assigned to the field of communi- cation policy. The knowledge analysis clearly shows that massive gaps exist for communica- tion policy research in Germany. To date the topic was mostly treated together with other topics. Therefore, studies with a specific focus on communication policy are rare. The identi- fied research gaps based on the conducted knowledge analysis will be described for each subtopic of communication policy.

76

The topic communication is mostly handled unspecifically and many studies only offer “gen- eral” recommendations on communication policy of organic foods, as the literature research shows. Except for direct marketing, communication policy on specific distribution channels is widely unexplored. Similarly, little research was carried out on the communication of specific product groups. General statements on the German market can be only derived in the field of regional organic foods. Further studies could be designed based on the two explorative stu- dies of communication policy of organic fish.

Very few studies on specific communications instruments in the organic foods sector were found. Few studies too dealt with the sub-topics (public relations, sales promotion and online communication). Only explorative studies have been so far carried out in the field of public relations and online communication. Though four studies on sales promotion exist, they only cover a small part of the existing instruments (e.g. three studies on tasting). A major research need exists for all fields of the communication instruments, especially the core topics online communication, public relations, sales promotion and above-the-line advertising, which are especially relevant for the organic food market.

Only one of the six studies on communication messages originates from Germany. The re- sults of the foreign studies are only transferable to the German market with limitations. The influence of information or communication messages on consumption behavior in Germany was only tentatively researched in one study. A huge research gap exists in the field of communication messages. However, the studies from the USA could serve as a helpful draft for research attempts in Germany.