of paying a particular premium changes in response to the presence of
an attribute. Marginal effects in ordered technique applications provide
intuitively less obvious practical results than those obtained from re-
gression estimations using a continuous dependent variable.
The lack of rigorous statistical tests and measurement inaccuracies
associated with abstract concepts (e.g., utility, aesthetic attributes) al-
lows dispute about the interpretation of results. The ability to predict
consumer choice is limited to a decision to purchase in an isolated sit-
uation. Consequently, empirical studies turn to experimental economics
in search of improving the predictive power of theoretical models. Ex-
perimental economics involves virtual situations and includes real in-
centives (in form of money payment) to elicit probable responses from
subjects. The importance of recommendations based on economic ex-
periments depends on the accuracy of the virtual environment in which
subjects make their choices and their understanding or involvement in
the problem. Because participants receive a payment as a reward, such
studies can be expensive.
Attitudes, Quality Perceptions, and Behavior
Positive consumer attitudes are a prerequisite to sustained market de-
mand for fresh fruit and vegetables. These positive attitudes are formed
over an extended period of time and reinforced by numerous factors. So-
cial norms, formally acquired knowledge, or experience may dictate at-
titudes, but the variety of fresh produce on the stand, prices, convenience,
and the expected preparation time may ultimately lead to choices that
are logical from the standpoint of a consumer but inconsistent with the
declared preferences. The complexity of predicting behavior at a retail
produce purchase is the context and the timing of the observed selec-
tion.
In industrialized countries the attitude toward produce consumption
has been influenced by new discoveries in nutrition and medicine. How-
ever, large variability in perceptions persists. For example, 58% of con-
sumers surveyed in Berlin in 1994 expressed the opinion that they would
like to eat more fresh vegetables than they actually consumed (Brück-
ner et al., 1996) as compared to 34% of residents of the metropolitan
Atlanta area (Lai et al., 1997) (Table 12.1). In another study, about 80%
of surveyed Japanese consumers felt they should eat more vegetables,
while only 20% of British respondents expressed a similar view (Moteki
and Muller, 1992). It appears that in these cases, positive attitudes to-