Tom 42 (2021): Zeszyt 4 (December 2021)

Goal: To examine the impact of nutrition and health claims on Polish consumers’ buying attitudes and intentions.

Design/methodology/approach: A questionnaire-based survey was conducted with a group of 200 Polish consumers using the CAWI method, selected by means of purposive, “snowball” sampling. The survey form consisted of 4 parts: A — evaluation of photos of sample products with nutrition claims, health claims, both type of claims, or no claims (control group); B — answering questions about food labelling and the use of nutrition claims; C — opining on health and nutrition claims presented as separate, non-product-specific messages.

Findings: The perception of the health and nutrition quality of products with health and nutrition claims was found to be strongly dependent on the consumer’s attitude towards a given type of food. The presence of claims seems to have a neutral effect on the perception of the taste of products connoted with healthy eating, but a negative influence in the case of products considered unhealthy. Despite the great interest in the information contained in the labels of food products and healthy eating, Polish consumers still display only a slight degree of knowledge about such claims. At the same time, they seem to be skeptical of the reliability of the health and nutritional- related information on the packaging of food products, which is not correlated with their level of knowledge on the subject. The presence of claims is not decisive for consumers in terms of making purchasing decisions, and claims are less important to them than the use-by-date or the price of the product. Also, claims do not mean the product is perceived by consumers as less caloric.

Practical implications: In order to meet the expectations of modern consumers, food producers should consider placing both types of claims on labels, as well as undertaking other promotional activities that draw consumers’ attention to the health and nutrition benefits of their products. Due to the fact that a good knowledge of and interest in healthy eating does not translate into a better understanding of nutrition claims, it is necessary to increase consumer awareness of food law. Due to consumer skepticism about health and nutritional-related information, food producers should ensure that the information on their product labels is as consistent as possible.

Originality and value: This is one of the few studies conducted among Polish food consumers that examine how the presence of health and nutrition claims on food labels affect perceptions and purchasing intentions regarding food products.

In line with the concept of sustainable development, changes in various forms of urban transport have been observed over the past few years, and the implementation of low-emission transport solutions is becoming a priority for local government. One of the key changes observed worldwide taking place on the urban transport market is the dynamic development of various forms of shared micro-mobility. One of these forms are electric moped scooter sharing services and despite their rapid growth in popularity, the existing research contributions on determinants of the use of this micro-mobility mode are limited to only a few studies. The goal of this paper is to advance knowledge regarding the motives and barriers to the use of electric moped scooter sharing services. The paper discusses the results of a study that was carried out in 2021 on a sample of 352 Polish users of electric moped scooter sharing services. The most important reasons for using these services included the convenience of this mobility mode and no city parking costs. The biggest barriers in choosing this micro-mobility mode for Polish consumers were those related to the safety of use.

The aim of this paper is to conceptualize Design Thinking and customer experience management (CEM), to situate the use of the Design Thinking method in customer experience management processes and to present its practical application based on a case study from the financial services industry — the trade credit insurer, Euler Hermes Poland, Towarzystwo Ubezpieczeń S.A. This article is an attempt to identify actionable Design Thinking process elements and tools and their intersections with the components of the Customer Experience Management processes.

Despite the dynamic development of technology related to the production of artificial meat, this product faces one more important challenge in terms of gaining consumer acceptance. In the literature on the subject, limited research has been done on the perception of meat in vitro across different societies; therefore, there is little knowledge of the possibility of its acceptance and the type of barriers it may encounter. The aim of this study was to assess the perception of meat produced from stem cells in vitro by Polish consumers. The study was voluntary and was conducted based on an internet survey addressed to people aged 12 to 60+. Convenience sampling of respondents was used. The research sample consisted of 424 respondents with a diversified sociodemographic profile. The results showed a diversified interest in meat produced from stem cells in vitro among Polish consumers. Many respondents were not able to clearly define their preferences for this type of product. Young people showed the greatest positive interest in innovative in vitro meat. The greatest concerns of consumers were related to the lack of knowledge about this type of food, the lack of its inherent naturalness and potential negative health effects.

Reducing the quantities of food lost or wasted will be an emerging challenge in coming years. The sector contributing the most to food waste is households. The aim of this study is to evaluate consumer behavior on the food market in the context of wastage identification and assessment of consumer opinions in Poland regarding the causes of the problem of food waste in households. A quantitative study was carried out using individual direct questionnaire interviews (N = 1,145). Results showed that Polish consumer opinions regarding reasons for wasting food vary according to demographic and economic conditions. The least educated consumers and families with several children were found to be guided by economic premises in their purchases more often than other groups and plan their purchases more rationally. The causes of food wastage related to irrational behavior were more often named by consumers with higher standards of living and by the younger generation.

Global cybercrime is exploding geometrically. The traditional methods of securing cyber systems via complex passwords frequently fail, exposing the computer systems to many types of cybercrimes. Cybercrime of all kinds is a growing concern for individuals, government and business organizations, and society. Zero Identity is a new technology that “bubbles, cloaks, and hides” computers and their contents from cybercriminals. Zero Identity is a mature and proven military-based technology with over a 20-year history. Cylentium, a cybersecurity startup, is adapting Zero Identity technology to consumers and civilian organizations. Market and technological acceptance of Zero Identity may lead to a cybersecurity paradigm shift in the next decade. This paper explores the history of Zero Identity, what it does, how it works, and its future prognosis. One of the original developers (Rob Langhorne) of the Zero Identity concept was interviewed, as was the concurrent entrepreneur (Wayne Ronhaar). Both Langhorne and Ronhaar became coauthors of this article to contribute their first-hand historical perspectives, challenges, and insights to transform technology into a commercial product in a series of articles.

Georgia, despite the country’s specific and complex geostrategic position, continually tense political environment, diverse views on economic development among its society and many other issues, nevertheless resolutely strives towards an overarching national idea: liberation from Russian occupation, unification of the country, formation of a knowledge economy and European integration. Crucial for this idea is economic development, which in turn hinges in part on innovation. The pace and scale of innovation are shaped primarily by scientific research and entrepreneurial achievements. Robust economic development therefore requires universities to increase entrepreneurship and initiate change in the areas of science, technology development, and new technology startup support in economic and social terms. In this article, we examine the strong relationship between the development of an appropriate ecosystem for start-ups and support for the process of new business formation in Georgia. Academic centers form one of the essential components of the ecosystem for start-ups in Georgia; their development guarantees access to knowledge and the ability to manage entrepreneurship, and the development of new companies, including innovative ones.