Intersubjectivity and Food Purchasing: Modeling the Intent to Buy

Aims: A previous study showed that Intersubjectivity Theory could explain how consumers could appreciate a food product when looking at the packaging and reading the brand. Two samples of subjects, English and French consumers, were individually presented first with a foreign language food product and then with a native language food product. Their reaction and perception were analyzed in the light of Intersubjectivity theory.

However, the main limitation of the previous study addressed the psychosocial value carried by the foreign products: the product presented to French subjects had a sexual connotation and not this for the English. The present study intended to analyze this potential bias.

Study Design: For the present study, a new sample of English subjects were individually presented with a foreign language food product having a sexual connotation. Reactions and perceptions were analyzed applying the protocol of the previous study and results were compared in order to analyze the aforementioned potential bias.

Place and Duration of Study: Subjects were individually met in London in 2019 for the experiment.

Methodology: Subjects were selected as in the previous study: volunteer, healthy adults, native English language (N=20, 60% male, average age: 35 years old, middle class). Their spontaneous reaction was observed and they had to fill in the questionnaire addressing intersubjective perspectives regarding the product. Answers were ticked on a Likert scale and data were compared with that of the previous study.

Results: The results confirmed the previous study: the comparison of the percentage of responses per questions and of the mean scores showed no significant difference between previous and current studies. This showed that no bias was induced by the psychosocial value carried by the foreign product.

Conclusion: The model developed on the basis of Intersubjectivity Theory explains the process of intent to buy in terms of positive coherence between the intersubjective dimensions. It also shows that analyzing the consumers’ direct perception of the product does not predict their intent to buy. These findings are of great importance for food producers and marketers.