EVALUATION OF PERCEIVED VALUE IN THE CONSUMPTION OF COFFEE WITH ETHICAL ATTRIBUTES

The agricultural producers can increase their income significantly incorporating ethical attributes to their supplied goods. However, the consumers’ willingness to purchase products with ethical attributes does not always translate into actual purchase. The purpose of this study was to analyze and measure the components of perceived value in products with ethical attributes. The knowledge generated could help to explain this discrepancy. From the theory of consumer perceived value, the assessment the consumer does for each of the characteristics of coffee with ethical attributes was studied. The study involved a survey of 391 clients of coffee shops of an international franchise in the state of Puebla, Mexico. Data were analyzed based on structural equation modeling. The analysis of results indicate that product quality is the primary component of value followed by the dimensions of hedonism, price and health. The contribution of the ethical dimension to the perceived value is not statistically significant. One reason for this result is the lack of the consumer’s credibility that the product has ethical attributes; only 12 % of respondents were totally convinced that the product had them