The effects of purchase and consumption on beef quality attribute beliefs: a study of tourists visiting Vanuatu

Lees, Nic; Greenhalgh, Jill Article The effects of purchase and consumption on beef quality attribute beliefs: a study of tourists visiting Vanuatu Cogent Business & Management Provided in Cooperation with: Taylor & Francis Group Suggested Citation: Lees, Nic; Greenhalgh, Jill (2024) : The effects of purchase and consumption on beef quality attribute beliefs: a study of tourists visiting Vanuatu, Cogent Business & Management, ISSN 2331-1975, Taylor & Francis, Abingdon, Vol. 11, Iss. 1, pp. 1-21, https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2024.2333605 This Version is available at: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/326193 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. 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If the documents have been made available under an Open Content Licence (especially Creative Commons Licences), you may exercise further usage rights as specified in the indicated licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Cogent Business & Management ISSN: 2331-1975 (Online) Journal homepage: www.tandfonline.com/journals/oabm20 The effects of purchase and consumption on beef quality attribute beliefs: a study of tourists visiting Vanuatu Nic Lees & Jill Greenhalgh To cite this article: Nic Lees & Jill Greenhalgh (2024) The effects of purchase and consumption on beef quality attribute beliefs: a study of tourists visiting Vanuatu, Cogent Business & Management, 11:1, 2333605, DOI: 10.1080/23311975.2024.2333605 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2024.2333605 © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group Published online: 18 Apr 2024. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 675 View related articles View Crossmark data Citing articles: 3 View citing articles Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=oabm20 Marketing | research article Cogent Business & ManageMent 2024, VoL. 11, no. 1, 2333605 The effects of purchase and consumption on beef quality attribute beliefs: a study of tourists visiting Vanuatu nic lees and Jill greenhalgh Department of agribusiness and Markets, Faculty of agribusiness & Commerce, Lincoln university, Christchurch, new Zealand ABSTRACT tourists’ gastronomic experiences are integral to their overall travel satisfaction. Understanding the factors influencing tourists’ perceptions of local cuisine quality is crucial. this study explores the development of quality attribute beliefs among tourists unfamiliar with Vanuatu beef. it focuses on credence and experience quality attributes and their evolution through the purchasing and consumption of Vanuatu beef, considering the influence of personal factors on attribute beliefs. Data from 200 tourists in Vanuatu was analysed using factor analysis, means comparison, and multiple linear regression. the results highlight the influence of tourists’ pre-existing beliefs on credence quality attributes, impacting their post-purchase and consumption beliefs. additionally, personal factors, especially the importance of credence attributes, significantly affect preand post-purchase beliefs about experience quality attributes. however, the importance of experience attributes only affects post-purchase beliefs regarding credence attributes. this research provides valuable insights into the formation of tourists’ beliefs about the quality attributes of local cuisine. the findings are particularly significant as tourists’ gastronomic experiences are closely tied to their overall travel satisfaction. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for enhancing tourists’ experiences in Vanuatu and similar destinations. 1. Introduction tourist’s satisfaction with their travel experience is increasingly recognised as linked to their gastronomic experiences (choe & kim, 2018; kim et al., 2021; kovalenko et al., 2023). Furthermore, this has been identified as a topic that requires more research. For example, choe and kim (2018) and kim etal. (2021) emphasise that understanding the complex factors that affect tourists’ beliefs about quality aspects of local cuisine is relatively unexplored. hence, research on how tourists form beliefs regarding the quality attributes of local cuisine contributes to the understanding of tourists’ food preferences. this can also provide policymakers and managers in the tourism industry with valuable knowledge to improve the satisfaction of visitors with their travel experience. research in this area is particularly relevant for developing countries where tourism serves as a key driver of economic growth, which is the case for many Pacific island nations (khan etal., 2020). improving the satisfaction of visitors with their gastronomic experiences can have significant implications for the success of the tourism industry in these countries. With this in mind, this study investigates beliefs regarding beef quality attributes of tourists visiting Vanuatu. Vanuatu is a chain of islands in the south Pacific with 13 principal and 70 minor islands. tourism is the major economic sector in Vanuatu, generating approximately 48% of gDP (hyde, 2021). agriculture is also an important economic activity with around 40% of its 1.2 million hectares being © 2024 the author(s). Published by informa uK Limited, trading as taylor & Francis group CONTACT nic Lees nic[email protected] Department of agribusiness and Markets, Faculty of agribusiness & Commerce, Lincoln university, Po Box 85084, Christchurch 7647, new Zealand https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2024.2333605 this is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. the terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent. ARTICLE HISTORY received 9 november 2022 revised 11 January 2024 accepted 18 March 2024 REVIEWING EDITOR azza tmessek, Université de carthage ihec carthage, Universite de carthage institut des hautes etudes commerciales de carthage, tunisia KEYWORDS credence attributes; experience attributes; Vanuatu; beef; quality attributes; tourist satisfaction SUBJECTS agriculture and Food; consumer Behaviour 2 n. lees anD J. greenhalgh good agricultural land. Unlike most Pacific countries, Vanuatu has a thriving cattle industry. Vanuatu’s beef industry benefits from being free from the more harmful cattle diseases such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (Bse), rinderpest, foot and mouth disease and bovine tuberculosis. as a result of this Vanuatu has a significant beef export industry and is self-sufficient in beef. the main export markets are new caledonia, solomon islands, Papua new guinea, and Japan (lees & greenhalgh, 2018). aside from exports, local demand for beef comes from residents as well as tourists visiting Vanuatu. the majority of tourists visiting Vanuatu are from australia and new Zealand. Demand from tourists comes from two sources – those who arrive by air and stay an average of about eight days, plus those who disembark from cruise ships for only one day. cruise ship visitors have little impact on the demand for beef, due to their short time in the country and the availability of food on the ship. consequently, the research specifically focused on the characteristics of tourists who arrive by air. 1.1. Research context this research addresses a particular gap in knowledge regarding tourists’ beliefs regarding food quality attributes and builds upon the previous work of choe and kim (2018) and tran et al. (2018). the study centres on Vanuatu beef due to its significance in Vanuatu’s local cuisine and its role in cultural tourism (aregheore etal., 2006; garcia gonzalez, 2013; Jin, 2020; Quigley etal., 2021). specifically, it investigates how tourists’ beliefs about the quality attributes of Vanuatu beef change from before to after purchase and consumption. this is particularly relevant because many first-time visitors to Vanuatu are not aware of its significant beef industry (table 1) and hence the quality of its local beef (cassidy & Brown, 2010). as a result, they have not yet formed specific beliefs about the quality of Vanuatu beef. While previous studies have explored how the introduction of new information can impact consumer perceptions of a novel brand of beef (tran etal., 2018), this study aims to fill a specific research gap by examining changes in tourists’ beliefs about beef by gaining new information and their gastronomic experience while visiting a tourist destination - in this case, Vanuatu. Many studies examining beliefs about beef quality attributes typically involve consumers who have previously consumed similar products, resulting in significant prior knowledge. this is evident from the numerous studies comparing domestic beef to imported products, these require participants to have Table 1. Beef perception and consumption characteristics. Variable Description % of respondents Meat consumption Vegetarian 10% Rarely eat meat (1–2 × per month) 2% occasional meat eater (once a week) 7% Heavy meat eater (every day) 14% Moderate meat-eater (2–6 × per week) 67% i love the taste of beef 83% attitude to beef (% strongly and somewhat agree) i eat beef whenever i can 32% i choose beef at a restaurant if it’s on the menu 24% i am reducing my meat consumption for health reasons 28% i am reducing my meat consumption for environmental reasons 20% i am reducing my consumption for animal welfare reasons 14% i love the taste of beef 83% awareness of Vanuatu beef prior to visiting (First visit) Definitely yes 10% Maybe yes 7% not sure 11% Definitely not 72% Have eaten Vanuatu beef (at the time of the survey) Yes 90% no 10% associate with Vanuatu cuisine (% definitely yes) Fish and seafood 55% Beef 27% Chicken 12% Pork 9% Veal 1% cogent BUsiness & ManageMent 3 prior consumption experience with the products under study (aboah & lees, 2020; henchion et al., 2017). the necessity for this research was highlighted by Banović et al. (2009, p. 335), who noted that ‘studies that explore beef quality perception as a whole, both before and after consumption, are relatively rare.’ additionally, most research focuses on consumers’ beliefs regarding quality attributes for products consumed within their home country (cubero Dudinskaya etal., 2021; Wongprawmas etal., 2018), highlighting a preference for domestically produced beef among most consumers (aboah & lees, 2020; ekelund et al., 2007; henchion et al., 2017). this study acknowledges the necessity for a deeper understanding of consumers’ beliefs regarding beef quality, particularly in the context of tourists’ consumption at their travel destination. in this current study, consumption takes place in a restaurant setting, which standardises some variations in food preparation, quality, and the eating environment (sweeney etal., 2016). Moreover, consumers are unable to visually assess the product prior to purchase and must rely on other quality cues, such as the restaurant environment, price, and menu description (Mccall & lynn, 2008; Yang et al., 2009). hence, the context of this research differs from the many studies that focus on consumers purchasing from retail rather than the food service environment (egan et al., 2001; Mielby & Frøst, 2010; Miller & ginter, 1979). By exploring the complex factors that shape tourists’ beliefs about the quality attributes of local cuisine, this study contributes to the existing literature on how tourists perceive the quality aspects of beef through their gastronomic experiences. additionally, this study can assist tourism industry stakeholders in developing more effective strategies for promoting local cuisine and enhancing the overall tourist experience. 1.2. Research objectives • to explore how tourists visiting Vanuatu without prior knowledge of local beef form beliefs about the quality attributes of this product and how these beliefs are influenced by the process of purchasing and consuming the product. • to examine the significance that tourists place on both credence and experience quality attributes, and how this influences their perceptions of these attributes, both before and after the purchase and consumption of local beef in Vanuatu. 2. Literature review 2.1. Quality attributes how consumers develop beliefs about beef quality is a complex and dynamic process that involves three main quality aspects - search, experience, and credence attributes (Bernués etal., 2003; Darby & karni, 1973; Yang et al., 2020). search characteristics are attributes that can be evaluated by the consumer before purchase, while experience characteristics are only able to be determined after purchase and consumption (liu et al., 2022). in contrast to the first two, credence characteristics cannot be verified even after the purchase or consumption of the product, therefore, they are difficult or costly to validate (kovacs & keresztes, 2022). another approach classifies quality attributes into intrinsic and extrinsic product characteristics (acebrón & Dopico, 2000; Bukhari et al., 2020; hocquette et al., 2012; henchion et al., 2017; olson, 1972; salnikova & grunert, 2020; szybillo & Jacoby, 1974). intrinsic characteristics are part of the product itself and cannot be changed without also altering the physical characteristics of the product. in contrast, extrinsic characteristics are not physically part of the product. these include factors such as packaging, price, place of purchase and advertising (acebrón & Dopico, 2000; steenkamp, 1989). Furthermore, steenkamp (1990) distinguishes between quality cues and quality attributes. Quality cues are similar to search criteria which are evaluated through the senses prior to consumption. Quality cues are the information the consumer uses to predict the quality of the product (Banović et al., 2009). Quality attributes, on the other hand, relate to what the product achieves for the consumer in terms of functional and psychosocial benefits (scalco etal., 2020; steenkamp, 1990). 4 n. lees anD J. greenhalgh 2.2. Quality evaluation the process by which consumers evaluate quality involves complex interactions between a specific product (object) and the subjective psychological and physiological processes of an individual (anderson & Barrett, 2016; Font-i-Furnols & guerrero, 2014; Plassmann etal., 2008). this process relates to an approach termed the ‘perceived quality perspective’, which emphasises that quality is dependent on the perceptions, needs and goals of consumers (grunert, 2005; henchion etal., 2014). in this approach, consumers create their perception of quality from an evaluation of multiple and, often, interrelated product attributes. therefore, understanding what influences consumers’ beliefs regarding these attributes and how these beliefs can change is important for understanding consumer behaviour, especially in the context of the purchase and consumption of beef products. Focusing specifically on the quality perceptions of beef, grunert (1997) identified the most important experience quality aspects of beef as that it tastes good, is tender, juicy, fresh and lean. these characteristics focus primarily on flavour and texture (cardona et al., 2023; henchion et al., 2017). credence attributes are categorised as being healthy and nutritious. as consumers cannot evaluate the health and nutritional status even after consumption, they use proxy cues based on their knowledge of the production system, such as organic or natural production methods (saeed & grunert, 2014). this use of proxy cues is consistent with research that shows that organic alternatives are purchased mainly for perceived health reasons (napolitano etal., 2010). 2.3. Prior knowledge according to tran et al. (2018), prior knowledge is an important factor that affects how consumers process information and form quality-related beliefs. research has shown that consumers’ prior knowledge of a destination’s cuisine can significantly impact their perception of the quality of local food playing a critical role in their decision-making process (Jin & han, 2014; kim et al., 2021; kovalenko et al., 2023). consumers who possess prior knowledge of a product are likely to develop a greater number of quality attribute beliefs and form quality judgments faster than those with limited pre-existing knowledge (steenkamp, 1990). Moreover, prior knowledge can influence the relationship between quality expectations and quality experience, which, in turn, affects product satisfaction. in other words, consumers’ pre-existing beliefs and knowledge about a product can shape their expectations of its quality and influence how satisfied they are with the product once they have experienced it. this highlights the importance of understanding consumers’ prior knowledge and beliefs when studying their perceptions of product quality (Font-iFurnols & guerrero, 2014; grunert et al., 2004; saeed & grunert, 2014; tran etal., 2018). For example, Deliza and MacFie (1996), Font-i-Furnols and guerrero (2014) and liu etal. (2022) have identified that both confirmation and disconfirmation of expectations can lead to consumer satisfaction. they suggest that the disconfirmation of expectations can lead to satisfaction, particularly when consumers experience positive disconfirmation. Positive disconfirmation occurs when consumers initially hold negative or neutral expectations of a product’s quality but have a positive experience that exceeds these expectations. on the other hand, negative confirmation occurs when a product does not meet existing positive expectations while meeting expectations creates a neutral feeling (liu et al., 2022). therefore, consumers with limited prior knowledge may experience greater satisfaction as they may have lower quality expectations, leading to a greater likelihood of positive disconfirmation (saeed & grunert, 2014). this highlights the importance of prior knowledge and its effect on quality expectations. 2.4. Personal factors (steenkamp, 1990) identified a number of personal factors affecting the quality perception process. these were prior knowledge about the product, level of education, perceived quality, risk and quality consciousness. Bernués et al. (2003) categorised consumers’ personal factors as values/concerns, lifestyle, usage goals and sociodemographic factors. cogent BUsiness & ManageMent 5 this research model incorporates the variable ‘importance’ of experience and credence attributes as a personal factor influencing the quality perception process. this relates to the ‘quality consciousness’ identified by steenkamp (1990) and the ‘values and concerns’ discussed by Bernués et al. (2003). several research studies have explored other personal factors including variables such as personality, using frameworks like the big five model of personality (Palnau et al., 2022) and the theory of planned behaviour (ajzen, 1991; gutierrez et al., 2024; Wang et al., 2024) and hofstede’s cultural framework (Yu etal., 2024). however, these models have primarily been employed to predict consumer purchase behaviour rather than the quality perception process. nevertheless, it has been noted that individuals with differing personalities may show variations in how they construct beliefs, attitudes, and their propensity to adopt social norms (ajzen, 1991; Jamaludin et al., 2020). Personality variables have been utilised to forecast consumer purchase behaviour in various food-related studies. For instance, researchers have examined the correlation between consumers’ choice of organic products (gustavsen & hegnes, 2020), non-gMo products (ardebili & rickertsen, 2020), engagement in green consumption (Duong, 2022), attitudes towards food waste (Jamaludin et al., 2020) and meat consumption patterns (Palnau et al., 2022). 2.5. Theoretical models Bernués et al. (2003) and grunert (2005) identify a number of different theoretical models to explain consumer food quality perceptions. these are the means-end approach, the expectancy-value approach, the economics of information approach, and the satisfaction/dissatisfaction approach. steenkamp (1990) developed the first model to explain the development of consumers’ perception of quality (Figure 1). this was further developed by grunert (2005) into the total food quality model which explains the importance of consumers’ quality expectations before purchase and their quality experience after purchase. the conceptual model (Figure 2) used in this study is developed from the model of the quality perception process and the total food quality model, which considers both the pre-and post-purchase phases of food consumption (Brunsø et al., 2002). this allows for an examination of tourists’ quality attribute beliefs both prior to and following their purchase and consumption of Vanuatu beef. this model also distinguishes between consumers’ beliefs regarding intrinsic and extrinsic quality cues, and credence and experience quality attribute beliefs. it identifies that consumers form their perception of product quality from their beliefs about credence and experience attributes and that these are affected by personal and situational factors as well as beliefs about intrinsic and extrinsic quality cues. Figure 1. Model of the quality perception process (steenkamp, 1990). 6 n. lees anD J. greenhalgh 2.6. Research model this study developed a conceptual model (Figure 2) based on the frameworks of grunert (2005) and steenkamp (1990). this model proposes that consumers with no prior knowledge of Vanuatu beef will have different quality attribute beliefs before and after product purchase and consumption. the conceptual model is further developed into the research model (Figure 3) that identifies the main hypotheses of the study. according to this model, the beliefs of tourists regarding the credence and experience quality of local cuisine before purchase and consumption will have an impact on these beliefs after purchase and consumption (grunert, 2005). the model also suggests that personal factors, such as the importance of these quality attributes to the consumers, will affect their quality attribute beliefs before and after purchase and consumption (Bernués et al., 2003; steenkamp, 1990). Figure 3 illustrates this research model. Figure 2. Conceptual model. Figure 3. Research Model: the development of product quality beliefs. cogent BUsiness & ManageMent 7 3. Hypotheses 3.1. Conceptual hypotheses steenkamp (1990, p.314) states that quality attributes are ‘categorised as experience or credence attributes’. this categorisation is also supported by grunert (2005). consequently, h1a and h1b propose that tourists will perceive these attributes as distinct psychological constructs, and this perception will remain consistent both before and after consumption. Both steenkamp (1990) and grunert (2005) identify the significance of personal factors on credence and experience attributes, in shaping the formation of beliefs regarding quality perception. therefore, h1c proposes that these personal factors will be recognised as distinct psychological constructs for tourists visiting Vanuatu. H1a: tourists perceive credence and experience quality attributes as distinct constructs before purchase and consumption. H1b: tourists perceive credence and experience quality attributes as distinct constructs following purchase and consumption. H1c: tourists perceive the level of ‘importance’ of credence and experience quality attributes as distinct constructs. 3.2. Personal factor hypotheses steenkamp (1990) states that the importance of perceived quality attributes are positively related to the extent of belief formation in the process of quality perception. hence, h2a and h2b propose a positive relationship between the importance tourists place on credence and experience attributes and their beliefs regarding these attributes both before and after purchase and consumption. H2a: there is a positive relationship between the level of importance tourists place on credence and experience attributes and their beliefs regarding these attributes before purchase and consumption. H2b: there is a positive relationship between the level of importance tourists place on credence and experience attributes and their beliefs regarding these attributes after purchase and consumption. 3.3. Quality beliefs hypotheses grunert (2005) identifies the role of prior beliefs in influencing the process of quality formation, indicating that these beliefs also influence the quality attribute beliefs formed after the consumption experience. therefore, h3a, h3b, h3c, and h3d all propose a positive relationship between tourists’ quality attribute beliefs before the purchase and consumption process and those formed after purchase and consumption. H3a: there is a positive relationship between tourists’ beliefs regarding credence quality attributes before purchase and consumption and their beliefs regarding credence attribute beliefs after purchase and consumption. H3b: there is a positive relationship between tourists’ beliefs regarding experience quality attributes before product purchase and consumption and their beliefs regarding experience quality attributes after purchase and consumption. H3c: there is a positive relationship between tourists’ beliefs regarding experience quality attributes before product purchase and consumption and their beliefs regarding credence quality attributes after purchase and consumption. H3d: there is a positive relationship between tourists’ beliefs regarding credence quality attributes before product purchase and their beliefs regarding experience quality attributes after purchase and consumption. 14 n. lees anD J. greenhalgh 5.3.2. Change in tourists’ beliefs regarding quality attributes Figure 5 shows the change in tourists’ beliefs regarding the attributes of Vanuatu beef. these are based on the composite scores for credence and experience attributes before and after purchase and consumption. the findings indicate that tourists’ beliefs of both credence and experience attributes were positively influenced by the consumption of Vanuatu beef. notably, experience quality attributes exhibited the most significant increase, and all changes were statistically significant (p = .001). these results support the conceptual model (Figure 2), which emphasises the impact of purchase and consumption on consumers’ quality perceptions, particularly when they lack prior knowledge of the product. although the increase in credence attributes was less pronounced, it was still statistically significant (p = .05). this suggests that beliefs regarding credence attributes are not solely influenced by product consumption but also by the surrounding environment in which the product is produced. tourists likely observe the natural surroundings of the islands and may even witness cattle grazing on the islands’ natural pastures, thus shaping their beliefs about the product. 5.4. Regression analysis 5.4.1. Credence attribute beliefs - before purchase and consumption the first regression analysis, as shown in table 10, shows that neither of the independent variables was statistically significant. this suggests that tourists’ initial beliefs about Vanuatu beef’s credence attributes remain unchanged regardless of the level of importance they place on credence or experience attributes (personal factors). therefore, this outcome does not support hypothesis h2a, as outlined in table 11. 5.4.2. Experience attribute beliefs – before purchase and consumption the second regression analysis is presented in table 12. this indicates that there is no significant association between the importance of experience attributes and tourists’ initial beliefs. however, there is a positive relationship between the importance of credence attributes and tourists’ initial beliefs concerning experience attributes. this partially supports hypothesis h2a, as stated in table 11. 5.4.3. Credence attribute beliefs – after purchase and consumption the third regression analysis, presented in table 13, reveals two key findings. First, the importance tourists place on experience attributes was positively associated with their beliefs about credence attributes following purchase and consumption. second, there was a positive correlation between their initial beliefs regarding experience attributes and subsequent beliefs about credence attributes. together, these two variables accounted for more than half of the variance in credence attribute beliefs post-consumption. these results lend support to h3a, partially support h2a, and do not support h3b (as outlined in table 11). 5.4.4. Experience attribute beliefs – after purchase and consumption the final regression analysis, presented in table 14, indicates that the level of importance tourists place on credence attributes was positively associated with their beliefs about experience attributes after purchase and consumption. however, the other three independent variables did not show significant effects. these results provide partial support for hypothesis h2b and do not support hypotheses h3c or h3d (as shown in table 11). Table 10. Regression analysis for variables predicting credence quality beliefs - before purchase and consumption. Credence (before)adjusted R2β standardised standard error t-value sig excluded variables: 0.011 experience (importance) 0.058 0.218 0.349 0.728 Credence (importance) 0.178 0.099 1.070 0.289 (p ≤ .05* p ≤ .01** p ≤ .001***). cogent BUsiness & ManageMent 15 6. Discussion the results of the study emphasise the important role of personal factors in shaping the beliefs of consumers regarding the quality attributes of beef. specifically, the level of importance of credence attributes among tourists has a significant impact on their experience quality beliefs, both before and after purchasing and consuming beef. in contrast, the level of importance of experience quality only influenced credence attribute beliefs after purchase and consumption. these findings align with earlier research by loebnitz and Bröring (2015), which suggests that a consumer’s assessment of experience and credence attributes is influenced by their individual values and attitudes. Table 11. summary of results of hypotheses. Hypothesis Result H1a: tourists perceive credence and experience quality attributes as distinct constructs before purchase and consumption. supported H1b: tourists perceive credence and experience quality attributes as distinct constructs following purchase and consumption. supported H1c: tourists perceive the level of importance of credence and experience quality attributes as distinct constructs. supported H2a: there is a positive relationship between the level of importance tourists place on credence and experience attributes and their beliefs regarding these attributes before purchase and consumption. Partially supported H2b: there is a positive relationship between the level of importance tourists place on credence and experience attributes and their beliefs regarding these attributes after purchase and consumption. Partially supported H3a: there is a positive relationship between tourists’ beliefs regarding credence quality attributes before purchase and consumption and their beliefs regarding credence attribute beliefs after purchase and consumption. supported H3b: there is a positive relationship between tourists’ beliefs regarding experience quality attributes before purchase and consumption and their beliefs regarding credence quality after purchase and consumption. not supported H3c: there is a positive relationship between tourists’ beliefs regarding experience product quality attributes before purchase and consumption and their beliefs regarding experience quality attributes after purchase and consumption. not supported H3d: there is a positive relationship between tourists’ beliefs regarding credence product quality attributes before product purchase and their beliefs regarding experience quality beliefs after purchase and consumption. not supported Table 12. Regression analysis for variables predicting experience quality beliefs before purchase and consumption. experience (Before)adjusted R2β standardised standard error t-value sig 0.16 Credence (importance) 0.419** 0.101 3.326 0.002 excluded variables: experience (importance) − 0.044 – −0.288 0.774 (p ≤ .05* p ≤ .01** p ≤ .001***) Table 13. Regression analysis for variables predicting credence quality beliefs - after purchase and consumption. Credence (After) adjusted R2β standardised standard error t-value sig 0.51 experience (importance) 0.246** 0.122 2.255 0.030 Credence (before) 0.659*** 0.086 6.050 0.000 excluded variables: experience (before) −0.124 – −0.693 0.493 Credence (importance) −0.031 – −0.212 0.833 (p ≤ .05* p ≤ .01** p ≤ .001***). Table 14. Regression analysis for variables predicting experience quality beliefs – after purchase and consumption. experience (After) adjusted R2β standardised standard error t-value sig 0.16 Credence (importance) 0.421** 0.368 3.01 0.004 excluded variables: experience (importance) 0.184 – 0.936 0.355 Credence (before) 0.168 1.187 0.242 experience (before) 0.156 1.007 0.455 (p ≤ .05* p ≤ .01** p ≤ .001***). 16 n. lees anD J. greenhalgh Based on the study’s findings, the level of importance tourists place on credence attributes significantly impacts their beliefs about experience attributes both before and after consumption. this is an important finding and highlights the connection between credence attributes and experience quality beliefs. this is consistent with previous research indicating the positive influence of credence attributes on consumers’ hedonic experience during consumption (annett et al., 2008; giezenaar et al., 2024; ekelund et al., 2007; kihlberg et al., 2005; Michael et al., 2008). however, there is limited knowledge about how the level of importance of experience attributes affects consumers’ perception of credence attributes following consumption. although anisimova (2016) has presented some evidence that consumers valuing hedonic attributes are more likely to purchase organic products, more research is required to understand this connection. in contrast, the study found that the importance of credence attributes did not significantly affect tourists’ beliefs about credence attributes, both before and after consumption. although this finding may seem counterintuitive, it aligns with some research that highlights a gap between the value consumers place on credence attributes and their actual purchasing behaviour. (loebnitz & Bröring, 2015). the low level of familiarity with Vanuatu beef among consumers may have influenced the study findings on product quality beliefs. Previous research on this topic has often overlooked the impact of familiarity (Banović etal., 2012). however, Bredahl’s (2004) study on beef products found that the relationship between expected and experienced quality was weaker for products that were less familiar to consumers. given that Vanuatu beef is not well known before visiting Vanuatu, this effect could be even stronger. Furthermore, consumers often struggle to accurately evaluate credence quality attributes, even after consuming the product (Wang et al., 2024). this difficulty may explain why tourist’s beliefs regarding credence attributes before purchase and consumption are strongly related to their beliefs after consumption. since credence attributes are not easily verified, beliefs about them are less likely to change (Yang et al., 2020). therefore, these beliefs (before) can significantly predict credence attributes (after). When combined with the importance of experience attribute beliefs (before), these variables account for over half of the variance in credence attribute beliefs after purchase and consumption. the absence of a significant relationship between the importance of experience attributes and experience attribute beliefs after purchase and consumption is not surprising, as the evaluation of experience quality is influenced by multiple factors. Previous studies have identified various factors that impact the evaluation of experience quality, such as quality expectations (Fernqvist & ekelund, 2014), quality cues (steenkamp, 1990), product description (De araujo etal., 2005), and credence quality cues (Banović etal., 2009), as well as environmental stimuli. therefore, it is unlikely that the significance placed on experience attributes alone would significantly influence consumers’ beliefs about experience quality attributes after buying and consuming a product. Finally, the study found no significant relationship between the experience attribute beliefs before and after purchase and consumption. this result is consistent with previous research that has shown that perceptions of experience quality before consumption are not reliable predictors of actual experience quality (Banović et al., 2012; Bredahl, 2004; Brunsø et al., 2005; steenkamp, 1990). 7. Conclusion the study’s findings partially confirm the research hypotheses, indicating that tourists’ pre-existing beliefs about credence quality attributes play a significant role in shaping their beliefs about these attributes after purchase and consumption. additionally, the study partially supports the impact of personal factors, specifically the level of importance placed on quality attributes affects tourists’ beliefs before and after purchase and consumption. specifically, the importance of credence attributes has a significant influence on tourists’ experience quality beliefs before and after purchase and consumption, while the importance of experience attributes only affects their beliefs about credence attributes after purchase and consumption. 7.1. Theoretical implications the study provides valuable insights into the factors that influence tourists’ beliefs about the quality aspects of local cuisine and how they form their perceptions of quality during their travel experiences. these contributions are particularly important, given the strong link between tourists’ gastronomic cogent BUsiness & ManageMent 17 experiences and their overall satisfaction with their travel experiences (azic et al., 2023; choe & kim, 2018; kim et al., 2021; kovalenko et al., 2023). the study offers empirical evidence supporting the influence of personal factors, specifically the level of importance placed by consumers on experience and credence attributes, in shaping their beliefs about beef quality attributes. the research also identifies the distinct effects of these factors on the formation of quality attribute beliefs, both before and after purchase and consumption when there is little prior knowledge of the product. this novel finding provides crucial insights into the complex factors that shape beef quality perceptions. Moreover, the study sheds light on the impact of purchase and consumption on the formation of beliefs regarding the credence and experience attributes of beef. Unlike many previous studies that focus only on credence attributes, this research underscores the importance of considering both types of attributes to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the beef quality perception process (aboah & lees, 2020). Finally, this study expands upon the limited research that exists regarding the factors that impact tourists’ beliefs about the quality attributes of local cuisine during their travel experiences. this is in contrast to the majority of previous research that has focused on beef consumers who make purchases in retail environments for home consumption. this study emphasises the importance of taking contextual differences into account when studying the perception of beef quality. 7.2. Management implications this research carries significant implications for managers in the tourist industry, especially in developing countries such as Vanuatu, where tourism is a major driver of economic growth and development. While the study focuses on beef in Vanuatu as a local specialty, its broader relevance potentially extends to other destinations featuring other local food specialties. an important implication is recognizing situations where tourists have limited familiarity with local cuisine before their visit. as a result, there is a need to tailor information and messaging for tourists both prior to and during their visit, with a specific emphasis on credence attributes. the research demonstrates that credence attributes directly impact experience attribute beliefs and consequently, influence tourists’ gastronomic experiences. this is crucial, due to the strong link that has been identified between tourist gastronomic experiences and overall satisfaction with travel. therefore, this is important for enhancing the destination’s reputation and attracting more visitors. information dissemination about credence attributes can take various forms, including market messages delivered through digital and traditional promotional channels. culinary tourism can be promoted by highlighting the quality, production system, or natural origin of local food. this may involve organizing food tours, visits to local farming operations, and culinary events that focus on both the eating experience and the authentic and natural aspects of local food. the study also suggests that managers should not prioritise promoting credence attributes over eating quality attributes such as taste and tenderness in the case of beef. Both attributes can complement each other to enhance the overall tourist experience. the research shows that tourists place greater importance on the eating quality of beef than on credence attributes like no antibiotics, naturally raised, and organic. ensuring the eating quality of the beef or other products is essential for restaurant operators, emphasising the need for a high-quality product to ensure tourist satisfaction. Furthermore, the research can assist tourist operators in targeting tourists with specific characteristics. By focusing marketing efforts on tourists who prioritise credence attributes, there is a higher likelihood of creating a positive perception of the eating quality of a local specialty. this affects the overall culinary experience and increases satisfaction with the tourist destination. social media marketing, targeting tourists with these specific values or interests, can be instrumental in attracting this type of tourist, contributing to a more tailored and satisfying tourist experience. 7.3. Limitations and further research the study offers several opportunities for future research. First, it can be extended to explore the relationship between tourists’ beef quality attribute beliefs following purchase and consumption and their overall 18 n. lees anD J. greenhalgh satisfaction with their gastronomic experience. second, the study can be broadened to include other tourist destinations where there is significant prior knowledge of beef quality attributes, such as argentina, the Usa, australia, or new Zealand. third, the study only considered the importance of quality attribute beliefs as the personal factor variable. Further research could identify other significant personal factors that could influence beef quality beliefs. Finally, research using a qualitative or mixed methods approach could provide deeper insight into tourists’ beliefs regarding the quality attributes of Vanuatu beef. the study, however, has some limitations. relying on retrospective evaluations of beliefs about Vanuatu beef may introduce recall bias. the study only considers one aspect of personal factors, and there may be other factors at play that affect perceptions of beef quality attributes. For example, the research does not account for situational factors that may influence the tourists’ perception of the product. nonetheless, the study enhances our understanding of the complex process of quality perception of food products and supports the notion that there is still much to learn about this process (Fernqvist & ekelund, 2014). Acknowledgements this work was supported by the new Zealand Ministry of Foreign affairs and trade (MFat). Disclosure statement the authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. About the authors Dr Nic Lees is a senior lecturer in agribusiness Management and Director of the agribusiness and Food Marketing Programme in the Faculty of agribusiness and commerce at lincoln University, in new Zealand. his research interests are agri-food supply chain management and marketing. Jill Greenhalgh is a research officer in at lincoln University with research interests in agricultural employment relations, education, social geography, and development studies. ORCID nic lees http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9412-7939 Data availability statement the data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, n. lees upon reasonable request. References aboah, J., & lees, n. 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