Consumer Perceptions of the Canadian Salmon Sector and Their Associations with Behaviors: A Perspective from Indigenous Rights

Abstract

Previous studies on consumer perceptions and behaviors of salmon have often neglected Indigenous rights within the Canadian salmon sector. This study innovatively addresses this gap by integrating Indigenous rights into the current analysis, alongside considerations of sustainability practices, socio-economic impacts, and consumer motivations. Our research objectives aim to fit three consumer perceptions-environmental sustainability, economic considerations, and Indigenous rights-and to evaluate their associations, alongside perception of a price increase, socio-demographics, and consumer motivation factors, with purchasing behaviors related to Canadian salmon products. Data for this study was collected from a nationwide online survey. Responses to Question 2 and Question 35 are encoded with numerical values ranging from 1 to 5, where larger numbers indicate stronger agreement with the statement. The inclusion of methodologies such as the Graded Response Model (GRM) and Cumulative Link Models (CLM) adds another innovative dimension to this study. Our findings demonstrate how consumer profiles are associated with these four perceptions and their underlying determinants. Furthermore, the study quantifies the influence of these four perceptions on each consumer purchase behavior. The implications of these findings extend to the realm of mathematical modeling in consumer decision-making processes, offering practical insights for businesses and marketers, and emphasizing the importance of implementing regulatory frameworks and initiatives that promote sustainability, safeguard Indigenous rights, and address socio-economic disparities.

Keywords: consumer behavior; economic considerations; environmental sustainability; farmed salmon; indigenous rights.

Figure 1

The flow chart of the procedure of this study.

Figure 2

PCA eigenvalues for actual data (Q19–Q20 and Q22–Q27) and simulated data for parallel analysis.

Figure 3

PCA eigenvalues for actual data (Q28–Q33 and Q35) and simulated data for parallel analysis.

Figure 4

PCA eigenvalues for actual data (Q11–Q12, Q17, Q24, and Q29) and simulated data for parallel analysis.

Figure 5

Trace plots of sustainability items (Q19, Q20, Q22, Q23, Q24, Q25, Q26, and Q27). $\theta$ represents the unidimensional latent trait (sustainability) and $P\left(\theta \right)\in \left\{P_1\left(\theta \right),P_2\left(\theta \right),P_3\left(\theta \right),P_4\left(\theta \right),P_5\left(\theta \right)\right\}$ represent the fitted probability of responding $k\in \left\{\mathrm{1,2},\mathrm{3,4},5\right\}$ to each of the question items Q19, Q20, Q22, Q23, Q24, Q25, Q26, and Q27 at the sustainability level $\theta$.

Figure 6

Trace plots of economic consideration items (Q28, Q29, Q30, Q31, Q32, Q33, and Q35). $\theta$ represents the unidimensional latent trait (economic consideration) and $P\left(\theta \right)\in \left\{P_1\left(\theta \right),P_2\left(\theta \right),P_3\left(\theta \right),P_4\left(\theta \right),P_5\left(\theta \right)\right\}$ represent the fitted probability of responding $k\in \left\{1,2,3,4,5\right\}$ to each of the question items Q28, Q29, Q30, Q31, Q32, Q33, and Q35 at the economic consideration level $\theta$.

Figure 7

Trace plots of economic consideration items (Q11, Q12, Q17, Q24, and Q29). $\theta$ represents the unidimensional latent trait (supporting Indigenous communities) and $P\left(\theta \right)\in \left\{P_1\left(\theta \right),P_2\left(\theta \right),P_3\left(\theta \right),P_4\left(\theta \right),P_5\left(\theta \right)\right\}$ represent the fitted probability of responding $k\in \left\{1,2,3,4,5\right\}$ to each of the question items Q11, Q12, Q17, Q24, and Q29 at the level $\theta$ of supporting Indigenous rights.