The contribution of personal values in explaining consumer utility

The purpose of this study is to understand the contribution of the personal value system ininfluencing consumer choice and utility. The analysis is focused on alcoholic beverageconsumption situations. A survey has been conducted by 266 young consumers inVerona(Italy). A questionnaire was face-to-face submitted aiming to collect personal values ofindividuals according to the Rokeach Value Survey and stated preferences for differentalcoholic beverage consumption situations. The Principal Component Analysis highlightedthe most relevant terminal and instrumental value factors characterising young consumers’personality. TheMultinomial Logit Model was applied including alcoholic beverageconsumption situation attributes and consumers’ value factors to determine utility and theinfluence of individual sphere on them. Also willingness to pay has been estimated.Thisstudy contributes to better understand the role of the individual’s value system in consumerbehaviour analysis. The results show that the individual sphere is able to influence foodchoice and the evaluation of consumption situations and attribute preferences. Marketresearch should increasingly consider the personality traits of individuals as part of theirmode of action and consumption choicesrather than as simple background variables.