The influence of technology on food related lifestyles: A cross-cultural comparison

Abstract

The research reported in this paper is based on the modular food-related lifestyle instrument (MFRLi), a recent revision of the food-related lifestyle (FRLi) instrument first designed by Brunso and Grunert (1995). The FRLi has been used extensively by food researchers to provide stable results and identify cross-cultural segments (uninvolved, conservative, careless, rational, and adventurous food segments), however it does not take into account changes that have occurred in the modern food environment and hence its measures may be less relevant in today’s setting. The revised MFRLi was developed through utilising banks of items based on recent literature and market research to incorporate contemporary issues related to food. The resulting instrument comprises three core dimensions (involvement with food, innovation with food, and responsibility with food) as well as various modules associated with aspects of the food consumption process (planning and shopping, product quality aspects, transport and storage, preparation, serving and consumption, post-consumption) (Birch, Brunso, Grunert, & Memery, 2017). The MFRLi includes a module on the influence of advancing technology on decision-making around food and eating, which is the focus of this paper. Based on consumer samples from six countries - Denmark, Hungary, Australia, USA, United Kingdom and New Zealand - this study provides a cross-cultural comparison of these countries on the scales in the MFRLi used to explore how technology (for example the Internet, online shopping, social media and blogs, mobile apps and wearable technology) influences food-related lifestyles.