Research On Relationship Of Milk-powder Producers' Traceable Quality Information And Consumers' Brand Switching Behavior

The quality and safety traceability system is an effective tool for generating and disseminating traceable quality information.It is also an important means to reduce information asymmetry and prevent food safety risks in the milk-powder industry.China has implemented traceability system for quality and safety for the past two decades.Currently,it is still in the stage of initial trials with low corporate participation,weak corporate initiative,and limited use of traceability systems by consumers,and low consumer awareness.Consumers are direct users of milk-powder traceable information and their preferences for traceable milk-powder directly affect the effectiveness of traceability systems.Can milk powder companies build traceability systems and pass back traceable quality information promote consumer brand switching behavior and help companies build brand equity? Existing research has not built a bridge between the two.This study analyzes brand assets base on brand cognitive,brand affect and brand switch.We anylyzes the process by which the signal mechanism can affect the formation of brand equity from the perspective of consumers based on SOR model,and builds a model explaining how the milk-powder traceable signal can promote the formation of brand equity for the purpose of exploring the influencing factors of consumer adoption of traceability information and the path how milk-powder traceable information affects the brand attitudes and behaviors of consumers and promotes the formation of brand equity assets.Empirical research is conducted taking infant milk powder traceability system as an example.The results reveal that building brand equity is an effective internal motivation for food enterprises to be traceable,which can be realized along a dual path.The central path is "information quality?information adoption?brand cognition?brand conversion".The edge path is "source credibility?information adoption?brand affect?brand conversion".The research conclusion provides a basis for food enterprises to formulate strategies in traceability system construction and quality signal transmission.Specifically,Food companies should increase the emphasis on the quality and safety traceability system and strengthen the management and management level;Construction of edge path also should be enhanced to accelerate the accumulation of brand equity when enterprises are not involved in any product-harm crisis;Yet when the enterprise is undergoing the spillover effect of a product-harm crisis,central lines should be adopted to consolidate brand equity with rational clarification;And for those that have undergone a product-harm crisis,both lines shall be implemented simultaneously.The results of this study can provide reference for ood companies to increase the internal incentives for building traceable quality systems and enhance the skills and strategies for building traceability systems.At the same time,it provides theoretical guidance and data support for further research.