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Conventional hypotheses regarding product competition and consumer buying behavior are inappropriate for examining these processes in the modern food system. Some new hypotheses about product development, consumer behavior, and their interface are presented. Marketing of new products is not driven by new technology but consists of incremental changes in the existing marketing mix. Adoption of products by consumers is not characterized by analytic consumption behavior, but by risk aversion and preference for incremental changes in the consumption set. Implications for the public interest in these processes are discussed.
Padberg et al. (Thu,) studied this question.