Information asymmetry on rfid system in the Agrifood Sector: A study of consumer behaviour.

The present work aims to analyze the motivations that lead a consumer to consider RFID technology (Radio- Frequency IDentification) as an efficient traceability system for agrifood products. Owing to the relevant advantages offered by radio frequency identification, RFID is deemed to be one of the most complete and reliable information tools both for companies and for consumers. Although the importance of agriculture has remained unchanged over time, technological advances have extended its functions. Indeed, the agricultural sector has been integrated into a wider one, that of Agribusiness, including not only the production, but also the processing and marketing of agrifood products. The several encoding tools that succeeded in time have originated from the companies’ and consumers’ growing need to access to an increasingly detailed quantity of information, which is essential to carefully check what is produced and consumed. In this way, in a general perspective, we examine traditional bar codes which have been replaced in time, firstly by bidimensional codes, and today by the radio frequency-based technology, whose peculiar features and functionalities prove the RFID system’s validity and efficiency. For this reason, this system is regarded as a better traceability tool than traditional encoding systems. With the aim of investigating the consumers’ degree of interest in the new identification systems, the research group has carried out an empirical survey. The administration of the questionnaire has been a unique opportunity to discover and to show the potential of these applications to consumers.