1,2,3)
Department of Agricultural Socioeconomic, Faculty of Agriculture, Gadjah Mada University Flora Road,
Special Region of Yogyakarta 555281, Indonesia
Received: Month Date, Year /Accepted: Month Date, Year, using arial 10 and single space
ABSTRACT
Consumers face various alternative fishery products and tend to consume products that suit their
preferences. This research aims to determine consumer preferences for fish and determine the
combination of product attributes that consumers like by comparing the types of freshwater fish,
namely Tilapia (Oreochromis sp.) and seawater fish, namely Koheru (Decapterus sp.) in
Balikpapan City. The research sample consisted of 100 respondents and was analyzed using
conjoint analysis. The research results show that the freshness attribute is the most important
attribute for consumers when buying fish. The most preferred combination of Nile Tilapia attributes
are fresh eyes, sold in modern markets at IDR 40,001 – 50,000 and have been cleaned.
Meanwhile, Koheru’s combination attributes are fresh eyes, sold in traditional markets at IDR
30,000 – 40,000 and have not been cleaned.
ABSTRAK
Konsumen menghadapi berbagai pilihan produk perikanan dan cenderung mengkonsumsi produk
perikanan yang sesuai dengan kesukaan konsumen. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk
mengetahui preferensi konsumen ikan dan mengetahui kombinasi atribut produk yang disukai
konsumen dengan membandingkan jenis ikan air tawar yaitu ikan nila dan ikan air laut yaitu ikan
layang khususnya di Kota Balikpapan. Sampel penelitian sebanyak 100 responden dan dianalisis
menggunakan analisis konjoin. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa atribut kesegaran adalah
atribut yang paling penting bagi konsumen ketika membeli ikan. Kombinasi produk yang paling
disukai konsumen ketika membeli ikan nila adalah ikan nila yang memiliki mata segar, dijual di
pasar modern dengan harga Rp 40.001 – 50.000 dan sudah dibersihkan. Ketika membeli ikan
layang konsumen paling menyukai ikan layang yang memiliki mata segar, dijual di pasar tradisional
dengan harga Rp 30.000 – 40.000 dan belum dibersihkan.
INTRODUCTION
Protein needs can be obtained from animal and vegetable protein. Fish is an animal protein
that is easily accessible and contains high levels of nutrients, such as fat, carbohydrates, vitamins,
and mineral salts (Damongilala, 2021). Protein is the most significant component of fish after water,
so fish is an option to fulfill human protein needs. Consumers can also access fishery products in
fresh or processed form. The types of fish that can be consumed are very diverse, for example,
freshwater fish (tilapia, goldfish, catfish, gourami) and seawater fish (tuna, skipjack tuna, mackerel,
koheru fish).
Society as consumers will show a behavior when consuming something, which is called
consumer behavior. Consumer behavior studies how consumers buy, use, and consume goods
and services to satisfy their needs and desires (Solomon et al., 2006). Consumer behavior will
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Azhari, et al : Fish Consumer Preference in Balikpapan City: A Comparison Between Nile Tilapia……………..
determine what consumers consume. Consumers first go through several stages before deciding
to purchase: problem recognition, information search, alternative evaluation, purchasing decisions,
and post-purchase behavior (Kotler, 2000). At the alternative evaluation stage, consumers form a
preference from various product options and then buy the most preferred product.
Preference is a consumer's preference for an object compared to other objects so that this
choice will provide satisfaction for the consumer (Assael, 1984). The attribute approach assumes
that consumers focus on the physical goods and the characteristics (attributes) attached to the
product ( Lancaster, 1966). The diversity of fishery products means that consumers face various
choices and will form their preferences. Several studies show consumer preferences for fish;
consumers in Turkey consider where to buy fish (Guney & Sangun, 2019), price, and product form
when buying fish (Abdikoglu & Unakitan, 2019); fish consumers in Bangladesh prefer domestic fish
to imported fish, and favoring fresh fish over frozen fish (Alam & Alfnes, 2020), finfish consumers
prefer wild-caught fish over farmed fish (Cantillo et al., 2020).
This research aims to determine fish consumer preferences and the combination of product
attributes that consumers like by comparing the types of freshwater fish, namely tilapia and
seawater fish, namely koheru, especially in Balikpapan City as one of the supporting cities for Ibu
Kota Negara (IKN) Nusantara. The choice of tilapia and koheru was based on the high demand in
these two types of fish because they are relatively cheap and easy to obtain. It is hoped that this
research will be helpful for fish marketers so they can develop marketing strategies based on
consumer preferences.
RESEARCH METHODS
The primary method used in this research is descriptive analysis with a qualitative approach.
The sample was determined based on the minimum sample size for conjoint analysis of 100
people spread across each sub-district in Balikpapan City, namely the City, South, East, North,
West, and Central Districts. The sample is consumers over 18 years of age. The research was
conducted in September-October 2023. Data was collected using a questionnaire about
demographic conditions and consumer preferences for each fish attribute.
Fish consumer preferences in Balikpapan City were analyzed using conjoint analysis to
determine the attributes and combinations of attributes most consumers prefer. The first stage in
conjoint analysis is determining attributes and attribute levels. The attributes and attribute levels
used in this research are freshness, purchase location, price, and product condition (Table 1). The
next stage is to compile stimuli from predetermined attributes and levels. Preparing stimuli can use
several approaches, namely the full profile and pairwise approaches. The full profile approach is
where stimuli consist of all attributes with a combination of their levels. When researchers combine
the levels of all attributes, the number of stimuli will be huge, and respondents cannot assess all of
these stimuli. Therefore, this approach allows for reduction using fractional factorial design to
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reduce the number of stimuli. The full profile approach is used when the maximum number is six
attributes. Meanwhile, pairwise comparison is an approach where respondents are presented with
a pair of stimuli (two stimuli), and respondents are asked to rate the stimuli they like most. The
advantage of this approach is that respondents will focus on two product concepts to make the
assessment more meaningful. However, the drawback is that the number of pairs of stimuli will be
too large for a study (Rao, 2014).
Table 1. Attribute Levels of Tilapia and Koheru
Attribute Levels
1. Clear eyes
Freshness of fish 2. Cloudy cornea
3. Sunken eyes
1. Traditional market
Purchase location 2. Modern market
3. Peddler man
1. IDR 30,000- IDR 40,000
Price (per kg) 2. IDR 40,001 – IDR 50,000
3. >Rp 50,000
1. Uncleaned
Product condition
2. Cleaned
The combination of stimuli in this study was obtained from a full profile approach with four
attributes. Each attribute consists of three levels, three levels, two levels, and three levels. So we
get 54 combinations (3 x 3 x 3 x 2). Too many combinations will make it difficult for respondents to
assess the stimuli, so the number of combinations was reduced using a fractional factorial design
to obtain nine combinations. The stimuli in this study can be shown in Table 2.
Table 2. Attributes Combination of Tilapia and Flying Fish
Stimuli Freshness Location Price (Rp/Kg) Product condition
1 Sunken eyes Modern market >50,000 Uncleaned
2 Sunken eyes Peddler man 30,000-40,000 Cleaned
3 Cloudy eyes Traditional market >50,000 Cleaned
4 Cloudy eyes Peddler man 40,001-50,000 Uncleaned
5 Cloudy eyes Modern market 30,000-40,000 Uncleaned
6 Clear eyes Peddler man >50,000 Uncleaned
7 Clear eyes Traditional market 30,000-40,000 Uncleaned
8 Sunken eyes Traditional market 40,001-50,000 Uncleaned
9 Clear eyes Modern market 40,001-50,000 Cleaned
Source: Primary Data, (2022)
The next stage is that respondents are asked to rate their liking for each stimulus using a Likert
scale (1: do not like it very much – 5: like it very much). This analysis is carried out to determine
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each attribute's utility (partworth) and importance. The conjoint analysis model can be shown with
the following formula (Malhotra, 2010):
𝑚 𝑘𝑖
𝑈(𝑋) = ∑ ∑ 𝑎𝑖𝑗𝑥𝑖𝑗
𝑖=1 𝑗=1
Explanation:
𝑈(𝑋) : Total utility
𝑎𝑖𝑗 : part worth or utility value of the ith attribute to the jth level
𝑥𝑖𝑗 : dummy variable for the first attribute at the jth level (1=level appears; 0=does not appear)
𝑚 : number of attributes
The most significant utility value indicates the level of attribute that consumers like most. The
most significant importance value indicates the attribute consumers consider important. The
Pearson and Kendall's Tau significance values show a strong correlation between the estimated
variables and the factual situation.
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judge the freshness of finfish by the clear appearance of their eyes. Consumers like fresh fish
because of its quality and taste (Simo et al., 2023). The freshness of fish can determine the quality
and value of fishery products. Mistakes in evaluating fish freshness can lead to malnutrition, health
problems, food waste, and decreased fish consumption (Viana et al., 2022).
Table 4. Consumer Preferences for Tilapia
accessed easily by consumers, making it easier for consumers when shopping. Modern markets
provide a comfortable, clean shopping environment, longer operating hours, and a wide choice of
payment methods (Wibowo et al., 2022).
Consumers in Balikpapan City prefer to buy flying fish at traditional markets. Fish sold in
traditional markets is generally more affordable than fish sold in modern markets or traveling
traders. Traditional markets offer prices that are relatively cheaper and can be negotiated, thus
providing familiarity between sellers and buyers, strategic locations close to residential areas,
providing more fresh products, and providing consumers with the experience of seeing and holding
the products being sold directly. Fish sold in traditional markets is more diverse, cheaper, more
convenient, and of higher quality in freshness (Thong & Olsen, 2012). Apart from that, the price of
fish in traditional markets can be more affordable because bargaining can be done between sellers
and buyers in traditional markets. Traditional markets have socio-emotional power that modern
markets do not have (Wibowo et al., 2022). Consumers in Gresik like to buy fish in traditional
markets even though the distance from home to the market is quite far; this is because the variety
of fresh fish sold in traditional markets is greater than in modern markets and peddler man
(Sanjaya et al., 2023).
Product Condition
Product condition refers to the condition of the fish purchased, whether it has been cleaned or
has not been cleaned of scales, fins, gills, or fish stomach contents. Fish consumption can be
influenced by consumer comfort when consuming fish; for example, consumers need to save time
and energy in preparing fish (Carlucci et al., 2014). This is in line with research results that show
that when buying tilapia, consumers prefer tilapia that has been cleaned, but fish that have been
cleaned have a higher price. This differs from when buying koheru fish; consumers in Balikpapan
City prefer koheru fish that have not been cleaned. Likewise, fish consumers in Gresik prefer fish
that have not been cleaned because semi-processed fishery products are more expensive than
unprocessed ones. The price increase is because consumers have to pay for processing services;
besides that, products that have been processed will be more easily damaged (Sanjaya et al.,
2023).
Pearson and Kendall's Tau
The significance value of Pearson's R and Kendall Tau in the conjoint analysis of tilapia and
flying fish shows a value of 0.000 (< 0.05), so it can be concluded that there is a strong correlation
between the estimated variables and the factual situation.
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