Combating Rose Rosette Disease: Economics and Marketing

In order to inform rose breeders as they develop Rose Rosette Disease (RRD) resistant roses, consumer and supply chain preferences for different rose attributes will be determined. A series of consumer experiments will be conducted to (1) to assess the tradeoffs people make among different rose attributes; (2) predict market shares of disease resistant roses versus regular roses; (3) investigate whether disease resistant roses will expand the rose market by attracting new buyers or by replacing regular roses; (4) estimate consumer threshold levels of willingness to pay for foliage damage and shorter life expectancy due to disease; (5) determine consumer and different segment acceptance of genetically modified roses; (6) investigate different market segments based on stated rose preferences; and (7) study regional differences in rose preferences that may exist among end consumers and landscape installation firms. Beyond investigating the consumers’ preference, other factors that might inhibit the increase of rose sales will be explored. Possible marketing barriers perceived by supply chain participants, which might prevent them from supplying these improved rose cultivars, will be identified. This part of the project will complement the work with the breeding team to assess the cost of using the technology developed in this project versus the cost of developing RRD resistant roses without the technology to determine if the cost of the technology is an impediment to its use. The consumer experiments will be combined with eye tracking technology (www.tobii.com) and electromyographic (EMG) data to assess respondents' cognitive response to stimuli and electroencephalogram (EEG) to study brain activity while responding to the experiment stimuli.