The goal of the review is to gather and systematize the empirical findings,
as well as the methods used, in order to give a structured overview
on existing research and any gaps that need to be filled by further studies.
To this end, an additional selection criterion for the articles under
review was the content of at least one empirical study and the reporting
of test statistics in order to ensure the quality and traceability of
the results. The core of the studies had to be on nutrition label characteristics
and/or consumer characteristics influencing the use of these
labels. Our focus of analysis lies with the effectiveness of food and
nutrition labeling in communicating certain information related to nutritional
content and dietary value to the consumer. In addition, we want
to investigate the influence of certain consumer characteristics that have
been found to moderate many effects that nutrition labeling has on consumer
behavior: knowledge (on general health as well as nutrition issues)
and motivation (personal commitment to maintaining a healthy diet and
accounting for a proper nutritional intake). A look at the empirical literature
has shown that the main emphasis of research is focused on the
presentation and information provision on a food product (Seiders and
Petty 2004).