A certificação como ferramenta estratégica: evidências de um quase-experimento

Objective: To highlight how certifications influence the behavior and decision-making of consumers of agro-industrialized products by a cooperative organization.Methods: the study, through an almost experiment, was carried out in 02 supermarkets the “experimental unit” and the “control unit”. We defined 10 products that comprised the experimental sample, and 07 products had certificates. After the period of analysis of sales reports, dissemination strategies were carried out as intervention activities with consumers. For statistical analysis, the parametric test “t” and non-parametric “Friedman test” was applied, with significance at the level of 10% and reliability of 95%. Originality/Relevance: This study demonstrates relevance by seeking evidence of the influences of certifications on consumer behavior and purchasing decision.Results: it was possible to measure that the presence of disclosure strategies on the certifications that the cooperative has, influenced the consumer impacting in purchasing decision, because there was an increase in sales volume during the intervention period in relation to the observation period in store 01, the experimental unit compared to store 02, the control unit.Theoretical contributions: the study contributes to the theory by exploring in a quasi-experimental way that certification influences the behavior and decision of consumer purchases. It was verified that interventionist activities can help increase sales of their products, so that these interventions clearly and objectively show the information about the products and their processes of industrialization and distribution, especially with regard to the adoption of certifications.