Quality Coffee Information Needs and Implications for Information Systems: a Study with Coffee Consumers
Resumo
Context: Coffee is one of the most relevant products from the Brazilian agricultural sector. Quality coffee consumption has brought significant revenue from consumption in Brazil and abroad. Appropriate information systems to support consumers of quality coffee are essential to help provide information about coffee properties and its production process for demanding markets. Problem: Despite the growth in quality coffee production and consumption, there is limited knowledge about consumers’ information needs to aid in designing information systems that provide traceability and in-depth information in different contexts of coffee purchase and consumption. Solution: This paper presents a qualitative study with coffee consumers regarding their information needs in purchasing and consuming quality coffee to provide implications for the design of information systems. Theoretical foundation: The study draws its analysis from Information Systems aspects of coffee consumption in terms of technology, processes, and people. Method: In-depth interviews were conducted with ten coffee consumers with varying levels of experience with different coffee types (from regular to specialty coffee) and their purchase and consumption. Summary of Results: The results of the thematic analysis of the interviews yielded 103 categories related to Information Systems components of technology, processes and people, organized into the central theme of “implications for the design of information systems to support quality coffee consumption”, with the sub-themes: 1) Perceptions about the coffee buying process, 2) Behaviors about coffee preparation methods, 3) Perceptions about characteristics of special coffees and coffee pricing, 4) Behaviors on customer experience in coffee shops, and 5) Usability of coffee information systems. Contributions and Impact in the IS area: The implications for the design of information systems to support quality coffee consumption provide important insights into the development of new information systems to provide crucial features in this relevant product of Brazil. The implications provide routes for research into several areas, including the usability of systems to support consumption, infrastructure for traceability of coffee production and decision support systems connecting the production and consumption of quality coffee.
