Is craft beer consumption genderless? Exploratory evidence from Italy and Germany

This study aimed to investigate the gendered nature of craft beer consumption in Italy and Germany. Data were collected through online surveys in Italy (N=211) and Germany (N=210). Based on an enhanced version of the Theory of Planned Behavior, mean-value-difference tests and moderated-regression analyses with gender as moderator was performed to test gender effects on craft beer consumption behaviour. Our results provide evidence that the gap in craft beer consumption behaviour is not very pronounced. In the German sample, gender did not moderate the effects of the model components on behavioural intent. However, the study found significant mean differences in all model variables. In the Italian sample, gender did moderate the effects of several components of the Theory of Planned Behavior on behavioural intention. Hence, craft beer consumption appears to represent an opportunity for Italian women to negotiate their womanhood in a historically masculine-dominated space. Limitations of our data are the focus on two specific countries, the use of small-sized samples, and the prediction of behavioural intentions instead of actual behaviour. The study may help marketing managers in developing appropriate marketing strategies based on a better understanding of gender-specific needs in craft beer consumption. Our investigation provides the first comparative analysis of gender-specific behavioural pattern in craft beer consumption in two European countries characterised by notably different beer cultures.