Mari Niva
Senior Researcher, Ph.D.
Tel. +358 10 605 9020
Fax +358 9 876 4374
e-mail: forename.surname@ncrc.fi
Expertise
My research interest is in consumer interpretations and practices related to eating and the adoption of new foods in everyday life. My doctoral thesis (Niva 2008) examined consumer perspectives on healthy eating and functional foods and in particular consumers' various ways of appropriating functional foods in their everyday lives.
At the moment I am working in a project "Consumers on the weight management market" (2009-2011) coordinated by the University of Eastern Finland and funded by Tekes (The Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation). The qualitative sub-study being carried at the National Consumer Research Centre focuses on experiences and everyday practices of weight management both by people who are trying to lose weight and who are not.
Research programmes
- Food economy and food culture
- Living environment and technology
Niva M, Sandell M, Kirveennummi A (2009) Individual choices? Bioscience, culture and society as approaches to genes, eating and health. In: Future of the Consumer Society. Proceedings of the Conference “Future of the Consumer Society”, 28–29 May 2009, Tampere, Finland, 118–124. Ed. by M Koskela, M Vinnari. FFRC eBooks 7/2009. Finland Futures Research Centre, Turku School of Economics, 293 p. Available at: http://www.tse.fi/FI/yksikot/erillislaitokset/tutu/Documents/publications/eBook_2009-7.pdf (17.9.2009)
Niva M (2008) Consumers and the conceptual and practical appropriation of functional foods. [Doctoral dissertation.] Kuluttajatutkimuskeskuksen väitöskirjoja 3. Helsinki: National Consumer Research Centre. Available at the E-thesis service of the University of Helsinki: http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-698-174-4
Heiskanen E, Hyvönen K, Niva M, Pantzar M, Timonen P, Varjonen J (2007) User involvement in radical innovations: are consumers conservative? European Journal of Innovation Management 10: 489-509.
Niva M (2007) 'All foods affect health'. Understandings of functional foods and healthy eating among health-oriented Finns. Appetite 48: 384-393.
Niva M, Mäkelä J (2007) Finns and functional foods. Socio-demographics, health efforts, notions of technology and the acceptability of health-promoting foods. International Journal of Consumer Studies 31: 34-45.
Niva M (2006) Can we predict who adopts health-promoting foods? Users of functional foods in Finland. Scandinavian Journal of Food and Nutrition 50 (1) 13–24.
Niva M, Piiroinen S, Mäkelä J (2005) Natural or designed healthfulness? Consumer understandings of fruit and veg as functional foods. In: Food choices and healthy eating – focusing on vegetables, fruits and berries. International Conference, September 2nd – 3rd 2005, Kauhajoki, Finland. Proceedings. Ed. by T Pitkäkoski, S Pajuniemi, H Vuorenmaa, 73–90. Seinäjoki Polytechnic Publications B. Research Reports 22. Seinäjoki.
Niva M, Mäkelä J, Kujala J (2004) "Trust weakens as distance grows". Finnish results of the OMIaRD consumer focus group study on organic foods. Working Papers 83/2004. National Consumer Research Centre. Helsinki.
Niva M (2002) Gene technology in food production and consumer interpretations of risks. Hauswirtschaft und Wissenschaft 50 (3) 122–129.
Niva M, Timonen P (2001) The role of consumers in product-oriented environmental policy: can the consumer be the driving force for environmental improvement? International Journal of Consumer Studies 25 (4) 331–338.
Niva M, Heiskanen E, Timonen P (1998) Consumers' environmental sophistication – knowledge, motivation and behaviour. In: European Advances in Consumer Research, Volume 3. ACR 1997 Stockholm. Ed. by BG Englis, A Olofsson. Association for Consumer Research. Provo, Utah.
Publications (htm) (66 KB)
Entries in the NCRC publication database
