An Experimental Evidence on Public Acceptance of Genetically Modified Food through Advertisement Framing on Health and Environmental Benefits, Objective Knowledge, and Risk Reduction

Syed Hassan Raza, Umer Zaman, Paulo Ferreira and Pablo Farías
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Syed Hassan Raza: Department of Communication Studies, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan 66000, Pakistan
Umer Zaman: Endicott College of International Studies, Woosong University, Daejeon 34606, Korea
Pablo Farías: Departamento de Administración, Facultad de Economía y Negocios, Universidad de Chile, Santiago 8330015, Chile

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 10, 1-24

Abstract: Owing to the emerging challenges on global food security and the decade of controversies over genetically modified food (hereafter GMF), the present study aims to explore the effects of advertisement framing on health and environmental benefits, sources of perceived risk reduction, and domain-specific knowledge on the acceptance of GMF. The study conducted a quasi-experimental factorial 2 (advertisement message framing: health vs. environmental benefits) × 2 (expert endorsement: present vs. absent) between-subject design involving 300 adult participants from Pakistan. Using a multi-group structural equation model, the four conditions were assigned to each participant group ( n = 75) to test the hypothesized relationships. The quasi-experiment results suggested that the advertisement messages (ad-framed) incorporated with the health and environmental benefits, as delineated by experts, can be a viable communication strategy in developing effortless cognitive cues towards GMF acceptance. The pioneer findings validate the significant efficacy of advertisement messages (ad-framed with expert opinions) in reducing perceived risk through augmented objective knowledge that activates the mechanism of favorable development of attitude and acceptance of GMF. The study findings offer strategic directions to policymakers, marketers, and food technologists in raising greater awareness and acceptance towards GMF products.

Keywords: genetically modified food; food security; food innovation; advertisement; attitude; acceptance; knowledge; message framing; perceived risk; science literacy model; cognitive miser theory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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