Examining the social acceptance of genetically modified bioenergy in Germany: Labels, information valence, corporate actors, and consumer decisions
| Autor: | Stefanie Bröring, Chad M. Baum, Carl Johan Lagerkvist, Olivier K. Butkowski, Ashkan Pakseresht |
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| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
0303 health sciences
030309 nutrition & dietetics Renewable Energy Sustainability and the Environment Random assignment media_common.quotation_subject Supply chain 05 social sciences Energy Engineering and Power Technology Social acceptance Neglect Sustainable energy Interdependence 03 medical and health sciences Fuel Technology Nuclear Energy and Engineering 0502 economics and business 050202 agricultural economics & policy Business Valence (psychology) Marketing Social Sciences (miscellaneous) Backlash media_common |
| Zdroj: | Energy Research & Social Science. 60:101308 |
| ISSN: | 2214-6296 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.erss.2019.101308 |
| Popis: | Social acceptance of innovative technologies is a key element of an effective transition towards more sustainable energy economies. However, innovative technologies like genetic modification also tend to spark controversy and backlash. So far, efforts to inform the public about any risks and benefits of novel technologies not only have struggled to foster acceptance but also neglect the interdependent foundations of consumer decision-making. Through a controlled experiment with German consumers (N = 322), we examine whether consumer support and rejection of genetic modification in bioenergy crops is influenced by the statements and actions of actors throughout the supply chain. In specific, we show that the decision of energy companies to sell and support GM bioenergy positively impacts consumer decisions to support. To ensure that decision outcomes were specifically impacted by the expressions of corporate actors, we controlled for the content and valence of information by random assignment to one of three treatments in which participants received positive, negative, or balanced (risks and benefits) information. We find that negative messaging diminished support and increased rejection relative to the other treatments. Lastly, the statements and actions of corporate actors also exerted an indirect influence on consumer decisions through their interactions with social trust and labels, e.g. greater support by farmers had a positive influence only for those who are more generally trustworthy. Given these results, we anticipate more attention to the importance of actors such as farmers and energy companies for the social acceptance of novel technologies in the energy sphere. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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