Modeling risk governance and risk perception in personal prevention with regard to food safety issues

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to model how risk governance (RG) influences risk prevention behaviors toward food safety issues, considering the perception of related risks in the Taiwanese context. Design/methodology/approach The national representative data on risk society modules from the Taiwan Social Change Survey data were used (sample size = 2,005). The procedure for the analysis consisted of investigation of the model fit indices of structural equation modeling, incorporating the mediation effect. Multiple-group analysis was used to examine the moderation effects. Findings Results show that the theory of reasoned action (TRA) and the advanced TRA can accurately explain personal risk perception (RP) (R2=0.40) and risk prevention (R2=0.42). Results also suggest that RG institutions can affect personal RP and risk prevention through subjective norms. In addition, moderation effects of media and gender were found. Originality/value This study is one of the first attempts to examine the RG effects on RP and risk prevention behavior of food safety issues in Taiwan. The results and findings may be helpful for RG institutions.