How Media’s factor and governmental factor affected individual’s opinion on haze in China

Abstract

Abstract Understanding the underlying mechanism of individual’s opinion on haze is important to govern public opinion on haze, and the major question of exiting research is that it has not yet explored what factors and how do they affect individual’s opinion on haze. This study aimed to uncover the underlying influencing mechanism of individual’s opinion on haze. This study conducted Partial Least Square Structural equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to examine the impacts of media’s factor (i.e. agenda setting, media accountability, and information credibility), governmental factor (i.e. policy instrument) and psychological factor (i.e., social distance, spatial distance) on individual’s opinion on haze. Based on the Agenda Melding Theory and stakeholders (i.e., media, government, and resident), this study constructed a conceptual model, which is empirically examined by conducting questionnaire survey data of 973 residents in China. The results indicate that media’s factor (media accountability, information credibility), governmental factor (policy instrument), and psychological distance have significant positive direct impacts on individual’s opinion on haze. Furthermore, media’s factor (agenda setting) only has an indirect impact on individual’s opinion on haze through the mediation effects of information credibility. However, information credibility also had significant moderation effects on the relationship between psychological distance and individual’s opinion on haze. The moderation and mediation effects of information credibility indicated that it played a vital role in guiding individual’s opinion on haze. These findings suggest that further research is required on the interaction of stakeholders and that concerted efforts of different stakeholders to assist governing individual’s opinion on haze.