Supporters or Opponents: Will Cultural Values Shape Consumer Acceptance of Gene Editing?

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Yang ◽  
Jill E. Hobbs
Author(s):  
Eunae Son ◽  
Song Soo Lim

Food made with gene-editing has received considerable attention in recent years because it is claimed to be a little different from traditional genetically modified breeding methods concerning safety. However, consumer acceptance of these novel foods and their potential market uptake remains to be answered. This study aims to assess differences in the acceptance of gene-edited and genetically modified foods in Korea. The choice-based conjoint analysis is adopted to estimate part-worth functions for the soybean oil attributes with 200 surveyed samples. The estimated part-worth values reveal how much each attribute affects consumers’ decision-making. Estimated results suggest that consumers tend to accept gene-editing more than genetically modified foods. The acceptance of novel technology is shown to correspond closely to the degree of consumers’ scientific knowledge, highlighting the importance of revealing relevant information regarding the technology. Results also show that country of origin is a significant food-specific attitudinal factor in shaping consumer preferences.


Author(s):  
John. C Beghin ◽  
Christopher R. Gustafson

We review the emerging international body of evidence on attitudes and willingness to pay (WTP) for novel foods produced with New Plant Engineering Techniques (NPETs). NPETs include genome/gene editing, cisgenesis, intragenesis, RNA interference and others. These novel foods are often beneficial for the environment and human health and more sustainable under increasingly prevalent climate extremes. These techniques can also improve animal welfare and disease resistance when applied to animals. Despite these promising attributes, evidence suggests that many, but not all consumers, discount these novel foods relative to conventional ones. Our systematic review sorts out findings to identify conditioning factors which can increase the acceptance of and WTP for these novel foods in a significant segment of consumers. International patterns of acceptance are identified. We also analyze how information and knowledge interact with consumer acceptance of these novel foods and technologies. Heterogeneity of consumers across cultures and borders, and in attitudes towards science and innovation emerges as key determinants of acceptance and WTP. Acceptance and WTP tend to increase when beneficial attributes—as opposed to producer-oriented cost-saving attributes—are generated by NPETs. NPETs improved foods are systematically less discounted than transgenic foods. Most of the valuation elicitations are based on hypothetical experiments and surveys and await validation through revealed preferences in actual purchases in food retailing environments.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (20) ◽  
pp. 11348
Author(s):  
John C. Beghin ◽  
Christopher R. Gustafson

We follow the PRISMA extension for scoping reviews to review the emerging international body of empirical evidence on consumers’ attitudes and willingness to pay (WTP) for novel foods produced with New Plant Engineering Techniques (NPETs). NPETs include genome/gene editing, cisgenesis, intragenesis, and RNA interference. These novel foods are often beneficial for the environment and human health and more sustainable under increasingly prevalent climate extremes. These techniques can also improve animal welfare and disease resistance when applied to animals. Despite these abilities of NPETs, evidence suggests that many, but not all, consumers discount these novel foods relative to conventional ones. Our review sorts out findings to identify conditioning factors that can increase the acceptance of and WTP for these novel foods in a significant segment of consumers. International patterns of acceptance are identified. We also analyze how information and knowledge interact with consumer acceptance of these novel foods and technologies. Heterogeneity of consumers—across cultures and borders and in attitudes towards science and innovation—emerges as a key determinant of acceptance and WTP. Acceptance and WTP tend to increase when socially beneficial attributes—as opposed to producer-oriented cost-saving attributes—are generated by NPETs. NPET-improved foods are systematically less discounted than transgenic foods. Most of the valuation estimates are based on hypothetical experiments and surveys and await validation through revealed preferences in actual purchases in food retailing environments.


Author(s):  
Elizabeth D. Peña ◽  
Christine Fiestas

Abstract In this paper, we explore cultural values and expectations that might vary among different groups. Using the collectivist-individualist framework, we discuss differences in beliefs about the caregiver role in teaching and interacting with young children. Differences in these beliefs can lead to dissatisfaction with services on the part of caregivers and with frustration in service delivery on the part of service providers. We propose that variation in caregiver and service provider perspectives arise from cultural values, some of which are instilled through our own training as speech-language pathologists. Understanding where these differences in cultural orientation originate can help to bridge these differences. These can lead to positive adaptations in the ways that speech-language pathology services are provided within an early intervention setting that will contribute to effective intervention.


2012 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 222-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Hansen ◽  
Tom Postmes ◽  
Nikita van der Vinne ◽  
Wendy van Thiel

This paper studies whether and how information and communication technology (ICT) changes self-construal and cultural values in a developing country. Ethiopian children were given laptops in the context of an ICT for development scheme. We compared children who used laptops (n = 69) with a control group without laptops (n = 76) and a second control group of children whose laptop had broken down (n = 24). Results confirmed that after 1 year of laptop usage, the children’s self-concept had become more independent and children endorsed individualist values more strongly. Interestingly, the impact of laptop usage on cultural values was mediated by self-construal (moderated mediation). Importantly, modernization did not “crowd out” traditional culture: ICT usage was not associated with a reduction in traditional expressions (interdependent self-construal, collectivist values). Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.


2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silke Astrid Eisenbeiß ◽  
Steffen R. Giessner

The present paper gives a review of empirical research on ethical leadership and shows that still little is known known about the contextual antecedents of ethical leadership. To address this important issue, a conceptual framework is developed that analyzes the embeddedness of organizational ethical leadership. This framework identifies manifest and latent contextual factors on three different levels of analysis – society, industry, and organization – which can affect the development and maintenance of ethical leadership. In particular, propositions are offered about how (1) societal characteristics, notably the implementation and the spirit of human rights in a society and societal cultural values of responsibility, justice, humanity, and transparency; (2) industry characteristics such as environmental complexity, the content of the organizational mandate, and the interests of stakeholder networks; and (3) intra-organizational characteristics, including the organizational ethical infrastructure and the ethical leadership behavior of a leader’s peer group, influence the development and maintenance of ethical leadership in organizations. This list of factors is not exhaustive, but illustrates how the three levels may impact ethical leadership. Implications for managerial practice and future research are discussed.


2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jackie Abell ◽  
Nathalie van Meurs
Keyword(s):  

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