Comparing risk communication policies and practices across countries

Consumers' trust is a key factor in dealing with rising concerns about food safety and food quality, but only few studies have dealt with consumer attitudes and none of them has tried to model the process of consumer response. This book reports the main findings of an european project aimed at analysing trust along the food chain and its relationship with food risk communication. The papers collected investigate the mechanisms that determine the social diffusion of trust, examiConsumers trust is a key factor in dealing with rising concerns about food safety and food quality, but only few studies have dealt with consumer attitudes and none of them has tried to model the process of consumer response. This book reports the main findings of an european project aimed at analysing trust along the food chain and its relationship with food risk communication. The papers collected investigate the mechanisms that determine the social diffusion of trust, examining the interplay of the psychological, sociological and economic factors; and analyze the impact of the food risk communication policies on consumers and producers and on the society as a whole.ning the interplay of the psychological, sociological and economic factors; and analyze the impact of the food risk communication policies on consumers and producers and on the society as a whole.

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Two-Way Risk Communication, Public Value Consensus, and Citizens’ Policy Compliance Willingness About COVID-19: Multilevel Analysis Based on Nudge View

Administration & Society ◽

10.1177/0095399721990332 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 009539972199033

Author(s):

Bin Guan ◽

Guoxian Bao ◽

Qingchuan Liu ◽

Raduziner Gary Raymond

Keyword(s):

Risk Communication ◽

Local Governments ◽

Control Policy ◽

Value Theory ◽

Public Value ◽

Policy Compliance ◽

Moderation Model ◽

The Government ◽

Communication Policies ◽

Positive Effect

COVID-19 has spawned a surge in the number of public epidemic prevention policies. More important than active policy-making is how to increase citizens’ policy compliance willingness. Based on public value theory and nudge theory, this study adopts multilevel mediation and moderation model to analyze the relationships among the government’s authoritarian control, two-way risk communication, public value consensus, nudge, and citizens’ policy compliance willingness. A sample of 2,616 citizens nested in 86 Chinese cities was collected. The study found that (a) local governments can improve citizens’ policy compliance willingness by adopting both “stick” (authoritarian control) and “sermon” (two-way risk communication) policies, whereas two-way risk communication demonstrates a uniquely positive effect on public value consensus; and (b) the effect of two-way risk communication on policy compliance willingness is mediated by public value consensus. By enhancing public value consensus, two-way risk communication helps establish consensus between citizens and the government on “what needs/needs not to be done” and “what should/should not be done” to slow down the pandemic, thus coalescing efforts in a cooperative spirit; (c) nudge intervention positively moderates the effect of two-way risk communication on public value consensus, but has no effect on the authoritarian control–policy compliance willingness relationship. In other words, nudge intervention is a better companion to “sermons,” not “sticks.” Findings of the nuanced relationship manifested the differentiated effect of authoritarian control and two-way risk communication on citizens’ policy compliance willingness during a pandemic. The results provide theoretical implications for scholars to unlock the “black box” of public values and practical implications for strategies from behavioral public administration aspects to curb the ongoing COVID-19.

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