Intention to access food risk information through Internet-enabled mobile phones: the role of critical thinking

Abstract

Although the development of an Internet-based communication system could decrease the cost of accessing food risk information, a strong intention to access information through the Web would also be required to activate consumer behaviour. We examined how consumers' critical thinking attitudes influence their intention to contract a hypothetical pay website that provides food risk information, through an Internet-enabled mobile phone. A payment card contingent valuation method was applied to capture a Japanese co-op members' intention to contract the website and the willingness to pay for it. A critical thinking attitude was found to have a statistically significant effect on the respondents' intention to access food risk information, suggesting that to strengthen consumer participation in food risk communication through the Internet, it is important to examine measures that promote critical thinking among consumers.

Acknowledgements

This study was financially supported by the Food Safety Commission of Japan. We thank Miyagi Co-op for supporting our survey.