Risk aversion impacts on need for transparency and traceability pre- and post-pandemic

ABSTRACT

The need for transparency and traceability of product information has increased due to the increased attention towards food contamination in both the United States and China. Examining this need is vital to companies considering business decisions involving product development, supply chain management, and marketing tactics. To address this need, companies must understand the underlying motivators. Through MANOVA analysis, this paper studies how risk aversion impacts consumers’ need for transparency and traceability concerning product information both before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Results obtained pre-COVID-19 indicate that high-risk-averse individuals have an increased need for transparency and traceability. Post-COVID-19, results indicate no difference between high- and low-risk-averse individuals. Study 1 (pre-pandemic) results suggest that firms need to consider risk related to their product when increasing transparency and traceability. Study 2 (post-pandemic) results indicate that firms should create a generalised approach to improve transparency and traceability. The pandemic minimised the impact of risk aversion on the need for transparency and traceability.

KEYWORDS:

• Transparency
• traceability
• risk aversion
• food safety
• product safety
• supply chain
• COVID-19 pandemic

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Three attention checks were utilised in this study, with 10 respondents missing 1 or more of the attention checks. These 10 respondents were removed from the data analysis, bringing the total of respondents to 142.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Christina S. Simmers

Christina S. Simmers, Ph.D., has over 17 years of experience in academia. Her research interests include consumer behavior, promotion issues, cross-cultural comparison, and generational cohorts. She has taught both undergraduate and graduate courses in Marketing Management and Consumer Behavior. She has received the Institute for Global Business Distinguished Research Award and the International Academy of Business and Public Administration Research Award.

Rebecca Rast

Rebecca Rast, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor at Missouri State University. Her research interest includes consumers’ responses to persuasion techniques, social media relationships, and marketing pedagogy. She has taught courses in Supply Chain Management and Sustainability, Supply Chain Modeling, Marketing, and Retailing. Prior to academia, she spent over 13 years in the insurance industry as a business and regulatory analyst.

Allen D. Schaefer

Allen D. Schaefer, Ph.D., has been in academia for over 30 years. His research interests include cross-cultured social influence in buying behavior, selling techniques, and salesperson authenticity perceptions. He has taught both undergraduate and graduate courses in Selling, Advertising, Consumer Behavior, and International Marketing. He has received the Dean’s Distinguished Research Fellow and University Award for Excellence in Teaching.

David Hammons

David Hammons, MBA, has been teaching extensively in areas of supply chain and marketing. He has taught courses in Supply Chain Management and Sustainability, Logistics and Supply Chain Strategy, Operations Management, and Marketing. In addition to teaching, he has had prior industry experience (Hammons Black Walnut Company).