Examining Risk-Reduction Behavior Toward Water Quality Among Restaurant Guests

Abstract

Globally, there is a growing concern about health threats from water pollution and its effects upon products used in the restaurant food preparation process. Thus, the use of contaminated water for commercial food preparation represents a high source of risk for disease-causing illnesses upon human health in both developed and developing countries. Using the Protection Motivation Theory, a convenience sampling of n = 506 Chinese residents and visitors, defined as non-Chinese residents born and socialized in cultures outside of China, who dined in restaurants within a major Chinese metropolitan area, were used to determine how guests responded to perceived threats of consuming contaminated food products used for menu items tainted by impure tap water during the food and beverage preparation process. Perceived water quality concerns were found to manifest a fear appeal that initiated two protection motivation dimensions representing threat appraisal (severity and vulnerability) and coping appraisal (response-efficacy and self-efficacy), with severity and self-efficacy receiving the highest perceptual concerns. Results documented that when restaurant guests perceived a high level of self-efficacy, they were more likely to dine out regardless of perceived risks about unsafe restaurant water quality issues. All relationships involving threat and coping appraisal, and risk-reduction behavior toward dining out were significantly different between restaurant guests representing Chinese residents and non-Chinese residents. Findings revealed that threat appraisal upon risk-reduction behavior toward dining out were positively stronger for non-Chinese residents.