Impact of genetically modified food knowledge, environmental, and food safety concerns on purchase intention of genetically modified food in mediating role of perceived risk: An empirical study in Thailand

Abstract

AbstractWith the increasing population of world, science has stepped into genetically modified (GM) food. This has been innovated not just to increase the quantity of food but to instill the desired characteristics in a natural food item. Yet, many people are not responding to such GM food positively by considering it unnatural and artificial. The purpose of this research is to assess the impact of environmental consciousness, GM food knowledge and food safety concern on purchasing intention of GM food items in the mediating role of perceived risks in Thailand. A questionnaire‐based survey was conducted in this regard from 298 residents of Thailand and the data were then analyzed on SPSS and AMOS. The results of structural equation modeling have proved that environmental consciousness and food safety concerns have significant and positive impact on purchase intention of GM food, but GM food knowledge has insignificant impact. Perceived risk has been found as a significant mediator in the relationship between all independent variables and purchase intention of GM food. The study is unique as impact of GM food knowledge was not seen in the past on purchase intention of GM food while the mediating role of perceived risk was also not tested before. This study will facilitate citizens and tourists of Thailand to decide about GM food for their better health.