대규모 가축질병 발생에 대한 소비자의 위험인식이 축산물 비구매의도에 미치는 영향

A Study on the Effect of Risk Perception toward Large-scale Livestock Diseases on Intention not to Purchase Livestock Products

The present study was conducted to explore which variables form consumer’s risk perception of large-scale livestock diseases and how these variables affect their intention not to buy livestock products. For this purpose, a research model was established and used the results of a survey gathered from 728 adult males and females across the country in a structural equation model for analysis. The results revealed that factors affecting the consumer’s risk perception included the level of news exposure, involvement, and subjective knowledge of the diseases, and that anxiety and intention not to purchase increased as the risk perception rose. In addition, it appeared that risk communication affected the relationship between risk perception and anxiety, while reference groups affected the relationship between anxiety and intention not to purchase. The outcome of this study suggests that, in order to reduce consumer’s risk perception toward the large-scale livestock diseases, it is necessary to expand education for accurate awareness of the risks and respond to the consumers according to their levels of news use and involvement. Furthermore, public institutions need to strengthen risk communication and actively react to food safety information distributed through SNS, so that the risk perception does not increase anxiety and intention not to purchase of the public.