Genetically modified food versus knowledge and fear: A Noumenic approach for consumer behaviour

Abstract

The theme of genetically modified organisms is very important for modern consumers, especially when they approach novel foods. In this paper, we have attempted to assess the impact of genetically modified foods on the consumers' preferences, considering a new vision of ours: however, the conclusions also form a topic for further discussion. We conducted an investigation on a sample size survey. The analysis was carried out in a representative sample of more than 900 Italian families, selected based on a functional relationship to the objectives of the work. The aims of the present study were: firstly, investigating consumers' preferences regarding genetically modified food consumption and developing a quantitative model to formalize the origins of behaviours regarding consumers' preferences toward genetically modified food consumption; secondly, detecting the drivers of their purchase, underlining that only by reasoning it is possible to ensure that specific variables do not condition purchasing behaviour.

Keywords: Company; Consumer; Food; Genetically modified organism; Latent variable; Marketing; Partial least square.