Does Preferred Information Format Affect Consumers' Willingness to Pay: A Case Study of Orange Juice Produced by Biotechnology

Abstract

People who received a more personally relevant message were motivated to pay closer attention to the information and actively process it, which ultimately may stimulate behavioral changes. Therefore, preferred information content has been used in many disciplines to promote effective communication. However, no study has explored the impact of preferred information formats (e.g., word, infographic, and video) concerning food production. With the increasing application of biotechnology to food production, a complex topic to communicate, and evidence that consumers were willing to pay less for bioengineered foods, efficient communication was important to impact consumer preferences. The results of this study showed that consumers mostly preferred information format is writing. Providing information in video format did improve consumers' trust in information about food biotechnology. However, receiving information in consumers' preferred formats did not significantly change consumers' WTP for genetically engineered orange juice.

Keywords: genetically modified organisms; preferred information format; willingness to pay.

Figure A1

II. Infographic Group.

Figure A2

III. Video Group.

Figure A3

Survey flow.

Figure 1

Example for payment card contingent valuation question (a second drop-down showing prices in 10-cent intervals followed the initial choice).