Brian Lin

Gene-editing (GEd) technologies, such as CRISPR/Cas9, enable the precise deletion or insertion of genetic content and modification of organism and food attributes (Doudna & Charpentier, 2014; Rinal...

As global pressures on food systems intensify, cellular agriculture has emerged as a sustainable alternative to conventional food production. Drawing on consumption value theory and food neophobia, this study investigates adoption readiness for cellular agriculture across five Asian countries: Singapore, Vietnam, China, Japan, and South Korea. A survey of 3005 participants and cluster analysis identified three consumer segments: Open-Minded Seekers, Hesitant Observers, and Resistant Evaluators. Open-Minded Seekers exhibited the strongest adoption readiness and the highest ecological, experiential, functional, symbolic, and epistemic values of novel food technologies, coupled with low food neophobia; they were primarily urban, more educated, and concentrated in Vietnam and China. Hesitant Observers showed moderate values, moderate adoption readiness, and higher food neophobia, were largely urban and educated, with greater representation in Singapore and South Korea. Resistant Evaluators exhibited low values, high neophobia, lower adoption readiness, and were more likely to be less educated, and predominantly from Japan. Multinomial logistic regression further revealed that demographic factors significantly influenced the likelihood of belonging to which segment. These findings advance theoretical understanding by linking multidimensional consumer values and neophobia to cellular agriculture adoption and segmentation across diverse Asian contexts. They also provide practical guidance for policymakers, industry, and marketers to design targeted strategies that foster engagement with cellular agriculture across different consumer segments.

Purpose: This study draws on value congruence theory and epistemic motivation theory to examine whether the effect of ethical and environmental appeals on consumers’ perceptions of technological improvement and support for government initiatives varies across different novel food technologies, including cellular agriculture, gene editing and controlled environment agriculture. It further investigates whether epistemic value acts as a psychological mechanism that mediates these effects. Design/methodology/approach: A 3 (appeal: ethical, environmental and control) × 3 (food technology: cellular agriculture, gene editing and controlled environment agriculture) between-subjects experimental design was employed to assess the effectiveness of strategic communication in enhancing consumer perceptions. Mediation analyses tested whether epistemic value explains the relationship between these relationships. Findings: Based on data from 1,360 New Zealand consumers, ethical and environmental appeals increased support for cellular agriculture but not for gene editing or controlled environment agriculture, likely due to differences in how consumers perceive these technologies relative to the message appeals. Additionally, epistemic value emerged as a key psychological mechanism that helps explain these differential effects. Originality/value: This study highlights the importance of aligning message appeals with consumers’ perceptions of novel food technologies. It provides both theoretical and practical insights for improving public support for novel food technologies through more targeted and aligned communication strategies.

What drives consumers to adopt mobile technologies has been a significant research topic in hospitality and tourism literature. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) has been widely adopted to examine this topic. Meta-analytic structural equation modeling (MASEM) was conducted to assess the efficacy of the TAM in estimating consumers’ intention to adopt these technologies in hospitality and tourism contexts. The moderating effects of cultural differences (Eastern vs. Western) and research contexts (hospitality vs. tourism) were also examined. Based on 33 individual samples ( N = 13,635), the results indicated that: “perceived usefulness” (PU) has the strongest impact, “perceived ease of use” (PEOU) has stronger effects on PU and attitude in the context of Eastern culture compared to Western culture, and the relationship between “attitude” and “intention” was stronger in the context of hospitality than in the context of tourism. Implications for hospitality and tourism researchers and practitioners are discussed based on these findings.