Of Faith and Forks: The Role of Religiosity and Uncertainty in Food Technology Adoption Readiness
Date
Authors
Lin, Brian
Errmann, Amy
Conroy, Denise
Supervisor
Item type
Journal Article
Degree name
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Abstract
Novel food technologies, such as genetic editing, cell-cultured foods, and controlled environment agriculture, offer potential solutions to global challenges like climate change and resource scarcity, yet their success depends on consumer readiness to adopt them. This research examines how cultural uncertainty avoidance and religiosity jointly shape adoption readiness for these technologies. Two studies were conducted with participants from Japan (a high uncertainty avoidance culture; n = 1214) and Singapore (a low uncertainty avoidance culture; n = 1189). Study 1 showed that in Japan, highly religious consumers were more willing to pay for and support novel food technologies than their secular counterparts, whereas in Singapore, secular consumers expressed greater support than more religious consumers. Study 2 demonstrated that symbolic value mediates these cross-cultural patterns, revealing how consumers interpret novel food technologies through identity- and value-based meanings that vary by cultural and religious context. These findings offer theoretical insight into the sociocultural predictors of technology adoption and provide practical guidance for tailoring strategies for adoption readiness across diverse markets.Description
Keywords
35 Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services, 3503 Business Systems In Context, 3506 Marketing, 10 Technology, 14 Economics, 15 Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services, Science Studies, 38 Economics
Source
Technological Forecasting and Social Change, ISSN: 0040-1625 (Print), Elsevier BV, 227, 124646-124646. doi: 10.1016/j.techfore.2026.124646
Publisher's version
Rights statement
© 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons CC-BY license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. You are not required to obtain permission to reuse this article.