International Consumer Reactions to Product Contamination Risks After Chronic Technological Disasters

摘要

Advanced product technology can be leveraged to create functional value for customers and financial value for firms. However, technology is inherently different to control, especially under unexpected adverse conditions. Disasters caused by technological failure frequently lead to large-scale environmental pollution, which in turn creates risks of product contamination affecting consumer decision-making. For instance, the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill created uncertainty whether fish from the Gulf of Mexico are safe to eat. Likewise, large-scale chemical accidents create worries about groundwater pollution. Similarly, the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami damaged the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant and thus led to widespread radioactive contamination of regions supplying food and other products to eastern Japan and the Tokyo metropolitan area. These disasters are characterized as chronic technological disasters because loss of control over technology is the source of long-term contamination and related safety hazards. Moreover, they are characterized as national disasters because their large-scale nature affects many people and draws attention from media and people across the nation.