Conceptualising responsibility in the aftermath of the horsemeat adulteration incident
An online study with Irish and UK consumers
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21149136 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Áine Regan (0000-0002-3754-0014, University College Dublin, corresponding author), Afrodita Marcu (0000-0002-5918-3417, University of Surrey), Liran Christine Shan, Patrick Wall (0000-0001-5233-8714, University College Dublin), Julie Barnett (0000-0001-5740-0863, University of Bath), Aine McConnon (0000-0002-3148-2933, University College Dublin) |
| Year | 2015 |
| Volume | 17 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 149-167 |
| Publication date | 2015-02-17 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Health Risk & Society (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1369-8575 • E-ISSN: 1469-8331 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/13698575.2015.1030367 |
| OpenAlex | W2148104039 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 35 |
Understanding how consumers react to what is happening as a crisis evolves is crucial for those charged with risk management and risk communication. Responsibility, blame and accountability are important concepts in any crisis, particularly when consumer confidence has been damaged. In this article, we examine to what extent, and to what effect, responsibility, blame and accountability figure in consumer reactions in the immediate aftermath of a food crisis. The data we draw on in this article is derived from an online engagement study that took place in ‘real time’ as the crisis unfolded. Through this study, we were able to explore how consumers responded to the adulteration of processed beef products with horsemeat in early 2013 in Ireland and the UK. We found that consumers attributed causal responsibility and allocated blame for the adulteration to three factors: the deliberately deceitful practices of the food industry, the complexity of the food supply chain and demand from (other) consumers for cheap food. We found that consumers were willing to begin the process of rebuilding their confidence in the food system and accountability was viewed as the primary means for restoring confidence
Advertising · Business · Environmental health · Irish · Sociology · Food Safety and Hygiene · Identification and Quantification in Food · Medicine · Philosophy · Psychology · Risk Perception and Management
Risk and Blame
Responsibility and Control
Best Practices in Crisis Communication
Framing and tone-of-voice of disaster media coverage
Strategies for dismissing dietary risks
From accidents to risk
Initial UK public reaction to avian influenza
Analogies, metaphors, and wondering about the future
Dynamic social representations of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic
The triangle model of responsibility
Risk Perception of the “Mad Cow Disease” in France
A Cold Cut Crisis
The evolution of blame and trust
Whose Lyme is it anyway? Subject positions and the construction of responsibility for managing the health risks from Lyme disease
The Importance of Being Accountable
The quality of food risk management in Europe
Food risks and consumer trust. Avian influenza and the knowing and non-knowing on UK shopping floors
Responsibility and Control
Leadership Style, Crisis Response and Blame Management
A wink and a nod
Using thematic analysis in psychology
Risk and Blame
Extra‐Network Organizational Reputation and Blame Avoidance in Networks
Representations of mad cow disease
Risk, Responsibility, and Blame
| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,4 |
| Citation span | 2016 - 2021 (6) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 4 |