Goal And Efficacy Matching Perspective:Research On Information Persuasiveness Of Biofortified Agricultural

Micronutrient deficiency,known as "hidden hunger," has become a global health problem as people pay attention to their health.Data released by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in 2014 show that the number of people with hidden hunger in China is as high as 300 million.The lack of micronutrients not only has adverse effects on human health,but also on the population quality and economic development of countries and regions(Liang long et al.,2017).After years of exploration,researchers believe that biofortification is an effective way to deal with recessive hunger.Biofortification refers to improving the amount of micronutrient elements in crops that can be absorbed and utilized by the human body by means of breeding.Research focuses on the cultivation of biofortification varieties and the intervention of population nutritional status(He Zhonghu et al.,2015;Hao Yuanfeng et al.,2015;Zhang Jinlei and Li Luping,2014;Lin Li et al.,2011),but less attention payed to such problem as how such products are to be popularized among consumers.As a new type of agricultural product,product promotion is very important for crop nutritionally fortified foods to be accepted by consumers.In the process of product promotion,it is very important to communicate reasonably with consumers.A large number of studies show that,consumer targets(Yang et al.,2015;Bagchi and Li,2011;Fishbach and Dhar,2005)and consumer effectiveness(Dahee Han et al.,2016;Keller,2006;Bandura,1982)are important factors affecting the persuasiveness of product information.However,the effect of these two variables on the persuasion of product information is very limited,independently.This study focuses on two goal states:attainment goal and maintenance goal.Attainment goal refers to the large gap between the current state and the final ideal state of the individual,which needs to be achieved,while maintenance goal refers to the small gap between the current state of the individual and the state of the final ideal goal,which only need to be maintained.Focusing on two levels of efficacy,response efficacy and self-efficacy.Response efficacy is the ability of an individual to determine whether or not a behavior can produce a valuable result of one's own expectations through expectation of the outcome of a behavior.Self-efficacy refers to the ability of individuals to determine whether they have the ability to accomplish the behavior successfully through the difficulty of behavior operation.Through the literature analysis,it is found that there may be a matching between attainment goal and responseefficacy.By reducing the perception of goal progress,they will have a positive effect on product information persuasion.And it is also found that there may be a matching between maintenance goal and self-efficacy,which will affect product information persuasion by enhancing the perception of target commitment.In this study,an information persuasive research model based on the matching of goal state and efficacy type was constructed to provide a reference for biofortificaiton agricultural products in formulating popularizing strategies.This study consists of two sub-studies,one is pretest and the other is formal research.The pretest was designed to verify that there is a matching between attainment goal and response efficacy and between maintenance goal and self-efficacy.Vitamin A rice was used as stimulant material and attainment goal and maintenance goal were operated.The formal research was designed to verify that the matching between goal states and efficacy type can affect persuation positively.Iron-rich wheat was used as stimulant material and attainment goal and maintenance goal as well as response efficacy and self-efficacy were operated.The results showed that the interaction between goal states and efficacy type had a positive effect on persuasion(hypothesis 1).Specifically,when the consumer was in the state of attainment goal,it was more likely to have a positive effect on persuasion of biofortification information when response efficacy information was displayed,compared to self-efficacy information which makes crop nutrition fortified information more persuasive.When consumers are in a maintenance goal state,they are more likely to be persuated by self-efficacy information.Compared to response efficacy information,showing them self-efficacy information will make biofortification information more persuasive.In study 2,zinc-rich rice was used as a stimulant,and attainment goal,maintenance goal,response efficacy and self-efficacy were operated.To verify hypothesis2,that is,goal interpretation mediates the effect of interaction between goal states and efficacy type on persuasion of biofortification information.Specifically,goal progress mediates attainment goal and response efficacy,and goal commitment mediates the interaction between maintenance goal and self-efficacy on persuasion of biofortification information.These results are of great theoretical and practical significance.Theoretically,this study verifies that matching between goal states and efficacy type can enhance the persuasiveness of health information and identify two mediators related to the goal.It enriches the research in the field of goal,efficacy and so on.It enriches the research onmatching effect in the field of information communication.It also enriches the research on the promotion of boiofortified products.In addition,this study can provide a strategic reference for the later promotion of biofortified products,thus promoting consumers' willingness to accept crop nutrition-fortified products,and improving the “hidden hunger”effectively.