How does social capital promote consumer participation in food safety governance? Evidence from online food consumers in China

Abstract Consumer participation is critical to achieving successful food safety governance. However, in the field of food safety governance, consumer participation faces the dilemma of collective action. Based on social capital theory, this study introduces a total of 1229 questionnaires from online food consumers in China were collected by randomly distributing electronic questionnaires to online shoppers, and tests the effect and mechanism of social capital on consumer participation in food safety governance. By using ordered regression and multinomial logit models, the empirical results show that social capital can reduce the adverse effects of free-riding on consumers’ participation in food safety governance and in fact will ultimately encourage consumers to participate in food safety governance. Furthermore, social capital will enhance people’s participation in food safety governance through two paths: promoting consumers’ sharing of food safety information and promoting consumers’ direct supply of safe food. The conclusion of this paper provides inspiration for the promotion of consumer participation in the public affairs related to food safety governance in developing countries.