IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i23p13271-d691919.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Plant-Based Meat Alternatives: Motivational Adoption Barriers and Solutions

Author

Listed:
  • Steffen Jahn

    (Department of Marketing, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA)

  • Pia Furchheim

    (Institute of Marketing Management, ZHAW School of Management and Law, 8401 Winterthur, Switzerland)

  • Anna-Maria Strässner

    (Institute of Marketing Management, ZHAW School of Management and Law, 8401 Winterthur, Switzerland)

Abstract

Meat consumption is increasingly being seen as unsustainable. However, plant-based meat alternatives (PBMA) are not widely accepted yet. PBMA aim to imitate the experience of eating meat by mimicking animal meat in its sensory characteristics such as taste, texture, or aesthetic appearance. This narrative review explores the motivational barriers to adopting PBMA while focusing on food neophobia, social norms and rituals, as well as conflicting eating goals that prevent consumers from switching to a plant-based diet. Based on the key characteristics of these motivational barriers, which are informed by research findings in consumer psychology and marketing, solutions are discussed that can help counter the barriers.

Suggested Citation

  • Steffen Jahn & Pia Furchheim & Anna-Maria Strässner, 2021. "Plant-Based Meat Alternatives: Motivational Adoption Barriers and Solutions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-17, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:23:p:13271-:d:691919
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/23/13271/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/23/13271/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ayelet Fishbach & Ravi Dhar, 2005. "Goals as Excuses or Guides: The Liberating Effect of Perceived Goal Progress on Choice," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 32(3), pages 370-377, December.
    2. András Fehér & Michał Gazdecki & Miklós Véha & Márk Szakály & Zoltán Szakály, 2020. "A Comprehensive Review of the Benefits of and the Barriers to the Switch to a Plant-Based Diet," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-18, May.
    3. Christopher J. Bryant, 2019. "We Can’t Keep Meating Like This: Attitudes towards Vegetarian and Vegan Diets in the United Kingdom," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-17, December.
    4. Chun-Tuan Chang & Xing-Yu (Marcos) Chu, 2020. "The give and take of cause-related marketing: purchasing cause-related products licenses consumer indulgence," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 48(2), pages 203-221, March.
    5. Read, Daniel & van Leeuwen, Barbara, 1998. "Predicting Hunger: The Effects of Appetite and Delay on Choice, , , ," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 76(2), pages 189-205, November.
    6. John Peters & Jimikaye Beck & Jan Lande & Zhaoxing Pan & Michelle Cardel & Keith Ayoob & James O. Hill, 2016. "Using Healthy Defaults in Walt Disney World Restaurants to Improve Nutritional Choices," Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, University of Chicago Press, vol. 1(1), pages 92-103.
    7. Madeline Estell & Jaimee Hughes & Sara Grafenauer, 2021. "Plant Protein and Plant-Based Meat Alternatives: Consumer and Nutrition Professional Attitudes and Perceptions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-18, February.
    8. Gail Whiteman & Brian Walker & Paolo Perego, 2013. "Planetary Boundaries: Ecological Foundations for Corporate Sustainability," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(2), pages 307-336, March.
    9. Panayiota J. Alevizou & Caroline J. Oates & Seonaidh McDonald, 2015. "The Well(s) of Knowledge: The Decoding of Sustainability Claims in the UK and in Greece," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(7), pages 1-19, July.
    10. Sam K. Hui & Eric T. Bradlow & Peter S. Fader, 2009. "Testing Behavioral Hypotheses Using an Integrated Model of Grocery Store Shopping Path and Purchase Behavior," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 36(3), pages 478-493.
    11. Katherine Milkman & Todd Rogers & Max Bazerman, 2010. "I’ll have the ice cream soon and the vegetables later: A study of online grocery purchases and order lead time," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 17-35, March.
    12. Ramona Weinrich, 2019. "Opportunities for the Adoption of Health-Based Sustainable Dietary Patterns: A Review on Consumer Research of Meat Substitutes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(15), pages 1-15, July.
    13. Klaus Wertenbroch, 1998. "Consumption Self-Control by Rationing Purchase Quantities of Virtue and Vice," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 17(4), pages 317-337.
    14. Christophe Martin & Christine Lange & Stephan Marette, 2021. "Importance of additional information, as a complement to information coming from packaging, to promote meat substitutes: A case study on a sausage based on vegetable proteins," Post-Print hal-03022070, HAL.
    15. Ujué Fresán & Sofie Errendal & Winston J. Craig, 2020. "Influence of the Socio-Cultural Environment and External Factors in Following Plant-Based Diets," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-13, October.
    16. Ein-Gar, Danit & Goldenberg, Jacob & Sagiv, Lilach, 2012. "The role of consumer self-control in the consumption of virtue products," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 123-133.
    17. Josephine Mylan, 2018. "Sustainable Consumption in Everyday Life: A Qualitative Study of UK Consumer Experiences of Meat Reduction," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-13, July.
    18. Alexander Chernev & Sean Blair, 2015. "Doing Well by Doing Good: The Benevolent Halo of Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 41(6), pages 1412-1425.
    19. Elizabeth A. Minton & T. Bettina Cornwell, 2016. "The Cause Cue Effect: Cause-Related Marketing and Consumer Health Perceptions," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(2), pages 372-402, July.
    20. Jihee Hwang & Jihye You & Junghoon Moon & Jaeseok Jeong, 2020. "Factors Affecting Consumers’ Alternative Meats Buying Intentions: Plant-Based Meat Alternative and Cultured Meat," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-16, July.
    21. van Doorn, Jenny & Verhoef, Peter C., 2011. "Willingness to pay for organic products: Differences between virtue and vice foods," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 167-180.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. David Kilian & Ulrich Hamm, 2021. "Perceptions of Vegan Food among Organic Food Consumers Following Different Diets," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-17, August.
    2. Peggy J. Liu & Kelly L. Haws & Cait Lamberton & Troy H. Campbell & Gavan J. Fitzsimons, 2015. "Vice-Virtue Bundles," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 61(1), pages 204-228, January.
    3. Aydinli, Aylin & Lamey, Lien & Millet, Kobe & ter Braak, Anne & Vuegen, Maya, 2021. "How Do Customers Alter Their Basket Composition When They Perceive the Retail Store to Be Crowded? An Empirical Study," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 97(2), pages 207-216.
    4. Katherine L. Milkman & Todd Rogers & Max H. Bazerman, 2009. "Highbrow Films Gather Dust: Time-Inconsistent Preferences and Online DVD Rentals," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 55(6), pages 1047-1059, June.
    5. Katharina Dowling & Daniel Guhl & Daniel Klapper & Martin Spann & Lucas Stich & Narine Yegoryan, 2020. "Behavioral biases in marketing," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 48(3), pages 449-477, May.
    6. Van Doorn, Jenny & Verhoef, Peter C., 2015. "Drivers of and Barriers to Organic Purchase Behavior," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 91(3), pages 436-450.
    7. Ji Yan & Kun Tian & Saeed Heravi & Peter Morgan, 2017. "The vices and virtues of consumption choices: price promotion and consumer decision making," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 28(3), pages 461-475, September.
    8. Carter, Kealy & Jayachandran, Satish & Murdock, Mitchel R., 2021. "Building A Sustainable Shelf: The Role of Firm Sustainability Reputation," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 97(4), pages 507-522.
    9. Sutan, Angela & Grolleau, Gilles & Mateu, Guillermo & Vranceanu, Radu, 2018. "“Facta non verba”: An experiment on pledging and giving," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 1-15.
    10. Rabl, Vincent A. & Basso, Frédéric, 2021. "When bad becomes worse: unethical corporate behavior may hamper consumer acceptance of cultured meat," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 110789, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    11. Nagpal, Anish & Lei, Jing & Khare, Adwait, 2015. "To Choose or to Reject: The Effect of Decision Frame on Food Customization Decisions," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 91(3), pages 422-435.
    12. Cleeren, Kathleen & Geyskens, Kelly & Verhoef, Peter C. & Pennings, Joost M.E., 2016. "Regular or low-fat? An investigation of the long-run impact of the first low-fat purchase on subsequent purchase volumes and calories," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 896-906.
    13. Inga Hardeck & J. William Harden & David R. Upton, 2021. "Consumer Reactions to Tax Avoidance: Evidence from the United States and Germany," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 170(1), pages 75-96, April.
    14. Cherchye, Laurens & De Rock, Bram & Griffith, Rachel & O’Connell, Martin & Smith, Kate & Vermeulen, Frederic, 2020. "A new year, a new you? Within-individual variation in food purchases," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    15. Sands, Sean & Maggioni, Isabella & Ferraro, Carla & Jebarajakirthy, Charles & Dharmesti, Maria, 2019. "The vice and virtue of on-the-go consumption: An exploratory segmentation," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 399-408.
    16. Katherine L. Milkman & Todd Rogers & Max H. Bazerman, 2007. "Highbrow Films Gather Dust: A Study of Dynamic Inconsistency and Online DVD Rentals," Harvard Business School Working Papers 07-099, Harvard Business School, revised Apr 2008.
    17. Parreño-Selva, Josefa & Mas-Ruiz, Francisco J. & Ruiz-Conde, Enar, 2017. "The effects of price promotion on relative virtue and vice food products," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 20(5).
    18. Zhou, Li & Zhu, Guowei, 2022. "Mind the gap: How the numerical precision of exercise-data-based food labels can nudge healthier food choices," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 354-367.
    19. Feurer, Sven & Haws, Kelly L., 2022. "Justifiable justifications in sequential indulgent choice situations: A framework for future research based on perceived exceptionality," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 630-639.
    20. Togawa, Taku & Park, Jaewoo & Ishii, Hiroaki & Deng, Xiaoyan, 2019. "A Packaging Visual-Gustatory Correspondence Effect: Using Visual Packaging Design to Influence Flavor Perception and Healthy Eating Decisions," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 95(4), pages 204-218.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:23:p:13271-:d:691919. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.