Examining Indian young consumers’ intentions to consume sustainable meats: a case of plant-based meat

What the paper says

Purpose This study aims to advance the existing understanding on meat consumers’ perception towards plant-based meat (PBM) by incorporating a contextual approach. An integrated model comprising consumer consciousness, theory of planned behaviour and meat attachment was developed to comprehend the Indian young consumers’ intention to consume PBM. Design/methodology/approach Four Tier 1 cities in India served as the survey sites for the collection of the data ( n = 650), which was then subjected to structural equation modelling analysis. Findings Social commitment (SC) emerged out as the strongest performer in the importance performance matrix index, while attitude (ATT) was the strongest predictor of intention to consume PBM. All three constructs of consumer consciousness significantly influenced consumers’ ATT and SC. To the authors’ surprise, meat attachment did not significantly moderate the relationship between the key variables. This finding is unique, as many civilizations, where meat has been given the status of essential food in dietary preferences, showed a greater attachment to conventional meat. Originality/value This study provides a distinctive insight that offers additional psychological routes on sustainable meat consumption’s complexity in a contextual setting. Also, it extends the role of SC in sustainable consumption, otherwise, largely discussed in the organizational behaviour domain only.