Food production and consumption increasingly contribute to environmental and health-related concerns leading consumers to adopt new eating behaviors which further align with their values. This study aims to identify how social and internal factors influence consumers’ self-expressive benefits and perceptions of response efficacy resulting in intentions toward plant-based food decisions.
Stimulus-organism-response (SOR) theory, signaling theory and protection motivation theory (PMT) provided a theoretical framework for the conceptual model. A total of 627 responses were collected via a questionnaire and analyzed using covariance-based structural equation modeling.
The results revealed that social factors (social media and peer influence) and internal factors (environmental, animal welfare and health concerns) had an effect on perceptions of response efficacy. Of the above only environmental concern did not influence self-expressive benefits while the rest had a significant effect. Both self-expressive benefits and response efficacy positively influenced intentions to purchase plant-based food.
The present findings offer valuable insights for restaurant operators aiming to enhance their business by offering plant-based food options. Given the significant impact of social factors on consumers’ self-expressive benefits and response efficacy, restaurant operators should prioritize communication with potential and former customers through social media platforms.
This study enriches the understanding of the motivations underlying the adoption of plant-based diets by integrating insights from SOR, Signaling and PMT theories, thereby providing valuable implications for both theory and practice relating to dietary behavior.
