Healthy, moral, or ecological? Latent classes in the consumption of vegan food

Sérgio Luiz do Amaral Moretti; Marcelo Luiz Dias da Silva Gabriel; André Francisco Alcântara Fagundes; Alexandre Magno Borges Pereira Santos; Juliana Bárbara da Silva Oliveira; Lisemaura Aparecida dos Santos Jacobi

doi:10.5585/remark.v22i2.21309

Authors

Sérgio Luiz do Amaral Moretti Universidade Federal de Uberlândia (UFU) http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9457-6064
Marcelo Luiz Dias da Silva Gabriel Escola Superior de Propaganda e Marketing - ESPM https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8861-0783
André Francisco Alcântara Fagundes Universidade Federal de Uberlândia (UFU) https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1177-4514
Alexandre Magno Borges Pereira Santos Universidade Federal de Uberlândia (UFU) https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1491-2014
Juliana Bárbara da Silva Oliveira Universidade Federal de Uberlândia (UFU) https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5965-6993
Lisemaura Aparecida dos Santos Jacobi Universidade Federal de Uberlândia (UFU) https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3800-5312

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5585/remark.v22i2.21309

Keywords:

Vegans, Motivations, Inhibitors, Involvement, Latent Classes

Abstract

Objective: This paper aims to identify classes of vegan food consumers based on their motivators, inhibitors, and involvement with the vegan diet.

Method: We conducted a survey with 263 vegans and tested an unprecedented model through Structural Equation Modeling and Latent Class Analysis.

Main results: The personal motivation construct proved to be a strong motivator of eating habits, and involvement significantly influenced purchase intention, as predicted. The study identified two latent classes: Healthful and Ecological, suggesting that the vegan audience is more heterogeneous than commonly accepted. The health motivation performed poorly, with its respective hypotheses refuted by both classes regarding influence on involvement. The inhibitors construct obtained sole load in the variable inhibitor-economic for the Ecological class.

Contributions: The research offers new possibilities for the academy, with more information on this type of consumption. It is beneficial for suppliers of vegan products to know the most significant variables in their behavior.

Relevance: We used different motivators for vegan eating to analyze their influence on involvement and intention to purchase vegan products. The study validated an unprecedented model and points a new way to investigate the current behavior of vegans.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Sérgio Luiz do Amaral Moretti, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia (UFU)

Doutor em Ciências Sociais

Marcelo Luiz Dias da Silva Gabriel, Escola Superior de Propaganda e Marketing - ESPM

PhD in Education (Science and Technology)

André Francisco Alcântara Fagundes, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia (UFU)

PhD in Administration

Alexandre Magno Borges Pereira Santos, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia (UFU)

Master in Law and Administration

Juliana Bárbara da Silva Oliveira, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia (UFU)

Master in Administration

Lisemaura Aparecida dos Santos Jacobi, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia (UFU)

Master in Administration

References

Ajzen, I. and Madden, T. (1986). Prediction of goal-directed behavior: Attitudes, intentions, and perceived behavioral control. Journal of experimental social psychology, 22(5), pp. 453-474. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-1031(86)90045-4

Asher, K. E. and Peters, P. (2020). Go the whole nine yards? How extent of meat restriction

impacts individual dietary experience. Ecology of food and nutrition, 59(4), pp. 436-458. https://doi.org/10.1080/03670244.2020.1737043

Asher, K. and Cherry, E. (2015). Home Is Where the Food Is: Barriers to Vegetarianism and Veganism in the Domestic Sphere. Journal for Critical Animal Studies, 13(1), pp. 66-91. ISSN: 1948-352X

Bagozzi, R., Bergami, M. and Leone, L. (2003). Hierarchical representation of motives in goal setting. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(5), pp. 915-943. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.88.5.915

Bravo, C., Cordts, A., Schulze, B. and Spiller, A. (2013). Assessing determinants of organic food consumption using data from the German National Nutrition Survey II. Food Quality and Preference, 28(1), pp. 60-70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2012.08.010

Chen, Y. and Chang, C. (2012). Enhance green purchase intentions. Management Decision, 50(3), pp. 502-520. https://doi.org/10.1108/00251741211216250

Cherry, E. (2015). I was a teenage vegan: Motivation and maintenance of lifestyle movements. Sociological Inquiry, 85(1), pp. 55-74. https://doi.org/10.1111/soin.12061

Cheung, M. and To, W. (2011). Customer involvement and perceptions: the moderating role of customer co-production. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 18(4), pp. 271-277. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2010.12.011

Christopher, A., Bartkowski, J. P., & Haverda, T. (2018). Portraits of veganism: A comparative discourse analysis of a second-order subculture. Societies, 8(3), 55.

Chwialkowska, A. (2018). The Role of the Family in the Adoption of a Vegan Diet. The Implications for Consumer Socialization towards Sustainable Food Consumption. Journal of Marketing Development and Competitiveness, 12(4), pp. 11-37. https://doi.org/10.33423/jmdc.v12i4.196

Coelho, R. (2019). Veganism: Motivations and obstacles. (Master thesis). Applied Social Analysis. Linnaeus University, Sweeden. Recovered from: https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1346878/FULLTEXT01.pdf

Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd Edition). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Earlbaum Associates.

Dyett, P., Sabaté, J., Haddad, E., Rajaram, S. and Shavlik, D. (2013). Vegan lifestyle behaviors. An exploration of congruence with health-related beliefs and assessed health indices. Appetite, 67, pp. 119-124. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2013.03.015

Fiestas-Flores, J. and Pyhälä, A. (2018). Dietary motivations and challenges among animal rights advocates in Spain. Society and Animals, 26(4), pp. 402-425. https://doi.org/10.1163/15685306-12341484

Fornell, C. and Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with

unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of marketing research, 18(1), pp. 39-50. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224378101800104

Fox, N. and Ward, K. (2008). Health, ethics, and environment: A qualitative study of vegetarian motivations. Appetite, 50(2-3), pp. 422-429. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2007.09.007

Gabriel, M. (2014). Métodos Quantitativos em Ciências Sociais: sugestões para elaboração do relatório de pesquisa. Desenvolvimento em Questão, 12(28), pp. 348-369. https://doi.org/10.21527/2237-6453.2014.28.348-369

Goffman, E. (2009). Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity. New York: Simon and Schuster.

Gould, S. (1988). Consumer attitudes toward health and health care: A differential perspective. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 22(1), pp. 96-118. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-6606.1988.tb00215.x

Greenebaum, J. (2012a). Veganism, identity and the quest for authenticity. Food, Culture and Society, 15(1), pp. 129-144. https://doi.org/10.2752/175174412X13190510222101

Greenebaum, J. (2012b). Managing Impressions: "Face-Saving" strategies of vegetarians and vegans. Humanity and Society, 36(4), pp. 309-325. https://doi.org/10.1177/0160597612458898

Hair, J. F., Jr., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M. and Sarstedt, M. (2017). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.

Hair, J. F., Jr., Sarstedt, M., Ringle, C. M. and Gudergan, S. P. (2018). Advanced issues in partial least squares structural equation modeling. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.

Hair, J.F. Jr., Gabriel, M., da Silva, D. and Braga Jr., S. (2019). Development and validation of attitudes measurement scales: fundamental and practical aspects. RAUSP Management Journal, 54(4), pp. 490-507. https://doi.org/10.1108/rausp-05-2019-0098

Haws, K., Winterich, K. and Naylor, R. (2014). Seeing the world through GREEN-tinted glasses: Green consumption values and responses to environmentally friendly products. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 24(3), pp. 336-354. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcps.2013.11.002

Henseler, J. (2021). Composite-based structural equation modeling: Analyzing latent and

emergent variables, New York: Guilford Press. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705511.2021.1910038.

Henseler, J., Ringle, C. M. and Sarstedt, M. (2016). Testing measurement invariance of

composites using partial least squares. International Marketing Review,33(3), pp. 405-431. https://doi.org/10.1108/IMR-09-2014-0304

Kaynak, R. and Ekşi, S. (2014). Effects of personality, environmental and health consciousness on understanding the anti-consumptional atitudes. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 114, pp. 771-776. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.12.783

Kline. R. B. (2005). Principles and practices of structural equation modeling (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford Press.

Lally, P., Van Jaarsveld, C., Potts, H. and Wardle, J. (2010). How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world. European Journal of Social Psychology, 40(6), pp. 998-1009. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.674

Lindeman, M. and Väänänen, M. (2000). Measurement of ethical food choice motives. Appetite, 34(1), pp. 55–59. https://doi.org/10.1006/appe.1999.0293

Maichum, K., Parichatnon, S. and Peng, K. (2017). Factors affecting on purchase intention towards green products: A case study of young consumers in Thailand. International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, 7(5), pp. 330-335. https://doi.org/10.18178/ijssh.2017.7.5.844

Markowski, K L. and Roxburgh, S. (2019). "If I became a vegan, my family and friends would hate me:" Anticipating vegan estigma as a barrier to plant-based diets. Appetite, 135, pp. 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2018.12.040

Martilla, J. A. and James, J. C. (1977). Importance-performance analysis. Journal of

Marketing, 1(41), pp. 77-79.

Michaelidou, N. and Hassan, L. (2007). The role of health consciousness, food safety concern and ethical identity on attitudes and intentions towards organic food. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 32(1), pp. 163-170. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1470-6431.2007.00619.

Miguel, I., Coelho, A. and Bairrada, C. M. (2020). Modelling Attitude towards Consumption of Vegan Products. Sustainability, 13(1), p. 9. MDPI AG. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su13010009

Moretti, S. L.A., Moysés Filho, J. E. and Pimenta, R. F. (2012). Gestão e orientação para os

clientes: um estudo em restaurantes por quilo utilizando o modelo de Análise de Importância e Desempenho (IPA). RAI Revista de Administração e Inovação, 9(1), pp. 188-210. https://doi.org/10.5773/rai.v1i1.756

Nunnally, J. and Bernstein, I. (1994). Psychometric theory (3rd ed). New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN13: 9780070478497

Nylund-Gibson, K. and Choi, A. Y. (2018). Ten frequently asked questions about latent class analysis. Translational Issues in Psychological Science, 4(4), pp. 440-461. https://doi.org/10.1037/tps0000176

Povey, R., Wellens, B. and Conner, M. (2001). Attitudes towards following meat, vegetarian

and vegan diets: an examination of the role of ambivalence. Appetite, 37(1), 15-26. https://doi.org/10.1006/appe.2001.0406

Queiroz, C., Soliguetti, D. and Moretti, S. L. A. (2018). As principais dificuldades para

vegetarianos se tornarem veganos: um estudo com o consumidor brasileiro. Demetra: Alimentação, Nutrição and Saúde, 13(3), pp. 535-554. https://doi.org/10.12957/demetra.2018.33210

Rosenfeld, D. and Burrow, A. (2017a). The unified model of vegetarian identity: A conceptual framework for understanding plant-based food choices. Appetite, 112, pp. 78-95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2017.01.017

Rosenfeld, D. and Burrow, A. (2017b). Vegetarian on purpose: Understanding the motivations of plant-based dieters. Appetite, 116, pp. 456-463. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2017.05.039

Rosenfeld, D. and Burrow, A. (2018). Development and validation of the dietarian identity questionnaire: Assessing self-perceptions of animal-product consumption. Appetite, 127, pp. 182-194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2018.05.003

Rosenfeld, D. (2018). The psychology of vegetarianism: Recent advances and future directions. Appetite 131, pp. 125-138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2018.09.011

Rosenfeld, D. (2019). A comparison of dietarian identity profiles between vegetarians and vegans. Food Quality and Preference 72. Pp. 40-44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2018.09.008

Rosenfeld, D., Rothgerber, H. and Tomiyama, A. (2020). Mostly vegetarian, but flexible about it: investigating how meat-reducers express social identity around their diets. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 11(3), pp. 406-415. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550619869619

Ruby, M. (2012). Vegetarianism. A blossoming field of study. Appetite 58(1), pp. 141-150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2011.09.019

Santos, A., Oliveira, J., Jacobi, L., Fagundes A. and Moretti, S. (2020). O que pensam os veganos? Motivações e dificuldades. Anais do XXIII Seminários de Administração, SemeAD - FEA-USP. ISSN: 2177-3866

Sarstedt, M. and Mooi, E. (2019). A concise guide to market research: the process, data, and methods using IBM SPSS Statistics. (3rd ed). Berlin: Springer-Verlag GmbH.

Shaharudin, M. R., Pani, J. J., Mansor, S. W. and Elias, S. J. (2010). Factors affecting purchase intention of organic food in Malaysia's Kedah state. Cross-Cultural Communication, 6(2), pp. 105-116. ISSN 1712-8358

Sharma, A. and Foropon, C. (2019). Green product attributes and green purchase behavior A theory of planned behavior perspective with implications for circular economy. Management Decision, 57(4), pp. 1018-1042. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-10-2018-1092

Shmueli, G., Sarstedt, M., Hair, J. F., Cheah, J. H., Ting, H., Vaithilingam, S. and Ringle, C. M. (2019). Predictive model assessment in PLS-SEM: guidelines for using PLSpredict. European Journal of Marketing.

Simons, J., Vierboom, C., Klink-Lehmann, J., Härlen, I., & Hartmann, M. (2021). Vegetarianism/veganism: A way to feel good. Sustainability, 13(7), 3618.

Tabachnik, B. G, Fidell, L. S. (2020). Using multivariate statistics. (7th ed.). Uttar Pradesh: Pearson India.

Teng, C. and Lu, C. (2016). Organic food consumption in Taiwan: Motives, involvement, and purchase intention under the moderating role of uncertainty. Appetite, 105, pp. 95-105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2016.05.006

The Vegan Society (2020). Definition of veganism. Recovered from: https://www.vegansociety.com/.

Twine, R. (2014). Vegan killjoys at the table: Contesting happiness and negotiating relationships with food practices. Societies, 4(4), pp. 623-639. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.20514

Ukenna, S., Nkamnebe, A., & Idoko, E. (2019). Inhibitors of sustainable consumption: Insights from university academic staff in southern Nigeria. Sustainable Development, 27(1), 96-108.

Vestergren, S., & Uysal, M. S. (2022). Beyond the choice of what you put in your mouth: A systematic mapping review of veganism and vegan identity. Frontiers in psychology, 13.

Wang, X., Pacho, F., Liu, J. and Kajungiro, R. (2019). Factors Influencing Organic Food Purchase Intention in Developing Countries and the Moderating Role Knowledge. Sustainability, 11(1), p. 209. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11010209

Wrenn, C. (2019). The Vegan Society and social movement professionalization, 1944-2017. Food and Foodways, 27(3), pp. 190-210. https://doi.org/10.1080/07409710.2019.1646484