Purpose

This study aims to identify effective ways to promote plant-based foods in quick-service restaurants by considering customers’ food-related health involvement.

Design/methodology/approach

This study conducted a 2 (message format: myth/fact or fact-only) × 2 (message focus: benefit- or attribute-focused) × 2 (health involvement: high or low) quasi-experimental design via a scenario-based online survey. A multivariate analysis of covariance and a bootstrapping approach were used to test the hypotheses (N = 365).

Findings

The results indicated that message format and focus jointly influenced customers’ perceived health consequences of plant-based foods and purchase intentions; customers’ health involvement altered the two-way interaction between message format and focus; and perceived health consequences mediated the effects of message format and focus as and customers’ health involvement on purchase intentions.

Research limitations/implications

This study identifies the effectiveness of message format and focus in promoting plant-based foods and extends the sustainable product promotion literature by using resource matching theory and the elaboration likelihood model. Future studies should use field studies to examine how can message framing influence customers’ actual behaviors when purchasing plant-based foods.

Practical implications

This study can help quick-service restaurants better promote plant-based foods considering message format and focus and customers’ food-related health involvement.

Originality/value

This is one of only a few studies that have tested how messages containing both negative and positive information about a product could help promote plant-based foods.

中文翻译：

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植物性食品不健康——事实并非如此！纠正信息如何帮助快餐店推广植物性菜单？

目的

本研究旨在通过考虑顾客与食品相关的健康参与度，找出在快餐店推广植物性食品的有效方法。

设计/方法论/途径

本研究通过基于场景的在线进行了2（消息格式：神话/事实或仅事实）×2（消息焦点：以利益或属性为重点）×2（健康参与：高或低）准实验设计民意调查。使用协方差的多变量分析和自举方法来检验假设（N = 365）。

发现

结果表明，信息格式和焦点共同影响顾客对植物性食品的健康影响和购买意愿的感知；客户的健康参与改变了消息格式和焦点之间的双向互动；感知的健康后果介导了信息格式和焦点以及顾客的健康参与对购买意向的影响。

研究局限性/影响

本研究确定了推广植物性食品的消息格式和重点的有效性，并利用资源匹配理论和精细化可能性模型扩展了可持续产品推广文献。未来的研究应该利用实地研究来检验信息框架如何影响顾客在购买植物性食品时的实际行为。

实际影响

考虑到信息格式和重点以及顾客与食品相关的健康参与度，这项研究可以帮助快餐店更好地推广植物性食品。

原创性/价值

这是仅有的少数研究之一，测试了包含产品负面和正面信息的信息如何有助于推广植物性食品。