Assessing the Causal Relationships among Hedonic belief, Ambivalence, Subjective norm, Attitude and Meat Consumption Behavior

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the causal relationships among hedonic belief, ambivalence, subjective norm, attitude and meat consumption behavior. A total of 318 questionnaires were completed. Structural equation model was used to measure the causal effects of constructs. Results of the study demonstrated that fit of the restricted baseline model is significantly worse than that of the unrestricted proposed model, in which more parameters are estimated. The effects of hedonic belief, ambivalence and subjective norm on attitude were statistically significant. The effects of hedonic belief, subjective norm and attitude on meat consumption were statistically significant. The effect of attitude on intention was statistically significant. Moreover, attitude played a mediating role in the relationships between hedonic belief and meat consumption, between ambivalence and meat consumption, and between subjective norm and intention. This study suggested that the consumer decision-making process for eating meat products is best modeled as a complex system that incorporates both direct and indirect effects on meat consumption. This study believed the evidence presented supports this position. Moreover, this study appeared to be a worthy area of pursuit.