Exploring the distinction between innovation adoption and resistance in the context of meat substitutes

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the distinction between innovation adoption and resistance in the context of meat substitutes. The topic of innovation adoption is widely studied since new innovations are costly to develop and launch to the market. However, in the topic of innovation adoption, innovation resistance is often overlooked. Research and practitioners both often view the resistance and non-adoption as simply opposites. This study builds upon previous innovation resistance literature to investigate the relationship between adoption and resistance and their antecedents. A survey was conducted to collect data on adoption and resistance antecedents to then test hypotheses relating to both using multiple linear regression. Findings show that perceived healthiness, green perceived value and animal welfare are good predictors of adoption of meat substitutes, while resistance is related to the perceived unnaturalness of the product. Contrary to the central idea of this research, adoption and resistance appear to be opposites of each other, as they share antecedents.