WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RESISTANCE AND (NON-) ADOPTION OF INNOVATIONS? AN EMPIRICAL STUDY WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF PLANT- BASED MEAT ALTERNATIVES

Keywords

Loading...
Thumbnail Image

Issue Date

2022-08-23

Language

en

Document type

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Title

ISSN

Volume

Issue

Startpage

Endpage

DOI

Abstract

Resistance to innovations is an understudied topic in the literature on innovations. Some researchers argue that it can be viewed as either different or the same as non-adoption. However, empirical evidence for these assumptions is difficult to find. As a result, this study begins by conceptualising resistance to innovations and then investigates consumer motivations for resisting an innovation. We revealed some intriguing findings that may be of interest to both marketing and innovation managers and academics. We discovered that resistance to innovations by consumers can be classified as either emotional or behavioural resistance. Emotional resistance encompasses all consumers’ emotions and thoughts about an innovation that can eventually lead to resistance. Behavioural resistance encompasses all actions taken to oppose the spread of innovations. Furthermore, we discovered that the reasons for a consumer to resist an innovation differ from the reasons for a consumer to non-adopt an innovation. Although perceived healthiness is a reason for adopting plant-based meat alternatives (PBMAs), it has no effect on resistance to PBMAs. However, it is possible that the reasons for adopting and resisting are the same. The perceived unnaturalness of PBMAs was a reason for non-adoption and resistance to PBMAs. Another contribution of our research is that we empirically prove that resistance can hinder the adoption of PBMAs. However in contrast to current research, we prove that only emotional resistance has an influence on the adoption of PBMAs and not behavioural resistance. This study contributes to a better understanding of resistance to innovation and paves the way for future research on this topic. Understanding resistance to innovations aids in understanding why certain innovations fail and how to avoid failure of future innovations in the future.

Description

Citation

Supervisor

Faculty

Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen

Specialisation