Understanding Consumer Perceptions and Marketing Communications of Plant-based Meat in Relation to Environmental Sustainability – A Terror Management Theory Approach
Creators: name: Zhao, Jiahui
Publisher: name: Lancaster University
Year: 2024
Subjects: Sustainable marketing
Sustainable consumption
New environmental paradigm
Dominant social paradigm
Terror management theory
Sustainable communication
Greenwashing
Marketing communication

description: This thesis delves into the psychodynamics underlying consumer perceptions
 of plant-based meat and marketing communications in terms of environmental
 sustainability. Grounded in Terror Management Theory, this study draws on
 a wide range of theories, including those related to human-nature
 connections within the Dominant Social Paradigm (DSP) and the New
 Environmental Paradigm (NEP), cultural branding theory, and the existing
 literature on sustainability in marketing. Using this interdisciplinary
 approach, this research employs netnography and case study research
 strategies, which encompass the analysis of online traces, online
 interviews, and documentation.
 
 
 Through an analysis of worldviews related to human-animal-nature
 relationships, the research identifies two polarized worldview types:
 ‘separateness worldviews’ and ‘oneness worldviews’. Separateness
 worldviews align with the DSP, emphasising human dominance over non-human
 animals and nature, leading to the obstruction of environmental
 sustainability efforts by downplaying the integration of humans, animals,
 and nature. In contrast, oneness worldviews aligned with the NEP,
 prioritise reducing harm to non-human animals and the planet, empowering
 individuals to make sustainable choices by recognising the intrinsic value
 of nature. Given the incorporation of the DSP and the NEP in the marketing
 domain, these two novel worldview types have progressed the worldviews
 proposed by Kemper et al. (2020) and Kennedy et al. (2020), shifting the
 emphasis to the environmental aspect of sustainability. Additionally, they
 significantly contribute to bridging the gap in comprehending the
 psychological influences that shape environmental values within the
 marketing domain. Additionally, the thesis develops psychodynamic models
 to understand consumer perceptions regarding environmental sustainability,
 shedding light on the underlying mechanisms driving sustainable
 consumption. This reconsideration of the concept of death within consumer
 research seeks to expand the utilization of TMT beyond Belk and Bonsu’s
 rejection of fear of death as a fundamental motivator of consumer
 behaviour. Moreover, the emphasis on fear of death contributes to an
 enhanced understanding of fear within consumer research, extending beyond
 Bauman’s concept of liquid fear to elucidate its specific implications in
 consumer behaviour studies.
 
 
 Furthermore, this thesis examines marketing communications surrounding
 environmental sustainability, distinguishing between sustainable practices
 and greenwashing tactics employed by brands. This thesis clarifies the
 connection between communications concerning environmental sustainability
 and either the DSP or the NEP, and the interplay with consumers through
 the ‘symbolic immortality boost’. This strengthens the analytical
 framework utilized in this study by utilizing the psychological basis of
 fear of death to aid in transitioning from the DSP to the NEP within the
 marketing domain. Additionally, revealing the psychodynamics underlying
 marketing communications regarding environmental sustainability itself
 extends the brand mystification model initially introduced by Freund and
 Jacobi (2016: 421) by analysing the psychodynamics underlying marketing
 communications related to environmental sustainability.