Exploring the consequences of environmental consciousness in vegan restaurant customers

Abstract

Despite increasing interest in sustainable experiences in the tourism sector, our understanding remains limited in terms of how customers’ environmental consciousness affects their behaviours toward vegan experiences. Thus, this paper explores the consequences of environmental consciousness among customers in vegan service settings. Using the responses of vegan restaurant customers, the results of partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) reveal that environmental consciousness leads to positive behaviours through both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in customers. Furthermore, results of multi-group analyses show that the impact of extrinsic motivation on customers’ attitudes and behavioural intentions is only significant among those who visit vegan restaurants frequently. In contrast, the impact of intrinsic motivation on customers’ behaviour are significant for both customer groups. The current study contributes to existing hospitality research by exploring the consequences of customers’ consciousness in the vegetarian service context.