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Plant-based (PB) and meat-reduced (MR) diets have a positive impact on human and environmental health, yet consumer acceptance of such diets is relatively low. Research investigating factors influencing consumer behavior around PB and MR diets is emerging; however studies lack strong theoretically underpinned, comprehensive theoretical frameworks. In this paper we synthesize factors from current literature and propose a comprehensive theoretical model across different consumer dietary types (e.g. omnivore, flexitarian, pesco-vegetarian) and account for consumer cognitive dissonance to facilitate a transition to MR diets.

The factors are examined in a five-step integrative literature review of empirical literature about PB/MR-related consumer behavior since 1989. Studies are critically assessed across four theories commonly used to explain the different antecedents of sustainable consumer behavior. We focus on the theoretical domains framework with COM-B (capability, opportunity, motivation and behavior) framework, as it provides the strongest foundation for modelling the consumer behavior of interest.

107 studies have empirically investigated PB/MR consumer behavior. Of these, 81 studies applied some COM-B domains, but no study has captured all domains. Scant studies investigating cognitive dissonance in the PB/MR literature have been published. Different consumer dietary types are featured across 47 studies; however, none of the studies comprehensively capture all dietary types and psychological discomfort in different consumer dietary types and cognitive dissonance theory.

To synthesize the findings of the present study, we propose an alternative model to address the before-mentioned gaps identified in our critical analysis. The alternative model captures the relationships between the 12 domains of the COM-B model constructs, psychological discomfort and consumer dietary types in the PB/MR foods setting.

The proposed research model facilitates the transition from MB diets to PB diets in three ways: (1) By differentiating consumer dietary types in terms of the COM domains influencing their PB/MR behaviors, PB-producing businesses could better target their foods to hitherto overlooked consumer dietary categories, such as lacto-vegetarians or emerging categories, such as flexitarians, through more refined segmentation and sharper profiling of consumers. (2) Knowing the level of capabilities of consumers in respect of cooking skills and knowledge about purchasing and preparing PB foods could help marketers develop strategies to improve buyers' skills and knowledge. (3) With an understanding of the opportunities (from the Opportunity domain of the COM-B model), including environmental context and resources and social influences, PB food businesses could more effectively market their PB food products. (4) It provides an understanding of capability, motivation and opportunity factors separately but also the interrelationship between these COM domains, as all these variables are intertwined.

Our ILR with the proposed model and the resulting research helps facilitate progress in the transition to PB diets necessary for more sustainable global food production and consumption.

The paper is the first to critically assess existing PB/MR literature regarding each of the COM-B domains, psychological discomfort and the six dietary types. We propose an alternative research model to address the gaps in literature and explain the antecedents and moderators in PB/MR dietary transition. The proposed model may provide information for practitioners and future researchers to understand a wider range of relevant factors influencing consumer’s behavior in transitioning to PB/MR diets.

The current generation of light wave systems benefit from increased transmission distance by using optical amplification and increased capacity by using dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) technology. The reach of present systems is limited by the noise contributed by the used amplifiers, combined with nonlinear effects from transmission. This paper aims to address these issues.

The nature and extent of degradations in the optical DWDM systems due to these limiting factors have been discussed in this paper.

It has been learnt that stimulated Raman scattering (SRS), four wave mixing (FWM) and amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) are the important factors in optical DWDM systems. These factors limit the system capacity of the transmission systems drastically.

It can be concluded from the discussion that while designing an efficient DWDM system, an optimization of the channel separation and the amplifier separation is required to minimize the nonlinear effects (FWM and SRS) along with the ASE noise introduced by inline optical amplifications.

Fiber nonlinearities are anticipated to impose transmission limitations due to the enhanced total interaction length in long‐haul dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) optical transmission systems. The purpose of this paper is to analytically study the combined effect of stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) and four‐wave mixing (FWM) in the presence of amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) noise generated by erbium‐doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs).

The paper presents analytical analysis of DWDM optical transmission systems in the presence of two significant fiber nonlinearities (SRS and FWM).

Simple expressions are derived to study the dependence of signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) on the amplifier spacing between two consecutive amplifiers.

The authors have analytically studied the combined effect of SRS and FWM in the presence of ASE noise generated by EDFAs. The novelty of the work is that it has considered all the three factors simultaneously and the expressions are derived for calculation of SNR.

This study aims to simultaneously examine the interrelated influence of antecedents involved in developing fast-food restaurant customer loyalty. A conceptual model which incorporates service quality attributes, price fairness, customer satisfaction, brand image and trust and the resultant effect on customer loyalty is proposed to better understand how fast-food restaurant customer loyalty can be optimized.

A quantitative research methodology adopting structural equation modelling was used to understand the interrelatedness and influence of antecedents involved in optimizing fast-food restaurant customer loyalty.

The findings indicate that service quality attributes (food quality and employee service quality) and price fairness significantly influence customer satisfaction and brand image, while physical environment quality has no significant influence. Additionally, customer satisfaction was found to influence brand trust and customer loyalty, while the brand image does not influence customer satisfaction but does influence brand trust and customer loyalty.

Understanding the interrelatedness and influence of antecedents involved in developing fast-food restaurant customer loyalty would enable academics and practitioners to formulate honed marketing and operational strategies to optimize customer loyalty and fast-food restaurant profitability.

This research addresses the paucity of research and marketing gaps regarding the interrelatedness and influence of antecedents involved in optimizing fast-food restaurant customer loyalty in Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

Plastic pollution is a major issue that plagues modern society. Scholars are interested in comprehending consumers’ behavioural actions to address plastic pollution. This study aims to delve into the determinants of consumers’ engagement with social media as a medium to address plastic pollution.

A conceptual model is developed that extends the behavioural reasoning theory (BRT). Using a quantitative approach, 476 responses underwent structural equation modelling analysis.

Results indicate that “reasons for” positively correlate with attitude and intention towards socially responsible engagement. Contrarily, “Reasons against” demonstrated a positive association with socially responsible engagement intention. Attitudes favouring socially responsible engagement correlate positively with the underlying intention. The moderation analysis underscores the positive relation of social return on social media with consumers’ attitude and their “reasons for” leaning towards socially responsible engagement intention. Notably, a positive connection was established between socially responsible engagement intention and the trifecta of consumption, contribution and content creation behaviours.

By enhancing the BRT, this research sheds light on novel perspectives regarding consumers’ engagement on social media platforms. Distinctively, it is among the handful of studies probing the influence of behavioural intention across diverse behavioural outcomes. The insights gained from this study, grounded in empirical evidence from an emerging market, are poised to guide policymakers, governmental agencies and industry practitioners in formulating effective strategies to combat plastic pollution. Additionally, the study can assist in achieving the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs), specifically SGD 12, SGD 13, SDG 14 and SGD 17.

This study aims to analyze how various contingencies within the contingency theory influence the entrepreneurial orientation (EO) elements and performance of retail franchisees in a South Pacific Island nation.

This study employs a quantitative approach of data collection from 203 managers in a total of 89 retail franchise outlets. Convenience and snowball sampling techniques were used with data analysis through SPSS AMOS and covariance-based structural equation modelling (CB-SEM).

The results confirmed that technology, innovation and promotion; competitive edge and value co-creation; high return opportunity capitalization; and empowerment and support influenced franchisee performance, while responsive customer focused leadership and competitor knowledge proved to be insignificant. The findings supported EO's influence on both financial and non-financial indicators, with greater influence on financial indicators. The result revealed that EO accounts for partial impact on franchisee performance, while the remaining impact could be attributed to organization and environment contingencies.

The study proposes a novel context of EO in franchising, where we dissect key elements within the EO dimensions. It also adds to the extant literature on how the broader context of environmental and organizational factors termed as “strategic fit” affects entrepreneurial franchisee performance.

Research on food tourism has a significant impact on destination attractiveness. However, components interfacing food experiences and memory are under-researched topics in food tourism literature. Therefore, this study aims to present a framework based on the components of rememberable food experiences while travelling through the lens of the diffusion of sensory stimulation.

This study adopted a qualitative application of “Memory-Work”, a social constructionist archetype suggested for food tourism-related research. A survey was conducted, and the respondents were asked an open-ended question.

The analysis found the components instigating these food experiences: Peculiar food and drink experience, setting/geographical location, companions and social interactions, celebrating occasions and touristic components (e.g. serendipitous travel experience and food nostalgic memory). Predominantly, rememberable food tourism experiences are more explicit than memorable tourism experiences.

The components mentioned in this framework illustrate that various food-related experiences should be involved in destination marketing. Service providers could use these components to create unique destination stories.

This study is the first to present a newly developed framework for food tourism service providers that incorporates sensory impressions with food memories to explore the connection between food memories associated with a destination.

This study explores consumers' intentions to utilize online food delivery services (OFDS) in a shared economy beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, employing the protection motivation theory (PMT) as the underlying framework.

Utilizing a random sampling technique, a quantitative approach was employed to gather responses from 347 Australian consumers. The proposed model was tested through covariance-based structural equation modelling.

The findings of this study demonstrate significant positive relationships between restaurant credibility, food quality, e-service quality, price, online food delivery applications, consumer e-satisfaction and e-loyalty. It reveals that consumers satisfied with OFDS may continue exhibiting e-loyalty intentions in a shared economy beyond COVID-19. The relationship between consumer e-satisfaction and e-loyalty intention is moderated by consumer-perceived COVID-19 risk.

This study offers practical implications for online food delivery providers, restaurants, regulators, application developers and policymakers. These implications aim to enhance the e-service quality, price value, usefulness and security of OFDS, along with strategies to improve the online food delivery application.

This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by examining a unique selection of antecedents, including the OFDS app, to determine consumer e-satisfaction and e-loyalty in the context of a shared economy beyond COVID-19. The utilization of the OFDS app as a second-order construct adds a meaningful contribution to the OFDS literature. Furthermore, this study investigates and contributes to the limited understanding of the moderation effect of consumer-perceived COVID-19 risk on consumer e-satisfaction and their intended continued use of OFDS.