Innovation adoption of artificial meat among academic consumers in Turkey

Artificial meat has emerged as a promising sustainable food technology with the potential to mitigate environmental impacts associated with conventional livestock production. However, its societal diffusion largely depends on consumer acceptance and the adoption of this innovation. This study examines academics’ attitudes and consumption intentions toward artificial meat in Turkey by focusing on two innovation adoption tendencies novelty seeking and independent decision making and testing the mediating role of attitude within the Theory of Planned Behavior framework. Data were collected via an online questionnaire distributed through social media and email, yielding 277 valid responses from academics across different regions and faculties. Analyses were conducted using SPSS and Hayes’ PROCESS macro (Model 4) with 5,000 bootstrap samples (95% confidence intervals). Results indicate that attitude toward artificial meat is the strongest predictor of consumption intention. Novelty seeking positively predicts attitude, which in turn increases intention; when attitude is included, the direct effect of novelty seeking on intention becomes non-significant, indicating full mediation. In contrast, independent decision-making negatively predicts attitude and indirectly reduces consumption intention through attitude, also reflecting a full mediation structure. Descriptive findings further show high awareness but low willingness to try artificial meat among academics. Overall, the study highlights the central role of attitude in the adoption of innovative food technologies and suggests that communication strategies should prioritize attitude formation, particularly by addressing skepticism among autonomous decision-makers while engaging novelty-seeking individuals as potential early adopters.