VISUAL SENSORY CUES AND CONSUMER PURCHASE INTENTION TOWARDS 3D-PRINTED MEAT ALTERNATIVES IN MALAYSIA: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF MENTAL IMAGERY AND CONSUMER ATTITUDE, AND THE MODERATING ROLE OF FOOD NEOPHOBIA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35631/JTHEM.1145046Keywords:
3D-Printed Food, Consumer Attitude, Food Neophobia, Malaysia, Mental Imagery, Purchase Intention, S-O-R Framework, Visual Sensory CueAbstract
This conceptual paper aimed to examine how visual sensory cues influence Malaysian consumers'' purchase intention towards 3D-printed meat alternatives, with mental imagery and consumer attitude as the mediating roles and food neophobia as a moderating variable. This study adopted a conceptual approach grounded in the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) framework. The paper synthesised existing literature on visual sensory cues, mental imagery, consumer attitude, food neophobia, and purchase intention to propose a comprehensive theoretical model for understanding consumer acceptance of 3D-printed meat alternatives in Malaysia. The proposed framework suggested that visual sensory cues served as external stimuli that evoked mental imagery and shaped consumer attitudes, which subsequently influenced purchase intention. Also, the study found that food neophobia was expected to moderate the relationship between consumer attitude and purchase intention, reflecting the psychological barriers associated with novel food technologies. This paper addressed a critical gap in the literature by integrating visual sensory cues and mental imagery within the S-O-R framework to explain consumer responses to 3D-printed meat alternatives in the Malaysian context, where direct product experience is currently unavailable.
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