Drivers of food waste reduction behaviour in the household context

Abstract

Studies on the drivers of household consumer engagement in various food waste reduction strategies have been limited. We thus address this gap by developing a research model that utilises two well-known theories, namely, the Theory of Interpersonal Behaviour (TIB) and the Comprehensive Model of Environmental Psychology (CMEP), to explain food waste reduction behaviour in household consumers. The model hypothesises positive associations between emotional, social, and cognitive factors and food waste reduction behaviour, as conceptualised using the 3Rs (reuse, reduce, and recycle). A total of 515 U.S. household consumers participated in the cross-sectional survey. The results suggest that emotional (anticipated guilt), social (sense of community), and cognitive factors (awareness about consequences and environmental knowledge) were positively associated with food waste reduction behaviour. However, the study results did not support the association between a sense of community and reuse intentions. Moreover, anticipated guilt and awareness of consequences were significant drivers of the reuse and reduce food waste behaviours, respectively. The age of the study participants also had a significant controlling influence on the reduce intentions. The study findings have significant implications for governments, policymakers, marketers, and academics that are interested in developing strategies to mitigate the impact of food waste.

Food Waste along the Food Chain in Romania: An Impact Analysis

“…It is essential to reduce FW by acting on the entire food chain, as generally considered also in several previous studies [27][28][29][30][31][32][33].…”

“…It is essential to reduce FW by acting on the entire food chain, as generally considered also in several previous studies [27][28][29][30][31][32][33]. When we talk about the food supply chain, we must consider it as a combination of interactions between farmers and consumers connected with different food processing and distribution companies [34][35][36][37].…”

Business Incentive to Reduce Food Losses in Japan

“…According to Attiq et al [55], the theory of planned behavior does not offer support in explaining the emotions related to food wastage, as suggested by the literature, such as Russell et al [53] and Filimonau et al [56]. Scholars have thus emphasized the need to explore other suitable theoretical approaches, such as the theory of interpersonal behavior, the comprehensive model of environmental psychology, and social practice theory [12,53,55]. Attiq et al [55] used the integration model of the theory of planned behavior and a comprehensive model of environmental psychology to explain food wastage reduction behavior in household consumers.…”

“…Scholars have thus emphasized the need to explore other suitable theoretical approaches, such as the theory of interpersonal behavior, the comprehensive model of environmental psychology, and social practice theory [12,53,55]. Attiq et al [55] used the integration model of the theory of planned behavior and a comprehensive model of environmental psychology to explain food wastage reduction behavior in household consumers. Their results showed that emotional (anticipated guilt), social (sense of community), and cognitive factors (awareness of consequences and environmental knowledge) were positively associated with food wastage reduction behavior [55].…”

“…Attiq et al [55] used the integration model of the theory of planned behavior and a comprehensive model of environmental psychology to explain food wastage reduction behavior in household consumers. Their results showed that emotional (anticipated guilt), social (sense of community), and cognitive factors (awareness of consequences and environmental knowledge) were positively associated with food wastage reduction behavior [55].…”