Forecasting the different influencing factors of household food waste behavior in China under the COVID‐19 pandemic

Abstract

At present, both developed and developing countries around the world are facing a serious problem of household food waste. The current state of food waste cannot be ignored, especially during the COVID‐19 pandemic. This study examined the effects of psychological level factors, cultural level factors, and situational level factors on household food waste behavior in China. Besides, the factors affecting household food waste behavior were identified and evaluated using the extended theory of planned behavior (TPB) model. In this study, participants (N = 337) completed a questionnaire assessing their household food waste behavior. We found that COVID‐19 food supply restriction, budget constraints, attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control have a positive significant impact on residents' intention to reduce food waste. The result unveiled that perceived health risks, herd mentality, status display face consciousness, and other‐oriented face consciousness have a negative significant impact on residents' intention to reduce food waste. We tested the mediating effect of intention to reduce food waste between antecedent variables and household food waste behavior. The study adds to the academic literature and practical implication on Chinese household food waste behavior by combining numerous factors on a single model, grounded in the TPB.