Waste less, enjoy more: forming a messaging campaign and reducing food waste in restaurants

Food waste not only has significant and negative impacts on the environment but also harms food businesses due to rising food costs. This study investigated consumers’ perceptions, attitudes, and behavioral intentions toward a food waste prevention campaign in buffet-style restaurants. The results indicate that an environmentally focused message had a strong effect on consumers’ attitudes toward preventing food waste in the restaurant. Moreover, there was a significant interaction effect of message appeals and source credibility on consumers’ perception of corporate social responsibility. Both perceived corporate social responsibility and attitudes increase behavioral intentions of preventing food waste, while the consumers with higher level of social responsible consumption will respond strongly to prevent food waste in the restaurant. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed in this paper.