Pro-environmental, pro-social, and pro-self motives in an extended goal-framing framework in driving household food waste

Abstract

Household food waste (HFW) poses a significant global challenge for industries and governments due to its adverse environmental, societal, and individual impacts. This study makes a novel contribution to the existing literature by integrating the value-attitude-behavior (VAB) approach and values operationalized as food-related motives within an extended goal-framing framework to explicate consumers' attitudes toward food waste reduction (AFW) and HFW. Specifically, the investigation delves into pro-environmental (environmental protection and animal welfare) and pro-social motives (political, religious, and moral motives), elucidating normative goals, alongside pro-self motives, which encompass gain (health) and hedonic goals. Data were collected from 600 consumers residing in six major cities across Vietnam through a self-administered questionnaire. Structural equation modeling was utilized to assess the proposed hypotheses. The findings underscore the significant contribution of AFW to reducing HFW and highlight its substantial influence from these motives with varying valence. This study enhances our understanding of how values manifest in food-related motives and extend goal-framing theory, emphasizing the importance of targeting these motives in interventions aimed at mitigating HFW while enhancing AFW.