Promotion vs. prevention? The impacts of national cultural values and regulatory focus on near-expiry food across Malaysia and China

Abstract

In high food waste environments, purchasing near-expiry food (NEF) is both an ethical and practical decision. While existing studies have highlighted the role of individual attitudes and economic factors, limited attention has been given to the interplay between cultural moral systems and motivational orientations in shaping such behavior. This study develops and tests a culturally grounded framework that explains how national cultural values and regulatory focus jointly influence consumer intention to purchase NEF. Drawing on Confucian and Islamic ethical systems, three experiments (N = 1321) were conducted in China and Malaysia. Study 1 demonstrated that individuals influenced by Islamic cultural values presented significantly greater NEF purchase intentions than those influenced by Confucian values. Study 2 identified perceived ethical value as a mediator of this effect. Study 3 revealed a significant moderation by regulatory focus: Promotion-focused participants in the Confucian condition reported stronger purchase intentions, whereas prevention-focused participants in the Islamic condition maintained consistently high ethical engagement. Together, these findings highlight that ethical consumption is shaped not only by moral norms but also by motivational alignment. Practical implications are discussed for policy makers and marketers seeking to reduce food waste through culturally and motivationally congruent interventions.