ATTITUDES, NORMS, AND RESPONSIBILITY IN FOOD WASTE REDUCTION: A COMBINED APPROACH USING THE THEORY OF PLANNED BEHAVIOR AND NORM ACTIVATION THEORY
Food waste reduction, Theory of planned behavior, Norm activation theory, Consumer behavior.
The objective of this research was to verify the effect that constructs from the theory of planned behavior and the theory of norm activation exert on the behavior of reducing food waste in consumers residing in Brazil, considering the moderation of collectivism. To achieve the research objective, a quantitative, descriptive, and cross-sectional study was conducted. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze results and test hypotheses. The main contribution of this research is that, in order to reduce wasteful habits among Brazilian consumers residing in Brazil, it is important that ethical and altruistic behavior be combined with deliberate behavior resulting from a rational analysis of personal costs and benefits. What makes this research original is the combination of two theoretical perspectives on the phenomenon in question, since, based on the results, it can be observed that the two theories combined led to an increased intention and behavior to reduce food waste. In this sense, the considerable effect of assigning responsibility on attitude and the strong mediating effect of attitude in the indirect relationship between assigning responsibility and the intention to reduce food waste are highlighted.