Procrastination, control and perceived effort in food waste behaviour

Abstract

Food waste can be observed in the entire food industry, and it negatively impacts the social, environmental and economic spheres. This study aims to identify the predictive factors for such behavior, specifically those relating the propensity to procrastinate, and the “food control” and “perceived effort” variables as mediators of food waste behavior. To this end, data were collected by way of an online survey, resulting in a consistent final sample of 279 respondents, with the hypotheses being analyzed by structural equation modeling. As the key results of this study, procrastination was not significant for explaining food waste behavior, while food control reduces perceived effort. This study has also clarified that greater, intuitive control is counterproductive. As for its contributions to management, the urgent need to use booklets and training to disseminate food control techniques and access to information on the shelf life of food products stands out.

Keywords

• procrastination
• food control
• perceived effort
• food waste
• consumer behavior