Targeting Youths’ Intentions to Avoid Food Waste: Segmenting for Better Policymaking

Ewelina M. Marek-Andrzejewska and Anna Wielicka-Regulska
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Ewelina M. Marek-Andrzejewska: Department of Economics and Economic Policy in Agribusiness, Faculty of Economics, Poznań University of Life Sciences, 60-624 Poznań, Poland
Anna Wielicka-Regulska: Department of Economics and Economic Policy in Agribusiness, Faculty of Economics, Poznań University of Life Sciences, 60-624 Poznań, Poland

Agriculture, 2021, vol. 11, issue 4, 1-22

Abstract: Food waste is a global challenge that raises many questions about the reasons and prevalence of this phenomenon in all sectors of the economy. The youth is regarded as a consumer group, which is the most prone to food waste. This paper aims to understand their food waste intentions to support tailored policies for policymakers, retailers, and other market actors. We applied the extended Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to find the relevant variables that affect the youth’s intention not to waste food. Besides creating a general model, we divided the sample into segments differing in respondents’ intentions to avoid food waste and specific socioeconomic characteristics. The data confirm significant differences between young women and men from urban and rural areas. Each of the segments was characterized by specific latent variables, influencing the intentions to avoid food waste. This segmentation allowed for developing policy recommendations that were tailored to each segment. It is a unique approach to differentiate the youth to unveil their specific food-waste intentions. Based on the above, we conclude that segmenting is a useful approach to the general TPB model, allowing for interesting insights. A fine segmentation is also a milestone to develop tailored policies, interventions, and communication on food waste reduction in rural and urban areas.

Keywords: consumer attitudes; Millennials; gender; rural areas; urban areas (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (12)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jagris:v:11:y:2021:i:4:p:284-:d:524122

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