Audience-Oriented Information Intervention Approach to Food Waste Behavior: An Application in Chinese University Canteens

Shunlong Gong, Chaoyue Liu, Ying Cui, Xiaolan Xiao, Yu Feng and Li Bai ()
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Shunlong Gong: School of Business and Management, Jilin University, 2699 Qianjin Street, Changchun 130012, China
Chaoyue Liu: School of Business and Management, Jilin University, 2699 Qianjin Street, Changchun 130012, China
Ying Cui: School of Business and Management, Jilin University, 2699 Qianjin Street, Changchun 130012, China
Xiaolan Xiao: School of Accounting, Guangzhou College of Technology and Business, No. 5 Guangming Road, Guangzhou 510850, China
Yu Feng: School of Business and Management, Jilin University, 2699 Qianjin Street, Changchun 130012, China
Li Bai: College of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Jilin University, 5988 Renmin Street, Changchun 130022, China

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 16, 1-21

Abstract: Information intervention is often used to reduce food waste in restaurants and canteens. Existing studies have overlooked the target audience’s psychological and behavioral characteristics during message design, resulting in erratic intervention outcomes. This study proposes an audience-oriented information intervention approach that integrates goal systems theory and information feedback paradigms. The cornerstone underlying this approach is the elaboration of release-type and feedback-type intervention messages. Our approach offers a procedure to determine the optimal message-based intervention program. This study empirically applied the approach to intervene in food waste behavior among 1141 Chinese university students in canteens. A between-subjects design quasi experiment was conducted to explore the effect of information intervention, and the results showed that the downward comparative feedback-type message at the ordering stage performed the best. Findings offer practical guidance for reducing food waste in various consumption scenarios and useful inputs for encouraging green consumption behavior.

Keywords: audience-oriented approach; communication; intervention; food waste; goal systems theory; Chinese university canteens (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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