Mindful Choices: Unveiling the Driving Factors behind Consumers’ Intention to Reduce Single-Use Plastic Utensils

Ju Yeon Shin (), Eojina Kim, Yoon Jung Jang and Manisha Singal
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Ju Yeon Shin: Howard Feiertag Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
Eojina Kim: Howard Feiertag Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
Yoon Jung Jang: School of Hotel, Food Service & Culinary Arts, Woosong University, Daejeon 34606, Republic of Korea
Manisha Singal: Howard Feiertag Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 2, 1-20

Abstract: As consumers increasingly access takeaway food from restaurants, the importance of reducing the use of single-use plastic has emerged. To investigate this complex process, the current study applies the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and the Norm Activation Model (NAM) to discover how this theory and model leads to discovering customers’ behavioral intentions. Data were collected from 436 respondents and reflect people aged 18 years or older who accessed an online food ordering platform within the three months prior to the study data collection. Results present that customers’ attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, awareness of consequences, and personal norms regarding reducing single-use plastic utensils influence consumers’ behavioral intentions. These findings are meaningful to academia in providing insights into the link between consumers’ behavior and reducing the use of single-use plastic utensils in the restaurant context. In addition, this study provides marketing strategies and implications for improving consumers’ awareness of the use of single-use plastic utensils in retail food services.

Keywords: consumer behavioral intention; single-use plastic utensils; takeaway food from a restaurant; theory of planned behavior; norm activation model (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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