Restaurant Managers’ Adoption of Sustainable Practices: An Application of Institutional Theory and Theory of Planned Behavior

ABSTRACT

The restaurant industry uses vast amounts of resources, but only a paucity of research discusses sustainability issues from restaurant management point of views. By applying both institutional theory and theory of planned behavior, this study addresses this gap by asking casual restaurant managers what motivates them to adopt and implement sustainable practices and by examining managers’ behaviors when facing environmental pressures. The study revealed restaurant managers were most influenced by pressures from their suppliers, customers and to a lesser extent from their employees and by expectations of society at large. Future research should investigate a nationwide sample of restaurant managers.

KEYWORDS:

• Institutional theory
• restaurants
• sustainability
• theory of planned behavior