Generation Z diners’ moral judgements of restaurant food waste in the United States: a qualitative inquiry

Abstract

This study explores Gen Z diners’ perceptions of restaurant food waste generation and prevention, as well as their related moral decision-making. Drawing on the norm activation model and moral disengagement theory, a dual-route process model was developed to depict Gen Zers’ the moral judgement for wasting food or not at restaurants. Six online focus groups with Gen Z diners in the United States were conducted and thematic analysis was applied. The findings of this study identified multiple underlying psychological mechanisms (e.g., moral obligation activation vs. moral disengagement) for explaining Gen Z diners’ food waste behaviors. Situational factors, cultural factors, and restaurant-related factors all play a key role in the moral judgment process. The findings also revealed what Gen Z diners expect restaurants to do in order to address the food waste problem. This study provides valuable theoretical and managerial implications for tackling the food waste issue. The practical contribution of this study supports the restaurant industry to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goal 12 “Responsible Consumption and Production”.

Keywords:

• Gen Z
• restaurant
• food waste
• moral disengagement
• norm activation
• responsible consumption

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Yinghua Huang

Yinghua Huang is an associate professor at the Department of Hospitality, Tourism and Event Management, San José State University, San Jose, CA 95192, USA. Her research interests include sustainable tourism development, tourists’ behaviors, and social media. Dr. Huang has published more than 20 referred articles in scholarly journals, such as Tourism Management, Journal of Travel Research, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, among others.

Emily (Jintao) Ma

Emily (Jintao) Ma is a professor at the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, University of Surrey, Guildford, GU2 7XH, UK. Her work has been published in a number of international journals, such as Tourism Management, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, International Journal of Hospitality Management, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, among others.

Tsu-Hong Yen

Tsu-Hong Yen is a professor at the Department of Hospitality, Tourism and Event Management, San José State University, San Jose, CA 95192, USA. His research interests include sustainability and technologies in hospitality and tourism.