Like grandmother, like mother, like daughter? Intergenerational influence on consumer intention to reduce food waste

Abstract

Little is known about the psychological antecedents of personal norms towards food waste reduction albeit such knowledge is key for the design of mitigation interventions at the consumer level. Personal norms to reduce food waste can be formed at an early age and transferred in a family from generation to generation. Filial piety, or the cultural trait of respect for the elderly, can reinforce personal norms and facilitate their intergenerational transfer. This study extends the norm activation model (NAM) to explore the effect of filial piety on consumer intention to reduce food waste. To this end, the study captures the effect of three family generations i.e., grandmothers, mothers, and daughters, on different NAM constructs. The results of a survey in Turkey (n = 311), a country with traditions of respect for (grand)parents, demonstrate a strong effect of filial piety and intergenerational influence on all NAM constructs except for ascription of responsibility. The intergenerational variations in this influence showcase the growing role of secularisation, urbanisation, and media in shaping personal norms of the modern consumer. The implications for theory, practice, and methodology of research on food waste behaviour are discussed.