The normative beliefs that form individual food safety behavioral intention: A qualitative explanatory study

Abstract

Reports from the Center for Control Disease and Prevention suggest that approximately 61% of foodborne illnesses were attributed to improper food handling and is the leading cause of outbreaks in the foodservice industry. However, even when employees are trained in food safety, knowledge does not translate into improved practices on the job. Several meta-analyses have suggested the importance of using injunctive norms to predict individual behavior in both social psychology and management journals. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to identify and explore the normative beliefs related to predicting employees’ food safety behavioral intentions.An online survey was first distributed to foodservice employees to measure individual-level norms about food safety practices. A follow-up qualitative questionnaire helped generate an in-depth understanding of employees’ experiences. The narrative texts were then analyzed using ATLAS.ti. Additional diagram analyses were conducted.A total of 104 responses were documented with mostly female participants, a mean age of 36, and an average of about 11.2 years of industry experience. The results indicated that employees were usually not influenced by their manager or coworkers’ approval. Instead, their behavior was guided by innate motivations of moral reasoning and personal ethics. The data further noted that intrinsic motivation should be an essential construct to form normative beliefs. The results challenge the previous understanding regarding normative pressure in food safety. Revalidation of the theory and path inference directions are discussed.