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Small is beautiful: The role of anticipated food waste in consumers’ avoidance of large packages

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  • Petit, Olivia
  • Lunardo, Renaud
  • Rickard, Bradley

Abstract

Larger food packages are often preferred by consumers because they are associated with a decrease in per unit costs and therefore may lead to monetary savings. In this research, we show through a series of studies that consumers’ preferences for larger packages may diminish when they anticipate the potential food waste associated with such packages. Specifically, Study 1 highlights the mediating role of anticipated food waste on consumers’ purchase intentions across small and large package sizes. In Study 2, we show that this mediating effect is observed only for non-perishable products. Study 3 investigates the role of information, and shows that when consumers are primed with information about the consequences of food waste, their preference for larger packages decreases even though such packages are associated with a price promotion. In Study 4, we examine the influence of packaging format, and find that anticipated food waste decreases when large packs are sold as individual units. We also provide a discussion of the practical implications of our results for consumers, food retailers, and policy makers.

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  • Petit, Olivia & Lunardo, Renaud & Rickard, Bradley, 2020. "Small is beautiful: The role of anticipated food waste in consumers’ avoidance of large packages," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 326-336.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:113:y:2020:i:c:p:326-336
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.10.003
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. Kusumowardani, Niken & Tjahjono, Benny & Lazell, Jordon & Bek, David & Theodorakopoulos, Nicholas & Andrikopoulos, Panagiotis & Priadi, Cindy Rianti, 2022. "A circular capability framework to address food waste and losses in the agri-food supply chain: The antecedents, principles and outcomes of circular economy," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 17-31.
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    5. Shankar, Amit & Dhir, Amandeep & Talwar, Shalini & Islam, Nazrul & Sharma, Piyush, 2022. "Balancing food waste and sustainability goals in online food delivery: Towards a comprehensive conceptual framework," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    6. Helen Rogers & Mohit Srivastava, 2021. "Emerging Sustainable Supply Chain Models for 3D Food Printing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-18, November.
    7. Castagna, Ana Carina & Pinto, Diego Costa & Mattila, Anna & de Barcellos, Marcia Dutra, 2021. "Beauty-is-good, ugly-is-risky: Food aesthetics bias and construal level," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 633-643.

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