IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2024i15p6694-d1450197.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Exploring Front-of-House and Back-of-House Manager Perceptions, Attitudes, and Motivations of Restaurant Food Waste Mitigation: A Qualitative Study

Author

Listed:
  • Sorcha O’Neill

    (Horst Schulze School of Hospitality Management, College of Human Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA)

  • Mark Traynor

    (Horst Schulze School of Hospitality Management, College of Human Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA)

  • Imran Rahman

    (Horst Schulze School of Hospitality Management, College of Human Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA)

  • Yee Ming Lee

    (Horst Schulze School of Hospitality Management, College of Human Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA)

Abstract

This qualitative study explored and compared the perceptions, attitudes, and motivations towards restaurant food waste mitigation among front-of-house (FOH) and back-of-house (BOH) restaurant managers. Semi-structured, one-on-one interviews were conducted with FOH (n = 6) and BOH (n = 7) managers at restaurants in the southeast of the United States. The findings indicated that the participants were highly aware of restaurant food waste and its contribution to food waste; furthermore, they displayed negative sentiments towards it. Additionally, most participants’ awareness was heightened upon acquiring foodservice management positions. Cost reduction was found to be the primary motivation to reduce food waste among most participants; however, most BOH participants were highly motivated by an appreciation for and involvement with the food itself. Guided by the Upper Echelons Theory, the findings provide insight into the underlying cognitive base and values behind restaurant managers’ perceptions, attitudes, and motivations towards restaurant food waste mitigation. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed in detail.

Suggested Citation

  • Sorcha O’Neill & Mark Traynor & Imran Rahman & Yee Ming Lee, 2024. "Exploring Front-of-House and Back-of-House Manager Perceptions, Attitudes, and Motivations of Restaurant Food Waste Mitigation: A Qualitative Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(15), pages 1-16, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:15:p:6694-:d:1450197
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/15/6694/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/15/6694/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kallbekken, Steffen & Sælen, Håkon, 2013. "‘Nudging’ hotel guests to reduce food waste as a win–win environmental measure," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 119(3), pages 325-327.
    2. Kantor, Linda Scott & Lipton, Kathryn & Manchester, Alden & Oliveira, Victor, 1997. "Estimating and Addressing America's Food Losses," Food Review/ National Food Review, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, vol. 20(1), pages 1-11.
    3. Ellison, Brenna & Kalaitzandonakes, Maria, 2020. "Food Waste and Covid-19: Impacts along the Supply Chain," farmdoc daily, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, vol. 10(164), September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Thyberg, Krista L. & Tonjes, David J., 2016. "Drivers of food waste and their implications for sustainable policy development," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 110-123.
    2. Johnson, Lisa K. & Dunning, Rebecca D. & Gunter, Chris C. & Dara Bloom, J. & Boyette, Michael D. & Creamer, Nancy G., 2018. "Field measurement in vegetable crops indicates need for reevaluation of on-farm food loss estimates in North America," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 167(C), pages 136-142.
    3. Kevin D Hall & Juen Guo & Michael Dore & Carson C Chow, 2009. "The Progressive Increase of Food Waste in America and Its Environmental Impact," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 4(11), pages 1-6, November.
    4. Zita Markevičiūtė & Visvaldas Varžinskas, 2022. "Smart Material Choice: The Importance of Circular Design Strategy Applications for Bio-Based Food Packaging Preproduction and End-of-Life Life Cycle Stages," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-13, May.
    5. Jorge Coque & Pilar L. González-Torre, 2017. "Adapting Nonprofit Resources to New Social Demands: The Food Banks in Spain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-16, April.
    6. Chakravarty, Sujoy & Mishra, Rajan, 2019. "Using social norms to reduce paper waste: Results from a field experiment in the Indian Information Technology sector," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 1-1.
    7. Lingfei Wang & Yuqin Yang & Guoyan Wang, 2022. "The Clean Your Plate Campaign: Resisting Table Food Waste in an Unstable World," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-17, April.
    8. Denis Hilton & Nicolas Treich & Gaetan Lazzara & Philippe Tendil, 2018. "Designing effective nudges that satisfy ethical constraints: the case of environmentally responsible behaviour," Mind & Society: Cognitive Studies in Economics and Social Sciences, Springer;Fondazione Rosselli, vol. 17(1), pages 27-38, November.
    9. Dolnicar, Sara & Juvan, Emil, 2019. "Drivers of plate waste," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 1-1.
    10. Jui-Che Tu & Yukari Nagai & Min-Chieh Shih, 2018. "Establishing Design Strategies and an Assessment Tool of Home Appliances to Promote Sustainable Behavior for the New Poor," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-21, May.
    11. Federico G. Topolansky Barbe & Philip von Dewitz & Magdalena M. Gonzalez Triay, 2017. "Understanding Consumer Behaviour to Develop Competitive Advantage: A Case Study Exploring the Attitudes of German Consumers towards Fruits with Cosmetic Flaws," International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, Human Resource Management Academic Research Society, International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, vol. 7(6), pages 554-580, June.
    12. Daniel Black & Taoyuan Wei & Eleanor Eaton & Alistair Hunt & Joy Carey & Ulrich Schmutz & Bingzi He & Ian Roderick, 2023. "Testing Food Waste Reduction Targets: Integrating Transition Scenarios with Macro-Valuation in an Urban Living Lab," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-20, March.
    13. Abu Elnasr E. Sobaih & Ahmed E. Abu Elnasr, 2024. "From Your Plate to Our Bin: Tackling Food Waste in Saudi Family Restaurants," Resources, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-19, September.
    14. Pilar González-Torre & Jorge Coque, 2016. "How is a food bank managed? Different profiles in Spain," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 33(1), pages 89-100, March.
    15. Brian E. Roe, 2021. "Progress and Challenges in Empirical Food Waste Research: A Commentary on “Estimating Food Waste as Household Production Inefficiency,” and “Household Food Waste and Inefficiencies in Food Production”," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 103(1), pages 22-25, January.
    16. Aschemann-Witzel, Jessica & de Hooge, Ilona & Amani, Pegah & Bech-Larsen, Tino & Gustavsson, Jenny, 2015. "Consumers and food waste - a review of research approaches and findings on point of purchase and in-household consumer behaviour," 143rd Joint EAAE/AAEA Seminar, March 25-27, 2015, Naples, Italy 202716, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    17. Georg Liebig & Jens Rommel, 2014. "Active and Forced Choice for Overcoming Status Quo Bias: A Field Experiment on the Adoption of “No junk mail” Stickers in Berlin, Germany," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 37(3), pages 423-435, September.
    18. Rachel Croson & Nicolas Treich, 2014. "Behavioral Environmental Economics: Promises and Challenges," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 58(3), pages 335-351, July.
    19. Lorenzo Compagnucci & Alessio Cavicchi & Francesca Spigarelli & Lorenza Natali, 2018. "A multi-stakeholder attempt to address food waste: The case of Wellfood Action EU project," Economia agro-alimentare, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 20(3), pages 503-528.
    20. Marzena Tomaszewska & Beata Bilska & Danuta Kołożyn-Krajewska, 2022. "Behavior of Polish Consumers in Relation to Meals Ordered in Food Service Establishments in the Context of Plate Waste," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-17, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:15:p:6694-:d:1450197. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.