Developing and testing a theoretical model of food donation behavior

The global challenges of food insecurity, coupled with the large scale of food waste generated by the restaurant industry, necessitate collaborative efforts from both individuals and businesses. Drawing upon the behavioral reasoning theory, this study develops a model investigating the influence of both “reasons for” (“altruism”, “social norms”, “egoism”, and “tax incentives”) and “reasons against” (“financial burdens”, “inconvenience”, “insufficient information”, and “liability concerns”) on the food donation behavior of restaurant managers. The model is tested on a sample of 300 restaurant managers in South Korea using structural equation modeling. The findings suggest that “altruism” and “social norms” exhibit a positive influence on both attitudes and intentions toward food donation, while “inconvenience” has a negative impact on both. Moreover, “tax incentives” and “insufficient information” emerge as significant predictors of intentions to donate food. In addition, “trust in food banks” significantly mitigates the negative impact of “reasons against” on food donation intentions, although its effect on attitudes is not significant. These findings provide novel implications to advance the existing knowledge and develop more effective strategies for promoting restaurant food donation practices.