Extended Theory of Planned Behavior (ETPB): Investigating Customers’ Perception of Restaurants’ Sustainability by Testing a Structural Equation Model

Abstract

In the modern competitive scenario, all companies seek to understand how to achieve success. One of the keys to conquer/maintain market shares is sustainability, which is a hot topic of numerous studies that have focused on its use as a solution to obtain social, environmental, economic, and cultural benefits. To this end, the present work aims to identify the variables able to guide consumers towards the choice of sustainable restaurants through the conceptual extension of a theoretical model known in literature as Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). The authors propose an Extended Theory of Planned Behavior (ETPB), consisting of seven variables: attitude; subjective norm; perceived behavioral control; perceived usefulness; curiosity; behavioral intention; and behavior. The authors used a quantitative approach based on the test of a Structural Equation Model (SEM). Overall, 1023 questionnaires were analyzed. The results of the analysis provided empirical evidence for the hypotheses formulated suggesting that attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, perceived usefulness, and curiosity affected the consumers’ behavioral intention to prefer sustainable restaurants and that behavioral intention affected their actual behavior. Based on what emerged from the analysis, the work could be understood as a useful tool for scholars and practitioners, suggesting interesting theoretical and managerial implications. In fact, on the one hand, it contributes to the enrichment of scientific literature related to the factors triggering human choices, and, on the other, it helps maximize the success of the restaurants by highlighting the levers to be actioned to improve business performances. However, the paper presents a main limit, linkable to the fact that, whilst the use of questionnaires represents an advantage in terms of sample size, on the other hand, it does not allow us to go deeper in understanding the reasons why people prefer restaurants that adopt sustainable practices.

Can Climate Change Awareness Predict Pro-Environmental Practices in Restaurants? Comparing High and Low Dining Expenditure

“…Reducing waste in the foodservice industry has been found to have a number of positive environmental and socio-economic consequences [23,47,48]. The foodservice sector is one of the largest food waste sectors based on food inputs, with sustainable measures potentially reducing waste and improving efficiency and thereby lowering costs [47].…”

“…The attitudes and behaviors surrounding food waste in the foodservice sector significantly influence the amount of food waste in restaurants [48]. The level of interest in protecting the environment is so substantial that some consumers actively seek restaurants that adopt sustainable practices e.g., food safety, improved energy efficiency, waste reduction, recycling, and low-carbon food [23]. As pro-environmental practices, waste reduction behavior in foodservices for sustainability and climate change mitigation reasons refers to practices for reducing, recycling, or reusing resources (e.g., food, energy, water, plastic, disposable products) and using renewable energy sources during dining.…”

“…In foodservices, extended TPBs have also improved understanding of consumer behavior in terms of sustainability [21][22][23]. Combining the three variables of environmental concern, collectivism, and perceived consumer effectiveness in an extended TPB has been found to accurately explain consumer intentions to visit eco-friendly restaurants [21].…”

“…In the foodservice and tourism domain, the TPB has proven substantial explanatory power with respect to green consumerism [17][18][19][20]. In particular, the extended TPB has been widely adapted to predict consumers' eco-friendly behavior in the restaurant and food delivery industry [21][22][23]. The TPB has successfully assessed the implications of a number of factors that affect consumer attitudes and behaviors in relation to sustainability, including anticipated pride and guilt [19,20,24] and expenditure levels [25].…”

Resilience in Academic Research: The Role of Personal and Extraneous Antecedents

“…Meanwhile, acceptance of the relationship of PCB to RI present in Utami [57], Foltz, Newkirk, and Schwager [58], and Tommasetti [59]. Classic research such as Armitage and Conner [51] lay the ground that this variable the antecedent of intention.…”