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“Ugly food” refers to agricultural products that are discarded because their appearance is not attractive, even though their nutritional content is unaffected. In this study, protection motivation theory (PMT) was applied to analyze whether an individual’s awareness of food waste problems affects their “ugly food” purchase intention.
- food waste problem
- protection motivation theory
- threat appraisal
- coping appraisal
1. Food Waste Problem and Ugly Food
As of 2020, the average amount of food waste produced by one person worldwide per year is 65 kg, of which approximately 25% is vegetables, 24% cereals, and 12% fruits [3]. Dou and Toth [22] emphasized that it is essential to analyze and deeply understand why, where, and how these food wastes are generated to ensure a better future.
Regarding this food waste problem, Papargyropoulou et al. [23] studied the issue of oversupply of food and waste and emphasized that supply distributed through food supply chains should be fundamentally reduced to decrease food waste. Stancu et al. [11] studied Danish food waste behavior and revealed that routines are the most important factors affecting individuals’ food waste behaviors. Chen et al. [3] studied 151 countries worldwide to determine various losses from food waste. Developed countries have shown several times higher food waste losses than underdeveloped countries, especially in East Asian countries, and the amount of vegetable loss is high [3]. Aldaco et al. [4] analyzed the problem of food waste in Spain during the COVID-19 pandemic and emphasized the need to improve the sustainable distribution supply chain to more efficiently manage discarded food. Dhir et al. [14] comprehensively reviewed related previous studies on the problem of food waste in the hospitality industry. Their review revealed that the main keywords for the food waste problem were “hotspots”, “leftover handling”, “stage of generation”, and “nudges”.
Hartmann et al. [17] emphasized the importance of consuming ugly agricultural products to solve the food waste problem and analyzed measures to increase consumers’ ugly food choices. Xu et al. [8] emphasized that promotional activities for ugly food are urgently needed to reduce food waste. Qi et al. [18] also argued that more diverse promotional activities are urgently needed to change the negative perception of ugly food to a more positive view and studied marketing strategies to increase ugly food sales.
In addition, studies on the food waste problem have been conducted widely in various countries and have yielded diverse results owing to different theories and analysis methods. In particular, there are more studies analyzing the many causes of food waste than there are discussing solutions to the food waste problem [2,11,23,24].
In this study, the ugly food purchase intention was analyzed as a solution to reduce food waste. Measures to minimize food waste and contribute to the environment will require a wide range of complex approaches. However, this study aims to conduct an analysis focusing on individuals’ purchase intention for ugly food to provide valid basic data in related research fields.
2. Protection Motivation Theory
The PMT, first presented by Rogers [20] to help explain the influence of fear, states that some stimuli affect individuals’ threat appraisal and coping appraisal, which eventually stimulate protection motivation, leading to behaviors [20]. PMT predicts changes in human behavior based on two perspectives of environmental fear appeal and personality: environmental fear is represented by threat appraisal, and personality is represented by coping appraisal [25]. Threat appraisal consists of the two sub-concepts severity and vulnerability. More specifically, threat appraisal is an individual’s estimation of the level of threat [26]. Coping appraisal is a concept that explains recommended behavior to reduce threats, and also consists of two sub-concepts: response efficacy and self-efficacy [26]. This theory was evaluated as a model that can accurately predict human decision-making processes and behaviors [27].
PMT has been applied in various fields; in particular, studies have been widely conducted on social issues, such as disasters and health. Al-Rasheed [28] studied protection motivation behavior against the COVID-19 pandemic in Kuwait. Trust in the government and perceived severity, vulnerability, response efficacy, and self-efficacy have been shown to increase protection motivation behaviors among Kuwaitis. Kim and Crimmins [29] studied the different behaviors of younger and older people regarding the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States and revealed differences by age. Additionally, Okuhara et al. [30] studied the psychological factors related to the COVID-19 pandemic by applying the PMT. Japanese individuals’ perceived severity and self-efficacy were shown to enhance individuals’ experiences of staying at home. However, perceived vulnerability and response efficacy did not have a significant effect on Japanese behavior.
In addition, this theory has been applied to environmental issues, such as various waste problems, which have been considered another social issue in recent years. Janmaimool [31] studied sustainable waste management and analyzed respondents’ reuse and recycling, waste avoidance, waste disposal, and green purchasing behaviors, focusing on Bangkok, Thailand. Tchetchik et al. [32] studied the consumption and recycling reduction behavior due to COVID-19 in Israel by applying PMT. Yusoff and Asmuni [33] studied waste management behavior, focusing on Malaysia.
3. Relationships among the Constructs
3.1. Relationship between Awareness of Food Waste Problem and Threat Appraisal
Cho et al. [34] studied restaurant customers’ water quality concerns caused by water pollution, and indicated that water quality significantly affects threat appraisal composed of severity and vulnerability. Chang and Lee [35] studied the risk of COVID-19 and health consciousness and confirmed that the risk of COVID-19 positively influences threat appraisal composed of severity and vulnerability. In terms of recycling reduction behavior due to COVID-19, Tchetchik et al. [32] revealed that the COVID-19 lockdown positively affected threat appraisal composed of collective and individual threat appraisal.
3.2. Relationship between Awareness of Food Waste Problem and Coping Appraisal
According to Cho et al. [34], water quality positively affects consumers’ coping appraisal comprising self-efficacy and response efficacy. Chang and Lee’s [35] study showed that people’s health consciousness positively influences coping appraisal composed of self-efficacy and response efficacy. Regarding consumption reduction behavior due to COVID-19, Tchetchik et al. [32] indicated that the COVID-19 lockdown positively affected coping appraisal composed of adaptive and maladaptive appraisal.
3.3. Relationship between Threat Appraisal and Ugly Food Purchase Intentions
Janmaimool [31] studied food waste disposal behavior and found that threat appraisal composed of perceived severity and probability positively affected respondents’ waste disposal behaviors. According to Chen et al.’s [36] electronic waste protection study, perceived threat as a threat appraisal positively affected information security protection intention. In terms of waste management behavior, according to Yusoff and Asmuni [33], threat appraisal positively affects waste disposal and reuse behaviors.
3.4. Relationship between Coping Appraisal and Ugly Food Purchase Intentions
In the context of tourism, Horng et al. [37] studied energy-saving behavior and indicated that travelers’ response efficacy and self-efficacy as coping appraisal positively affect their energy-saving behaviors. In terms of a sustainable waste management study, Janmaimool [31] revealed that coping appraisal that consists of response efficacy and self-efficacy affected waste disposal behaviors partially. Only self-efficacy enhanced respondents’ waste disposal behavior, and response efficacy did not significantly affect waste disposal behavior. Shafiei and Maleksaeidi [38] studied university students’ pro-environmental behaviors and found that students’ self-efficacy positively affects pro-environmental behavior. Chen et al. [36], in the context of an electronic waste study, reported that self-efficacy as a coping appraisal positively affected information security protection intention. Yusoff and Asmuni [33] indicated that coping appraisal positively affects waste disposal behavior.
3.5. Moderating Role of Age
According to Mayer et al. [39], human behavior is deeply connected with age; humans mature with age, and their ability to control their emotions improves. Humans tend to show a higher level of problem-solving ability as they get older based on the diverse knowledge they have gathered in their lives, and their empathy for others also tends to become stronger [40].
Kim and Crimmins [29] studied the COVID-19 situation in the United States, and the PMT was applied to analyze differences by age. The results indicated that younger people’s coping appraisal had a positive effect on protection motivation behaviors; however, in the case of older people, threat appraisal had a positive effect on protection motivation behavior. In other words, the results differed according to age. Shao et al. [16] confirmed the moderating effect of age in a study on ugly food promotion. In the younger group, women’s purchase intention was much higher, whereas in the relatively older group, both men and women showed a high purchase intention for ugly food. Wilson et al. [41] attempted to analyze the moderating effects of age in a study on the possibility and fear of COVID-19 and found that the fear of COVID-19 felt by younger age groups was higher than that of older people, revealing differences by age.
As such, previous studies in several fields have revealed significant differences in consumer behavior according to age. Furthermore, age is a basic demographic variable that influences consumer behavior, and the results derived from age-specific moderating effect analysis will be meaningful in establishing more effective and practical marketing strategies in our daily lives [16]. Based on these findings, Hypothesis 9 was established (see Figure 2):
Figure 2. Research framework.
This entry is adapted from the peer-reviewed paper 10.3390/su14031861
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