Consumer's over-ordering behavior at restaurant: Understanding the important roles of interventions from waiter and...

In China, approximately half of total food waste is generated from the foodservice sector, which largely results from irresponsible consumer behavior when ordering food. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to better understand and intervene in Chinese consumers' ordering behavior in restaurants, ultimately contributing to minimizing food waste in China. Thus, the current study proposed a comprehensive model which incorporated habitual processes (individual ordering habits) and situational constraints (interventions from waiters) into the original theory of planned behavior (TPB) and the norm-activation (NAM) theoretical framework. This comprehensive model was tested on a sample of 527 consumers from Mainland China and was compared with the more mature models: TPB, NAM, and a combined model of both. Results showed that the comprehensive model explained the highest degree of variation in over-ordering behavior. Individual ordering habits and interventions from the waiter were proven to be crucial in understanding the complicated decision-making process of ordering foods in restaurants. Based on the model, implications for research and practice are also discussed.