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Consumer Behavior Research in Food: A Focus on Health, Safety, and Sustainability

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2023) | Viewed by 3476

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Pei Liu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Hospitality Management, 214B Mumford Hall, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
Interests: consumer behaviors in food and beverage; food safety in food operations; healthy food consumption; sustainable development in consumer behavior
Dr. Yee Ming Lee

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Horst Schulze School of Hospitality Management , Auburn University, 238H Rane Culinary Science Center, 205 South College Street, Auburn, AL 36830, USA
Interests: food safety: restaurant practices and employee training; food allergies: consumers’ experience and restaurant practices; consumer decision-making for healthy foods

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

It is the great pleasure to invite you to Sustainability's Special Issue entitled “Consumer Behavior Research in Food: A Focus on Health, Safety, and Sustainability”.

Consumer food purchase behaviors and consumption patterns are affected by multiple factors. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), at least 2.8 million people died of induced chronic diseases as a result of being overweight or obese each year globally (WHO, 2021). The increased awareness of health and nutrition, as well as the prevalence of chronic diseases have prompted consumers to make their food choices by taking their well-being into consideration. In addition, over 400 foodborne disease (FBD) outbreaks occur in a restaurant setting annually, which account for more than half of FBD outbreaks in the US (Angelo et al., 2017). Thus, food safety practices and preventive measures implemented by dining facilities are important to consumers when eating out, especially in the aftermath of COVID-19 (Soon et al., 2021; Wei, Chen, and Lee, 2021). Increasingly, not only that consumers are concerned about what they ingest, but the source of food is produced or grown, and what impact food production and consumption have on the environment and society (Liu et al., 2022), it is found that they are loyal to restaurants that engage in sustainable and green practices (Kim and Hall, 2020). Thus, sustainability is also a key influencer of food decision making that cannot be ignored.

This Special Issue invites researchers to submit high-quality original research and reviews on consumer behavior from the perspectives of health, safety, and sustainability. Ultimately, the empirical findings of the published studies will enlighten the readers about the current paradox of consumer behavior in relation to food. Topics of interest for the Special Issue include, but are not limited to:

  • Consumers’ food choice motivations;
  • Determinants of consumer food decision making;
  • Innovation and technology applications in health, safety, and sustainability;
  • Changes in consumer food-related behaviors due to the COVID-19 pandemic;
  • Consumer behavior and marketing strategies for sustainability movement in food.

We look forward to receiving your submissions.

Reference:

Angelo, K. M., Nisler, A. L., Hall, A. J., Brown, L. G., & Gould, L. H. (2017). Epidemiology of restaurant-associated foodborne disease outbreaks, United States, 1998–2013. Epidemiology & Infection, 145(3), 523-534.

Kim, M. J., & Hall, C. M. (2020). Can sustainable restaurant practices enhance customer loyalty? The roles of value theory and environmental concerns. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 43, 127-138.

Liu, P., Segovia, M., Tse, E. C. Y., & Nayga, R. M. (2022). Become an environmentally responsible customer by choosing low-carbon footprint products at restaurants: Integrating the elaboration likelihood model (ELM) and the theory of planned behavior (TPB). Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 52, 346-355.

Soon, J. M., Vanany, I., Abdual Wahab, I. R., Hamdan, R. H., & Jamaludin, M. H. (2021). Food safety and evaluation of intention to practice safe earing out measures during CODIV-19: Cross sectional study in Indonesia and Malaysia. Food Control, 125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2021.107920.

Wei, C., Chen, H., & Lee, Y. M. (2021). Factors influencing customers’ dine out intention during COVID-19 reopening period: The moderating role of country-of-origin effect. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2021.102894.

World Health Organization. (2021). Obesity. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/news-room/facts-in-pictures/detail/6-facts-on-obesity.

Dr. Pei Liu
Dr. Yee Ming Lee
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • consumer behavior
  • sustainability
  • food safety
  • healthy and nutritional food choices
  • food choice motivations
  • food choice decisions
  • technology

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 491 KiB  
Article
Nutrition and Nature: Means-End Theory in Crafting Sustainable and Health-Conscious Meal Kit Experiences
by Damla Sonmez and Scott Taylor, Jr.
Sustainability 2024, 16(8), 3327; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16083327 - 16 Apr 2024
Viewed by 607
Abstract
Meal kits have become increasingly popular as a convenient solution for consumers seeking to prepare high-quality meals at home, falling under the ready-to-cook category. The rising number of subscriptions and the growing presence of companies offering meal kit services illustrate the popularity of [...] Read more.
Meal kits have become increasingly popular as a convenient solution for consumers seeking to prepare high-quality meals at home, falling under the ready-to-cook category. The rising number of subscriptions and the growing presence of companies offering meal kit services illustrate the popularity of this industry. The aims of this study include (a) identifying consumer perceptions of the health and sustainability aspects of meal kit services; (b) exploring how these perceptions influence consumer satisfaction; (c) examining the influence of consumer satisfaction on the intention to repurchase meal kits and recommend them to others; and (d) investigating potential significant differences among meal kit users with dietary, health, and environmental concerns. This exploration encompasses the effects of meal kits’ attributes on each group’s perceived value, satisfaction, and behavioral intentions. The partial least squares technique was utilized to test the research model using SmartPLS 4. Results of the current study support findings of past research suggesting that consumer perceptions of sustainability and healthiness positively influence their satisfaction and consequently their behavioral intentions. The findings of this study also offer practical implications for meal kit companies. Since consumer satisfaction is significantly influenced by both perceived healthiness and sustainability, companies should re-consider their branding strategies by focusing more on environmentally friendly advertising that makes connections between their attributes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Consumer Behavior Research in Food: A Focus on Health, Safety, and Sustainability)
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17 pages, 2291 KiB  
Article
The Effect of Brand Lovemark on Reusable Cups in Coffee Shops: Machine Use Intention, Willingness to Pay a Deposit, and Green Brand Loyalty
by Yooin Noh, Min Jung Kim and Dae-Young Kim
Sustainability 2024, 16(3), 1113; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16031113 - 28 Jan 2024
Viewed by 1149
Abstract
Despite significant coffee shops’ efforts to promote sustainable practices, customers’ actual CSR engagement in the coffee shop industry is still low. This is because CSR practices in the hospitality industry often require customer engagement, which can sometimes be inconvenient for customers, and some [...] Read more.
Despite significant coffee shops’ efforts to promote sustainable practices, customers’ actual CSR engagement in the coffee shop industry is still low. This is because CSR practices in the hospitality industry often require customer engagement, which can sometimes be inconvenient for customers, and some customers may even be skeptical about green practices themselves. Thus, this study examines the effect of brand lovemark on three customer behavioral outcomes (i.e., green brand loyalty, willingness to pay a deposit, and machine use intention) in coffee shops’ CSR practices. We used a scenario-based experimental design on CSR practices in two coffee shop brands (i.e., Starbucks and Dunkin’). The study demonstrates that consumers with a high brand lovemark act more positively toward coffee shop CSR practices than customers with a low brand lovemark. In addition, the interactions between brand lovemark and gender appear to be important in all three behavioral outcomes. Specifically, it confirms that men and women show different levels of behavior outcomes depending on their level of brand lovemark. Theoretical and managerial implications are also suggested with the direction for future study. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Consumer Behavior Research in Food: A Focus on Health, Safety, and Sustainability)
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22 pages, 2476 KiB  
Article
Intrinsic and Extrinsic Cue Words of Locally Grown Food Menu Items and Consumers’ Choice at Hyper-Local Restaurants: An Eye-Tracking Study
by Yoonah Kim Conoly and Yee Ming Lee
Sustainability 2023, 15(17), 12733; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151712733 - 23 Aug 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1261
Abstract
This research examined whether intrinsic (fresh) and extrinsic (local) cue words of locally grown food menu items were associated with consumers’ visual attention (i.e., fixation count and total fixation duration) and menu choice using an eye-tracking methodology and an [...] Read more.
This research examined whether intrinsic (fresh) and extrinsic (local) cue words of locally grown food menu items were associated with consumers’ visual attention (i.e., fixation count and total fixation duration) and menu choice using an eye-tracking methodology and an online survey. Fifty consumers were randomly assigned to read a hyper-local restaurant menu that featured four items (with or without intrinsic or extrinsic cue words) while being eye-tracked. The participants of this study showed a somewhat favorable attitude towards locally grown food though their behaviors were not incongruent with their attitudes. The results showed that there was a relationship between fixation counts and the extrinsic cue word, local, for subsequent menu choices in the way that participants who chose the menu item with the word local appeared to look at it more frequently before making their final menu selection. The participants of this study further identified that factors such as attractive menu descriptions, personal preference, and healthfulness were important when making menu selections. The findings of this study suggested that restaurant operators could use well-crafted descriptions with the word local in their menu, as this approach could influence consumers’ menu selections. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Consumer Behavior Research in Food: A Focus on Health, Safety, and Sustainability)
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