Abstract
This study examines how cultural traits influence the effectiveness of persuasive messaging in reducing food waste in upscale hotel settings.
Tourism, as a hedonistic activity, fosters an environment in which guests prioritise enjoyment and relaxation, often at the expense of sustainable behaviours (McKercher, 2015). Tourists tend to appreciate the availability of extensive high-quality food options, frequently disregarding food waste minimisation (Zhu et al., 2023), which is linked to effortful cognition, negative emotions, and stress (Okumus, 2019). Morkunas et al. (2024) and Filimonau et al. (2022) emphasise that cultural norms, values and traditions play a critical role in shaping food waste behaviours. Hebrok & Boks (2017) unveil that food waste is not merely an issue of logistics or availability but is deeply rooted in social and cultural norms (e.g., habitual consumption patterns, cultural attitudes, social expectations) that shape consumer behaviours. Cultural preferences for food appearance influence purchasing behaviours, often leading to rejection of imperfect produce, contributing to waste (Young et al., 2024). Societies with high food presentation standards (e.g., Japan, Europe) tend to reject aesthetically flawed food, while cultures with a strong tradition of food resourcefulness (e.g., Latin America, Africa) show greater acceptance.
A nine-week field experiment was conducted in upscale hotels in two culturally distinct countries according to Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory (Hofstede, 2010) - Italy (collectivist society) and Australia (individualistic society). The intervention tested two persuasive message frames: a loss- framed, self-benefit message focusing on health consequences, and a gain-framed, other-benefit message emphasising environmental protection. A control (no message) condition was also used (Oyibo & Toyonaga, 2024).
The study formulates the following hypotheses, focusing on the influence of cultural orientation on the effectiveness of persuasive message framing:
H1: A loss-framed, self-benefit message is more effective in an individualistic culture than in a collectivistic culture.
H2: A gain-framed, other-benefit message is more effective in a collectivistic culture than in an individualistic culture.
Daily food waste data were collected in both locations in two distinct settings: a four-star hotel in Italy and a five-star hotel in Australia. Both offer breakfast buffets and are large-scale properties, with 280 and 330 rooms respectively. The 63 measurement days/site, are enabling a robust and naturalistic comparison. Daily data collection was conducted by hotel staff, recording the number of uneaten croissants on. Leftovers were categorised as either full or nearly full croissants (recorded as "1") or half or less (recorded as "1/2"). The field experiment captured over 1,100 individual observations. To triangulate the major findings and enrich the behavioural data, a follow-up survey was administered at experimental sites.
Statistical analysis demonstrates that the effect of loss-framed messaging was more consistent and significant in Italy, contrary to the expectation that an individualistic culture such as Australia would respond more positively to self-benefit appeals (H1). Findings suggest that although Italy is a more collectivist society (Hofstede, 2010), personal health concerns can still be a key motivator for behavioural change, challenging the assumption that egoistic appeals are more effective in individualistic cultures.
Results for the gain-framed, other-benefit message fully support H2, positing that this type of message would be more effective in Italy than in Australia. In Italy, food waste was consistently lower in the gain framed other-benefit treatment when compared to baseline conditions, demonstrating that gain- framed, pro-social messages are highly effective in collectivist cultures. In Australia, the gain-framed message lead to some reductions in food waste, the effect was weaker and less consistent.
Via questionnaires distributed to hotel guests during the experiment, respondents’ agreement with the statement: "Do you believe the awareness message to reduce croissant waste at breakfast positively influenced your consumption behavior?" (1-7 Likert scale) was measured. As Figure 1 shows, responses from Australian participants appear highly polarised, with peaks at low (1-3) and mid-level (4), suggesting a mixed reaction to the message’s effectiveness. The most striking observation is the sharp peak at level 3 (50%), indicating that a significant portion of Australians perceived only a moderate influence. Conversely, Italian respondents demonstrate a clearer upward trend, with 71.2% selecting 7, showing strong agreement that the message influenced their consumption behaviour.
Obviously, Italians were more receptive to the nudging intervention. While Australians exhibit more scepticism or varied perceptions, Italians appear more uniformly influenced, likely due to a higher cultural emphasis on food appreciation and waste reduction.
This study contributes to the understanding of how persuasive communication strategies interact with cultural traits to influence food waste behaviours in hospitality settings. Findings confirm that culturally tailored messaging plays a crucial role in shaping consumer responses to sustainability interventions.