| Abstract [eng] |
The data collected in the literature analysis about personal norms and the opinion of others (social norms) allow a better understanding of human behavior. How people's intentions are influenced by certain personal norms, surrounding norms and how this can be changed. Two theories are distinguished in the literature, which are most often described in similar types of research. The theory of planned behavior and the theory of norm activation became the main theories on which the literature was based, when making a working model and studying people's intentions. Other studies were found in the literature that confirm that the intention to waste less depends on personal and social norms. After analyzing the available literature, a research methodology was developed and a study was conducted, which helped to find out what personal norms affect consumers' intentions to waste less food and how this changes under the influence of the opinions of others. The working model consists of 7 variables from which 9 research hypotheses are formed. A non-random convenience quantitative online survey was chosen for the study, which consisted of sample questions, questions based on reliable constructs found in the literature (evaluated on a 7-point Likert scale), and demographic questions. 303 suitable questionnaires were selected for further study. The factor analysis performed allowed us to understand two main things: 1) one of the selected constructs was quite weak and was hidden under several different factors, but Cronbach's alpha allows its use; 2) the fear that the constructs "Subjective norm" and "Opinion of others" may be similar was not confirmed, factor analysis showed their significant difference. Cronbach's alpha for all constructs is appropriate for the study and all variables correspond to normality. A linear regression model was used to find out the direct relationship between the variables, and moderation was used for the indirect relationship. It was found that all the studied personal norm variables and "Opinion of others" have a direct influence on the intention to waste less food. It was also found that the variable "Attitude" has a greater influence on the variable "Perceived behavioral control" than "Subjective norm". Analyzing the mediations, it was confirmed that the variable "Opinion of others" has a positive effect and may affect the strength of the relationship between the perception of consequences and the intention to waste less food. This shows that the opinion of others helps to think more about the possible consequences of food waste, which increases the intention to waste less. In this study, eight of the nine hypotheses raised were confirmed. Additional analysis revealed that the education group most affected by the opinion of others regarding food waste is those with secondary, vocational or incomplete higher education. Also, the opinion of others most strongly encourages the intention to waste less in the lowest-earning groups. In this case, everything is separately affected when we check the operation of the variable "Attitude". It was found that the intention to waste less depends on the attitude of respondents earning higher incomes, which makes it clear that those who earn more are more likely to decide for themselves, while those who earn less are more influenced by the opinion of others and try to behave in a way that is accepted according to social norms. The conclusions summarize the results of the study, linking them to the tasks set at the beginning of the work. All tasks were completed, and the results obtained are presented in the conclusions. The findings may be useful for other future studies as well as for business. The recommendations presented in the proposals may be useful for further researchs, analyzing the influence of personal norms on the intention to waste less food under the influence of the opinions of others. |
