Mind your food manners: Investigating consumers' wasteful behaviour - A systematic literature review

Approximately one-fifth of food discarded globally and the wastage magnitude estimated to reach 2.1 billion tonnes by year 2030. This paper systematically synthesised past literatures based on PRISMA 2020 to gain insights on consumer food waste behaviour. The review solicited 51 studies from SCOPUS and WOS database that resulted to 11 theories and 57 factors related to the subject. Theory of Planned Behaviour represented close to 74 percent of reviewed articles and emerged as the most overused theory in food waste literature. Motivating factors associated with food waste were clustered into intrinsic, extrinsic, social and contextual attributes. Individual cognitive prowess can be manipulated by mental reasonings or automatic irrationality, thus leading towards biased conclusion or decision. To curtail unsustainable practices of food waste, the review proposed an integrated model reconciling motivational factors with the purview of contextual perspectives under contemporary economy landscape that can significantly nudge the choice one make. In light of pursuing resource and consumption efficiency ahead of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Agenda 2030, future studies should exploit consumer's underpinning triggers and probe novel frontiers in curating choice architectures and leveraging on current economy facets such as circularity. • Key descriptive findings resulted in the identification of 11 theories and 57 factors. • TPB is the most utilized underpinning theory in the food waste literature. • TPB represented close to 74 percent of all reviewed articles. • Intrinsic, extrinsic, social and contextual factors form key motivational forces. • Proposed an integrated framework assimilating choice architecture and circularity.