Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic, Social Media Usage and Food Waste Intention: The Role of Excessive Buying Behavior and Religiosity

Abstract

Despite being a religious country, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) ranks among the world’s worst food wasters. Social media usage (SMU) and changes in customers’ behavior, such as excessive buying, are some of the main influences of food waste. This paper examined the impact of SMU on food waste intention (FWI) with the mediating role of religiosity and excessive buying behavior amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. A self-administered questionnaire was completed by 1250 restaurant customers in KSA. The study results employing structural equation modeling (SEM) demonstrated a significant negative impact of customer religion on the intention of food waste. Nevertheless, SMU fosters excessive buying, which in return results in a high FWI. The results also demonstrated that excessive buying behaviors partially mediate the influence of SMU and religiosity on the intention of food waste. The findings have numerous implications for policymakers, academics, and restaurant professionals.