GLOBALIZATION AND LOCAL RESPONSIBILITY: OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY AND FOOD WASTE REDUCTION IN MALAYSIA’S QUICK SERVICE SECTOR
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35631/IJIREV.826017Keywords:
Food Waste Reduction, Globalization, Local Responsibility, Operational Efficiency, Portion Control, Quick Service Restaurants, Staff Training, Standard Operating ProceduresAbstract
The problem of food waste is a major operational, environmental, and economic challenge for the foodservice industry, especially for Quick Service Restaurants (QSRs), where speed, standardization, and high-volume production are key to daily operations. Previous studies, however, have mainly investigated operational practices and attitudes to food waste separately, and the mediating effect of employee attitude between operational practices and food waste behavior has been under-researched. In this study, the effect of food waste reduction strategies (conceptualized as a composite construct including staff training, portion control, and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) as key operational capabilities required for food waste reduction) on QSR food waste reduction behavior was examined, and attitude toward food waste was explored as a mediator. The study was based on the Resource-Based View (RBV) and the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to show how operational capabilities (RBV) and employee psychological readiness (TPB) are interrelated. The quantitative approach was used, and the data were obtained from the employees of selected outlets of McDonald's and Marrybrown in the Klang Valley based on a purposive sampling method with a total of 336 employees. The findings revealed that food waste reduction strategies directly predicted both QSR food waste reduction behavior (β = .875, R^2 = .766, p < .001$) and employee attitude toward food waste (β = .975, R^2 = .951, p < .001$), while attitude significantly predicted waste reduction behavior (β = .866, R^2 = .750, p < .001$). Mediation analysis confirmed that attitude toward food waste partially mediated this relationship, exhibiting a statistically significant indirect effect ($\text {Effect} = .2337, 95\%\text {Boot CI [.0184, .4646] $). Theoretically, the study demonstrates that internal operational capabilities (RBV) require psychological alignment through employee attitude (TPB) to achieve consistent food waste reduction behavior in QSR operations. Practically, QSR operators should strengthen staff training, portion control, SOP implementation, and employee attitude-building efforts to reduce avoidable food waste.
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