This chapter includes a summary of the study and results and conclusions drawn. Limitations of the study and recommendations for future research are described. Also
implications of the study for college and university foodservice administrators are discussed. Summary of Research
Many individuals have raised concerns about the current food system because of applying large amount of chemicals and pesticides in current agriculture system and
transporting foods from long distance (Murray, 2005; Pirog et al., 2001). A more sustainable food system is believed to be needed. Many college and university dining services (CUDS) have implemented sustainable practices to improve their impact on the environment.
The purposes of this study were to identify existing sustainable practices in CUDS, examine CUDSAs’ intention to adopt sustainable practices using the theory of planned behavior, and determine the influence of personal norm in the TPB.
The study sample was drawn from the 555 CUDSAs in the U.S. who had their e-mail listed in the 2008 Directory of the National Association of College & University Food Services (NACUFS). Twenty of the administrators were randomly selected for the pilot test and excluded from the sample. The remaining 535 CUDSAs were identified as the study sample.
A web-based questionnaire was developed based on previous research
(Horovitz ,2006; Sustainability Endowment Institute, 2008), trade journal articles, and CUDS websites. The questionnaire was reviewed by an eight-member expert panel of faculty and university foodservice managers to evaluate its clarity, content validity, and appropriateness of questions. A pilot test was conducted with 20 CUDSAs. The comments from the expert
panel and pilot test participants were used to modify the questionnaire prior to distribution to the study sample.
The research procedures for web questionnaire distribution followed Dillman’s (2007) suggestions. An invitation letter e-mail and a cover letter e-mail were sent within a one week period and three follow-up e-mails were sent one week apart to encourage response.
The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 16.0 was used to conduct descriptive statistics (means, standard deviations, and frequencies), compare means, and determine correlations, reliability, and exploratory factor analysis. The Analysis of Moment Structure (AMOS) Version 16.0 was used to conduct confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling analysis.
Summary of Results
Of the 535 CUDSAs contacted, 13 e-mailed were undeliverable and were returned to the sender. A total of 138 CUDSAs responded (26.4% response). More than two-thirds of respondents (73.8%) were 45 years and older and 65.4% were males. More than half (59.3%) had a bachelor’s degree, 76.6% had attended sustainability workshops, and 86.2% provided educational materials about sustainability to their students. The majority of participants had been with the current institution (75%) and had held their current position for more than five years (58.1%).
The most frequently used sustainable practices in CUDS were recycling of fats, oils, grease; cardboard; white paper; aluminum; tin cans; and newspaper. Practices most likely to have been adopted in the previous two years were composting, trayless dining, local
purchasing, and purchasing biodegradable/ compostable service wares and containers. Participants reported that students, university administrators, and customers influenced their
sustainable decisions. Participants were unsatisfied with the amount of resources they had to support sustainable practices. There were some differences in findings based on type of institution (public vs. private). CUDSAs at private institutions had implemented more practices and were more satisfied than CUDSAs at public institutions. Also findings suggested that CUDSAs who had attended sustainability workshops had higher satisfaction with their sustainable practices outcomes and their customers’ reactions.
Internal consistency for each of the multi-item constructs was determined using Cronbach alpha; all scales were found to be reliable. The hypothesized model was tested using AMOS 16.0. Results of the analysis showed that the hypothesized model had an adequate fit to the data. Model results are summarized in Table 6.1. Chi-square change was used to measure whether the personal norm construct helped reduce unexplained variance in the TPB model. Including Personal norm in the TPB model resulted in a significantly better fit to the data and reduced unexplained variance by 33.48%.
Table 6. 1 Summary of Structural Equation Modeling of the Theory of Planned Behavior Applied to College and University Dining Service Administrators' Intention to Adopt Sustainable Practices
Hypothesized Path Hypothesis
Attitude Intention (H1) S
Subjective norm Intention (H2) S
Perceived behavior control Intention (H3) NS
Personal norm Intention (H4) S
Knowledge Attitude (H5a) NS
Knowledge Perceived behavior control (H5b) NS
Knowledge Personal norm (H5c) NS
Personal value Attitude (H6a) S
Personal value Subjective norm (H6b) S
Personal value Perceived behavior control (H6c) NS
Personal value Personal norm (H6d) S
Past experience Attitude (H7a) S
Past experience Subjective norm (H7b) S
Past experience Perceived behavior control (H7c) S
Past experience Personal norm (H7d) S
Conclusions
This study examined current sustainable practices in CUDS, CUDSAs’ intention to adopt sustainable practices using the TPB model, and the effect of including personal norm in the TPB model. Results indicated the many CUDS operations have implemented
sustainable practices. The most widely used sustainable practices were recycling fat, oil, grease, recycling cardboard, using recycled paper products, and recycling aluminum. More recently adopted sustainable practices were composting, trayless dining, local purchasing, and purchasing of biodegradable/ compostable table wares and containers. Results of
descriptive analysis and the TPB model revealed that CUDSAs’ social pressures (internal and external colleagues) had the most positive influence on their behavioral intention to adopt sustainable practices, followed by their attitude toward sustainable practices and their personal norm about sustainable practices. Moreover, including personal norm in the TPB model improved the understanding of CUDSAs’ intention to adopt sustainable practices.
Managerial Implications
CUDSAs need to recognize that adopting sustainable practices is becoming a
common practice. The results of this research provide CUDSAs information about what other CUDSAs are currently doing and suggest sustainable practice benchmarks for their
operations in the future.
Findings suggested that CUDSAs who had provided students with educational materials about sustainability were more satisfied with outcome of current sustainable
practice, amount of resources they have to support sustainable practices, and their customers’ reactions toward sustainable practices. Therefore, CUDSAs who are implementing or
currently have sustainability programs are encouraged to provide educational materials to educate their students, customers and employees.
Students, customers, university administrators, internal and external colleagues all influence CUDSAs’ sustainability decisions. Therefore, when CUDSAs are deciding which sustainable practices they should adopt, they should talk with their students, administrators, and internal and external colleagues.
Results of this study indicated that CUDSAs who attended sustainability workshops had higher satisfaction with the outcome of current sustainable practices and customers’ reaction. CUDSAs who have limited knowledge about sustainability might find it beneficial to attend sustainability workshops.
Limitations
There are several limitations that should be recognized in this study. The study sample was chosen from the membership of a professional organization, the National
Association of College and University Food Service (NACUFS). The results of the study are limited to the extent that NACUFS members are representative of the population of all college and university foodservice administrators. Another potential limitation of the study is the low response rate. Reasons for this low response are unknown. A web-based
questionnaire was used to collect the data for this study. Technology problems, such as inability to access the web questionnaire and inability to submit the questionnaire after completion were reported by some participants; such problems could have occurred for others in the completion of the questionnaire and reduced response. The web questionnaire was sent out in late August which may have impacted the response rate if this was a busy time for CUDS administrators. Distribution as bulk e-mails (5 or 10 e-mails as a group)
might also have contributed to the low response if the email was screened by the institution’s spam filters.
Recommendations for Future Research
Based on findings of this study, several recommendations for future research are suggested. First, this study focused on identifying current sustainable practices and factors that impacted CUDSA’s intention to adopt sustainable practices. Further research could be conducted to explore how implementing sustainable practices impacts budget planning, financial performance, students’ participation, and customer satisfaction. In order to increase generalizability of the findings, further research could be conducted from more diverse CUDSA groups including those who are not members of NACUFS or those from institutions in other countries.
In addition, future research could identify resources needed for implementing
successful sustainable practices. Further exploration on effectiveness of educational materials and programs could be done. This study did not examine whether intentions actually predict future behavior. Future research could use a longitudinal methodology to explore past, current, and future behavior using the TPB model to examine whether past and/or current behavior can be used to predict future behavior. Moreover, future research should consider including customers and students as one of the constituent groups for the subjective norm since they had a strong influence on CUDSAs’ sustainable decisions.
REFERENCES
Ajzen, I. (1988). Attitudes, personality and behavior. Chicago: Dorsey Press.
Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50, 179-211.
Ajzen, I. (2005). Attitudes, personality and behavior. Berkshire, England: Open University Press.
Ajzen, I., & Driver, B. L. (1992). Application of the theory of planned behavior to leisure choice. Journal of Leisure Research, 24, 207-224.
Ajzen, I., & Madden, T. J. (1986). Prediction of goal-directed behavior: Attitudes, intentions, and perceived behavioral control. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 22, 453-474.
American College Personnel Association. (1996). Student learning imperative: Implications for student affairs. Washington, DC: Author.
American Diabetes Association. (2003). Economic costs of diabetes in the U.S. in 2002. Diabetes Care, 26, 917-932.
American Diabetes Association. (2008). Economic costs of diabetes in the U.S. in 2007. Diabetes Care, 31, 596-615.
American Dietetic Association. (2007, March). Healthy land, healthy people: Building a better understanding of sustainable food systems for food and nutrition professionals. A primer on sustainable food systems and emerging roles for food and nutrition professionals. Chicago, IL: Author.
Anderson, J. C., & Gerbing, D. W. (1988). Structural equation modeling in practice: a review and recommended two-step approach. Psychological Bulletin, 103, 411- 423.
ARAMARK Higher Education. (2008, July). The business and cultural acceptance case for trayless dining. Retrieved August 11, 2008, from http://www.aramarkhighered.com/
pdfs/articles/ARAMARK%20Trayless%20Dining%20July%202008%20FINAL.PDF Armitage, C. J., & Connor, M. (2001). Efficacy of the theory of planned behavior: A meta-
analytic review. British Journal of Social Psychology, 40, 471–499.
Arnold, E., & Larsen, J. (2006). Bottled water: Pouring resources down the drain. Earth Policy Institute. Retrieved February 20, 2008, from http://www.earth-policy.org
Arnold, J., Loan-Clarke, J., Coombs, C., Wilkinson, A., Park, J., & Preston, D. (2006). How well can the theory of planned behavior account for occupational intentions. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 69, 374-390.
Axelrod, L.J., & Lehman, D. R. (1993). Responding to environmental concern: What factors guide individual action? Journal of Environmental Psychology, 13, 149-159.
Bagozzi, R. P., & Warshaw, P. R. (1990). Trying to consume. Journal of Consumer Research, 17, 127-140.
Bang, H. K., Ellinger, A. E., Hadjimarcou, J., & Traichal, P. A. (2000). Consumer concern, knowledge, belief, and attitude toward renewable energy: An application of the reasoned action theory. Psychology & Marketing, 17. 449-168.
Basel, P., Maurer, G., & Slawinski, N. (2008). Beyond good intentions: Strategies for managing your CSR performance. Ivey Business Journal Online, 72(1). Retrieved April 20, 2008, from http://www.iveybusinessjournal.com/article.asp?intArticle_ ID=739
Bentler, P. M, & Speckart, G. (1979). Models of attitude-behavior relations. Psychological Review, 86, 452-464.
Bertagnoli, L. (2006). The ten-minute manager’s guide to green initiatives, part 2. Restaurants & Institutions, 116(21), 28.
Bertera, R. L. (1990). Planning and implementing health promotion in the workplace: A case study of the Du Pont Company experience. Health Education Quarterly, 17, 307-327. Bevan, S., Isles, N., Emery, P., & Hoskins, T. (2004). Achieving high performance: CSR at
the heart of business. Retrieved March 9, 2008, from http://www.indsoc.co.uk/assets /docs/publications/190_Achieving%20high%20performance.pdf
Bhyan, S. (2007). The “people” factor in cooperatives: An analysis of members’ attitudes and behavior. Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics, 55, 275-298.
Biodegradable Products Institute (n.d.). Confused by the terms biodegradable & biobased. Retrieved January 23, 2008, from http://www.bpiworld.org/Files/Article
/Art7OPeSJ.pdf
Bonne, K., Vermeir, I., Bergeaud-Blackler, F., & Verbeke, W. (2007). Determinants of halal meat consumption in France. British Food Journal, 109, 367-386.
Brown, A., & Eaton, C. (2007). Sustainable initiatives for grab-n-go packaging at other college and university. Retrieved November 8, 2007, from http://envs.colorado.edu /uploads/undergrad/Part_4.pdf
Brown, T. A. (2006). Confirmatory factor analysis for applied research. New York: Guilford.
Burress, C. (2007, November 20). S.F. program recycles restaurants’ cooking oil for use as fuel. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved December 13, 2007,
from http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-
bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/11/20/MNQ1TFM7U.DTL
Bush, M. (2005). Greenware—is it green? Green Guide,109. Retrieved January 23, 2008, from http://www.thegreenguide.com/doc/109/greenware
Business for Social Responsibility (2007, August). Perspectives on information management in sustainable supply chains. Retrieved November 18, 2007, from http://www.bsr.org /reports/BSR_Info-Management-Supply-Chains.pdf
Campbell, M. C. (2004). Building a common table: The role for planning in community food systems. Journal of Planning Education and Research, 23, 341-355.
Carroll, A. B. (1979). A three-dimensional conceptual model of corporate performance. The Academy of Management Review, 4, 497-505.
Carroll, A. B. (1991). The pyramid of corporate social responsibility: Toward the moral management of organizational stakeholders. Business Horizons, 34(4), 39-48. Carroll, A. B. (1999). Corporate social responsibility: Evolution of a definitional construct.
Business and Society, 38, 268-295.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2008). Diabetes: Sounding the alert on a debilitating disease. Retrieved March 30, 2008, from http://www.cdc.gov/Features /DiabetesAlert/
Chen, T., & Chen, T. (2006). Examination of attitudes towards teaching online courses based on theory of reasoned action of university faculty in Taiwan. British Journal of Education Technology, 37, 683-693.
Cheng, S., Lam, T., & Hsu, C. H. C. (2005). Testing the sufficiency of the theory of planned behavior: A case of customer dissatisfaction responses in restaurants. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 24, 475-492.
Choi, G., & Parsa, H. G. (2006). Green practices II: Measuring restaurant managers’ psychological attributes and their willingness to charge for the “green practices”. Journal of foodservice Business Research, 9(4), 41-63.
Clugston, R. M., & Calder, W. (1999). Critical dimensions of sustainability in higher education. Retrieved December 8, 2007, from http://www.ulsf.org/pdf/Critical _dimensions_SHE.pdf
Commission of European Communities. (2001). Promoting a European framework for corporate social reasonability. Retrieved October 18, 2007, from http://ec.europa.eu /employment_social/publications/2001/ke3701590_en.pdf
Community Food Security Coalition (CFSC) (2007). Healthy food healthy communities: A decade of community food projects in action. Retrieved January 8, 2008,
from http://www.foodsecurity.org/CFPdecadereport.pdf
Community Food Security Coalition (CFSC) (n.d.). National farm to college program. Retrieved January 8, 2008, from http://www.foodsecurity.org/farm_to_college.html #f2cneed
Composting: The basics (n.d.). Retrieved February 20, 2008, from http://www.howto compost.org/info/info_composting.asp
Conner, M., & Armitage, C. J. (1998). Extending the theory of planned behavior: A review and avenues for further research. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 28, 1429- 1464.
Creswell, J. (2005). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (2nd ed.). Columbus, OH: Merrill Prentice-Hall.
Cruz, J. M. (2008). Dynamics of supply chain networks with corporate social responsibility through integrated environmental decision-making. European Journal of operational Research, 184, 1005-1031.
Dahlberg, K. A. (1993). Regenerative food systems: Broadening the scope and agenda of sustainability. In P. Allen (ed.), Food for the future (pp. 75-102). New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Daly, F. K. (2007). The feasibility of implementing a farm-to-college program at the University of Cincinnati. Master Thesis, University of Cincinnati. Retrieved August 8, 2007, from http://www.ohiolink.edu/etd/sendpdf.cgi/DALY%20FRANCES %20K.pdf?acc_num=ucin1178723108
Davies, T., & Konisky, D. M. (2000). Environmental implications of the foodservice and food retail industries (Discussion paper 00-11). Washington, DC: Resource for the Future. Retrieved March 2, 2008, from http://www.rff.org/rff/documents/rff-dp-00- 11.pdf
Davis, D. E., & Stewart, H. (2002). Changing consumer demands create opportunities for U.S. food system. FoodReview, 25(1), 19-23.
Davis, G. (1999). Commercial kitchen ventilation and emissions (California Energy Commission report number: P600-00-029). Retrieved March 2, 2008, from http://www.energy.ca.gov/reports/2002-01-10_600-00-029.PDF
Davis, K. (1973). The case for and against business assumption of social responsibilities. Academy of Management Journal, 16, 312-322.
Déniz-Déniz, M. C., & De Saá-Pérez, P. (2003). A resource-based view of corporate responsiveness toward employees. Organization Studies, 24, 299-319.
Dillman, D. (2007). Mail and internet survey: The tailored design method (2nd ed.). Hoboken NY: John Wiley & Sons.
Dinev, T., & Hu, Q. (2007). The centrality of awareness in the formation of user behavioral intention toward protective information technologies. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 8(7), 386-408.
Dining rooms now going trayless (2007). Foodservice Director, 20(10), 1.
Doll, J. & Ajzen, I. (1992). Accessibility and stability of predictors in the theory of planned behavior. Journal of personality & Social Psychology, 63, 754-765.
Eagan, D. J., & Keniry, J. (1998). Green investment, green return: How practical
conservation projects save millions on American’s campuses. Reston, VA: National Wildlife Federation: Campus ecology program. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED469110)
Eagan, D. J., Keniry, J., Schott, J., Daynanada, P., Jones, K. M., & Madry, L. (2008). Higher education in a warming world: The business case for climate leadership on campus. National Wildlife Federation, Retrieved August 6, 2008, from http://www.nwf.org
/campusEcology/BusinessCase/HigherEducationInAWarmingWorld2-21-08.pdf
Earl, C., Lawrence, A., Harris, N., & Stiller, S. (2003). The campus community and the concept of sustainability: An assessment of College of Charleston student perceptions. Chrestomathy, 2, 85-102.
Ebbeling, C. B., Pawlak, D. B., & Ludwig, D. S. (2002). Childhood obesity: Public-health crisis, common sense cure. The Lancet, 360, 173-482.
Environmental Protection Agency. (2005). Municipal solid waste generation, recycling, and disposal in the United States: Facts and figures for 2003 (EPA530-F-05-003). Washington, DC: U. S. Government Printing Office.
Environmental Protection Agency. (2006a). Inventory of U.S. greenhouse gas emission and sink: 1990-2004 (EAP 430-R-06-002). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Environmental Protection Agency. (2006b). Putting surplus food to good use (EPA530-F-06- 004). Washington, DC: U. S. Government Printing Office.
Environmental Protection Agency. (2007a). Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA). Retrieved December 6, 2007, from http://www.epa.gov/nrmrl/lcaccess/
Environmental Protection Agency. (2007b). Basic information about food scraps. Retrieved July 20, 2006, from http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/organics/fd-basic.htm
Environmental Protection Agency. (2007c). Public Service Announcement: Reusable cups [Motion picture]. Retrieved January 5, 2008, from http://www.epa.gov/
Region9/psa/psa-usecups.html
Environmental Protection Agency. (2008). Sustainability: Basic information. Retrieved March 10, 2008, from http://www.epa.gov/sustainability/basicinfo.htm#what
Eves, A., & Cheng, L. (2007). Cross-cultural evaluation of factors driving intention to purchase new food products- Beijing, China and south-east England. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 31, 410-147.
Fair Trade USA. (2006). Frequently asked questions – Basic. Retrieved February 20, 2008, from http://www.transfairusa.org/content/resources/faq.php
Fenwick, T., & Bierema, L. (2008). Corporate social responsibility: Issues for human resource development professionals. International Journal of Training and Development, 12, 24-35.
Ferris, D. A. & Shanklin C. W. (1993). Cost of alternative methods of disposal of food waste in a university food service operation. National Association of College & University Food Services, 26, 49-56.