Post Date: 31 March 2020

The Analysis and Characterization of the Cultural Dimensions of Food Waste Behavior in Hong Kong Hotels

Abstract:

The global hotel industry plays a significant role in food waste generation. In Hong Kong alone, hotels greatly contribute to the approximately 800 tons of food waste generated on a daily basis by commercial and industrial sources. The severity of the matter is further underlined by the fact that Hong Kong’s landfills are rapidly approaching their full capacity, thus making waste disposal a great challenge for the city. Considering the crucial role of the hospitality industry in the issue as well as its potential for global reach, emphasis needs to be put on waste reduction in this sector. However, the nature of hotels is creating various barriers for sustainable conduct. Key impediments to successful implementation of waste reduction strategies are the lack of understanding of stakeholder values, perceptions and overall behavior, as well as the differing importance assigned to ‘green’ conduct by guests, hotel staff and management. In order to devise successful social marketing strategies for food waste reduction in a hotel environment, it is essential to recognize which behavioral factors are preventing and which are enhancing food-waste related problem-solving.

The thesis thus sets out to explain how national culture affects corporate culture within Hong Kong hotels, which cultural values play a role in the food waste generation process and how these issues impact interrelations among actors, as well as response mechanisms and potential for steering the given hotels towards a more sustainable future.

This thesis therefore examines whether cultural background of hotel guests, employees and managers plays a role in the extent to which food is wasted in Hong Kong’s hotel environment. The key objective is to determine fundamental behavioral issues which are inhibiting more sustainable conduct, understanding how cultural aspects influence such issues and unravelling connected communication complexities between management and employees. Essentially, it was determined how cultural values impact managerial and employee response both directly and indirectly.

The focus of the research was on Hong Kong’s high tariff A and B hotels, which are notable not only for their contribution to food waste but also for the diverse cultural backgrounds of employees and customers and for catering to the environmentally critical luxury market.

In order to understand potential influence of culture on food waste behavior, Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, which are particularly relevant for cultural studies in a business context, were used to determine core value constructs.  A variety of other behavioral concepts, as well as related Chinese value systems, were also examined in order to augment the Hofstede perspective and create a deeper understanding of these. Fourteen interviews were conducted with hotel managers and employees. The semi-structured interviews were then analysed as per the Straussian grounded theory method. The interviews revealed a complex set of interdependencies, not only between culture and behavior per se, but among the various actors in their response to the cultural dispositions of other actors. These relationships suggested that the results be interpreted to establish categories for classification of communication disconnects, thus forming the basis for the constructed heuristic model that outlines all interactions in a detailed manner.

The results of the interviews confirm that cultural values play a role in the food waste generation process and that impacts of interrelations among actors holding different cultural values has not appropriately been integrated into food waste behavior management. Chinese values related to conformity and power appear to play the greatest role in enhancing food waste creation; the former being of high importance for employee engagement and feedback, the latter being important for guest and managerial reaction. As indicated, the problem goes beyond mere cultural issues, as communication faults, related stringent corporate policies as well as institutional path dependency are also key determinants in impeding more sustainable conduct in this environment. Communication constraints are leading to improper handling of food, outdated or inappropriate definitions of luxury for the local context, hotel level indifference and a potential failure to react to changing trends which could positively impact food waste generation. Also, cross-cultural adaptation appears to outweigh stakeholder values of European managers, thus inhibiting sustainable conduct further. Overall, a great attitude-behavior disconnect can be seen for all parties when it comes to pro-environmental conduct; a disconnect which is fuelled by cultural issues particularly on the employee and management level.

The research enhances understanding of the role of culture and communication in shaping wasteful behavior and will facilitate hotel understanding of their own operations as well as of their employee and guests’ behavioral patterns. This can aid in changing hotels’ internal and external communication methods, which could potentially steer both employee as well as guest behavior towards a higher level of mindfulness. Such significant strategy changes could not only revolutionize the sustainability approach of hotels globally but could also aid in achieving food waste reduction and in enhancing environmental protection.