Investigating the effect of message framing on event attendees’ engagement with advertisement promoting food waste reduction practices

This research aims to examine the optimal communication strategies to persuade event attendees to engage in food waste reduction (FWR) practices by utilizing the concepts of regulatory focus and reference points in advertising message framing. An online experiment study was conducted to investigate the interaction effects between regulatory focus (prevention- or promotion-focus) and reference points (self- or other-referencing) on consumers’ perceived intrinsic motives of event organizations’ green activities, their attitude toward the company’s FWR practices, and their behavioral intention toward participating in the company’s FWR practices as well as mediating effect of perceived intrinsic motives. Findings revealed a significant interaction effect between regulatory focus and reference points on persuasiveness of green appeals in the context of FWR practices. Mediation analysis revealed that the impact of regulatory focus message on behavioral intention is serially mediated via perceived intrinsic motives and attitude and this serial mediation effects vary in different reference points. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.