Journal of Cleaner Production 279 (2021) 123802

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Journal of Cleaner Production

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jclepro

The waste management of fruit and vegetable in wholesale markets:

Intention and behavior analysis using path analysis
Bijan Abadi a, *, Saeid Mahdavian b, Fardin Fattahi b
a
Department of Biosystem Mechanics Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Maragheh, Maragheh, P.O. Box 55181-83111 Iran
b
Agricultural Biotechnology, Kermanshah, University of Razi, Tagh Bostan, University Avenue, 67144-14971, Iran

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The high rate of food waste in Iran, almost 6 times the food waste average of the world was an incentive
Received 7 January 2020 to conduct the research, in spite of much evidence on the behavior of consumers in the matter of waste
Received in revised form management, little known is about waste management behaviors by fruit and vegetable salespeople in
11 June 2020
the supply chain, remained understudied, especially in wholesale markets. This cross-sectional research
Accepted 14 August 2020
Available online 25 August 2020
is intended to investigate the contribution of factors affecting the fruit and vegetable waste (FVW)
management behavior of 265 wholesalers in Kermanshah City, western Iran, were included as the
^ as de
Handling Editor: Cecilia Maria Villas Bo sample of the study and were surveyed using a self-administered questionnaire conceptually under-
Almeida pinned based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and the cultural theory of risk (CTR). The research
findings make known that three seminal constructs of the TPB, such as attitude, subjective norms, and
Keywords: behavioral control have a positive effect on behavioral intention. It was also found that behavioral
Fruit intention strongly influences FVW management behavior. Connected with the personality characteristics
Vegetable of CTR, the results make manifest that individualistic and hierarchical features have a positive effect on
Waste management
attitude, while, fatalism impinges upon attitude, which affects behavioral intention indirectly. In
Wholesale markets
conclusion, we provide management implications and solutions to modify the waste status quo and hints
Kermanshah
Western Iran for future research.
© 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
There are several types of waste creation areas in the societies,
for instance, farm-level waste (Mostafavi et al., 2003), waste in
construction sites (Li et al., 2018), household-level solid waste
(Williams et al., 2012), municipal solid waste (Pattnaik and Reddy,
2010), and vegetable and fruit waste. As being the case in this study,
the increased agricultural waste is one of the challenges of most
countries especially in developing countries. For instance, about 85
percent of the food needs, 82 million tons per year, and 90 percent
of raw materials in Iran are procured from agriculture, with the
waste rate of 35%, which is 28 million tons of waste, about 6 times
the food waste average of the world (Khosravani et al., 2018; Jafari
and Nouruzi Fard, 2016). The increased agricultural wastes have
precarious ecological, social, and economic consequences (Raut
* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: abadi.bijan@gmail.com, abadi@maragheh.ac.ir (B. Abadi),
saeid.mahdavian71@gmail.com (S. Mahdavian), fardin.fatahi137222@gmail.com
(F. Fattahi).
et al., 2018; Khosravani et al., 2018; Fiore et al., 2015). These
wastes are important in terms of high nutritional value, if not
managed, the loss of valuable nutrients would take place (Sadeghi
Mahonak and Mazloomi, 2014). This problem needs to be chal-
lenged by managerial and policy initiatives (Afzali and Ghorbani,
2010; Abdeshahi et al., 2015), the optimal management of agri-
cultural waste is of particular importance especially from envi-
ronmental, economic, and health perspectives, given their high
volume of daily production in all countries (Gheisari et al., 2008;
Pahlavanzadeh and Arvand, 2008; Abdeshahi et al., 2015). Reducing
the amount of food waste and improving efficiency, competitive-
ness, and profitability of the food supply chains (Dome and Prusty,
2017) are essential components in developing sustainable food
system (Fiore et al., 2015), conducive to, for example, poverty
reduction and amelioration of livelihood (Balaji and Arshinder,
2016). By handling the fruit and vegetable wastes, decreasing the
financial and environmental costs occurs (Runyora, 2016). In doing
so, policy initiatives include not just hardware systems but also
entail software systems.
While the highest level of science and technology is applied to

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.123802
0959-6526/© 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
2 B. Abadi et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 279 (2021) 123802

the issue of waste management in supply chains, there are still The reason for the application of these conceptualization frame-
facets of the problem, remained understudied, which stem from works is the compatibility of the nature of the constructs of these
psychological and social dimensions (Mostafavi et al., 2003). Most theories with the objectives of the research because this study
often, policies underline the reuse and recycling of the fruit and seeks to examine the intentions and behavior of FVW management
vegetable waste (FVW), but minimizing the behaviors leading to of wholesalers, especially as proposed that the FVW management
waste is an essential initiative to achieve food security, as in line has a root in the culture, TPB’s concepts serve as the core compo-
with the agenda of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the nent of the theoretical framework, CTR’s concepts as exogenous
United Nations (FAO) (Khosravani et al., 2018). It is argued that variables affecting intention and behavior.
global environmental problems can be effectively remedied by
changes in the daily lives of specific individuals (Barr, 2007). Un-
derstanding of attitude and the behavior of consumers concerning 2.1. Theory of planned behavior (TPB)
food waste management is crucial to support policies to minimize
food waste and to provide solutions and policy recommendations With the development of the theory of reasoned action, the TPB
for waste management problems (Fiore et al., 2015; Aktas et al., was introduced, the main constructs of the theory include attitude,
2018; Begum et al., 2009). By definition, sustainable waste man- subjective norms, and behavioral control, which have the potential
agement behavior is any effort that made to reduce waste, reuse to forecast behavioral intentions and behavior (Ajzen, 2015).
materials, and goods still feasible to use, recycle, and turn waste
into energy (Gusti, 2016).
2.1.1. Attitude towards FVW management
A vast range of people may contribute to creating fruit and
It is argued that the issue of waste management, for instance, at
vegetable wastes, including farmers, fruit and vegetable drivers,
the farmland and household level (Mirtorabi et al., 2011;
brokers, especially people who own and work in the silos, ware-
Sigurðardo  ttir, 2017) needs to be understood respecting attitudes
houses, whole and retail markets, and supermarkets. In most of the
and beliefs about waste management, as prevention policies are
cities of Iran, in like manner with countries throughout the world,
obliged to concentrate on attitudes that lead to the loss of resources
there are fruit and vegetable wholesale markets where farmers or
(Thyberg and Tonjes, 2016), although the majority of people make a
dealers transact fruits and vegetables (Chagli and Abbasi, 2007).
stand against attitudinal changes in practice. The implementation
People who own and work in the whole sales markets are impor-
of fruit waste initiatives initially depends on to what extent the
tant because the types of fruits and vegetables in large volume are
managerial and working units have a favorable attitude towards
carried to their markets, managing such volume depends on their
handling the fruit wastes. For instance, Stenmarck et al. (2011)
information and skills.
declare that sorting food waste needs positive attitudes among
The present study identifies a knowledge gap relating to the
the staff and the management of the retail and wholesale trades.
attitude-behavior-supply-loss of fruits and vegetables in the
Mirtorabi et al. (2011) elucidate that 46% of food producers have a
wholesale markets, although the behavior of food loss management
positive to relatively positive attitude towards the management of
of different stakeholders has been studied to a great extent, such as
wheat loss, moreover, attitudes influence the acceptance behavior
consumers (Thyberg and Tonjes, 2016; Sigurðardo ttir, 2017;
of wheat waste reduction operations. To understand intentional
Soorani and Ahmadvand, 2019; Aktas et al., 2018), retailers (Dome
food contamination attitudes of 123 workers in the fruit and
and Prusty, 2017; Eriksson et al., 2012), the post-harvest loss
vegetable industry supply chain between Mexico and the United
management (PHL) of local people (Tesfay et al., 2019; Raut et al.,
States, Bravo et al. (2013) conclude that attitude is positively
2018), although some are convinced that more PHLs come from
associated with the intention to contaminate food. To investigate
at the retail stage compared to the amount at the wholesale stage
attitudes towards waste minimization in Czech and Finnish com-
(Dome and Prusty, 2017), the behavior of salespeople in the supply
panies, Olgyaiova  et al. (2005) figured out the modified attitudes of
chain has not been addressed and little known is in that regard
employees are a remarkable contributing factor to reduce waste. In
(Polglaze, 2003; Khosravani et al., 2018). Using an integrated
the scope of environmentally friendly food packaging, the evidence
framework of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and the cultural
is provided by Dalila et al. (2020) that hawkers’ attitude has a
theory of risk (CTR), this research is intended to respond to the
remarkable impact on the intention to use environmentally
research problem of why wholesalers in Kermanshah, Western
friendly food packaging.
Iran, do not take initiatives respecting FVW management and what
At the household level, research in southwest Sweden demon-
factors contribute to predicting the waste management behavior of
strates that a positive attitude towards the management of waste
fruit and vegetable. The integration was due to the principal role of
disposal, recycling, and composting is conducive to lower amounts
TPB in measuring intention and behavior, as intended in this study,
of household waste (Bartelings and Sterner, 1999), others provide
another testing the CTR’s concepts in the management of fruit and
evidence that attitude predicts behavioral intentions (Taylor and
vegetable wastes. We used the concepts of CTR, (i.e., individualism,
Todd, 1995). To explore the drivers of food waste, waste disposal,
egalitarian, fatalism and hierarchism) in this context because it is
recycling and composting, studies provide evidence that people
proposed that waste management behavior, as a collective action,
with a positive attitude towards waste management have more
has a root in the culture, as declare by Evans (2007) corporate
efficient and satisfactory behavior (Soorani and Ahmadvand, 2019;
culture has an impact on organizational performance. Thus specific
Begum et al., 2009), being aware of environmental problems, and
objectives are as follows. (1) To investigate the impact of factors
give thought to such concerns as substantial and thinkable issues
determining the behaviors of waste management in the wholesale
(Bartelings and Sterner, 1999). Williams et al. (2012) have surveyed
markets; (2) To explore the direct and indirect associations of the
61 Swedish households to understand why they pay special
variables in the proposed model; (3) To provide management and
attention to household food waste management, thus concluding
research implications to improve the waste management status of
that almost 20e25% of the families’ food waste is probably asso-
fruit and vegetables and make recommendations for future studies.
ciated with packaging, as well as their attitudes play a profound
role in that regard.
2. Literature review
Hypothesis (H1). Attitude towards FVW management has a
To formulate the hypothesized model, TPB and CTR were used. positive effect on behavioral intention.
 B. Abadi et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 279 (2021) 123802
2.1.2. Subjective norms
People are influenced by norms as they go through and interact
with those who are around them in social circumstances, the extent
to which people face advocating or inhibitory norms determines
the likelihood that they take an action or not. To explore the
adoption behavior of market traders with regard to reducing high
tomato losses in the fruit supply chain of Tanzania, Kamrath et al.
(2018) found that subjective norms (SNs) are the most substantial
drivers that explain respondents’ behavioral intentions. In the area
of waste management intentions and composting production
behavior, the study carried out by Dalila et al. (2020) manifests that
SNs are related to hucksters’ behavior of environmentally friendly
food packaging.
Gamba and Oskamp’s (1994) research suggests that pressures
induced by social environments to people have a positive effect on
residents’ involvement in commingled curbside recycling pro-
grams. In the domain of food consumption management behavior,
Soorani and Ahmadvand (2019) surveyed 405 Iranian citizens to
investigate SNs, conceptualized based on the norms given by family
members, friends, society managers, and politicians, concluding
that SNs affect the intention to reduce household food waste. In the
study by Graham-Rowe et al. (2015), as aimed at predicting
household food waste reduction using an extended TPB, the re-
sponses of a sample of 204 citizens in the UK unveiled that SNs
influence the intention to reduce vegetable and fruit wastes.
Sigurðardo ttir (2017) also shows that interested people for citizens
play an important role in reducing food waste at the household
level. On the contrary, Taylor and Todd (1995) found that SNs have a
negative effect on waste management intentions and composting
production, as they justified, this issue is owing to negative re-
actions to the influence of others, which lead individuals to rebel
against these influences.
Hypothesis (H2). SNs has a positive effect on behavioral
intention.
2.1.3. Perceived behavioral control (PBC)
PBC arises from abilities, knowledge, financial power, and fa-
cilities that enable persons to control their behaviors. In the area of
waste management. Taylor and Todd (1995) make a note of inten-
tion to involve in recycling and composting and conclude that PBC
is a driver of behavioral intentions. Part of waste management
derives from the knowledge, skills, and competencies of individuals
in conducting environmental and health-friendly behaviors, as in
the area of food waste management, prevention policies target
skills (Thyberg and Tonjes, 2016). For example, the knowledge of
wholesale markets’ personnel in regard to environmental concerns
contributes to developing improved systems with food waste
(Stenmarck et al., 2011). PBC contributes to predicting market
traders’ behavioral intention to reduce tomato wastes and losses
(Kamrath et al., 2018). Bravo et al. (2013) report food industry
workers’ PBC is positively correlated to the intention to contami-
nate food. Dalila et al. (2020) figure out that the greater individuals
are possessed of PBC over the retailers’ use of environmentally
friendly food packaging, the stronger they stand for environmen-
tally friendly intention. The technological environment is also a
driver to form the behavior of waste management, as would be a
case study conducted by Tesfay et al. (2019) intended to reduce
fruits and vegetable wastes in the farms, locally developed tech-
nologies enable smallholder farmers to establish agro-processing
and to improve PHL management.
Regarding the use of transferium, De Groot and Steg (2007)
survey 218 people who regularly visit the Groningen center for
work or shopping in the Netherlands and show evidence that re-
spondents with higher PBC have favorite intentions to use
3
transferium. Graham-Rowe et al. (2015) in the United Kingdom and
Sigurðardo ttir (2017) in Iceland show that PBC is an underlying
predictor of behavioral intentions to reduce household food waste.
In line with the development of waste reduction behavior, the re-
sults of the study conducted by Li et al. (2018) unveil that PBC in-
fluences waste reduction behavior.
Hypothesis (H3a). PBC has a positive effect on behavioral
intention.
Hypothesis (H3b). PBC has a positive effect on attitude towards
FVW management.
Hypothesis (H3c). PBC has a positive effect on the waste man-
agement behavior of fruits and vegetables.
2.1.4. Behavioral intentions
Intention comes from one’s mental framework and refers to
subjective readiness to perform a behavior. Ajzen (2015) shows that
behavioral intention is a strong predictor of behavior. Soorani and
Ahmadvand (2019) assert the Hypothesis inclusive of the positive
impact of intention on food waste management behavior. To assess
491 workers’ attitudes and behaviors respecting construction waste
at a construction site in Shenzhen, China, Li et al. (2018) provide
evidence that behavioral intentions affect waste reduction
behavior. Using a sample of 2004 respondents in metropolitans in
South Africa, Strydom (2018) investigates citizens’ recycling
behavior using the TPB and reports citizens’ behavioral intentions
affect their recycling behavior. Aktas et al. (2018) gain insight into
the consumers’ behavior of food waste and provide evidence that
behavioral intentions have a positive effect on reducing the wastes.
Hypothesis (H4). Behavioral intention has a positive effect on the
waste management behavior of fruits and vegetables.
2.2. The cultural theory of risk (CTR)
The CTR seeks to determine the types of outlooks and ways of
thinking that people have towards the environment by presenting a
range of themes. According to this theory, viewpoints are divided
into four features, including egalitarian, hierarchical, individual-
istic, and fatalistic (Schwarz and Thompson, 1990). Understanding
four attributes are helpful, as it is intended to investigate how
stakeholders contribute to waste management and how they
interact with each other dynamically (Kubanza, 2016).
2.2.1. Egalitarian
The proponents of the egalitarian view nature as fundamentally
destructible and vulnerable in the face of anthropocentric enter-
prises (Schwarz and Thompson, 1990), thus environmental man-
agement is directed to ethics by which the fragility of natural
systems and the precarious consequences of human behaviors to
nature is viewed (Yazdanpanah et al., 2014; O’Riordan and Lenton,
2013). Egalitarian discourses advocate social justice (Schwarz and
Thompson, 1990) and declare that the environmental crisis de-
rives from consumption, therefore, caution and simplicity in the
way of life are the most effective manners to attain sustainability
(Rhead, 2015), accomplished by high collective participation, full
agreement of the local community as well as minimum arrange-
ments as possible to achieve legitimacy (Thompson et al., 1999;
Devilee, 2002). When people are treated similarly without
discrimination, it cannot be a hierarchical internal authority
structure in nature. Kubanza (2016) argues that environmental
injustice is exacerbated by the lack of coordination between the
various agencies involved in the process of municipal waste man-
agement, generally, merging culture with the environment and
4 B. Abadi et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 279 (2021) 123802
being cognizant of traditions are helpful solutions. Chinea (2017)
has evaluated the environmental impacts of food waste, opera-
tionally conceptualized by climate change, concluding that egali-
tarians give thought to the long-run aspects in terms of
precautionary thinking. Another case study explains that connected
with the life-cycle assessment of food waste valorization, egali-
tarian have a tendency to long-term and precautionary models
(Lam et al., 2018).
Hypothesis (H5). Egalitarian personality has a positive effect on
attitude towards FVW management.
2.2.2. Fatalism
Fatalism discourses debate that events are primarily determined
by fate and therefore find nature as captivating and uncontrollable
(Schwarz and Thompson, 1990; Yazdanpanah et al., 2014). Natural
forces are beyond human comprehension and receive less impact
from attempts made by humans (Rhead, 2015). Fatalists perceive
that they have limited choices in how they expend their time, make
relationships with others, and develop personal and working lives.
Notwithstanding, fatalists deny membership in positions where
they are undertaken and responsible for making decisions about
life (Thompson et al., 1999; Abadi, 2017). The fateful view of waste
management also shows that, for example, making decisions about
waste management is an unpredictable process that no one can
control (Devilee, 2002).
Hypothesis (H6). Fatalistic personality has a negative effect on
attitude towards FVW management.
2.2.3. Individualism
The individualistic people look into nature as very flexible and
adaptable, adaption and resilience to changes is a way of finding a
better balance for environmental catastrophes (Yazdanpanah et al.,
2014; O’Riordan and Lenton, 2013). Individualist discourses make a
commitment to competitive (or free) markets and believe that
nature can endure human impacts. Individuals are neither
restricted to group composition nor predetermined assigned roles
(Schwarz and Thompson, 1990). To tackle climate change, this view
relies on markets without laissez-faire interventions (i.e., free
markets) to foster competition, innovation, and therefore the
benefits of climate change may even offset costs (Rhead, 2015).
Individualists are convinced that, in a sense, they are relatively free
from the control of others, all borders are temporary and are treated
as subjects to be negotiated (Thompson et al., 1999). An individu-
alistic view in the matter of municipal solid waste management is
that the access to technologies and services leads people to reduce
wastes, as there is a partnership between private and public sectors
with a decrease in taxes (Kubanza, 2016). The result of Devilee’s
(2002) study reveals that individualistic beliefs in the field of
waste management are not conducive to compensation, due to the
discomfort of providing facilities and infrastructures, and therefore
the dissatisfaction emerges for individuals. Associated with the
environmental impacts of food waste, individualists focus on short
term aspects and are characterized by optimism, therefore, tech-
nologies are perceived to hinder many challenges in the future. In
the context of the life-cycle assessment of food waste valorization,
Lam et al. (2018) are convinced that individualists tend to short-
term and optimistic features.
Hypothesis (H7). Individualistic personality has a positive effect
on attitude towards FVW management.
2.2.4. Hierarchical worldview
The advocates of the hierarchical viewpoint give attention to
nature as unstable but controllable and predictable through the
right combination of expertise, leadership, and management
(O’Riordan and Lenton, 2013; Yazdanpanah et al., 2014), institu-
tional arrangements, for instance, national protocols and interna-
tional commitments (Rhead, 2015; Meader, 2002) are essential in
regulating human-environment associations and in addressing
climate disasters, although it is declared that natural systems can
partially withstand human disturbances (Schwarz and Thompson,
1990). Unlike egalitarian, hierarchical people believe in binding
prescriptions and perceive that coherence is achievable through
expulsion, updating, displacement, downgrading, and redefining.
In the field of solid waste management (SWM), Kubanza (2016)
argues that the weakness of the SWM systems is, for example,
because of the inability to absorb adequate funding, lack of skills
and appropriate technology, apathetic attitudes of municipal offi-
cials, and misapplication of regulations by the pressure of elite that
causes environmental deterioration, thus resulting in environ-
mental inequality. Generally, top-down planning is a substantial
initiative in decision making about acting on the current rules and
procedures (Devilee, 2002). Connected with the environmental
impacts of food waste, advocators of hierarchism are based on
consensus models (Chinea, 2017). Furthermore, Lam et al. (2018)
examined the life-cycle assessment of food waste valorization to
value-added goods and discussed the hierarchism model is known
as the consensus model based on scientifically credible data.
Hypothesis (H8). Hierarchical personality has a positive effect on
attitude towards FVW management.
2.3. Incentives/impediments in point of FVW management
2.3.1. Incentives
As witnessed in the literature, for example, improving education
and access to recycling facilities are the best ways to promote a
positive attitude towards recycling because it helps to remove the
barriers to household recycling (Omran et al., 2009). Connected
with the waste management, when people receive knowledge and
information through training, they are more likely to shift their
attitudes to positive attitudes and reduce wastes (Li et al., 2018;
Milodragovich, 2017) because knowledge is a predictor of reduc-
tion, reuse, and recycling behavior (Barr, 2007). Attending confer-
ences on waste reduction also contributes to reducing agricultural
wastes (Khosravani et al., 2018). Associated with the role of
increased awareness to challenge with food waste, for example,
evidence unveils that improving public awareness of food waste is
one of the most effective strategies for the citizens of Los Angeles
(Warshawsky, 2019).
In the domain of agricultural waste reduction, evidence reveals
that one of the pitfalls impressing behavior is the low level of
cooperation among consumers (Khosravani et al., 2018). For
example, the failure of people to cooperate in the separation of
biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste, which confines
municipal waste management (Pattnaik and Reddy, 2010). It is
possible to manage and minimize food waste through collaboration
across the food supply chain (Go €bel et al., 2015). The reward is also
one of the stimuli that contribute to changing attitudes and be-
haviors. In the area of waste management, for example, the incli-
nation to recycling behavior is stimulated by external motives, as
rewards and subsidies are delivered (Teo, 2016), although it is
debated that, for example, the subsidy is not enough way of
achieving desired outcomes to attain environmental sustainability
(Aldieri et al., 2019). Moreover, the attendance of individuals in the
centers that provide waste management advice is one of the drivers
for the development of FVW management behavior. Phillips et al.
(1998) argue that the number of advisory services provided in the
East Midlands is associated with minimizing wastes.
 B. Abadi et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 279 (2021) 123802
2.3.2. Impediments
Connected with food waste management, obstacles may be the
absence of a supervisor and collector of FVWs in markets. For
example, in the study aimed at investigating and presenting a
practical plan for the waste reduction of fruit and vegetable in
wholesale markets in Tehran, Marjani (2006) concludes that the
first and most important step for composting fruit wastes is a
proper collection and transportation of the wastes to the com-
posting site. Furthermore, the common form of fruit sales in major
markets is wholesale, where wholesalers sell a burden of fruits and
vegetables to retailers (Jafari and Nouruzi Fard, 2016). The obstacle
may emanate from the issue that suppliers in the wholesale mar-
kets emphasize the wholesale of fruits and vegetables, they may
not even offer customers the retail fruits and vegetables at a lower
price. To proceed with PHL reduction, Gardas et al. (2018) declare,
as the research highlight impediments at the farmlands, insuffi-
cient infrastructure and lack of linkage between the farmers and
processing units play a vital role in reducing PHL. In situations with
diverse cultures and religious beliefs, the association of religiosity
and environmental values with FVW management is remarkable
when designing new policies (Abiad and Meho, 2018). For instance,
research reveals that one of the cultural and value factors affecting
consumers’ behavior respecting agricultural waste reduction is a
low emphasis on religious teachings in reducing agricultural wastes
(Khosravani et al., 2018). Gamba and Scamp’s (1994) research
demonstrates that environmental concerns are positive predictors
of recycling behaviors. Notwithstanding, reusing and recycling
behavior is predicted by environmental values (Barr, 2007). Values
are concerned with inclination to meet human needs in the dis-
cussion of food consumption and security. For instance, Khosravani
et al. (2018) make manifest that increasing food security by
reducing agricultural wastes pertains to the psychological charac-
teristics affecting consumers’ purchasing behavior around agricul-
tural waste reduction.
Hypothesis (H9). There is a significant difference between waste
management stimulus between wholesalers with low and high
WMB.
Hypothesis (H10). There is a significant difference between waste
management impediments between wholesalers with low and
high WMB.
Table 1 displays a concise set of reviewed investigations in the
context of waste management, including food, fruit, post-harvest,
and vegetable loss. Fig. 1 also illustrates the theoretical frame-
work of the study.
3. Materials and methods
3.1. Research area
The study was conducted in Kermanshah city, situated in
western Iran, ninth most populous and metropolitan city in Iran,
with a population of more than 946,651 people and an area of 93.38
square kilometers under the census of 2017. This city is linked from
north to Farrokhad Mountain, from northwest to Taq Bostan
Mountain, and from south to White Mountain that is located in
central Kermanshah with a position of 2
and 2 min East, and 2

and 9 min north. The elevation level is 1200 m above the sea.
Kermanshah is one of the highways of communication between
East and West and is the oldest way for pilgrims to pass through the
shrines. The city has major central and suburban markets for in-
ternal fruit and vegetable needs and export to Iraq.
The city of Kermanshah has a central fruit and vegetable
wholesale market in the southeast of the city, which is managed by
5
the Organization of Fruit and Vegetable Markets and the Munici-
pality. In this market, there are open, not completely covered, stalls
where mostly fruit and vegetable are sold in the form of a loan.
Started from 5 a.m., owners of stalls lend gardeners fruit and
vegetable. Sometimes, fruit and vegetable carriers are kept next to
the booths, and from there the fruit is picked up and transferred to
the fruit pickup vans. Washing, sorting, and packing are done after
being transferred to retailers, different from what exists in devel-
oped countries. Most fruits are stored in the cold, heat, under the
sunbeam, generally, in contact with the outside air in wholesale
markets. As declared by Mousavi and Parvaneh (2016), it is neces-
sary to handle the leachate of Kermanshah city, conducive to a
combination of waste materials with underground water, most of
which are food, fruits, and vegetables.
3.2. Sample and sampling
The study population was all wholesalers of Kermanshah city.
Kermanshah province has 371 km of shared border with Iraq
country. In the vicinity of the city, there is another city, Qasr Shirin,
near to Khosravi border, a good region for fruit and vegetable
trading for domestic needs and even transiting abroad, indicating
the strategic significance of the city to trade fruits and vegetables.
The study sample consists of 265 wholesalers (N ¼ 400), as they
were selected by a simple random sampling design. Given Krejcie
and Morgan’s (1970) sample size table, a commonly used table to
determine sample size, for a population with a size of 400 people,
the sample size is 265 people at the confidence interval of 95%, with
a margin error of 3.5%, (see Research Advisors, 2006). We surveyed
the respondents in a face-to-face manner, questionnaire distribu-
tors referred to wholesale markets and accordingly asked whole-
salers to complete the questionnaires, for people who were
working and no having time to complete the questionnaires, the
research team interviewed with them.
3.3. Questionnaire, validity, and reliability
The internal validity of the questionnaire eewhat it is intended
to measure according to the research hypotheseseewas carried by
hints from two experts from the field of agricultural extension and
education, as they reviewed the items given the objectives of the
article and the nature of items that would measure the respective
concepts. They also suggested rewriting the wording of some items.
We conducted a pilot study, as 30 farmers were surveyed. This
small scale survey was carried out outside the prime research site.
Moreover, Cronbach’s alpha method, confirmatory factor analysis
(CFA), composite reliability (CR), and average variance extracted
(AVE) were used to confirm the reliability and consistency of the
indicator variables associated with the latent variables. In this
study, SPSS and AMOS were applied.
3.4. Measurement
As shown in Table 2, nine latent variables with 46 indicator
variables were used, after modification, we removed 15 indicator
variables to achieve more consistent measures for the latent
variables.
3.5. Data analysis
Associated with the first phase of the data analysis, data vali-
dation, we checked the criteria, such as screening and complete-
ness, as the sample consisted of people who owned or worked in
the wholesale markets, which is in compliance with the research
objectives, the first criterion was met. Furthermore, completeness
6 B. Abadi et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 279 (2021) 123802
Table 1
Summary of reviewed papers referring to a variety of issues in waste management (e.g., food, fruit, post-harvest, and vegetable loss).
Themes of reviewed studies
Attitude towards waste management (food waste, recycling, composting,
construction waste management, and packing)
Subjective norms (perceived pressures from respectful persons in food
waste management, recycling, and composting)
Perceived behavioral control
Behavioral intention (Food waste management)
Features of egalitarian, fatalism, individualism, hierarchical
Fig. 1. The integrated theoretical framework of the research.
was met when we were sure of all parts of the questionnaire has
been completely answered by the respondents. We also removed
outlier data, as the data was checked by p-p plots. We used
descriptive statistics in the form of mean, standard deviation, and
percent, especially we wanted to know how the patterns of infor-
mation are derived from raw data. Given the inferential statistics,
we tested the hypotheses developed in the literature review section
using correlation analysis and path analysis. Path analysis is a
multivariate method applied to estimate the direct and indirect
structural relations of exogenous and endogenous variables in the
path diagram (Aydan and Kaya, 2018). Before this method was used,
we checked the normality of the data by the Kolmogorov-Smirnov
and Shapiro-Wilks tests, and also a bootstrap procedure to handle
the missing data.
4. Results
4.1. Profile of respondents
Table 3 denotes the profile of the respondents in terms of de-
mographic and professional characteristics. All respondents were
male, most of whom have hierarchical personality. Most of the
respondents were between 40 and 60 years old. If looking into the
pattern of measures of concepts among the level of, for example,
age, it will found that attitude increases, as age ascends, PBC
Author(s)
Mirtorabi et al. (2011); Begum et al. (2009); Bartelings and Sterner (1999); Williams et al.
(2012); Dalila et al. (2020); Soorani and Ahmadvand (2019)
Taylor and Todd (1995); Soorani and Ahmadvand (2019); Sigurðardo ttir (2017); Graham-
Rowe et al. (2015)
Tesfay et al. (2019); Li et al. (2018); Thyberg and Tonjes (2016)
Soorani and Ahmadvand (2019); Li et al. (2018)
decreases as age descends, besides, fruit waste management
behavior decreases with increased age. The results also make
manifest that most of the respondents fall into the married group
(n ¼ 218, 82.26%). It is found that most of the respondents have an
educational attainment level of secondary school and diploma,
including 47.54% of the overall respondents (n ¼ 126). We also
found that there is a pattern referring to the measures of theoretical
concepts given the varying levels of educational attainment, as the
level of education increases, PBC, behavioral intentions, and waste
management behavior have a rising inclination. Besides, most of
the respondents are owners of their stores. Likewise, the results
illuminate that the majority of the research participants earn
money over $ 3600, which constitute 38.11% of the total sample
(n ¼ 101), indicating a good disposition of the occupation among
salespersons.
4.2. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA)
To testify the appropriateness of items, as loaded on factors (or
latent variables), we performed CFA using principal component
analysis (PCA) using the Varimax rotation method. The results were
evaluated according to the criteria of Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO)
and Bartlett’s test, as the measures of factor loadings for some items
were less than 0.50, thus the elimination of inappropriate items
was implemented (KMO ¼ 0.70).
 B. Abadi et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 279 (2021) 123802 7

Table 2
Confirmatory factor analysis.

Items Mean Factor Variance CV Cronbach alpha of Removal of item CR AVE Reference
±Std loading explained (%) explained construct (Yes/No)
(%)

ATT 30.24 30.24 0.61 0.74 0.43

ATT1 3.36±1.58 .81 No Adapted from Yazdanpanah and Forouzani (2015);
ATT2 3.93±1.08 .76 No Soorani and Ahmadvand (2019)
ATT3 4.40±.67 -.46 Yes
ATT4 3.53±1.45 .51 No
ATT5 4.41±.82 -.04 Yes
ATT6 4.20±.96 -.30 Yes
SNs SNs1 3.33±1.26 .80 60.24 60.24 0.65 No 0.63 0.41 Adapted from Yazdanpanah and Forouzani (2015);
SNs2 3.36±1.21 .91 No Soorani and Ahmadvand (2019)
SNs3 3.80±1.24 .57 No
PBC 35.61 35.61 0.52
PBC1 3.26±1.31 .34 Yes 0.55 0.39 Adapted from Yazdanpanah and Forouzani (2015);
PBC2 1.70±1.14 .78 No Soorani and Ahmadvand (2019)
PBC3 1.96±1.06 .52 No
PBC4 2.10±1.34 .64 No
INT 48.02 48.02 0.70
INT1 3.06±1.38 .77 No 0.78 0.43 Adapted from Yazdanpanah and Forouzani (2015);
INT2 2.93±1.33 .71 No Soorani and Ahmadvand (2019)
INT3 3.86±1.04 .31 Yes
INT4 3.46±1.47 .84 No
BHV BHV1 1.56±1.19 .78 29.83 29.83 0.67 No 0.56 0.39 Self-developed
BHV2 3.90±1.02 .03 Yes
BHV3 4.26±1.01 .51 No
BHV4 4.56±1.04 .76 No
BHV5 1.73±1.14 .55 No
BHV6 3.56±1.40 .68 No
BHV7 2.75±1.14 .23 Yes
BHV8 1.50±.93 .25 Yes
BHV9 3.79±1.65 .47 Yes
BHV10 3.03±1.47 .62 No
EGAL 37.65 37.65 0.61
EGAL1 4.40±1.01 .73 No 0.70 0.40 Meader (2002)
EGAL2 3.83±.98 .59 No
EGAL3 3.86± .26 Yes
1.12
EGAL4 4.03±1.15 .82 No
EGAL5 4.10±1.12 .51 No
HIER 29.44 29.44 0.80 0.62 0.41
HIER1 4.16±1.08 .70 No Meader (2002)
HIER2 4.60±.56 .13 Yes
HIER3 4.60±.49 .56 No
HIER4 4.60±.56 .80 No
HIER5 4.66±.47 .06 Yes
INDIV 41.41 41.41 0.51 Meader (2002)
INDIV1 4.53±.9 .84 No 0.64 0.41
INDIV2 4.06±1.06 .55 No
INDIV3 2.93±1.41 .70 No
INDIV4 2.96±1.49 -.37 Yes
FATAL 54.33 54.33 0.92 Meader (2002)
FATAL1 2.44±1.50 .90 No 0.96 0.47
FATAL2 2.40±1.45 .95 No
FATAL3 2.73±1.17 -.01 Yes
FATAL4 2.13±1.25 .90 No
FATAL5 2.50±1.38 .40 Yes
P P
ðli Þ2 ðli Þ2
Note: CV: Cumulative variance, CR: Composite Reliability, AVE: Average Variance Extracted. CR ¼ P P , AVE ¼ P P , CR and AVE indices should be
ðli Þ2 þ ðsi Þ2 ðli Þ2 þ ðsi Þ
CR > AVE, CR > 0.07, AVE > 0.05. There are respective items in Appendix A.

4.3. Correlation analysis 4.4. Results of path analysis

As shown in Table 4, Pearson’s correlation analysis was carried
using the bivariate method, as the pair of the research variables
included in the theoretical model was crossed pair-wise. The re-
sults manifest that waste management behavior has a positive
correlation with subjective norms (g ¼ 0.18, p < 0.01), behavioral
control (g¼ 0.43, p < 0.01), behavioral intention (g ¼ 0.95, p < 0.01),
individualism (g ¼ 0.22, p < 0.01), and a negative association with
fatalism (g ¼ 0.18, p < 0.01).
4.4.1. Adequacy of fit indices and modifications
In this section, the adequacy measures of fit indices were taken
into account. The fitness of the hypothesized model with the
dataset was estimated by the goodness-of-fit indices using the
maximum likelihood method. The results of the analysis in the first
run with the initial structure of the model reveal that the respective
indices are on a level with c2 (17) ¼ 51.36), CMIN/df ¼ 3.02, NFI
(D1) ¼ 0.95, RFI (r1) ¼ 0.87, IFI (D2) ¼ 0.96, TLI (r2) ¼ 0.91,
8 B. Abadi et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 279 (2021) 123802

Table 3
Descriptive statistics of research respondents (n ¼ 265).

ATT SNs PBC BI Behavior EGAL HIER INDIV FATAL

Gender Male (n ¼ 265) (3.61) (1.02) (3.35) (1.09) (2.30) (.76) (3.33) (.90) (3.15) (1.12) (4.08) (.76) (4.49) (.41) (3.86) (.79) (2.38) (1.10)
Female (n ¼ 0) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Age 20 < Xi40 (n ¼ 106) 3.55 (1.03) 3.34 (1.22) 2.59 (.70) 3.45 (.86) 3.33 (.97) 4.08 (.74) 4.43 (.50) 4.21 (.51) 2.01 (.92)
40 < Xi60 (n ¼ 107) 3.58 (.91) 3.38 (.88) 2.13 (.72) 3.45 (.86) 3.29 (1.21) 4.19 (.62) 4.46 (.37) 3.57 (.74) 2.46 (.99)
60 < Xi (n ¼ 52) 3.79 (1.19) 3.31 (1.2) 2.07 (.78) 2.86 (.92) 2.49 (1.01) 3.85 (.98) 4.66 (.19) 3.74 (1.06) 3.01 (1.35)

Marital status Single (n ¼ 38) 4.48 (.37) 3.01 (1.57) 2.58 (.28) 3.37 (.93) 3.17 (.88) 3.83 (.68) 4.52 (.53) 4.35 (.53) 2.75 (1.64)
Married (n ¼ 218) 3.48 (1.04) 3.45 (.99) 2.23 (.81) 3.33 (.92) 3.14 (1.18) 4.11 (.78) 4.51 (.37) 3.84 (.76) 2.32 (1.01)
Widower (n ¼ 9) 3 2.5 3 3.25 3.33 4.33 3.75 2.33 2.25

Educational Illiterate (n ¼ 0) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
attainment Elementary school (n ¼ 70) 3.79 (.90) 3.52 (.88) 1.70 (.88) 2.79 (.95) 2.55 (1.36)n 4.05 (.67) 4.62 (.22) 3.53 (.76) 2.66 (1.30)
Secondary/High school 3.30 (1.06) 3.08 (1.08) 2.44 (.52) 3.53 (.81) 3.36 (.96) 4.17 (.72) 4.45 (.42) 3.85 (.86) 2.55 (1.06)
(n ¼ 126)
Bachelor (n ¼ 61) 4.24 (.54) 4.02 (.74) 2.49 (.46) 3.60 (.81) 3.50 (.90) 4.12 (.80) 4.47 (.52) 4.34 (.39) 1.74 (.71)
Master and above (n ¼ 8) 2 1 4 3 2.33 2.66 4 3.33 2

Ownership Owner (116) 3.85 (.89) 3.57 (1.02) 2.29 (.83) 3.40 (.87) 3.25 (1.12) 3.88 (.83) 4.53 (.40) 3.81 (.91) 2.51 (1.28)
Shared/corporate (n ¼ 97) 3.89 (.61) 3.55 (.94) 2.39 (.60) 3.65 (.78) 3.02 (1.12) 3.69 (.68) 4.33 (.38) 4.05 (.43) 2.77 (1.04)
Tenant (n ¼ 52) 3 (1.04) 3.33 (1.04) 2.34 (.51) 3.37 (1.02) 3.16 (1.13) 4.54 (.24) 4.46 (.45) 3.78 (.70) 2.06 (.53)

Income (Monthly) 3,000,000 < Xi27000000 3.57 (1.07 3.45 (1.18) 2.09 (.88) 3.05 (.94) 2.79 (1.11) 4.09 (.91) 4.56 (.36) 3.63 (.99) 2.09 (1.15)
(n ¼ 83)
27,000,000 < Xi36000000 3.21 (1.19) 2.92 (1.07) 2.53 (.70) 3.35 (.91) 3.27 (1.09) 4.41 (.22) 4.56 (.49) 3.93 (.76) 2.18 (.95)
(n ¼ 73)
36,000,000 < Xi (n ¼ 101) 3.57 (1.07) 3.45 (1.18) 2.09 (.88) 3.05 (.94) 3.46 (1.12) 3.46 (1.91) 4.56 (.36) 3.63 (.99) 2.09 (1.15)

Accommodation State capital (n ¼ 229) 3.66 (1.05) 3.27 (1.11) 2.22 (.76) 3.28 (.01) 3.06 (1.17) 4.21 (.67) 4.47 (.40) 3.99 (.64) 2.49 (1.14)
location City (n ¼ 9) 2.66 4.50 3.50 2 4 3.33 4.75 3.33 1.25
Town (n ¼ 17) 3 3.44 (1.02) 3.15 (.17) 3.25 (.01) 3.17 (.17) 3.23 (1.20) 4.22 (.51) 2.01 (.34) 2.13 (.12)

CFI ¼ 0.96, RMSEA ¼ 0.08, Pclose ¼ .02. These measures illuminate
that the model is not fit with the dataset well, which requires
modifications, albeit these measures might be satisfactory, as it is
assumed a good value below 0.10 for RMSEA. To improve the
goodness-of-fit of the model, we made modification by generating
a structural relationship between PBC and attitude, a remarkable
change occurred in the RMSEA, the value of the RMSEA fell below
0.05, which illustrates a satisfactory goodness-of-fit of the model
(c2 (15) ¼ 23.45), CMIN/df ¼ 1.56, NFI (D1) ¼ 0.97, RFI (r1) ¼ 0.93,
IFI (D2) ¼ 0.99, TLI (r2) ¼ 0.97, CFI ¼ 0.99, RMSEA ¼ 0.04,
Pclose ¼ .57. Table 5 also summarizes the measures of the
goodness-of-fit indices before and after making modifications, as
compared to the standard values of cut-off.
4.4.2. The analysis of the associations between the constructs of the
model
After achieving the adequacy of the goodness-of-fit indices of
the model, we analyzed the relationships between the constructs of
the model (i.e., exogenous and endogenous variables) using path
analysis. Before performing the analysis, a linear regression model
was established to assess the effect of multicollinearity, as there
were no high correlations among the independent variables
(including attitude, subjective norm, PBC, egalitarian, hierarchical,
individualistic, and fatalism), it was, therefore, concluded that there
was no bias to threat the research results. Besides, all values of the
Tolerance index were greater than 0.20 and also less than 10 for the
variance inflation factor (VIF), indicating that there were no high
correlations between the independent variables (Table 6).
As shown in Fig. 2, attitude towards FVW management has a
significant and positive effect on behavior intention (bATT/INT ¼0.11,
p < 0.05). Subjective norms also influence the behavioral intentions
of FVW management (bSN/INT ¼ 0.22, p < 0.001). Moreover, PBC
strongly influences behavioral intention (bPBC/INT ¼0.50, p < 0.001)
as well as WMB (bPBC/INT ¼0.05, p < 0.01). Accordingly, the hy-
potheses H1, H2, H3a, and H3c are confirmed. One surprising result
is the negative effect of PBC on attitude (bPBC/ATT ¼ 0.28,
p < 0.001). The negative effect unveils that as PBC increases, atti-
tude towards FVW management decreases; therefore, Hypothesis
H3b is disapproved. Moreover, the two personality traits of indi-
vidualistic (bINDIV/ATT ¼0.18, p < 0.001) and hierarchical
(bHIER/ATT ¼0.28, p < 0.001) have a positive effect on attitude, thus
confirming H7a and H8. The fatalistic feature also has a negative
effect on attitude (bFATAL/ATT ¼ 0.18, p < 0.001), hence hypothesis
H6 is testified. Egalitarian also does not impinge upon attitude
(bEGAL/ATT ¼0.004, p > 0.05), therefore rejecting hypothesis H5. The
personality of individualism also influences behavioral intentions
(bINDIV/INT ¼0.26, p < 0.001), therefore, hypothesis H7b is
approved. Likewise, behavioral intention strongly predicts WMB
(bINT/WMB ¼0.93, p < 0.001), thus accepting hypothesis H4.
Table 7 indicates the results of path analysis, the standardized
weights of the regression, and confirmed and rejected hypotheses.
4.4.3. Impediments and incentives
Table 8 displays the results of t-student test on the impediments
and incentives of FVW management, as the two groups of re-
spondents with low and high WMB are compared. As seen in this
table, the results of comparing the averaged impediments show the
following, structural 1 (F(df ¼ 263)) ¼ 3.15, P > 0.05, t ¼ 1.57,
p > 0.05), structural 2 (F(df ¼ 262.35)) ¼ 54.62, P < 0.001, t ¼ 4.56,
p < 0.001), attitudinal 1 (F(df ¼ 263)) ¼ 3.05, p > 0.05, t ¼ 0.80,
p > 0.05), attitudinal 2 (F(df ¼ 255)) ¼ 0.02, P > 0.05, t ¼ 0.16,
p > 0.05), religious (F(df ¼ 223.74)) ¼ 4.015, p < 0.05, t ¼ 1.86,
p > 0.05), value 1 (F(df ¼ 259.47)) ¼ 5.78, p < 0.05, t ¼ 3.08,
p < 0.01), and value 2 (F(df ¼ 263)) ¼ 0.88, p > 0.05, t ¼ 4.28,
 B. Abadi et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 279 (2021) 123802 9

p < 0.001). Therefore, a lack of a supervisor authority on FVW
management in wholesale markets and the low emphasis of
wholesalers to reduce FVW to maintain food security are two main
obstacles. In compliance with educational stimuli, the results
demonstrate that education (F (df ¼ 263)) ¼ 114.08, p < 0.001,
t ¼ 4.73, p < 0.001), information (F(df ¼ 263)) ¼ 68.19, p < 0.001,
t ¼ 3.72, p < 0.001), cooperation (F(df ¼ 227.71)) ¼ 3.52, p > 0.05,
t ¼ 4.61, p < 0.001), rewards (F(df ¼ 140.46)) ¼ 52.71, p < 0.001,
t ¼ 2.26, p < 0.05), and counseling (F(df ¼ 253.17)) ¼ 4.66, p < 0.05,
t ¼ 7.57, p < 0.001) are significantly different between the two
groups of respondents and are of particular important approaches
for increasing wholesalers’ motivation in FVW management.
5. Discussion
As indicated, attitude towards FVW management has a positive
effect on behavioral intention. We give a reason for this finding that
attitudes towards FVW management contribute to shaping the
internal judgment state on the style that fruits and vegetables are
supplied and consumed. Accordingly, as wholesalers constitute
positive attitudes towards FVW management, they take notice of
FVW management, voluntarily change inefficient behaviors,
therefore being more likely to reduce wastes and to continue using
management initiatives in the future, as declared by Warshaw and
Davis (1985), the intention is the extent to which one has estab-
lished conscious and deliberate plans to perform or not perform a
certain behavior in the future. The positive impact of attitude on
behavioral intentions is in line with previous research (e.g,
Mirtorabi et al., 2011; Bartelings and Sterner, 1999; Begum et al.,
2009; Soorani and Ahmadvand, 2019).
PBC has a significant influence on behavioral intentions. Asso-
ciated with the negative impact of PBC on attitude, it is accounted
for by tenet that states PBC derives from manual actions in nature
that estimates how easy or difficult these actions will be for persons
to carry out the behavior and are handed out (Jalilian et al., 2012),
while, attitude is a chosen state of mind and mental disposition in
nature, encompassing mental processes in the matter of desir-
ability and undesirability of FVW management, as defined by Crano
and Schroder (1967), attitude is a type of information-processing
structure. This impact is also due to wholesalers consider doing
FVW management as a low-utility task, more clearly, FVW man-
agement is not a pervasive and universal action, which is done by
the overwhelming majority of people in the society, but it is hoped
that the individuals will probably do FVW management in the
future, reflecting the formation of behavioral intentions. The posi-
tive effect of PBC on the intention is consistent with previous in-
quiries, for example, Taylor and Todd (1995); Dalila et al. (2020);
Sigurðardo ttir (2017).
The positive impact of SNs on the intention is due to the
Table 4
Matrix of correlation analysis of the associations between the variables included in
the conceptual model.
ATT SNs PBC BI Behavior EGAL HIER
existence of positive reactions that the respondents give to the
influences of special people, therefore positive intentions are set
up. This finding is in harmony with works like Taylor and Todd’s
(1995), Dalila et al. (2020), and Soorani and Ahmadvand (2019)
and makes a stand against Taylor and Todd’s (1995) study, as the
researchers have introduced people as rebellious, owing to nega-
tive feedbacks to the influence of others, which leads individuals to
antagonize their influences.
Individualism also has a positive effect on attitude towards FVW
management. This is justified by the remark that states individu-
alism attributes high flexibility and adaptability to the environment
and believes in adaptation to environmental changes are needed to
prevent disasters, thus a new and better balance occurs
(Yazdanpanah et al., 2014; O’Riordan and Lenton, 2013). Further-
more, individualism may be moderately close to materialism, pri-
marily endorses economic growth and competition (Thompson
et al., 1999) and triggers FVW management in the markets. It
makes sense that individualists use competitive and innovative
initiatives, without the intervention of government, to address
environmental changes and create equilibrium in the markets
(Rhead, 2015; Kubanza, 2016).
The positive impact of hierarchical personality on attitude is in
view of the fact that people with a hierarchical worldview perceive
nature as controllable and take policy initiatives through a set of
characteristics, such as expertise, leadership, enforcement, and
forecasting (Schwarz and Thompson, 1990; O’Riordan and Lenton,
2013; Yazdanpanah et al., 2014).
The negative impact of fatalism on attitudes towards FVW
management stems from the fact that fatalists are reluctant to
practice waste reduction because they are convinced self-
determination, natural forces are beyond human comprehension,
and receiving the least impact from humans (Rhead, 2015; Schwarz
and Thompson, 1990; Yazdanpanah et al., 2014). Fatalist people, as
they are deprived of making decisions about their lives, believing in
that, for example, making decisions about waste management in-
frastructures is an unpredictable and controllable process (Devilee,
2002; Thompson et al., 1999).
Egalitarian people also have no significant effect on attitude
towards FVW management. This is because ethical teachings and
empathy-based culture with others have been diminished among
respondents. Behavioral intentions also strongly predict WMB. This
finding is consistent with previous research (e.g., Ajzen, 2015; Li
et al., 2018; Strydom, 2018; Aktas et al., 2018). The results of the
comparisons of respondents with low and high WMB demonstrate
that items, such as “there was no supervisor on FVW management
in wholesale markets, “low belief in the negative effects of fruit
waste on the health of citizens, and “low emphasis on reduction in
fruit waste to maintain food security” are significantly different
between the two groups. Besides, the two groups of the re-
spondents are significantly different about “education,” “informa-
tion,” “cooperation,” “reward,” and “counseling” stimuli. The reason
for the finding is that, for example, improving public awareness of
food waste is the most substantial solution in the area of food waste
management (Warshawsky, 2019).
INDIV FATAL

ATT 1
6. Conclusions and management remarks
SNs .03 1
PBC -.33a -.12 1 This article examines the determinants of FVW management
BI -.001 .20a .40a 1 behavior in wholesale markets, especially in terms of the compo-
Behavior -.03 .18a .43a .95a 1
nents of TPB and CTR. In this section, we present practical solutions
EGAL .09 .07 -.37a .006 .01 1
HIER -.06 -.03 -.27a -.15b -.11 .16a 1 based on the significant research results, thus it would be hoped to
INDIV .19a .11 -.17a .22a .22a .32a .24a 1 improve the status quo of the research problem, which is the lack of
FATAL .34a -.36a -.24a -.18a -.18a -.15b .007 .02 1 sustainable waste management behavior, and provide research
a
Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). remarks for future studies in the context of the fruit and vegetable
b
Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed). waste management.
10 B. Abadi et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 279 (2021) 123802

Table 5
Goodness-of-fit indices, initial values, after improvement, and final assessment.

Goodness-of-fit indices Cut-off measures of fit indices Initial fit indices measures Fit indices measures after modification Judgment

c2 e 51.36 23.49 Very good fit

CMIN/df >1, <5 3.02 1.56 Very good fit
NFI >0.90 0.95 0.97 Very good fit
RFI >0.90 0.87 0.93 Acceptable fit
IFI >0.90 0.96 0.99 Very good fit
TLI >0.90 0.91 0.97 Very good fit
CFI >0.90 0.96 0.99 Very good fit
RMSEA Very good fit if < 0.05 0.08 0.04 Very good fit
Pclose >0.05 0.02 0.57 Very good fit

Table 6 Table 7
The results of the regression model using Tolerance and VIF to ensure that there are Paths, standardized regression weights (estimates), standard error (S.E), p-values,
no high correlations between independent variables. and confirmed and rejected hypotheses.

Model Collinearity measures Hypotheses Paths Estimate S.E. C.R. P C/R

Tolerance VIF H5 EGAL / ATT .004 .08 .05 .95 R

H6 FATAL / ATT e.18 .14 3.27 .001 C
ATT .75 1.32 H7a INDIV / ATT .18 .07 3.17 .001 C
SNs .78 1.27 H8 HIER / ATT .28 .05 4.76 .001 C
PBC .63 1.56 H3b PBC / ATT e.28 .08 4.46 .001 R
Egalitarian .72 1.38 H2 SNs / BI .22 .04 4.49 .001 C
Hierarchical .83 1.19 H3a PBC / BI .50 .06 9.35 .001 C
Individualistic .80 1.23 H1 ATT / BI .11 .04 1.97 .04 C
Fatalist .64 1.54 H7b INDIVI / BI .26 .06 5.01 .001 C
Note: Variance Inflation Factor (VIF). H4 BI / WMB .93 .02 48.71 .001 C
H3c PBC / WMB .05 .02 2.83 .005 C

Note: C: Confirmed, R: Rejected.

The results show clearly the impact of attitude on behavioral
intention. It is imperative that the authorities of waste manage-
ment, especially the Department of Industry, Mine, and Trade (IMT)
in Iran, conduct training courses to change the attitude of whole-
salers, for example, by giving awareness about the consequences of
producing fruit and vegetable wastes. As PBC plays a role in shaping
the intention and behavior of waste management, it is possible to
enhance the self-efficacy aspect of PBC by education, there is a need
for upgrading the skills and competencies of salespeople with
practical training. Thus, professional education and information
giving contribute to creating conservation intentions and behav-
iors. Therefore, to reduce the waste of fruits and vegetables, the
respective authorities of whole markets are suggested listing the
entire behaviors that help wholesalers retain fruits and vegetables
more, it is necessary to provide appropriate educational classes
based on these behaviors, for example, establishing canopy for
fruits and vegetables are exposed to sunlight, repackage the fruits
and vegetables as launched to retail markets, the application of
plastic cover to prevent frostbite, separating the rotting fruits from
intact fruits as possible. Financial support also contributes to
developing FVM behaviors, for instance, as wholesalers are finan-
cially supported to purchase retention equipment to store perish-
able early fruits and vegetables in the refrigerator.
The diversity of beliefs in the context of FVW management is the

Fig. 2. Tested model.

 B. Abadi et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 279 (2021) 123802 11

Table 8
Impediments and incentives that chock or give rise to the development of FVW management.

Impediments Two groups of participants jtj

Low WMB High WMB

(n ¼ 112) (n ¼ 153)

The lack of an FVW collector in wholesale markets (Structural 1) 3.82 (1.28) 4.05 (1.15) 1.57
The lack of a part in wholesale markets that is responsible for remarkable FVW management (Structural 2). 2.15 (1.35) 3.02 (1.76) 4.56***
Wholesalers focus on wholesaling only, not retailing too (Attitude 1). 4.06 (1.41) 4.18 (1.02) .80
Not selling fruits and vegetables at a lower price to customers, as are being decayed (Attitude 2). 2.40 (1.70) 2.43 (1.66) .16
Wholesalers’ low emphasis on religious teachings on reducing FVW (Religious) 2.84 (1.43) 2.52 (1.28) 1.86
Wholesalers’ low belief in the negative impacts of FVW on the sanitation of the market environment and citizens’ health 3.49 (1.07) 3.03 (1.30) 3.08**
(Value 1)
Low emphasis on reducing FVW to maintain food security (Value 2) 2.76 (1.25) 3.46 (1.33) 4.28***
Incentives
Establishing training classes on FVW management in the wholesale markets. 3.29 (1.64) 4.05 (.93) 4.73***
Giving information on radio and television about FVW management. 3.63 (1.57) 4.21 (.95) 3.72***
Establishing cooperatives and cooperation sense among wholesalers in the markets. 2.89 (1.27) 3.60 (1.16) 4.61***
Selection and give reward of wholesalers with the best style of FVW management in wholesale markets. 4.35 (1.17) 4.62 (.48) 4.61*
The establishment of an FVW management advisory center in the wholesale markets. 2.35 (1.45) 3.80 (1.63) 7.57***

Note: Items were adapted from Pezeshki Ral and Naeemi (2016), because the majority of items were relevant to consumers, we just regarded the items that are associated with
wholesale people. Before doing t-test, we looked into the results of Leven’s test to ensure that the assumption of the homogeneity of variance is met.

basis for variegating waste management strategies, which can
reduce food wastes. Given the impact of individualism and hier-
archical personalities on the wholesalers’ attitude towards FVW
management, it is recommended that wholesale and retail opera-
tors are provided with the necessary funding and financial re-
sources. The use of technology, facilities, and infrastructures also
helps improve FVW management. Hence, equipping wholesale
markets with high technologies, such as automatic collector ma-
chines and giving appropriate skills contribute to improving the
quality and quantity of FVW management. Using strict enforcement
of laws and regulations, it is also possible to oversee the manage-
ment of FVW in the wholesale markets. Implementing penalties for
offenders who do not make efforts to reach environmental health
and fruit and vegetable retention also an effective initiative.
Furthermore, wholesalers who give attention to FVW manage-
ment and take initiatives in that regard should be encouraged by
the authorities of wholesale markets, for example, reward giving.
The authorities together with the government agencies need to
provide training classes to create opportunities for salespeople to
change their attitudes, especially for those with fatalist worldview,
as an illustration, training content should be about the tasks and
commitments of vendors in the field of FVW management, making
ease the improvement of retaining the fruits and vegetables.
Continually reminding workers on cautiously conveying large
boxes of fruits and vegetables and putting gloves to prevent fin-
gerprints on the fruits are other measures that should be regarded.
It is also recommended to employ stakeholders with different
backgrounds in the supply chain to further investigate FVW man-
agement using CTR, for example, the investigation of the intentions
and behaviors of consumers.
There were five limitations to this study. One is the state and
national data were not available, especially when we wanted to
compare the descriptive data with the real statistics surveyed 10-
yearly by the national statistics center in Iran (i.e., shortage of
reliable comparison information and data). Second might be a
diversion of research participants’ responses, as the items of CTR
would sensitize the respondents. The third is the lack of financial
support to extend the sample under study. The fourth limitation
pertains to the usage of the maximum likelihood estimator, more
flexible, and relaxes some strong assumptions. The fifth constraint
deals with the research takes advantage of data only at a single
research site. As the sample size was small in this study, for future
research, it is recommended to increase the sample size and run the
analysis for the further robustness and generality of results, espe-
cially by running the models with the PLS-SEM specification.
Moreover, a large diversity of people, such as wholesale market
owners, workers, drivers, all the persons are associated with the
supply centers of fruit and vegetable have the potential to come
into the attitudinal study. It is also suggested to conduct further
studies on perceptions of FVW management and respective factors
with other cultural theories in the form of grand theories or those
have less abstracted, such as the health belief model.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Bijan Abadi: Conceptualization, Methodology, Data collection
Manager, Working with Software, Formal analysis, Analysis super-
vision, and Writing-Original draft preparation. Saeid Mahdavian:
Data collection, Data curation, Validation, Supervision. Mehdi
Fattahi: Data collection, Data curation, Validation, Supervision.
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing
financial interests or personal relationships that could have
appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
Appendix A
Attitudes towards fruit waste management
Waste management reduces pollution of water, soil, and air
(such as the production of toxic gases from the spoilage of fruits and
leachates).
Fruit waste management prevents the quality and value of
agricultural products from being reduced.
Fruit waste management avoids wasting farmers’ capital.
Managing fruit waste reduces fruit imports.
Managing fruit waste increases food security.
Managing fruit waste increases farmers’ income.
2. The subjective norm
Most of my acquaintances and colleagues expect me to reduce
fruit waste.
People who care about me think that I should try to reduce fruit
waste.
People who care about me admire my efforts to reduce fruit
waste.
12 B. Abadi et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 279 (2021) 123802
Behavioral control
If I want, I can reduce fruit waste.
I have the amenities (such as a fridge, fruit storage buckets,
ample physical space) to reduce fruit waste.
I have time to manage fruit waste.
I have the knowledge to manage fruit waste.
4- Behavioral intention of fruit waste management
In the near future, I want to manage (reduce) fruit waste.
I intend in the near future to encourage colleagues and friends to
reduce fruit waste.
My goal is to prevent people from losing their food by reducing
fruit waste in the greenhouse.
In the future, I plan to attend fruit waste management training.
5. Fruit waste management behavior
I store mainly perishable early fruits and vegetables in the
refrigerator, freezer, and storage.
For products that are exposed to sunlight, cold, rain and snow, I
create a canopy.
I warn workers about the proper handling of large boxes of fruit
and fruit (such as watermelon, melon, cantaloupe, etc.).
I want to sell the decaying fruit at a cheaper price so that it
doesn’t get corrupted or spoiled.
I repackage the fruit to market local and retail fruit and
vegetables.
I separate rotting fruits from healthy fruits.
I use plastic to prevent frostbite.
I collect and sell fruits for recycling.
I sort fruits after they are delivered to the driver.
Workers use gloves to prevent fingerprints from sticking to the
fruit or crushing.
6- Egalitarian
More government support and care should be provided by the
government.
Ensuring a better standard of living for people in the
community.
Government efforts to ensure equality in society.
People with greater wealth should be able to support the poor
(the poor).
Having a kinder lifestyle with each other and with your friends.
7- Hierarchical perspective
Punishment should be done for people who take actions with
violence in society.
Individuals should have personal responsibility for their work.
People need to respect the needs of others.
Ethical standards and values must be raised in the society.
Establishment of order, regulations, and control must be
enhanced in the society.
8. Individualism
For a person who does a good job, a good reward should be
given.
Allowing people to make career progress.
The secret to surviving in society is to have rich and powerful
people in society.
Encouraging people to work harder should be done.
9. Fatalism
Luck and appreciation are very important in life.
Most of what people get is by chance.
Life may get better or it may not.
Lucky is much better than hard work.
What we do doesn’t change our situation.
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