Avoiding household food waste, one step at a time: The role of self‐efficacy, convenience orientation, and the good provider identity in distinct situational contexts

A primary cause of food waste in households is a lack of food capabilities. Yet, the antecedents of food capabilities and its relationship with causes of food waste across different situational contexts remain poorly understood. We apply self‐efficacy theory in combination with convenience orientation and good provider identity in a mixed‐methods study. Findings reveal that the sequential structure of self‐efficacy explains how capabilities contribute to food waste avoidance. A good provider identity, however, increases food waste, and also turns out to further convenience orientation. Food capabilities, in turn, reduce convenience orientation. Qualitative insights shed light on consumer's own accounts of their abilities. The findings contribute to a theory‐based understanding of how consumers manage the complex issue of food waste. Findings imply that public policy and marketing should aim to strengthen consumers' self‐efficacy beliefs and redefine the good provider identity, in particular in social contexts, to reverse its effect on waste.