Food waste in group dining: the interplay of shame and conflict aversion in the “last piece of food” dilemma

Group dining at social or business occasions frequently encounters the “last piece of food” dilemma, where a single item remains uneaten when food is served to event guests on a shared plate. Despite its contribution to food waste generation in event catering, the socio-cultural and psychological dr...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Filimonau, Viachaslau, Matute, Jorge, Sezerel, Hakan, ÖZOĞUL BALYALI, TUĞÇE
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2026
País:España
Institución:Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)
Repositorio:Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
OAI Identifier:oai:recercat.cat:20.500.14342/5815
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14342/5815
https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2025.2453689
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Food waste
Shared plate
Communal eating
Event catering
Consumer emotions
Malbaratament d'aliments
Serveis d'àpats
Consumidors
64
Descripción
Sumario:Group dining at social or business occasions frequently encounters the “last piece of food” dilemma, where a single item remains uneaten when food is served to event guests on a shared plate. Despite its contribution to food waste generation in event catering, the socio-cultural and psychological drivers of this phenomenon remain unexplored. Using a mixed methods research design, this study examines the underlying factors of the “last piece of food” dilemma. The study identifies event guests’ sense of anticipated shame and desire to avoid conflict as primary drivers. The study highlights individual concern about food waste as a potential countermeasure to the “last piece of food” phenomenon. The study calls for management interventions to strengthen this concern among event guests by communicating that consuming all food on a shared plate will not be negatively judged.