Legacy matters: encouraging willingness to pay a premium for environmentally friendly off-premises food packaging

Encouraging consumers to pay a premium for environmentally friendly food packaging is vital. This study examines consumers’ willingness to pay a premium for environmentally friendly (reusable and sustainable) compared to single-use plastics (conventional) off-premises food packaging. Using the stimulus-organism-response theory, two experimental studies were conducted. Study 1 shows the direct influence of environmentally friendly food packaging on consumer willingness to pay a premium for off-premises food packaging, and its indirect influence via pro-environmental self-identity and moral judgment. Study 2 confirms the indirect effects, while supporting the main effect only for the reusable option. This study also reveals that reputation and impact legacy motives moderate the serial mediation effect through pro-environmental self-identity and moral judgment. The findings suggest that foodservice businesses can encourage consumers, particularly those with strong legacy motives, to pay a premium for environmentally friendly off-premises food packaging by creating message appeals to their pro-environmental self-identity and moral judgment.