Local food consumption and practice theory: A case study on guests’ motivations and understanding

Abstract

This study explores the relationship between guests’ perceptions of local food and the motivations leading to its consumption at restaurants. Applying practice theory to consumption studies, the research draws on the “practical turn” in social theories and the renewed interest in “everyday life” and “lifeworld”. In doing so, the study uses Schatzki’s and Reckwitz’s reformulation of practice as a routinised set of behaviours interconnected with one another and rooted in a background knowledge made up of understanding, know-how, state of emotion and motivational knowledge. The research is organised as a case study collecting data from 162 potential guests of local restaurants in the municipality of Ooststellingwerf, in the northern Netherlands, via a survey questionnaire. The dataset was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Science [SPSS] software, focusing on customers’ understanding of “local food” and the factors motivating them to order a local dish at restaurants. The exploratory findings contribute to the understanding of the conceptualisation of “local food” from the consumers’ perspective and shed light on the use of practice theory in tourism studies with regard to consumers’ pro-sustainability behaviour.

Keywords: consumer behaviour, food consumption; local food; practice theory