The Importance of Social Equity and Exchange to Achieve Food Safety Compliance During a Food Safety Crisis in the Restaurant Environment

The impact of COVID-19 has resulted in permanent improvements in the restaurant industry. Protocols demanded by the FDA spurred the implementation of heightened food safety improvements that continued in post-pandemic times, this study investigated the impact of restaurant employees’ perception of managerial behaviors on their intention to comply with the new food safety expectations. Using Social Equity and Exchange theories as the structural basis, 2080 restaurant employees were surveyed to explore the factors of gain, responsibility, pride, trust, and value impacting intentions to comply with food safety expectations. Using PLS-SEM analysis, results suggest that valued social interactions/exchanges between subordinates and management significantly improved food safety compliance intentions among employees. Gain, responsibility, and pride together account for 60.2% variance in trust and 63.6% variance in value.