長久以來，食物浪費一直都是個具有挑戰性的議題，導致嚴重的環境威脅。許多研究顯示食物浪費的一大原因是由於人們對於蔬果原型的既定審美標準，導致消費者拒絕購買長相不完美的蔬果，也因此這些仍具有可食性的不完美蔬果遭到大量浪費。過去研究主要以損壞的外包裝、即期食品及折扣價格探討長相不完美的蔬果。較少文獻針對影響消費者購買此類蔬果的意願作為研究題材。
本研究將以家人朋友的社會影響力及折扣價格(四折與一折)作為研究變數，探討消費者對於長相不完美蔬果的購買意願的影響。在研究設計上採用線上問卷發放方式進行。研究結果表明，家人朋友透過口頭建議和購買回饋所產生的社會影響力確實促進消費者購買長相不完美蔬果的意願，而較高的折扣價格(一折)並不會對消費者的感知價值與購買意願產生正向影響。
根據本研究結果，家人朋友的社會影響力是提升消費者對於購買外觀不完美蔬果的一大影響因子，因此建議國內蔬果市場的零售業與農產品供應商在銷售醜蔬果時，專注於提供消費者優質的購物體驗，以增進消費者對於購買此蔬果的正向回饋，藉此改善大眾對於長相不完美蔬果的接受度並大幅提升購買意願。

Food waste has been a challenging problem for ages which leads to a severe environmental threat. Much research has revealed the noteworthy issue of imperfect produce which consumers rejected to buy due to the prototypical aesthetic standard. Previous studies regarding produce with cosmetic flaws were focused on the defected packaging, selling close by expiration date, along with discount price. However, few research investigate motivators that drive consumers’ willingness to purchase. The study expects to investigate the impact of social influence from family and friends as well as the two different levels of price reduction (60% off and 90% off) toward consuming suboptimal produce. A 2 x 2 between-subject experiment was conducted using an online experiment on the basis of scenario design. The implication of the study suggests that the power of social influence from family and friends via verbal suggestions and purchasing feedback indeed promotes consumers’ desire to buy the produce while a higher discount price may not show a positive impact on the perceived value as well as consumers’ willingness-to-pay. Based on the result, social influence from family and friends is a major effect on purchasing imperfect produce. Therefore, it is recommended that retail industry, as well as agricultural suppliers in the domestic fruit and vegetable market, should concentrate on providing consumers with a high-quality shopping experience when selling produce with cosmetic flaws, in order to increase consumers’ positive feedback of such fruits and vegetables. Thereby improving the public’s acceptance of imperfect produce and significantly promoting the willingness to pay.

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