Title: Desire for exploration beats price: an empirical study on customer motives for using digital monetary food sharing platforms

Authors: Fiorella Frank; Julia Winterstein; André Habisch

Addresses: Gollierplatz 18, 80339 München, Germany ' Ingolstadt School of Management, Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, Auf der Schanz 49, 85049 Ingolstadt, Germany ' Ingolstadt School of Management, Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, Germany; Christian Social Ethics and Social Policy, Auf der Schanz 49, 85049 Ingolstadt, Germany

Abstract: Fourteen percent of the global food produced is wasted every year, posing an environmental, ecological, and social problem. Digital monetary food sharing (MFS) platforms have been proposed to reduce food waste through a more efficient use of resources. Yet, the literature did not inquire about the motivation of consumers to use the platforms. Hence, this paper intends to fill the gap by contributing to the literature on a (food) sharing economy. This study is the first that empirically investigates motives to use MFS platforms in Germany. We apply an exploratory sequential mixed-method approach combining in-depth interviews with a quantitative online survey, using structural equation modelling. Our results suggest that intrinsic motives have a stronger influence than extrinsic motives: the desire to explore new food was more strongly correlated to the behavioural intention to use the platforms than perceived economic benefit and sustainable motives. Concluding, the research deduces theoretical and managerial implications for different stakeholders.

Keywords: food waste; food waste reduction; sustainability; sharing economy; food sharing; MFS; monetary food sharing; sharing platform; business model innovation; theory of planned behaviour; customer motives; mixed-method approach.

DOI: 10.1504/IJISD.2024.139394

International Journal of Innovation and Sustainable Development, 2024 Vol.18 No.4, pp.420 - 440

Received: 12 Aug 2021
Accepted: 05 Sep 2022
Published online: 02 Jul 2024 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article