To Share or Not : Drivers and Barriers of Sustainable Peer-to-Peer Food Sharing Platform Adoption

Abstract

With food insecurity becoming a major concern across the globe, the importance of effective food waste reduction measures cannot be overstated. Sharing economy can offer a solution to household food waste by implementing a community-based food sharing system. Despite the obvious benefits of food waste reduction, however, peer-to-peer food sharing has been struggling to gain user numbers sufficient for earning profit and sustaining long-term operations. We identify consumer perceptions of values that encourage peer-to-peer food sharing and barriers that impede food sharing between individuals via digital platforms. Our investigation is conducted in the context of Finland, where, despite ubiquitous usage of the Internet and mobile devices and the presence of food waste reduction initiatives, market penetration of peer-to-peer food sharing is limited.