The sharing economy in practice: an exploratory study of the acceptance and use of digital platforms in food waste reduction

This article addresses the issue of reducing food waste by way of digital sharing economy platforms, which promote sharing by donating, selling and exchanging surplus food among institutions, commercial establishments and end consumers, thus boosting accessibility and improving food security. In order to succeed, these platforms need to be accepted by the market, but little is known about the acceptance and use factors of these platforms. Therefore, the study presented in this article identifies the factors that influence the acceptance and use of such platforms. The Extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) was used as a theoretical basis for developing an embedded case study on the Ecofood platform. In addition to secondary data collection, interviews and direct observations were carried out in two cities in Southern Brazil. Effort expectancy was identified as the key factor for use behavior, and two new factors (trust and gratefulness) were identified as factors that influence intention behavior and use of the platform. Three propositions were developed to summarize the findings and guide future research.