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

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.