Ricerc@Sapienza

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential impact of food sharing platform business
models and to identify the limits and barriers in measuring the impact. Using the “theory of change” (ToC)
approach, this paper develops a theoretical framework that captures the activities, outputs and outcomes of
food sharing platforms and links them to indicators.
Design/methodology/approach – The study employs a two-step methodology, which includes a website
content analysis followed by two focus groups. The purpose of the website content analysis was to list a set of
activities that are performed by food sharing platforms. The focus groups allow to design the ToC and to
discuss limits and barriers in measuring the impact of food sharing platforms.
Findings – The study provides an overview of the main areas of impact of food sharing platforms
(environmental, social, economic and political) and identifies the related outcomes. Furthermore, the paper
highlights the need for the platform to manage the multifaceted tensions of food waste recovery vs prevention
and the benefits of food recovery to helping hungry people vs the actual need to eradicate poverty by
addressing social injustices and inequalities.
Research limitations/implications – The selected sample involved in the focus group comprised a wide
but not comprehensive set of stakeholders. Indeed, the obtained information cannot be generalized. In
addition, the ToC approach requires a certain discretion of the facilitator and introduces the potential for
partiality in conducting the analysis.
Practical implications – The framework helps to unbundle the complex challenge of measuring the impact
of food sharing platforms and it provides managers, practitioners and policy makers with a practical tool to
direct their activities toward a better impact.
Originality/value – From a theoretical perspective the study advances the literature on ( food) sharing
platforms and contributes to research on the sustainability in the food sector. It indicates the impacts a novel
actor relying on digital technology can have in the food sector and points out the tensions between food
recovery and prevention and the impact on poverty. The proposed framework could be a useful tool to
support practitioners in understanding the trade-offs among the outcomes they aim to attain, and to identify
the proper strategies to manage them.