74. Digital technologies and food waste reduction and prevention: benefits and challenges

Le résumé fourni par la source

This paper investigates the adoption of digital technologies for food waste reduction and prevention in Norway. It goes beyond studying one single technology, aiming to have a broad understanding of digital technology adoption as ‘a (digital) innovation system’ by applying a multiple case study of four different digital technologies used by companies in the food and hospitality sector in Norway. I strive to understand why Norwegian companies, i.e. food producers, grocery chains, restaurants, and cafes (or technology adopters) adopt the technologies in the first place and what benefits and challenges they may encounter along with the adoption. Data inputs for this paper are gathered from semi-structured interviews with several technology adopters. Empirical insights show that the benefits include economic advantage by reducing the amount of waste and increased awareness among employees. However, there are at least several challenges concerning the adoption of digital technologies. Some adopters found that the digital technologies were too costly, incompatible with their internal (IT) systems, or mismatched economic models. Another challenge is employee awareness about food waste and related digital technologies. The paper sheds light on the multiple and complex challenges in adopting digital technologies for food waste prevention and reduction.

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