Promoting Sustainable Behavior in Food Delivery Platforms: A Case Study From China

ABSTRACT

This study examines how food delivery applications (FDAs) can continue to encourage sustainable consumer behavior in the context of rising environmental concerns associated with single‐use plastic waste. Focusing on the Chinese FDA market as a representative case, this study investigates how economic versus environmental appeals influence consumers' decisions to opt out of disposable cutlery. Drawing on three experiments, the findings reveal that the effectiveness of these appeals is contingent on platform‐specific contextual cues (perceived cleanliness and menu orderliness) as well as individual differences (sense of power). Specifically, environmental appeals are more effective when restaurants are perceived as unclean, whereas economic appeals perform better under conditions of low menu orderliness and among low‐income consumers. By situating the analysis within the Chinese FDA ecosystem, this study provides contextually grounded insights into how digital platforms can strategically deploy sustainability messages to influence consumer behavior.