Examining the influence of ability, trust, opportunity and motivation on IOT sensors adoption for preventing food waste

Preventing and reducing food waste in food supply chains will contribute to the United Nation’s sustainable development goals on responsible consumption and production. Digital technologies, such as the Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, have seen several successful applications but have not yet been widely applied in food supply chains to help reduce food waste. However, food companies are still unsure about using IoT-based sensors and reluctant to adopt them for the purpose of food waste prevention. To address this problem, this study aims to examine the determinants of the intention to adopt IoT-based sensors for preventing food waste by the UK food companies. To achieve this aim, this research develops a comprehensive Ability-Trust-Opportunity-Motivation (ATOM) model that extends and contextualizes the original Motivation-Opportunity-Ability (MOA) model in the context of using IoT sensors in food supply chain companies for preventing food waste. The proposed ATOM model will be used to examine if and to what extent ability, trust opportunity, and motivation influence the managers’ behavioral intention and actual behavior of using IoT sensors. The ATOM model will be tested using data collected from a questionnaire survey to be carried out with senior managers in the UK food sector. The final outcomes of this study will make valuable contributions to the theoretical development and practical understanding of the influence of ability, trust opportunity and motivation on IoT sensor adoption for preventing food waste.