Expanding exchange: how institutional actors shape food-sharing exchange systems

• Published in: AMS review Vol. 10; no. 1-2; pp. 116 - 134
• Main Authors: Jayashankar, Priyanka, Cross, Samantha
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01-06-2020; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Business and Management; Consumers; Economic development; Emerging markets; Food security; Globalization; Marketing; Nutrition; Political systems; Social entrepreneurship; Social Sciences; Theory/Conceptual; United States > US; India; Subsistence markets; Theory of exchange; Institutional theory; Food sharing
• ISSN: 1869-814X; 1869-8182
• DOI: 10.1007/s13162-019-00150-y

In this conceptual paper, we offer a revised perspective of exchange which is relevant across diverse institutional and economic contexts. We discuss and compare food sharing exchange systems in India and the US. We focus on the antecedents and drivers of food sharing exchange systems, the processes by which institutional actors influence food sharing exchange systems and the underlying reasons due to which food-sharing systems emerge. Our work substantively builds on the extant literature on the theory of exchange and institutional theory in marketing. We develop a compelling exchange narrative of how institutional actors can drive consumer welfare across diverse exchange systems.