Abstract:

Sustainability-Oriented Digital Platforms (SODPs) promise to operationalise sustainability by embedding pro-environmental and ethical actions into everyday digital routines. Yet it remains unclear whether user engagement reflects normative sustainability commitment or simply the convenience of technologically mediated solutions. Drawing on the concept of techno-solutionism, this study examines how users engage with four prominent SODPs: Ecosia, Too Good To Go, Vinted, and Abillion. Using a qualitative and computational research design, we analyse large-scale Reddit user-generated content (N > 5,000 posts) through BERT-based sentiment analysis combined with thematic interpretation. Rather than treating sentiment as prediction, we use it as an interpretive lens to trace how sustainability is emotionally framed in everyday discourse. Findings show that sustainability is frequently backgrounded, with users prioritising convenience, cost, and platform credibility. Behavioural change appears primarily as substitution, such as switching services, rather than transformation of consumption patterns. Moments of friction, including doubts about impact or usability, reactivate explicit sustainability reflection. We argue that SODPs operationalise sustainability in ways consistent with techno-solutionist logics, shifting responsibility from sustained personal commitment toward trust in technological systems.

Please choose your submission type: Full Paper

Primary Track: Sustainable and Responsible Business

Keywords: technology/digital business);secondary research/concept paper

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Dr. Virginie Lavoye