Green by association? Restaurant presence on food-waste reduction platforms as a hybrid sustainability signal for brand equity

Food-waste reduction platforms allow restaurants to redistribute surplus food, but their branding implications remain unclear. Drawing on signaling theory, we conceptualize restaurant presence on these platforms as a hybrid sustainability signal that embeds sustainability and commercial meanings within the same marketplace cue. Across three experiments, we examine whether this hybrid signal enhances restaurant brand equity through green brand image and whether consumer residence and restaurant type condition its effects. Study 1 shows that platform presence enhances brand equity, partially through green brand image. Study 2 replicates the main effect and provides directional evidence that the premium of platform presence may be stronger among urban than rural consumers. Study 3 shows that this effect depends jointly on consumer residence and restaurant type, and that mediation through green brand image is evident primarily for full-service restaurants. These findings identify platform presence as a hybrid, context-dependent sustainability signal with branding implications.