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Article

Doing Good or Doing Better? Comparing Freelance and Employment Models for a Social Sustainable Food Delivery Sector

by
Riccardo Tronconi
* and
Francesco Pilati
*
Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Trento, Via Sommarive 9, 38123 Trento, Italy
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2025, 17(19), 8876; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17198876 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 15 July 2025 / Revised: 27 September 2025 / Accepted: 30 September 2025 / Published: 4 October 2025
(This article belongs to the Section Sustainable Engineering and Science)

Abstract

Delivery platforms in urban logistics connect providers with customers through distribution riders, who are usually distinguished by low incomes and limited social rights. This paper aims to compare and analyze the freelance and employment models for riders in different European countries in terms of social sustainability, i.e., work motivation and labor rights. To reach this goal, two activities were performed. On the one hand, qualitative interviews with German and Italian riders were carried out. On the other hand, a dynamic metaheuristic algorithm was developed and implemented to simulate an employment model with a central provider that manages order requests in real-time. The qualitative interviews indicate that riders’ motivations differ between freelance riders and employed riders: freelance riders do feel more controlled. Using a quantitative algorithm, this manuscript shows that when an efficient centralized order–rider assignment strategy is applied, a socially sustainable and simultaneously profitable employment model for food delivery businesses is possible. The results have the potential to legitimize adequate rights and salaries for riders while allowing digital platforms to operate profitably. Such win–win situations could support the implementation of platform structures across different logistics sectors and overcome conflicts regarding working rights in such contexts.
Keywords: social sustainability; food delivery; employment model; urban logistics; metaheuristic routing algorithm; interviews social sustainability; food delivery; employment model; urban logistics; metaheuristic routing algorithm; interviews

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MDPI and ACS Style

Tronconi, R.; Pilati, F. Doing Good or Doing Better? Comparing Freelance and Employment Models for a Social Sustainable Food Delivery Sector. Sustainability 2025, 17, 8876. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17198876

AMA Style

Tronconi R, Pilati F. Doing Good or Doing Better? Comparing Freelance and Employment Models for a Social Sustainable Food Delivery Sector. Sustainability. 2025; 17(19):8876. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17198876

Chicago/Turabian Style

Tronconi, Riccardo, and Francesco Pilati. 2025. "Doing Good or Doing Better? Comparing Freelance and Employment Models for a Social Sustainable Food Delivery Sector" Sustainability 17, no. 19: 8876. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17198876

APA Style

Tronconi, R., & Pilati, F. (2025). Doing Good or Doing Better? Comparing Freelance and Employment Models for a Social Sustainable Food Delivery Sector. Sustainability, 17(19), 8876. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17198876

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