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Recently emerged Packaging-as-a-Service (PaaS) systems adopt aspects of access-based services and triadic frameworks, which have typically been treated as conceptually separate. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the implications of blending the two in what we call “access-based triadic systems,” by empirically evaluating intentions to adopt PaaS systems for takeaway food among restaurants and consumers.

We derived relevant attributes of PaaS systems from a qualitative pre-study with restaurants and consumers. Next, we conducted two factorial survey experiments with restaurants (N = 176) and consumers (N = 245) in Germany to quantitatively test the effects of those system attributes on their adoption intentions.

This paper highlights that the role of access-based triadic system providers as both the owners of shared assets and the operators of a triadic system is associated with a novel set of challenges and opportunities: System providers need to attract a critical mass of business and end customers while balancing asset protection and system complexity. At the same time, asset ownership introduces opportunities for improved quality control and differentiation from competition.

Conceptually, this paper extends research on access-based services and triadic frameworks by describing an unexplored hybrid form of non-ownership consumption we call “access-based triadic systems.” Empirically, this paper addresses the need to account for the demands of two distinct target groups in triadic systems and demonstrates how factorial survey experiments can be leveraged in this field.

This study aims to identify the interfaces between Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies and circular supply chains (CSC) in Brazilian foodtechs, focusing on key stakeholders’ perspectives to understand the efficiency and sustainability impacts of these integrations.

Using a qualitative exploratory research design, the study analyzes eight Brazilian foodtechs through interviews and content analysis. It identifies CSC practices and examines the adherence of I4.0 technologies within these enterprises, assessing stakeholder engagement and the implications for CSC optimization.

Fifteen CSC practices were identified across the foodtechs, with notable integration of three distinct I4.0 technologies. The findings suggest that while I4.0 technologies enhance efficiency in CSC, their adoption is in early stages. Stakeholder engagement emerges as a crucial element for optimizing CSC in the context of Brazilian foodtechs.

This study contributes to the academic discussion on the synergy between I4.0 and circular economy (CE) models, providing empirical evidence of their application in the foodtech sector and highlighting the role of stakeholders in facilitating these integrations.

The findings suggest that stakeholder engagement in circular practices is vital for both supply chain and organizational levels, with potential benefits including improved efficiency and sustainability outcomes. The research also underscores the need for public sector support, including regulatory frameworks and incentives for adopting I4.0 technologies.

By demonstrating how I4.0 technologies can support CE practices in foodtechs, the study highlights the potential for these integrations to contribute to more sustainable and efficient food systems, addressing environmental concerns and promoting social well-being.

This study addresses a gap in the literature by exploring the interface between I4.0 technologies and CSC in the emerging context of Brazilian foodtechs, offering insights into the practical and societal benefits of these integrations.

As China’s e-commerce and cross-border e-commerce rapidly develop, the cross-border e-commerce supply chain exhibits characteristics of globalized development scale, collaborative multiparty participation, streamlined management processes, digitalized production and trade and flexible strategic choices. It tends toward data-driven intelligence, interoperable information collaboration, personalized order responses, sustainable supply chain management and secure blockchain technology. These characteristics and trends provide critical references for businesses, governments and investors.

In response to issues such as inconsistent legal regulations, imbalanced logistics and transportation, imperfect payment settlements and opaque supply chains.

It is recommended to take measures to strengthen cooperation and communication, optimize logistics, reduce customs clearance difficulties, reinforce safeguard measures and promote sustainable development, collectively fostering the healthy growth of cross-border e-commerce.

With the rapid development of cross-border e-commerce, green and low-carbon initiatives have become a significant trend in this sector. The cross-border e-commerce supply chain refers to the mechanism that reduces environmental impacts and enhances resource efficiency from manufacturers to consumers. It primarily involves manufacturers, e-commerce platforms, logistics companies and payment and settlement processes. The cross-border e-commerce supply chain is gradually becoming a highlight in China’s foreign trade, supporting the concept of “buying globally and selling globally” and connecting the “world’s factory” with the “world’s market.”

The purpose of this paper is to develop a software-library in the R programming language that implements the concepts of the interpretive coordinate, interpretive axis and interpretive plane. This allows for the automatic and reliable interpretation of results from the multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) as previously proposed and published. Consequently, the users can seamlessly apply these concepts to their data, both via R commands and a corresponding graphical interface.

Within the context of this study, and through extensive literature review, the advantages of developing software using the Shiny library were examined. This library allows for the development of full-stack applications for R users without the need for knowledge of the corresponding technologies required for the development of complex applications. Additionally, the structural components of a Shiny application were presented, leading ultimately to the proposed software application.

Software utilizing the Shiny library enables nonexpert developers to rapidly develop specialized applications, either to present or to assist in the understanding of objects or concepts that are scientifically intriguing and complex. Specifically, with this proposed application, the users can promptly and effectively apply the scientific concepts addressed in this study to their data. Additionally, they can dynamically generate charts and reports that are readily available for download and sharing.

The proposed package is an implementation of the fundamental concepts of the exploratory MCA method. In the next step, discoveries from the geometric data analysis will be added as features to provide more comprehensive information to the users.

The practical implications of this work include the dissemination of the method’s use to a broader audience. Additionally, the decision to implement it with open-source code will result in the integration of the package’s functions by other third-party user packages.

The proposed software introduces the initial implementation of concepts such as interpretive coordination, the interpretive axis and the interpretive plane. This package aims to broaden and simplify the application of these concepts to benefit stakeholders in scientific research. The software can be accessed for free in a code repository, the link to which is provided in the full text of the study.

This study aims to explore how sustainable business models (SBM) can be developed within agri-innovation systems (AIS) and emphasize an integration of the two with a systemic understanding for reducing food loss and value loss in postharvest agri-food supply chain.

This study conducted longitudinal qualitative research in a developing country with food loss challenges in the postharvest supply chain. This study collected data through multiple rounds of fieldwork, interviews and focus groups over four years. Thematic analysis and “sensemaking” were used for inductive data analysis to generate rich contextual knowledge by drawing upon the lived realities of the agri-food supply chain actors.

First, this study finds that the value losses are varied in the supply chain, encompassing production value, intrinsic value, extrinsic value, market value, institutional value and future food value. This happens through two cumulative effects including multiplier losses, where losses in one model cascade into others, amplifying their impact and stacking losses, where the absence of data stacks or infrastructure pools hampers the realisation of food value. Thereafter, this study proposes four strategies for moving from the loss-incurring current business model to a networked SBM for mitigating losses. This emphasises the need to redefine ownership as stewardship, enable formal and informal beneficiary identification, strengthen value addition and build capacities for empowering communities to benefit from networked SBM with AIS initiatives. Finally, this study puts forth ten propositions for future research in aligning AIS with networked SBM.

This study contributes to understanding the interplay between AIS and SBM; emphasising the integration of the two to effectively address food loss challenges in the early stages of agri-food supply chains. The identified strategies and research propositions provide implications for researchers and practitioners seeking to accelerate sustainable practices for reducing food loss and waste in agri-food supply chains.

This paper aims to identify the combination of innovation determinants driving the creation of innovative products amongst market leaders and market followers in food and beverage (F&B) firms.

This research is based on the case study methodology by using two types of data sources: (1) semi-structured interviews with industry experts and (2) in-depth interviews with managers. In addition, a questionnaire adapted from prior research was used to consider market and firm types.

Suggesting an integrated theoretical framework based on firm-based factors and market-based factors, this study identified a combination of determinants significantly impacting innovative products in the market. Specifically, these determinants are competition intensity and innovation capability (a combination of research and development (R&D) investment and marketing capabilities). The study also examined how these determinants vary depending on whether the firms are market leaders or market followers.

This research provides practical insights for managers working in the F&B industry by using case studies and exploring the determinants of developing innovative products. In doing so, suitable strategies can be selected according to the market and firm situations.

The originality of the study is shown by focussing on how different combinations of market and firm factors could be applied in creating successful innovative products in the food sector.

Stakeholder theory understands business in terms of relationships among stakeholders whose interests are mainly joint but may be occasionally conflicting. In the latter case, managers may need to make trade-offs between these interests. The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature of managerial decision-making about these trade-offs.

This paper draws on the ordonomic approach which sees business life to be rife with social dilemmas and locates the role of stakeholders in harnessing or resolving these dilemmas through engagement in rule-finding and rule-setting processes.

The ordonomic approach suggests that stakeholder interests trade-offs ought to be neither ignored nor avoided, but rather embraced and welcomed as an opportunity for bringing to fruition the joint interest of stakeholders in playing a better game of business. Stakeholders are shown to bear responsibility for overcoming the perceived trade-offs through the institutional management of social dilemmas.

For many stakeholder theorists, the nature of managerial decision-making about trade-offs between conflicting stakeholder interests and the nature of trade-offs themselves have been a long-standing point of contention. The paper shows that trade-offs may be useful for the value creation process and explicitly discusses managerial strategies for dealing with them.

The Internet has changed consumer decision-making and influenced business behaviour. User-generated product information is abundant and readily available. This paper argues that user-generated content can be efficiently utilised for business intelligence using data science and develops an approach to demonstrate the methods and benefits of the different techniques.

Using Python Selenium, Beautiful Soup and various text mining approaches in R to access, retrieve and analyse user-generated content, we argue that (1) companies can extract information about the product attributes that matter most to consumers and (2) user-generated reviews enable the use of text mining results in combination with other demographic and statistical information (e.g. ratings) as an efficient input for competitive analysis.

The paper shows that combining different types of data (textual and numerical data) and applying and combining different methods can provide organisations with important business information and improve business performance.

The paper shows that combining different types of data (textual and numerical data) and applying and combining different methods can provide organisations with important business information and improve business performance.

The study makes several contributions to the marketing and management literature, mainly by illustrating the methodological advantages of text mining and accompanying statistical analysis, the different types of distilled information and their use in decision-making.

This study aims to highlight the impact of altruistic-self and hunger awareness on socially responsible food consumption through the lens of self-awareness and self-congruity theories due to the great challenge of Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero Hunger.

A survey was conducted with a sample of 812 respondents. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) confirm each variable's structure through the measurement model and test the hypothesis to support a structural model.

The results highlight that the combination of altruistic-self and hunger awareness (AS-HA congruence) drives consumers to execute socially responsible food consumption. Meanwhile, consumers' food-saving attitude mediation translates to the attitude towards responsible and ethical use increasing socially responsible food consumption, a contextual development in the theory of congruence. Conversely, hunger awareness is not confirmed as significantly influencing socially responsible food consumption.

This research provides valuable insights for academicians and practitioners in developing food waste management strategies that can be implemented to reduce food wastage.

Food waste is a global concern and is challenging for many manufacturing, distribution and individual wastage levels. However, food wastage by consumers is one of the most critical problems which can be minimised with awareness and attitudinal changes in behaviour as a form of socially responsible consumption.

This paper presents an interpretation of freehand drawings produced by supply chain management undergraduates in response to the question: “What is sustainability?” Having to explain sustainability pictorially forced students to distill what the essence of sustainability meant to them and provided insights into how they perceived sustainability and their roles in achieving sustainability in the context of supply chain management.

Students were asked to draw and answer the question “What is sustainability?” These drawings were discussed/interpreted in class. All drawings were initially examined quantitatively, before a sample of four were selected for presentation here.

Freehand drawing can be used as part of a critical pedagogy to create a visual representation to bypass cognitive verbal processing routes. This allows students to produce clear, more critical and inclusive images of their understanding of a topic regardless of their vocabulary.

The authors offer this as a model for educators seeking alternative methods for engaging with sustainability and for creating a learning environment where students can develop their capacity for critical self-reflection.

This study shows how a collaborative learning experience facilitates learners demonstrating their level of understanding of sustainability.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-11-2022-0718