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The purpose of this paper is twofold: to identify and assess the direction of development of food retail formats in Poland under the influence of a changing business environment; and to identify the key challenges that food retail companies in Poland face nowadays.

The approach in this paper is a systematic literature review of publications in the Web of Science, Ebsco and Pro-Quest electronic databases from 1990 (from the emergence of large-scale foreign chains in the Polish market) to 2016, as well as the results of research carried out by Polish and international research centers, food retailer groups and institutes. The paper is based on the analysis of secondary data that present the results of research carried out on the Polish food retailing market. These analyses included the development of food retailing formats operating in Poland.

According to the research results analyzed, the evolution of retail formats is an embodiment of innovations introduced by retail companies and is based on the mutual permeation of elements previously associated with a specific retail format. Currently, the blurring of differences between individual retail formats can be observed in respect of two formats in particular, i.e. discount and delicatessen. The discount format occupies a special position on the Polish market, though it differs significantly from a “classical” discount. In discount stores so-called premium group products can be purchased, with stores more and more frequently being located in expensive places, e.g. in shopping centers or in their vicinity. At the same time, the popularity of convenience stores is increasing with a simultaneous decrease in the significance of large-format stores.

This paper provides interesting insights into the development of food retailing formats in Poland and the influence of changes in the business environment in that process. In addition, the paper describes the specifics of the Polish market, detailing literature-based theories pertaining to the development of retailing forms. It also focuses on the perspectives and directions in the future development of retail formats.

The presented study pinpoints transformation of business models of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the food and beverage sector depending on their sustainability strategy. This paper makes a novel contribution to understanding various instruments of sustainability implementation in SMEs’ business models operating in the food and beverage industry of well-developed Western European countries versus less-developed Central–Eastern European countries.

The empirical basis is a survey of 770 European SMEs, of which 369 operate in Western European countries (including Great Britain, Germany and Spain) and 401 in Central and Eastern Europe (including Poland, Croatia and Russia). The nonparametric U Mann–Whitney test was used to examine the significance of the differences between the two groups of companies.

The study empirically confirmed that despite self-declared lack of skills and knowledge in managerial impacts of sustainability, it shapes business models of SME in both country groups in food and drink industry. At the same time, the motivation grounds for business models transformation toward sustainable models vary between mostly economic factors in Eastern Europe and social and cultural factors in Western Europe. The economic factor is formed due to smaller integration into social investments at the SME-level Eastern European countries, while Western European SMEs invest more in a variety of sustainability supporting instruments (R&D, new equipment).

This comparative study is the novel empirical research study on the implementation of sustainability into business models of food and beverage SMEs operating in two groups of Western and Central–Eastern European countries, which has not been previously observed in such a setting.

The paper aims to make a contribution by providing a comprehensive understanding of the scope of the implementation of sustainable marketing tools in SMEs operating in the food and drink industry in Europe. The focus will be put on the identification of differences between companies operating in business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-customer (B2C) context.

The empirical basis is a survey of 770 European SMEs, of which 369 operate in Western European countries (including UK, Germany and Spain) and 401 in Central and Eastern Europe (including Poland, Croatia and Russia). The respondents in the particular countries were stratified according to company size, measured by the number of employees. The research covered 316 micro companies, 5 small companies and 209 medium ones. The questionnaire was completed by the managing directors of the enterprises (CEOs) or heads of the marketing departments (CMOs). The research was conducted between April 2016 and January 2017. An in-depth analysis of the findings helped to identify differences between the two groups of SMEs, i.e. operating in the B2B and B2C context, in terms of the extent of sustainable marketing implementation. The non-parametric U Mann–Whitney test was used to examine the significance of the differences between the two groups of companies.

The research results suggest that both groups of B2B and B2C companies implement sustainable marketing tools to some extent. However, in most cases, B2B organizations do it to a significantly greater extent. Nevertheless, these activities relate mainly to those tools, which are directly visible to customers, both institutional and individual, such as packaging, product ingredients or certificates. To a lesser extent, they involve marketing activities of an internal nature, such as production process and the level of energy, water or resources used.

To the best knowledge of the author, this is the first empirical research study on the implementation of the sustainable marketing concept in SMEs operating in European countries. The study is a comparative analysis of the phenomenon between B2B and B2C companies, which has not been previously researched.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse key determinants of Polish consumers’ loyalty, identified through the analysis of relationship marketing literature, with reference to traditional foodstuffs.

The paper's approach is a systematic review of the Web of Science, Ebsco and Pro-Quest electronic databases, from 1990 to 2014 as well as research results run by Polish and international research centres, groups and institutes. The paper focuses on two main aspects. One is connected with the development of traditional foodstuffs being a consequence of growing prosperity of the Polish society, and the emergence of consumers who rate quality, national/regional identity and own cultural values higher than the price. The other one is connected with key determinants of consumer loyalty towards traditional products. The paper uses secondary data, and presents research results run between Polish consumers of traditional food products. Attitudes and behaviour of Polish consumers of traditional products in relation to key determinants of loyalty, such as attitude towards the product, the level of satisfaction, trust, price sensitivity and frequency of purchase and willingness to do repeat purchase are identified in the paper.

According to the analysed research, almost 90 percent of the respondents positively perceive traditional products. The results of the research confirm positive and emotional attitudes of consumers towards traditional products. This emotional attachment, which is very important in creating loyalty among consumers, makes them buy traditional food. Polish consumers are satisfied with the taste of traditional products, which are also perceived as fresh and natural. Consumers rate the quality of traditional products highly and underline their positive influence on their and their families’ health. According to the research, Polish consumers pay little attention to geographical and quality indications, which are designed to build a trustworthy image of the products. Traditional products are perceived as expensive, which makes it difficult to build loyalty and affects the frequency of purchase. Almost 40 percent of the respondents buy traditional products once a month.

The research results presented in the paper have significant implications for management, that is producers and retailers of local food, in particular with regard to their future marketing effort. Producers and entrepreneurs should monitor behaviour of consumers of traditional food to adapt their offer to changing trends in order to create their loyalty. Consumers expect the products to be made of appropriate ingredients and production methods in order to keep their original taste and character. They also expect some product innovations and proper communication to become loyal.

The paper has significant implications for society. The process of building customer loyalty towards traditional products is important in the context of their quality of life and public attitude. Traditional foods are a part of culture and the identity of the population where they are produced. Therefore they carry a strong symbolic value for the customers. They are also perceived as healthy and nutritious products, containing a lot of vitamins and minerals. Creating loyal attitude towards them may improve the quality of customers’ life.

The paper provides interesting insights about loyalty for traditional products. Based on the determinants of loyalty identified by the author in relationship marketing literature the analysis of these variables was conducted in relation to traditional products. Due to the best author knowledge this is one of the first attempts, if not the first, where loyalty determinants were described in relation to traditional products. The literature lacks comprehensive research on particular aspects of loyal behaviour in the market of traditional products.