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1 – 10 of over 1000David Hermsdorf, Meike Rombach and Vera Bitsch
The purpose of this paper is to investigate food retailers food waste reduction practices in Germany. The focus is on selling and redistributing agricultural produce with visual…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate food retailers food waste reduction practices in Germany. The focus is on selling and redistributing agricultural produce with visual impairments and other surplus food items. In addition, drivers and barriers regarding the implementation of both waste reduction practices are explored.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 12 in-depth interviews with managerial actors in the food retail sector and a food bank spokesperson were recorded, transcribed and analyzed through a qualitative content analysis.
Findings
In contrast to organic retailers, conventional retailers were reluctant to include agricultural produce with visual impairments in their product assortments, due to fears of negative consumer reactions. Another obstacle was EU marketing standards for specific produce. All retailers interviewed engaged in redistribution of surplus food. Logistics and the regulatory framework were the main barriers to food redistribution.
Originality/value
The present study adds to the existing body of literature on food waste reduction practices as it explores selling produce with visual impairments and elaborates on the legal background of food redistribution in German retail. The results are the foundation for providing recommendations to policy makers and charitable food organizations.
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Tobias Winkler, Manuel Ostermeier and Alexander Hübner
Regarding the retail internal supply chain (SC), both retailers and research are currently focused on reactive food waste reduction options in stores (e.g. discounting or…
Abstract
Purpose
Regarding the retail internal supply chain (SC), both retailers and research are currently focused on reactive food waste reduction options in stores (e.g. discounting or donations). These options reduce waste after a surplus has emerged but do not prevent an emerging surplus in the first place. This paper aims to reveal how retailers can proactively prevent waste along the SC and why the options identified are impactful but, at the same time, often complex to implement.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors follow an exploratory approach for a nascent topic to obtain insights into measures taken in practice. Interviews with experts from retail build the main data source.
Findings
The authors identify and analyze 21 inbound, warehousing, distribution and store-related options applied in grocery retail. Despite the expected high overall impact on waste, prevention measures in inbound logistics and distribution and warehousing have not been intensively applied to date.
Practical implications
The authors provide a structured approach to mitigate waste within retailers' operations and categorize the types of barriers that need to be addressed.
Originality/value
This research provides a better understanding of prevention options in retail operations, which has not yet been empirically explored. Furthermore, this study conceptualizes prevention and reduction options and reveals implementation patterns.
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Abstract
Purpose
The managerial questions of this paper are as follows, and the authors are trying to solve them: How revenue sharing contract (CSR) degree and government subsidy affect the agri-food quality? What kind of model (WPC, revenue-sharing contract [RSC] and cooperative) would be more effective in motivating manufacturers and retailer to increase effort and improve agri-food quality? What kind of model (WPC, RSC and cooperative) would make manufacturer and retailer better off?
Design/methodology/approach
Considering the jointing quality effort and contract decision in green agri-food supply chain, this paper proposes six models that consider CSR of manufacturer and retailer, and then the obtained optimal solutions are compared and analyzed. At the same time, the impact of government subsidies is analyzed, and corresponding conclusions are drawn.
Findings
The results show that, first of all, whether the increasing CSR of the manufacturer or the retailer can motivate both parties to improve the agri-food quality effort investment. Second, the WPC and RSC contract may play different role in different cases. Finally, under the model with government subsidies, regarding positive influence of government subsidies on efforts of manufacturer and retailer, quality and profits of members is investigated. Based on these conclusions, this study puts forward the following policy suggestions. Firstly, governments should formulate reasonable subsidy policies to support manufacturer and retailer to improve the agri-food quality, thereby promoting green industries' development. Secondly, manufacturer and retailer should actively improve CSR and strengthen the effort of agri-food so as to advance quality. Finally, manufacturer and retailer can choose cooperative model or WPC contract.
Research limitations/implications
In this paper, one manufacturer and one retailer are considered. Since the agri-food supply chain structure in reality is more complicated, the future research direction can consider the supply chain structure with one manufacturer and multiple retailers. In addition, this paper only considers the subsidy, and future research can classify the subsidy into different types.
Originality/value
The study makes two substantive contributions to the body of knowledge in the field of sustainable operations:(1) incorporating quality-based demand function in supply chain and dynamic process of agri-food quality; (2) exploring the impact of CSR awareness of members and subsidy of government on agri-food quality, and comparing the influence in different models.
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Filippo Corsini, Nora Annesi, Eleonora Annunziata and Marco Frey
Food waste is a severe problem affecting the supply chain due to its significant adverse social and environmental effects. Even if the topic is hotly debated in the literature…
Abstract
Purpose
Food waste is a severe problem affecting the supply chain due to its significant adverse social and environmental effects. Even if the topic is hotly debated in the literature, there is a lack of research about the success factors influencing food waste prevention initiatives retailers undertake.
Design/methodology/approach
The research analyzes how several variables (i.e. product-related variables and technology-enabling variables) might impact the success of the sales of products close to the expiration date that is sold at a discounted price. Data from 390.000 products sold at a discounted price in 2020 and 2021 by a large Italian food retailer were examined with a regression analysis.
Findings
The results highlight that both product-related and technology-enabling variables influence the success of food prevention initiatives aimed at selling products close to the expiration date at a discounted price. In particular, the authors stress the importance of digital technologies in supporting food waste prevention initiatives.
Practical implications
The study offers several practical implications for managers in structuring a waste prevention initiative. The introduction of digital technologies, the monitoring of specific variables or the ability to find synergies with other food waste prevention initiatives are discussed to support retailers in reducing food losses.
Originality/value
The paper is focused on the retailer perspective, which is barely investigated due to the difficulty in finding data.
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Francesca De Canio, Elisa Martinelli and Emiro Endrighi
Environmental concern is getting increasing importance in consumer shopping decisions. Nevertheless, to date, sustainable packaged foods are not always the first option when…
Abstract
Purpose
Environmental concern is getting increasing importance in consumer shopping decisions. Nevertheless, to date, sustainable packaged foods are not always the first option when consumers go shopping. This paper analyses how environmental concern moderates the role played by external factors – preference towards sustainable retailers and trust in sustainable producers – in determining consumer purchase intentions for sustainable packaged foods. Consumer involvement in eco-friendly labels, increasingly present in food packages, is investigated as indirectly impacting pro-environmental purchase intentions.
Design/methodology/approach
An online survey administered to a sample of Italian food shoppers is used for the empirical analysis. A total of 278 structured questionnaires were modelled using a structural equation modelling approach.
Findings
Findings show that producers and retailers' policies in favour of sustainability are key in determining consumers' sustainable purchase intentions. Further, coherent uses of labels and logos in light of sustainability can support consumer purchase decisions. Relevant is the influence played by the environmental concern in both supporting pro-environmental purchase intentions and in amplifying the trust in sustainable producers-purchase intentions path.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature on sustainability showing how producers and retailers may together influence consumers' pro-environmental purchase intentions. Findings extend the retail literature on the impact of producers and retailers' policies on consumers' sustainable purchases. Further, environmental concern is investigated in its moderating role on the impact of external factors on consumers' pro-environmental purchase intentions.
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Virva Tuomala and David B. Grant
Access to food through retail supply chain distribution can vary significantly among the urban poor and leads to household food insecurity. The paper explores this sustainable…
Abstract
Purpose
Access to food through retail supply chain distribution can vary significantly among the urban poor and leads to household food insecurity. The paper explores this sustainable supply chain phenomenon through a field study among South Africa's urban poor.
Design/methodology/approach
Urban metabolic flows is the theoretical basis in the context of supply chain management (SCM). The field study comprised 59 semi-structured interviews in one South African township. Data were recorded, transcribed and translated, and coded using NVivo 12 to provide an inventory of eight themes categorized and patterned from the analysis.
Findings
Findings indicate societal factors play a significant role affecting food distribution, access and security from a spatial perspective of retail outlet locations and a nutritional standpoint regarding quality and quantity of food.
Research limitations/implications
The study is exploratory in one township, and while rigorously conducted, the generalizability of findings is limited to this context.
Practical implications
The study practically contributes by providing guidance for food retailers and policymakers to include nutritional guidelines in their distribution planning, as well as the dynamics of diverse neighbourhoods that exist in modern urban contexts.
Social implications
New forms of retail food distribution can provide better security and access to food for the urban poor, contributing to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2 Zero Hunger and 11 Liveable Cities.
Originality/value
The study is interdisciplinary and contributes by linking UN SDGs and SCM through urban metabolic flows from development studies as an overarching framework to enable analysis of relationships between physical, social and economic factors in the urban environment.
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Costanza Nosi, Lamberto Zollo, Riccardo Rialti and Cristiano Ciappei
Using an enhanced version of the theory of reasoned action (TRA), this study investigates the antecedents of organic quinoa-based food buying intention. In addition to attitude…
Abstract
Purpose
Using an enhanced version of the theory of reasoned action (TRA), this study investigates the antecedents of organic quinoa-based food buying intention. In addition to attitude toward this behavioral intention, the proposed model examines the influence that ecological welfare, political values, and consumer-perceived corporate social responsibility (CSR) of the point of sale exert on consumer willingness to purchase organic quinoa-based food.
Design/methodology/approach
Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the data collected through an intercept survey conducted at specialized organic stores on a convenience sample of 158 individuals in Italy.
Findings
Although ecological welfare and a retailer's CSR image positively influence consumer attitude toward buying organic quinoa-based food, political values negatively affect this attitude. Furthermore, consumer attitude is found to be a crucial predictor of behavioral intention.
Research implications
At the theoretical level, the results are useful for demonstrating that other variables, in addition to those used in the traditional TRA, can further explain consumers' organic food buying intention. Additionally, the findings might be useful for both quinoa producers and retailers in creating and executing their marketing and communication strategies.
Originality/value
In addition to contributing to the stream of literature that investigates possible variables that might increase the predictive power of the TRA, this study sheds some light on organic food purchasing consumer behavior.
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Zainab Bintay Anis, Rashid Iqbal, Wahab Nazir and Nauman Khalid
The novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) variant of 2019 has taken more than 3.8 million lives according to the World Health Organization. To stop the spread of such a deadly and…
Abstract
Purpose
The novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) variant of 2019 has taken more than 3.8 million lives according to the World Health Organization. To stop the spread of such a deadly and contagious disease, lockdown of varying nature was imposed worldwide. Lockdown, preventive techniques and observation of standard operating procedures (SOPs) have effectively decreased the spread of contagious diseases but have affected various businesses and industries economically. The food industry has been hit hard by different restriction parameters, due to which a disruption in food supply and demand was observed. Therefore, this study aims to study this disruption in the supply chain of processed food.
Design/methodology/approach
A comprehensive review was conducted on PubMed, Google Scholar, and Scopus to locate articles on processed foods, food delivery and supply chain. The selected articles were evaluated using the context analysis method.
Findings
The pandemic situation has increased the consumption and demand for processed food products from retail stores, and decreased the demand for food service products. These circumstances called for technological advancement in the field of food supply from farm to fork. This study reviews research articles, policies and secondary literature. Several advances have been made to deliver safe, nutritious and wholesome food to consumers. Block chain-based food supply chains, value stream mapping, sustainable supply chain domain and online ordering systems via mobile apps have been discussed in correspondence with information and communication technology (ICT) during COVID-19.
Research limitations/implications
This study concludes that the use of advanced software and its adequate knowledge by suppliers, logistics companies and consumers have assisted in handling shocks to the global food system and provided in-time food delivery, traceability, database information and securely processed food to consumers.
Originality/value
This study shows the effects of COVID-19 pandemic on global food systems; disruption in food demand and supply chain is overlooked and changed; use of technological advances in food supply chain to tackle pandemic; online food ordering system gained popularity and improved technically.
Highlights
The review highlights the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on global food systems.
The disruption in food demand and supply chain is overlooked and changed.
The use of technological advances in the food supply chain to tackle the pandemic.
The online food ordering system gained popularity and improved technically.
The review highlights the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on global food systems.
The disruption in food demand and supply chain is overlooked and changed.
The use of technological advances in the food supply chain to tackle the pandemic.
The online food ordering system gained popularity and improved technically.
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Bob Doherty, Jonathan Ensor, Tony Heron and Patricia Prado
In this article, we offer a contribution to the ongoing study of food by advancing a conceptual framework and interdisciplinary research agenda – what we term “food system…
Abstract
In this article, we offer a contribution to the ongoing study of food by advancing a conceptual framework and interdisciplinary research agenda – what we term “food system resilience”. In recent years, the concept of resilience has been extensively used in a variety of fields, but not always consistently or holistically. Here we aim to theorise systematically resilience as an analytical concept as it applies to food systems research. To do this, we engage with and seek to extend current understandings of resilience across different disciplines. Accordingly, we begin by exploring the different ways in which the concept of resilience is understood and used in current academic and practitioner literatures – both as a general concept and as applied specifically to food systems research. We show that the social-ecological perspective, rooted in an appreciation of the complexity of systems, carries significant analytical potential. We first underline what we mean by the food system and relate our understanding of this term to those commonly found in the extant food studies literature. We then apply our conception to the specific case of the UK. Here we distinguish between four subsystems at which our “resilient food systems” can be applied. These are, namely, the agro-food system; the value chain; the retail-consumption nexus; and the governance and regulatory framework. On the basis of this conceptualisation we provide an interdisciplinary research agenda, using the case of the UK to illustrate the sorts of research questions and innovative methodologies that our food systems resilience approach is designed to promote.
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