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The COVID-19 has had a diversified and dynamic impact on the food and agricultural sector, particularly in the agri-food value chain. Although a good number of articles were published in various countries and continents covering various aspects of the impact of COVID-19 on the agri-food value chain, no significant studies were found related to the mapping of published literature to know about the scenario and current trend research. The study aims to perform a systematic review and bibliographic mapping in the agri-food value chain to provide insights into the same.

Articles included in the Scopus database from January 1, 2020 to July 10, 2021 are considered. After initial screening and inclusion criteria, 41 articles have been selected to perform a systematic review which is published in the agri-food value chain. In addition to this, by considering the growth of the online food market, systematic mapping with the application of bibliometric analysis is performed to know the trend of the publications. Co-occurrence analysis with VOS viewer software version 1.6.16 is used for making network maps and supports the visualization of these maps.

The synthesis of the findings reveals that four broad themes recur in the articles: namely, food security and crisis during the pandemic, food price fluctuations, the impact of COVID-19 and disruption in the agri-food value chain and resilience strategies to strengthen the value chain. Alongside, the synthesis of the findings, this study describes the geographical coverage, methodologies used, sector/industry-specific context of the articles and scope of future research. In co-occurrence analysis with keywords, four clusters are identified related to the online food market and are categorized as “COVID-19 and Online food delivery services,” “Consumer satisfaction to online food delivery services,” “Food delivery system” and “Demographic impact on online food market.”

The study considers only the article from the Scopus database and article published between January 1, 2020 and July 10, 2021. Future studies are encouraged related to impact analysis studies of resilient strategies suggested by various authors by considering multiple databases.

This study will be beneficial for scholars and policymakers to know what is trending in the agri-food value chain and policymakers can implement various resilience strategies as discussed to mitigate the impact. The future research scope highlighted in this paper will encourage scholars and academicians to explore this area and will provide in-depth understanding.

Research in the field of indigenous value chains is limited in theory and empirical research. The purpose of this paper is to interpret values that may inform a new approach to considering value chains from New Zealand Maori kin community contexts.

The paper derives from research that develops Indigenous research methods on positionality. By extending the “included researcher” (Kawharu, 2016) role, the research recognises the opportunity of being genealogically connected to one of the communities, which may enable “deep dive research” relatively easily. Yet practical implications of research also obligate researchers beyond contractual terms to fulfil community aspirations in innovation.

Research findings show that a kin community micro-economy value chain may not be a lineal, progressive sequence of value from supplier to consumer as in Porter’s (1985) conceptualisation of value chains, but may instead be a cyclical system and highly consumer-driven. Research shows that there is strong community desire to connect lands and resources of homelands with descendant consumers wherever they live and reconnect consumers back again to supply sources. Mechanisms enabling this chain include returning food scraps to small community suppliers for composting, or consumers participating in community working bees, harvesting days and the like.

The model may have implications and applicability internationally among indigenous communities who are similarly interested in socio-economic growth and enterprise development.

The apper’s originality, therefore, derives from addressing a research gap, showing that indigenous values may provide a new approach to conceptualising value chains and developing them in practice.

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to formulate an exhaustive list of the issues, gaps, and barriers at each level of the agri-food value chain in North Carolina (NC), and second, to identify the issues of greatest importance to its members.

This research employed the Delphi technique in two stages of input. The first round of input was designed to create a comprehensive list of issues for each of nine “stages” of the agri-food value chain. In round two, the issues were prioritized.

The top ten responses of each stage were aggregated into themes that represent the most critical issues identified by respondents: connectedness within the value chain, access to markets and marketing, affordability/availability of food and food distribution, farm profitability, societal awareness, and education about healthy, local food, and supporting institutions.

The findings could be used by practitioners to inspire innovation in food-related products, programs, processes, organization, and marketing. The findings can help farmers, institutions, food distributors, policy makers, and other members of the agri-food value chain to make decisions about food distribution and access in NC and in other states facing similar issues and circumstances. The findings of this research also have further reaching implications, such as the connectivity of members along the agri-food value chain, the impact of a strong agri-food value chain on agritourism and the potential value of state marketing initiatives.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the differences in value outcomes within the Greek food chain by examining its key members and to illustrate which members are contributing, excelling and underperforming towards value creation.

A survey was conducted with 1,121 companies representing four Greek food sectors and each tier of the chain. These companies evaluated the value outcomes of their supply chain based on four competitive priorities and the subsequent data were analysed by employing appropriate statistical techniques.

The primary producers were found to have the worst value outcomes, whilst the best outcomes were noted for catering firms. The findings show that the Greek food chain has still many characteristics of a traditional chain and many improvements are required to reach the “best value chain” status.

The results could be used as benchmark points to guide managers towards achieving highest scores in specific business operations. The paper demonstrates a logical methodological process for obtaining these results which can be used by managers.

To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper providing an overall view of value outcomes of various chain members altogether and of the chain they are part of. The paper has filled a relevant gap in the literature by providing an empirical comparison of the perceived value outcomes for several tiers in a food chain.

Several studies focus on agri-food value chain from a consumer or from a supply chain perspective. But there is little investigation integrating both approaches and providing empirical evidence from developing countries. The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, it describes the supply chain of organic products in Brazil, which is an emerging market. It describes how retailers manage its supply chain (wholesalers and small producers) in an organic own brand of fresh products. Second, this paper identifies the motivations, attitudes, beliefs and personal values behind Brazilian consumers' decision to purchase organic food.

Qualitative and quantitative techniques were used in two stages. First, it presents a case study of the organic supply chain. Then, a survey carried out with 261 consumers at supermarkets in a Brazilian city is presented.

The case study points out that retailers transfer to wholesalers the responsibility to manage small organic producers. It also suggests that as the organic product is under the retailer own brand, and therefore most of the value perceived by the consumer is retained by the retailer. Survey results indicate that organic consumers have strong individual values and benefits are the most significant predictors of attitude toward organic food for the Brazilian consumers interviewed. Availability is significantly related to the intent to purchase organic food, which is a key point for the supply chain to respond efficiently to consumers' demand.

This paper is based on a single case study and the survey is applied in only one city of Brazil.

The study contributes to expand the value analysis through a combination of quantitative and qualitative techniques, including consumer behaviour and supply chain management in the same analysis. It also adds to the debate on value, proposing Schwartz Value Theory as a complementary approach to value analysis.

This study was undertaken to investigate whether a service-oriented approach to the local food supply chain contributes to strengthened linkages between accommodation and agricultural sectors, thereby creating value for users.

The qualitative study examined levels of customer/consumer engagement (CE) within theoretical constructs of the service-oriented framework and value co-creation, intangible resources and valued relationship within the value chain and food service. Also, two explanatory case studies were conducted on two accommodation properties.

Empirical findings indicated that the hospitality business which emphasized a consumer-centric service approach throughout the value chain – both forward (toward the consumer) and backward (toward the supplier) – had greater success in engaging customers. It also highlighted the importance of service leadership.

The research study provides practical guidance to members of the local food supply chains in the hospitality sector and strategies that can be used to optimize all opportunities to ensure consumers’ needs are met and exceeded as a precursor for repeat business.

The intricacies of services when well understood and applied in hospitality businesses are likely to generate favorable outcomes such as poverty alleviation. Developing destinations invest significantly in tourism as a channel for economic development. Unfortunately, gains are forfeited since limited attention is given to strategically advancing consumer-centric service at the micro level in tourism businesses to the extent that these benefit other stakeholders. Fostering CE and developing a culture of service leadership appear to be critical success factors.

This study is unique and extremely relevant to island destinations as it provides insights using a service management framework in the Caribbean context on how destinations may enhance hospitality business through improved service in island states.

This paper explores the challenges of food security from source to consumption of agri-food value chain by considering urban–rural linkages in city region food systems (CRFSs) and proposes a strategic framework for CRFS identifying strategies to promote urban–rural linkages among multiple stakeholders.

A qualitative case study approach to a fruit and vegetable value chain from rural source to consumption in the Colombo City region identifies the challenges of food security. A snowballing sampling method was used to gather information from retailers, wholesalers, commission agent, farmers and consumers. The data were collected through face-to-face interviews, observations and secondary data sources. The data were analysed using thematic analysis.

Challenges in food security in the value chain related to five areas: input and production, infrastructure, public institutional support and policy, finance, and food market. Colombo city is heavily dependent on food sourced from other cities due to limited land and lack of locally situated commercially oriented farmers.

This research is limited to a selected number of fruits and vegetables in the Colombo city region and leaves out other food items.

This study contributes to informing policy and decision-making processes to promote a more balanced rural to city food value chain in Colombo City that could benefit all stakeholders from rural small-scale producers to urban consumers.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the process of supermarketization in the vegetable retail sector in China and its impact on food safety.

Data from food safety reports by the Chinese Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) are used to investigate the degree of vegetable safety in different value chain types. To assess the predictors of the degree of vegetable safety, a logistic regression model is applied.

Supermarketization has led to the reorganization of the vegetables provision system, through closer coordination along the supply chain and the use of secured production bases. We identify four types of vegetable value chains in China based on their form of coordination. Supermarkets improve vegetable safety even when they rely on external suppliers, but also wet markets perform significantly better than other small-scale retailers in terms of vegetable safety.

The study has expanded the knowledge of the supermarketization in urban China by collecting data from CFDA. Furthermore, the study used the theory of food value chain to understand determinant factors in securing food safety. Moreover, this study reveals that wet markets also have prospects in solving vegetable safety problems in China, especially in underdeveloped areas.

Agriculture and cultivation firms are facing severe competition in the saturated market. Due to the characteristics of heavy assets, low investment return, long cycle and high price fluctuation, agri-food firms require innovations for capital support. The purpose of this paper is to provide valuable insights on how firms in the food/agricultural industry approach innovations and reinforce their advantages through functional and structural innovations by adopting supply chain finance (SCF).

This research adopts a single-case study methodology to investigate the innovations and mechanisms taking place at H Corp Agriculture Group (H Corp hereafter), a Chinese egg company.

The findings of this paper indicate that SCF could have a great impact on supply chain management through functional and structural innovations throughout the supply chain and solve the capital constraint problems in the agricultural development process, promoting the implementation of the integration strategy as well as innovation in the agricultural industry chain. The research also shows that supply chain structural and functional innovations could promote corporate social responsibility (CSR) and creating shared value (CSV).

The research contributes to the application of SCF mechanisms and the realization of CSV and CSR jointly – both in the literature and in firms’ practices. It also contributes to the extension of structural and functional innovations and vertical integration of the supply chain. However, generalizability and universality are insufficient for a single case study in the specified industry. Data collection and quantitative analysis could be extended for further research.

The study addresses the need for comprehensive research on SCF and its applications. It proposes effective and efficient strategies for agri-food firms applying SCF to overcome industry capital constraints and develop competitiveness. It also provides a balanced and positive circulation between economic value and social value, realizing CSR and CSV.

This paper aims to assess how big data–driven supply chain management (BDSCM) influences sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) to achieve sustainable corporate performance (SCP) for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in an emerging economy such as Vietnam, besides exploring whether Circular Economy Thinking Application (CETA) moderates the relationship between BDSCM and SSCM.

This study collected survey data from 495 SMEs in the food supply chain sector. It employed the PLS-SEM (Partial Least-Squares Structural Equation Modeling) technique to evaluate the hypothesized relationships.

This study found that BDSCM positively, directly and indirectly, impacted SCP. SSCM partially mediated the correlation between BDSCM and SCP. Additionally, CETA moderated the relationship between BDSCM and SSCM. CETA had a direct and positive effect on SSCM.

The insights into how BDSCM influences SSCM to achieve SCP for SMEs in the food value chain in an emerging economy like Vietnam provides an original value. Moreover, the novelty of this study is further reinforced by the coverage of the newfound mechanism, where CETA moderates the relationship between BDSCM and SSCM, directly and positively enhancing SSCM. These contributions could interest business practitioners and academics.