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The purpose of this research is to determine the convenience of using a contract model as an integration mechanism for decision-making in a decentralized supply chain of small agricultural producers in a developing country, taking as hypothesis coordinated chain achieves better management. The analysis is based on information obtained by direct inquiry to 99 small producers in the region, about planning, production, marketing and distribution in the chain, supplemented with secondary information sources.

As a methodology an analysis of maturity in the chain based on the Capability Maturity Model Integration is done, whose evaluation is later analyzed as a fuzzy logic model, with the support of the fuzzy logic of the MATLAB toolbox, to study the convenience of the use of the contract against the other mechanisms, and to establish an approximation to the level of readiness of the chain toward integration.

Results obtained show that the small farmer supply chain studied, from a maturity perspective, has a strong disposition for the use of contracts as an integration mechanism.

The supply chain for small producers presents a high dispersion, little consolidated offer capacity and lack of coordination. Limitations in terms of information and criteria unification are a challenge for future research. Results have socioeconomic implications for small producers and can serve as a guide to formulate policies by the governments in Latin American countries.

As practical implications, it can be stated that the use of supply contracts is a real mechanism that can be implemented in this type of chain, to break the mistrust between the echelons and improve the supply chain performance. This research will allow to establish support programs from local governments for the sustainability and improving income of small producers. In addition, contracts will allow to formalize the linkage of small producers to a sustainable commercial network.

Small agricultural producers in developing countries live in unfavorable conditions, with socioeconomic limitations. This work offers an alternative for their productive activity development that will allow them access to marketing chains in a safe way and improve their living conditions.

Previous studies related to the maturity toward the chain integration and fuzzy logic as a hybrid methodology, were not found in the literature, and less even applied to a chain of small agricultural products.

The objective of inventory management models is to determine efficient policies for managing the trade-off between customer satisfaction and the cost of goods. This chapter presents a methodology that uses the Monte Carlo Method (MCM) to estimate the behavior of a raw material supply model, considering uncertain variables such as demand, prices, and exchange rates. In order to show how to use this methodology, we analyze the case of a Colombian company in the aluminum industry. This company imports aluminum sheets from China. In this case, we analyze the financial impact of the raw material supply contract proposed by the Chinese supplier. The model considers different supply scenarios for the raw material. We calculate robust indicators such as Value at Risk (VaR), the Conditional Value at Risk (CVaR) and the probability of success for each scenario analyzed. Finally, we conduct a sensitivity analysis with respect to the sales price to validate the proposed models and solution approaches. The results show that considering risk metrics to evaluate the impact of endogenous factors over the supply process is a useful approach to improve decision-making related to this process and also can help to ensure the profitability of the company.

This paper is devoted to a manipulation theory for industrial robots. The proposed knowledge representation model is based on a simple algebraic formalism and is shown to be adequate and suitable for actual applications in the field of assembly robots and manipulators. A FORTRAN system is illustrated which supports the proposed model and is implemented on a LABEN 70 minicomputer used for on‐line control of the SUPERSIGMA multipurpose assembly robot developed at the Milan Polytechnic Artificial Intelligence Project. The experimental work done is reported.

Multi-stakeholder initiatives have proliferated as a leading form of standard-development, as they are understood to be more legitimate than other forms of non-state governance. The legitimacy of multi-stakeholder initiatives is a result of their perceived congruence with normative democratic principles. Using a case study of a multi-stakeholder initiative to develop a National Sustainable Agriculture Standard (LEO-4000) for the United States, this chapter examines the practices and politics of legitimation in non-state governance. The analysis of LEO-4000 indicates that, first, the simultaneous construction of legitimacy and standards affects the kinds of standards developed. Second, understandings of legitimacy are influenced by the standpoint of actors. Third, legitimacy has become a strategic dimension of standard-development, which actors use to further their interests. Based on these findings, we contend that non-state governance that relies on normative democratic principles for legitimation is constrained in its ability to develop stringent standards. Thus, there may be limits to non-state governance as a regulatory tool, and to achieve non-economic objectives such as increased sustainability. For rural areas, the implication is that they are becoming enmeshed in an emerging system of non-state governance that continues to be highly contested, particularly regarding who has the right to govern such areas. The findings in this chapter are based on qualitative data, including 34 interviews and participant-observation.

This introduction provides an overview of the discourse on alternative agrifood movements (AAMs) to (1) ascertain the degree of convergence and divergence around a common ethos of alterity and (2) context the chapters of the book. AAMs have increased in recent years in response to the growing legitimation crisis of the conventional agrifood system. Some agrifood researchers argue that AAMs represent the vanguard movement of our time, a formidable counter movement to global capitalism. Other authors note a pattern of blunting of the transformative qualities of AAMs due to conventionalization and mainstreaming in the market. The literature on AAMs is organized following a Four Questions in Agrifood Studies (Constance, 2008) framework. The section for each Question ends with a case study to better illustrate the historical dynamics of an AAM. The literature review ends with a summary of the discourse applied to the research question of the book: Are AAMs the vanguard social movement of our time? The last section of this introduction provides a short description of each contributing chapter of the book, which is divided into five sections: Introduction; Theoretical and Conceptual Framings; Food Sovereignty Movements; Alternative Movements in the Global North; and Conclusions.

The purpose of this paper is to scrutinise how the sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) literature has discussed knowledge dynamics across the extended supply network, particularly in the contemporary context of fragmented, globally dispersed supply networks.

A systematic approach to reviewing the literature is applied, covering 20 years, starting with 267 references, and narrowing down to 88 articles specifically addressing knowledge diffusion processes across the extended supply network.

This study shows that vertical ties limited to direct suppliers or third-party monitoring of global suppliers are both insufficient. Lack of co-opetition is an impediment to knowledge diffusion. And the debate of whether or not global dispersion is an impediment to knowledge diffusion seems inconclusive. More importantly, there is a lack of network-level studies mapping the diversity of actors in supply networks.

First, future SSCM research should shift from an operational focus to strategic knowledge diffusion. Second, the scope of SSCM should expand from linear buyer–supplier relationships to multi-tier and multilateral studies. Special focus should be placed on the literature on social network to support processes that look at the drivers of effective large-scale, global diffusion of sustainability.

This review contends that it is paramount to set a new research direction captured in a new definition of “sustainable supply network management”. Future research should overcome the barriers of data collection at the network level in order to contribute to the field’s current challenges, which clearly lies in globally dispersed and complex supply network, not dyads or linear chains.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the existing relations between three fundamental constructs (motivation and satisfaction) and the type of travellers in a World Heritage Site (WHS) tourist destination, the city of Cuenca (Ecuador).

The methodology used consisted of a fieldwork to determine the motivations and satisfaction of the visitor in the city of Cuenca, and then their segmentation.

The relationship between the study of motivation and satisfaction is a fundamental element in the development of WHSs. Similarly, it presents four different types of tourists obtained from their motivational variables. The results show the existence of three motivational dimensions for visiting Cuenca: cultural, circumstantial and convenience. Similarly, and using the motivation scenarios, four types of visitor have been identified: a cultural tourist, a cultural convenience tourist, a cultural circumstantial tourist and an alternative tourist.

The principal practical application of this research is to contribute to understanding the motivations of the visitors in relation to the city of Cuenca as a WHS for the purpose of designing tourist and cultural products that better satisfy the needs of the tourists and that, at the same time, are compatible with the sustainable management of the destination.

This paper seeks to contribute to promoting the relationship between tourism, sustainability and heritage in Latin America.

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to provide empirical evidence of the relationship between specific sensory motivations (i.e. flavor) and the development of preference for food, beverages or brands by preteen consumers; and second, to compare the three age groups within the concrete operations stage toward the hypothesis contrast that states that the higher the cognitive development, the more recognized and recalled a brand will be.

The research techniques implemented were observation (exploratory phase) and personal survey using a paper and pencil questionnaire. The food products and beverages, brands, jingles and isotypes used were based on a convenience sample of 131 lunch boxes. A sample of 682 preteens aged 6–11 in the concrete operation stage obtained by convenience and snowball sampling participated.

When choosing one product or brand over the other, the results highlight flavor as compared with other more secondary sensory motivations, and there are clear differences between the younger and older age groups. In respect of advertising recall and brand recognition, the older age group shows higher frequencies of correct jingle-brand and isotype-brand association.

Despite product and brand consumption in the child segment relevance further motivational research is needed to identify the factors that influence preferences. The results obtained show that there are preferences and motives for product consumption that can be attributed to the functioning of the senses by the preteen consumer as well as differences within the concrete operations stage.

This introduction seeks to provide a broad review of scholarly developments in the nascent field of destination branding spanning almost 12 years in order to locate the relevance and import of the following nine papers compiled for this special issue on destination branding and marketing.

A general review of literature is undertaken guided by an epistemological approach to knowledge thus far generated by the destination branding field, consistent with the recommendation of Tribe, and in lieu of the common reductionist approach to identifying themes. The background generated by the review is then used to introduce and assess the significance of the articles contained in this special issue.

Three undercurrents of critical issues implicated with the massive body of knowledge generated by the first decade of destination branding research are described and posited relations between them are tentatively advanced. The undercurrents pertain primarily to matters of identity affirmation, inter‐organizational assimilation and an unfolding anarchic environment for destination branding research and practice. The papers in this special issue exhibit profound connections with the different undercurrents.

Rather than summarize and classify achievements in destination branding research over the last decade or so, this editorial argues that current and future research contends with larger issues surrounding the field's core concern of destination branding and marketing.