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Right after announcing the first cases, several governments worldwide have implemented stringent measures to stop the spread of COVID-19. This disruption in individuals' daily routines transformed food consumption habits. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on food consumption, diet and food shopping behaviors in Lebanon.

The paper draws upon an online survey in Lebanon administered in Arabic and English through the Survey Monkey platform in the period of July 15—August 5, 2020, with 201 adults. The survey findings were analyzed using descriptive statistics, a paired sample t-test and a Phi correlation test.

The research underlined numerous key consumer tendencies that are currently affecting diet and food behavior in Lebanon. Indeed, the study outcomes suggested (1) a move toward healthier diets; (2) a rise in the consumption of domestic products due to food safety concerns; (3) a change in the grocery shopping behaviors (with a rise in online shopping); (4) a surge of food stockpiling; and (5) a decrease in household food wastage. Surprisingly, COVID-19 seems to generate several positive changes toward more sustainable and healthier consumption patterns in Lebanon.

These findings contribute to the clarification and critical analysis of the impacts of COVID-19 on food behaviors in Lebanon, which would have several policy implications.

The findings of this first study contribute to the clarification and critical analysis of the impacts of COVID-19 on food behaviors in Lebanon, which would have several policy implications.

During a pandemic, risk and uncertainty are the most important factors affecting consumer behavior. Near Eastern marketplaces are undergoing dramatic change during the COVID-19 global pandemic. As a result, this paper aims to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on food shopping habits in four countries of the Near East sub-region, namely, Lebanon, the Palestinian territories, Oman and Qatar.

The research is based on an online survey conducted on 1,456 subjects using a snowball sampling technique. The questionnaire consisted of 24 different questions (multiple-choice, one option) regarding the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on food habits such as food shopping, preparation, eating and food waste.

The findings show that consumers’ shopping habits and food sourcing in the region changed due to the risk and uncertainty connected with the COVID-19 pandemic. Firstly, respondents decreased their shopping frequency and, as a result, increased the amount of food purchased each trip. Secondly, because of food safety concerns, respondents boosted their purchases of local products. Thirdly, the data revealed an increase in online food shopping, mainly in high-income countries, namely, Qatar and Oman. Fourthly, the findings revealed significant disparities in food stockpiling behavior across the countries investigated.

The major limitation of this study is the survey bias. The survey respondents were randomly hired. The questionnaire was completed by volunteers who were not rewarded. Only those motivated by a personal interest in the topic took part in the study. The sample had a high number of educated individuals, which does not represent the overall populations of the studied countries. In this case, generalizing the findings is inaccurate. A segment of the population with lower accessibility, such as individuals who are not web-literate, as well as the elderly, poor households and informal workers, especially in the Near East and North African (NENA) region, is often underrepresented in online surveys.

The findings provide insight into how consumers’ food shopping habits have changed due to the pandemic. This and other research will help governments and other organizations better prepare for future disasters and pandemics. The study’s results will also be useful in formulating evidence-based policies for the four countries studied and the NENA area as a whole throughout the post-pandemic recovery phase. The findings, for example, emphasized the necessity of encouraging online shopping by upgrading information and communication technology infrastructure and internet speed, particularly in middle-income and developing countries like Lebanon. Furthermore, in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories, the findings provide insights to international organizations (both humanitarian and development ones) to pay more attention to issues of food and nutrition security to avoid the financial and political crises combined with the COVID-19 health crisis, become a humanitarian crisis for locals as well as the hundreds of thousands of refugees (primarily Syrians in Lebanon). Finally, the pandemic’s long-term impact on food activities and food security must be mitigated by including agricultural and food systems in recovery efforts. Several issues are posing a threat to food systems. Addressing them successfully involves developing cross-disciplinary research that innovates at their intersections to provide different solutions that address the social, economic, technological and policy components of these issues.

The paper’s findings indicate that the pandemic’s consequences will most certainly differ from country to country, based not just on the epidemiologic condition but also, inter alia, on the level of pre-COVID socioeconomic development.

The COVID-19 pandemic is not a foodborne infectious disease, but it has dramatically impacted food safety practices worldwide due to its potential for transmission through contaminated surfaces and food. Accordingly, the Omicron variant seems to have affected food-related activities and behaviours and disturbed food supply networks since its appearance in November 2021. Hence, this paper aims to assess how the Omicron variant impacted food safety knowledge, attitudes and practices amongst adult consumers in five countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro and Russia.

The study is based on an online survey. The questionnaire was developed and revised based on previous research on the impact of previous COVID-19 waves on food-related activities in several countries. The questionnaire was distributed through the SurveyMonkey platform from January 15 to February 25, 2022. It consisted of 29 multiple-choice and one-option questions organised into three sections. A total of 6,483 valid responses were received. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25.0 was used to analyse the survey results.

According to the survey findings, food safety practices evolved during the Omicron wave in the studied countries. Firstly, less than half of the sample used a face mask whilst purchasing food. Secondly, regarding food safety knowledge, the survey results suggest that there is still a lack of knowledge in the studied countries. Thirdly, the survey indicates a lack of knowledge amongst the respondents regarding food safety attitudes. For instance, more than a third of the sample (34.4%) are unsure whether the COVID-19 virus can be transmitted through food. These results are surprising and alarming, especially considering that our sample has a higher education than the population of the studied countries.

The main limitation of this research is the sample bias. Survey participants were randomly chosen, enrolled voluntarily and not rewarded. As a result, the questionnaire was self-administered and completed exclusively by people motivated by an interest in the topic. Consequently, our survey does not represent the general population of the studied countries. People with a high degree of education and women, for example, were overrepresented in our sample.

This study is unique in that it is the first to gather information and analyse people’s perceptions of the effects of the Omicron variant on food safety. As a result, the findings of this survey offer a solid basis for future investigations into the impact of the pandemic on food safety in the Balkan region and Russia. This study can help further understand the changes during the COVID-19 pandemic. It provides crucial insights that can be used to guide future decision-making and policy development regarding improving food safety practices. This and other future studies will be a foundation for organisational and government readiness for future shocks, crises and pandemics. The effects of the present Ukrainian conflict on agricultural systems and supply chains throughout the globe (e.g. increased food prices) show that this is timely, urgent and highly required.

The purpose of the research was to determine food consumer behaviour and attitudes towards food consumption and household food waste in Montenegro. Since the period of conducting the research coincided with the expansion of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Montenegro (10–14 weeks since its outbreak), the results of this research could indicate the emerging pandemic circumstances.

A total of 529 consumers were surveyed online, and 514 questionnaires met the requirements of further statistical processing. Data were processed by methods of descriptive statistics and chi-square test of association between socio-economic characteristics of respondents and their attitudes, as well as cluster analysis.

The main findings of the research are (1) consumers in Montenegro are quite responsible for the use of food because they throw away a small part, both in quantity and value; (2) Montenegrin households still practice a traditional way of life with frequent preparation and consumption of food at home and use of leftovers; (3) consumers have confusing perceptions regarding date labels of industrially processed foods; (4) during the COVID-19 pandemic, 17.3% of consumers increased and 11.8% decreased the frequency of food purchases, while 20.7% increased and 5.1% decreased food waste.

The work is highly original and, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, there is no other article that analysed the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on food wastage and food-related behaviours during the outbreak of the pandemic in Montenegro (May–June 2020). Therefore, the work fills a gap in research and knowledge and sets a baseline for future studies.

Global lockdowns and restrictions linked to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have affected food environments and consumption patterns. Conflict-affected countries are disproportionately affected from economic and food security perspectives. In this regard, the Palestinian territories (namely West Bank and Gaza Strip), which face a number of issues such as Israeli military and economic control, overcrowded cities and refugee camps (especially in Gaza Strip), rising poverty and food insecurity, are an especially interesting case study. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to analyze the effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on the selection and intake of foods and drinks, as well as consumer behavior and attitude toward food in the Palestinian territories.

The paper draws upon an online survey in the Palestinian territories administered in Arabic through the Survey Monkey platform from September 15 to October 10, 2020, with 322 adults. The survey findings were analyzed using descriptive statistics and several nonparametric tests. Particularly, the U-Mann Whitney test was used in dichotomous, categorical independent variables (e.g. gender), while the Kruskal–Wallis test was run to analyze multi-choice responses (e.g. occupation).

The results reveal that food attitudes and consumer behavior towards food have been widely affected. First, they reveal that Palestinians try to have healthier diets but ate more between meals (e.g. snacks). Second, the pandemic transformed respondents' shopping behavior and induced panic buying, negatively affecting food affordability due to increased prices of some foods (e.g. fruits and vegetables). Some food behaviors were shaped by negative psychological determinants (e.g. depression and anxiety). The pandemic effects are moderated by different sociodemographics (age, education and income). COVID-19 negatively affected food security but also opened a “window of opportunity” to trigger the transition towards more sustainable diets.

The paper results show that the eventual effects of COVID-19 will most likely vary from country to country, based not only on the epidemiological circumstances but also, among other factors, on the baseline socioeconomic situation and shock resilience. The findings contribute to the clarification and critical analysis of the impacts of COVID-19 on food behaviors in the Palestinian territories, which would have several policy implications.

Grounded on the technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework, the purpose of this paper is to develop a two-stage model of radio frequency identification (RFID) adoption in livestock businesses. RFID adoption is divided into two stages, acceptance and extension. It is argued that RFID adoption in livestock businesses is influenced by technological (interoperability, technology readiness), organizational (readiness, market scope), and environmental (competitive market pressure, data inconsistency) factors.

From a qualitative field study, along with the support of existing literature, the authors developed a research model, which was then validated with survey data of 318 livestock businesses in Australia. Data analysis used partial least squares structural equation modeling.

Empirical results showed that interoperability, organizational readiness, and competitive market pressure, and data inconsistency significantly influence acceptance of RFID technology in livestock businesses. In addition, the extended use of RFID is determined mainly by interoperability, technology readiness, organizational market scope, and data inconsistency. The results suggested differential effect of data inconsistency– it had a negative influence on RFID acceptance but a positive impact on the extent of its use.

This is one of the first studies to examine RFID adoption as a two-stage process. The theoretical basis was based on TOE framework and the factors were developed from a field study. The results of this study will provide insights for different livestock industry including technologists, farm managers, and market players.

In the literature, a number of models have been developed that explain the adoption behavior of a technological innovation. Similarly, most research explaining the continuance behavior of an information system (IS) ignores the adoption processes. It is observed that researchers seem uninterested in explaining the extension of an IS. The purpose of this paper is to develop an integrated model that explains the adoption, continuance, and extension of a technological innovation – taking radio frequency identification (RFID) as the case.

Motivated by the exploratory nature of the current research, a qualitative field-study approach is adopted.

Technology-organization-environment (TOE) factors influence RFID adoption while continuance is dependent on confirmation from the initial adoption. Finally, the extension decision is influenced by the TOE factors, self-efficacy, and situational factors.

The research was conducted in eight livestock farms in Western Australia and hence the factors explored can be location specific. This is the first methodological initiative explaining the extension behavior of a technological innovation.

IS researchers may gain insight toward understanding the diffusion of innovation in the agricultural sector while agricultural agencies and farms can use the findings for their extension plan.

This study is a single initiative developing an integrated model that explains the adoption diffusion of a technological innovation.

This study examines the organic food continuance behavior (OFCB) of young (Generations Y and Z) Bangladeshi consumers as a part of green consumption for sustainable development. Based on the extended “Theory of Planned Behavior” (TPB), this study investigates the reasons for continuing organic food (OF) consumption. This research aims to create a model highlighting the characteristics influencing Bangladeshi consumers to continue eating OFs while considering the moderating role of health consciousness during the COVID-19 health crisis (CHC).

This is a longitudinal study, the first phase of which was conducted in 2020, whereas the second phase of data collection is completed on December 31, 2021. Thus, a longitudinal research design (N = 196) was used to investigate whether TPB element have the same impact over the period of time in two data collection phases. It also attempted to reveal if there is any change in the level of influences of Knowledge of organic food health benefit (HAK), and health consciousness on OFCB. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from the participants of Generations Y and Z. Partial least square structural equation modeling validates the proposed research model.

Research results of phase two ensure that out of the five direct hypotheses related to social norm (SNRM), attitude (ATD), perceived behavioral control (PBRC), HAK and CHC, four (ATD, PBRC, HAK and CHC) significantly influence OFCB of Bangladeshi consumers. SNRM has no significant statistical influence on OFCB. On the other hand, all the direct hypotheses, including SNRM, were accepted during the first phase of the study. Hence, when people begin eating OF and recognize the health benefits, their firm behavioral control ensures that what others think has no significant influence on OFCB.

Most of the data for this study came from those born after 1980, commonly known as Generations Y and Z. Thus, including more data from different age groups may result in different research conclusions. The survey contains a large proportion (62%) of respondents with an income of less than BDT 40,000 per month, a price-sensitive demographic in Bangladesh. The price of OF was not included in this study though price sensitivity may have impacted the study’s findings.

This research used one moderating and four exogenous variables to determine Bangladeshi consumers’ OFCB. HAK and PBRC are proven to be the strongest determinants. Though health consciousness, Knowledge and self-control are essential, Bangladeshi citizens’ awareness of OF and sustainable consumption is still far below compared to other countries. Consequently, this study urges policymakers to raise health awareness through various social efforts.

The Bangladesh government has various initiatives to encourage sustainable development, including promoting OF consumption. Increased OF consumption will increase demand, resulting in an enormous need for organic production. This phenomenon will benefit society as bio-fertilizers are ecologically benign, resolving soil fertility issues and reducing disease risks while enhancing nutritional content. This study can serve as the foundation for developing a plan to boost the consumption of OFs, which can have a beneficial social impact.

Since no longitudinal study to explain the continuance of OFs has been observed in Bangladesh, this research uniquely contributes to predicting sustainable consumption behavior.

The purpose of this paper is to probe and explore the mediation role of knowledge management (KM), in the relationship between human resource (HR) practices and organizational innovation capability.

The investigation is carried out by using a stratified-multi-stage sampling technique of 120-sample size. The data is amassed by both male and female employees working in the service sectors. A structural equation modelling is applied, and three methods are implemented for mediation analysis.

The findings suggest that the mediation role of KM is statistically significant, among the association of HR practices and organizational innovation capability. The fact that the mediation role of KM is established both for male and female employees is also noteworthy.

It can be possible to enhance the organizational innovation capability, if the HR practices are instigated by the HR managers effectively. Through HR practices the knowledge can be administrated and shared effectively that will aid in attaining organizational innovation, as well as competitive advantages.

The developing countries have opted for solutions such as empowering employees in decision-making to maximize innovation. Promoting KM and intellectual capabilities are now among the core parts of the HR policies for developing countries. Therefore, this paper will help in bringing awareness amid developing countries, Pakistan, in particular, to include KM and intellectual capabilities for increasing organizational capabilities.