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This work aims at discovering the multifaceted business performance of SA8000-certified companies operating in the Italian food and beverages manufacturing industry.

A clustering based on a principal component analysis considering 20 profitability, productivity and value-added distribution ratios was carried out on a sample of 105 Italian SA8000-certified food and beverages manufacturing companies.

Two clusters (CL1 and CL2) emerged from the statistical analysis, where CL1 represents 85.71% of the sample. Despite their general and some labour-related features being similar, they show very different performances. While CL2 performs better both within the food and beverage manufacturing industry than CL1, the latter performs similarly to industry, although even lower. Labour productivity pushes the gap between the clusters mostly through sales (generating revenues) and production (in the aspect of generating personnel costs). These findings suggest that a nonunique performance profile of firms SA8000 certified exists and that low performances do not prevent certification.

By focusing on SA8000 standard in the food and beverage sector, the study contributes to the research field by investigating the relationships between corporate social responsibility and firm performance in an important industrial sector for the Italian economy.

The food consumption has always received a lot of attention in the marketing literature, as it tends to reflect and determine the overall consumer behaviour, expression of the individual lifestyle. Nevertheless, less attention has been devoted to the young. This paper aims at analysing how university students, a segment of young people, perceive and evaluate the quality of food and which attributes most influence their food choice and consumption.

An online questionnaire was carried out from March to December 2015 among Italian university students. A sample of 1,138 people took part in the survey. Data were elaborated through SPSS 21.0 statistical software package.

Findings suggest a number of interesting points. First, a high attention of university students towards price and sales promotion was observed. Nevertheless, they are well informed in food products they buy and pay high attention to ingredients, origin and healthiness of food products. Finally, performing a principal component analysis three different components on food store selection were found, namely, “Price saving”, “Convenience” and “Food assortment and quality”.

A more comprehensive understanding of the food behaviour of the young could be useful for marketing researchers and practitioners to define marketing programs aimed at satisfying the food demand of a growing segment of the market.

The food behaviour of young people as a whole has been little addressed in the marketing literature. Existing studies have explored specific topics such as the consumption of organic food, fast-food buying habits or alcohol abuse.

Managers’ opinions regarding factors influencing the application of HACCP in the Italian HoReCa sector were investigated. Three main topics were analyzed: the general features of HACCP management, the difficulties linked to its application and Managers relations with Food Public Control system.

Surveys were taken of Managers of Restaurants/Hotel (Re/Ho) and Bars. The questionnaires were completed through personal face-to-face interviews, phone interviews and by email. Respondents evaluated their agreement/disagreement with the statements proposed on a Likert scale.

The results show HoReCa Managers perceive that the benefits derived from application of HACCP are greater than the costs. In addition they believe that it is impossible to achieve Food Safety without HACCP application. Managers also think that the high turnover of staff constitutes a great barrier to HACCP efficiency. Moreover, they believe that Food Public Control system provides elements that make it possible to continuously improve HACCP.

A contribution on the broad debate on HACCP applications in HoReCa.

The objective of this paper is to investigate the effect of the dining experience elements at gas stations foodservice outlets: (1) food quality, (2) service quality, (3) convenience and (4) atmospherics on customers' overall satisfaction and behavioral intention. This study also examines the mediating effect of overall satisfaction on dining experience elements and behavioral intention.

This paper applies a quantitative approach, using partial least square-structural equation modeling for analysis. Survey data were collected online from 231 participants in the United States.

Convenience and food quality are strong predictors of gas station food purchasing overall satisfaction and behavioral intention. Meanwhile, service quality and atmospherics were not statistically significant.

This study's survey was conducted online. Participants reflected on their dining experience at gas station dining outlets in the prior week.

This study contributes to the existing foodservice literature by exploring dining at gas stations. It also provides a new insight into the importance of convenience in influencing overall satisfaction and behavior intention in a gas station foodservice setting.

This study helps with the understanding of consumer behavior and expectations of a fast-food setting. This study helps with enhancing convenience in order to improve the customers' experience and reduce their daily stress relating to wait time for purchasing fast-food meals.

This is the first study to examine consumer experience at a gas station food service setting.