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Applying mitigation measures during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in ‘locking down’ of economies, and disrupted agri-food markets worldwide. Income losses and food price increases negatively affected food security. The ‘stay-at-home’ policy led some households towards a positive shift in eating habits and maintaining these changes could contribute to better nutrition. The Russia–Ukraine war and soaring energy and food prices contributes further to the pressure on the global food system and urgency to consider longer term resilience capacities of national food systems.

The aim of the chapter is to identify and review food security challenges that governments and societies have faced during the COVID-19 crisis and beyond, with specific emphasis on Poland.

The methodological approach was to undertake a narrative literature review and to analyse a number of indicators relating to food security at the national level. These were quantified using data from Economist Impact, the World Bank, the European Commission, FAOSTAT and Statistics Poland.

The 2019–2022 Global Food Security Index for Poland remained quite stable, but the number of food insecure people increased significantly. Hence, urgent government measures are needed to ensure food security for all. Since 2021, high food inflation has reduced food affordability and is expected to remain high due to the Russia-Ukraine war, market pressures on energy prices and climate-related weather conditions. Greater food self-sufficiency in Poland is a key strategy to build up the resilience of the national food system.

This study aims to investigate the determinants of United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar consumers’ perceptions of organic food.

Using a survey approach and focusing on six known determinants identified from empirical studies, data were analysed using a mean difference analysis and a multi-regression model.

Citizens in both countries had similar access to organic food products, yet consumer perceptions differed significantly. Given the geographical, cultural and topographical proximity and similarities of these countries, differences in the mean values indicate that targeted or bespoke marketing is required to attract customers.

One limitation of this study its sample size that may limit the generalizability of its results. However, the highly statistically significant results offset this to some extent as the differences the authors have demonstrated are likely to be real. These do require confirmation by further similar studies. The study relied on a random sample of respondents who might have exhibited bias in answering questions.

The two countries central to this research study, the UAE and Qatar, have vested interests in supporting the organic food product market that mainly concern supporting and promoting the health of their citizens and the environment. As shown in this paper, the key obstacles preventing consumers’ accessing organic products are availability and price. With appropriate governmental subsidies and logistics support, however, these barriers can be overcome.

If governments are sincere in their declarations that the health and welfare of their citizens is of prime importance, they will support attempts to promote the sale and consumption of organically grown food. The results of this study can help to inform such policies.

This study provides insights into the most important factors that influence consumers’ attitudes towards organic foods. This study fills a gap in the existing research on consumer buying behaviour for organic food in two Middle Eastern countries.

This study aims to identify the economic impact of a potential implementation of a Climatic Reserve for the Swiss predominant white grape variety (Chasselas) vinified in the AOC (controlled designation of origin) category. The Climatic Reserve would imply the possibility of harvesting an additional quantity of grapes whose commercialization in wine would be delayed until it is approved by the relevant authority.

The impact of a potential implementation of this wine supply management tool is simulated through an innovative method that combines the vector autoregressive (VAR) model to estimate the influence of the previous consumptions and productions on the current consumption and linear regression [ordinary least square (OLS) method] to estimate the price elasticity to measure the evolution of the price depending on the simulated consumption. The VAR model is based on state-level data about production, stocks, and consumption (all the channels of distribution combined), while the OLS regression for estimating price elasticity uses the retail market data (Nielsen Panel). With the sales and price variables on a monthly frequency design, the latter represents about 40% of the wine market in Switzerland.

According to simulations carried out at the level of a region from the canton of Vaud in Switzerland (2000–2018), the increase in turnover linked to the release of the Climatic Reserve would be +3.1% for the indigenous white grape variety Chasselas.

The Climatic Reserve is a wine supply management tool that could complement the existing yield restriction, which does not significantly influence the quantities sold, according to previous studies. Our paper contributes to the literature by demonstrating the economic advantage of this supply management tool to deal with the increasingly frequent climatic hazards in wine production and market. The methodology could be applied to other wine regions (contexts) or other agricultural sectors.

The aim of this study was to conduct a comprehensive investigation into declining and emerging occupations and job titles and to develop a national career progression pathway for the tourism and hospitality (T&H) sector.

Anchored on the Social Cognitive Career Theory, this study used face to face in-depth interviews of 33 industry stakeholders: policymakers, trade association, training providers and beneficiaries (T&H).

The finding reveals that only the “watchman” occupation was identified as the declining job while majority of the emerging jobs were more related to information technology and environmental occupations (website designers, digital marketers, data analysts, hygienists, and safety and hazard experts).

The findings provide a valuable signal for the growing number of jobs in security services, hygiene and information technology-oriented occupations, which the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture including practitioners including HR directors and general managers should respond timely to and to these growing needs in order to remain competitive in the sector.

This is the first study in context that responded to a call by industry players to fill in a practical knowledge gap in examining declining and emerging jobs and job titles in the T&H sector. The study provides vocational insights into mapping the entry level requirements for the jobs allied with occupations in the national technical and vocational educational training qualifications framework of Ghana at the national level.

This study empirically explores the factors that influence consumers’ readiness toward engagement in circular food consumption.

A conceptual model based on the motivation–opportunity–ability (MOA) framework was developed. In addition to all the classical relationships in this theoretical framework, respondents' age and education were added to the model. An online survey was conducted, resulting in an overall sample of 411 Italian participants. Data were statistically analyzed by using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).

The results indicated that motivation, opportunity and ability had positive effects on consumers’ readiness toward engagement in circular food consumption (CFC). Of all the constructs, intrinsic motivation had the most significant impact on consumers’ readiness toward engagement in CFC. The results also showed that sociodemographic traits—particularly age and gender—significantly influenced consumer readiness toward engagement in CFC. Practical and policy implications are proposed based on the study findings.

The study analyzes factors influencing consumers' readiness to engage in CFC. While great attention has been paid toward circular economy (CE) implementation in food consumption, empirical evidences on how to prompt the consumers' readiness toward CFC are still lacking. More specifically, the authors explore for the first time, sociopsychological factors affecting consumers' readiness to reduce, reuse and recycle technical components of food products, using the MOA theory as conceptual model.

The wood construction industry has been described as slow in adapting efficiency-increasing activities in its operations and supply chain. The industry is still facing challenges related to digitalization, such as fragmentation, poor traceability and lack of real-time information. This study evaluates the status of digitalization in construction supply chains by thematically analyzing the existing literature and mapping research trends.

A review of the key literature from 2016 to 2021 was performed. The results highlight various technologies and their applications within supply chains and identify research gaps, especially between theoretical frameworks and actual implementation using a scientometric-thematic analysis.

This paper provides a conceptual framework to further aid researchers in exploring the current trends in Supply Chain 4.0 and its applications in the wood construction industry compared to other more advanced industries. Suggested directions for future research in the wood construction Supply Chain 4.0 are outlined.

The existing literature still lacks a comprehensive review of the potential of a digitalized supply chain, especially in the construction industry. This framework is pivotal to continue explaining and observing the best ways to accelerate and implement Supply Chain 4.0 practices for digitalized supply chain management (SCM) while focusing specifically on the wood construction industry. The literature review results will help develop a comprehensive framework for future research direction to create a clearer vision of the current state of digitalization in supply chains and focus on the wood construction supply chain, thus, fully achieving the benefits of Supply Chain 4.0 in the wood construction industry.

In 2015, NESTLÉ India underwent a major crisis as the product which contributed to nearly 30% of its sales had to be taken off the shelves. Maggi—the go-to convenience food for all generations (especially kids and young adults)—which had entered the market in 1983, was banned. With a market share of 70-80% before the ban, NESTLÉ, which got the ban lifted in November 2015, had to undergo the task of winning back the lost market. Over a period of 8 months after its relaunch, the brand regained about 60% of its market back, but the question is how could such brand disaster be avoided in future? The case revolves around a major brand recovering from a brand disaster, and whether they did it well enough or could the situation have been managed better. It also enquires as to what road should be taken forward from here. It notes the action taken by the government against the brand and leaves it to the judgment of the readers if the actions taken against the brand were a little too harsh, solely because MNCs are usually considered a soft target in India. The readers must also understand and analyse the different brand relaunch strategies that were adopted by NESTLÉ and the next steps that should be taken by it.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether a diversification by grape varieties may help wine producers reduce uncertainty in quantity and quality variations due to increasingly erratic climate conditions.

This study hand-collects granular quantity and quality data from wine harvest reports for vintages 2003 to 2017 for the Valais region in Switzerland. The data allows us to obtain detailed data on harvested kilograms/liters and Oechsle/Brix degrees. It is then merged with precise meteorological data over the same sample period. The authors use this data set to capture weather conditions and their impact on harvested quantities and quality. Finally, they build portfolios including different grape varieties to evaluate whether this reduces variations in quality and quantity over vintages.

The findings highlight that the weather varies relatively strongly over the sample period and that climate hazards such as hail, frost or ensuing vine diseases effectively occur. These strongly impact the harvested quantities but less the quality of the wine. The authors further show that planting different grape varieties allows for a significant reduction in the variation of harvested quantities over time and thus acts as a good solution against climate risk.

The effect of climate change on viticulture is becoming increasingly important and felt and bears real economic and social consequences. This study transposes portfolio diversification which is central to reducing risk in the finance industry, into the wine industry and shows that the same principle holds. The authors thus propose a novel idea on how to mitigate climate risk.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has revolutionised the tourism industry, offering personalised experiences and streamlining operations. AI provides customised recommendations for travellers through data analysis and machine learning, making their journeys more meaningful. It has also improved efficiency through automated processes, chatbots and enhanced security measures. AI's ability to analyse large volumes of data enables tourism organisations to make data-driven decisions and target their marketing strategies effectively. One of the most notable contributions of AI in tourism is its ability to offer personalised recommendations. By analysing vast travel history, preferences and online behaviour, AI systems can provide tailored suggestions for destinations, accommodations, activities and dining options. This level of customisation enhances the overall travel experience, making it more relevant and satisfying for individual travellers. AI has also greatly improved operational efficiency within the tourism sector. Chatbots, powered by natural language processing, are increasingly being deployed by hotels, airlines and travel agencies to provide instant customer support and assistance. These chatbots can answer queries, offer recommendations and handle booking processes, reducing waiting times and enhancing customer satisfaction. In addition, facial recognition technology allows for quick and accurate identity verification at airports, hotels and other travel-related facilities. This improves security and provides travellers with a seamless and efficient experience. As technology advances, we expect AI to play a more prominent role in augmented reality, voice recognition and virtual assistants, further enhancing the travel experience and facilitating seamless interactions. In conclusion, AI has transformed the tourism industry by providing personalised recommendations, improving operational efficiency, enhancing security measures and enabling data-driven destination management.

Effective information security management (ISM) contributes to building a healthy organizational digital ecology. However, few studies have built an analysis framework for critical influencing factors to discuss the combined influence mechanism of multiple factors on ISM performance (ISMP). This study aims to explore the critical success factors and understand how these factors contribute to ISMP.

This study used a mixed-method approach to achieve this study’s research goals. In Study 1, the authors conducted a qualitative analysis to take a series of International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission standard documents as the basis to refine the critical factors that may influence organizations’ ISMP. In Study 2, the authors built a research model based on the organizational control perspective and used the survey-based partial least squares-based structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) approach to understand the relationships between these factors in promoting ISMP. In Study 3, the authors used the fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) method to empirically analyze the complex mechanisms of how the combinations of the factors affect ISMP.

The following three research findings are obtained. First, based on the text-based qualitative analysis, the authors refined the critical success factors that may increase ISMP, including information security policies (ISP), top management support (TMS), alignment (ALI), information security risk assessment (IRA), information security awareness (ISA) and information security culture (ISC). Second, the PLS-SEM testing results confirmed TMS is the antecedent variable motivating organization’s formation (ISP) and information control (ISC) approaches; these two types of organization control approaches increase IRA, ISA and ALI and then promote ISMP directly and indirectly. Third, the fsQCA testing results found two configurations that can achieve high ISMP and one driving path that leads to non-high ISMP.

This study extends knowledge by exploring configuration factors to improve or impede the performances of organizations’ ISM. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the first to explore the use of the fsQCA approach in information security studies, and the results not only revealed causal associations between single factors but also highlighted the critical role of configuration factors in developing organizational ISMP. This study calls attention to information security managers of an organization should highlight the combined effect between the factors and reasonably allocate organizational resources to achieve high ISMP.