Food System Dynamics (E-Journals)
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Raising Rivals’ Costs Strategy and Localised Agro-Food Systems in Europe
Get PDFFor some Localised Agro-Food Systems (LAFS) in Europe, the cheese and milk prices are above average whilst others are similar or even below average. The objective of this paper is to shed light on levers, which the agents activate to assure their uniqueness is irrevocable, and uphold the benefits of their LAFS. Raising Rivals' Costs Theory gives interesting point of view about the behaviour of firms, which could make use of the collective rules to raise the costs of their competitors in the particular case of LAFS oriented to the production of traditional cheeses. This will be explored through two cases studies
Perceived Technological Regimes: An Empirical Analysis of the Apulian Wine Industry
Get PDFTechnological regimes define the technological environment in which innovative and learning activities take place within each sector of the economy. However, in our view technological regimes must be interpreted and elaborated by each organisation operating in a specific sector in order to be rationally implemented, thus turning into perceived technological regimes. We test this argument on a sample of wine companies in the Apulia region (Italy). We find empirical evidence that the perceived technological regimes exist and that firms’ perceptions tend to vary uniformly across different wine technologies. In addition, we find evidence that different firms’ characteristics have a strong impact on firms’ perceptions both at the aggregate level and when distinct perception groups are identified
Characteristics of Traditional and Novel Food Consumers
Get PDFbegging of October 2010. The instrument used in this survey was a structured questionnaire consisting of several separate sections, including motivation toward food in general (Food Choice Questionnaire - FCQ), the specific questions about traditional and functional food and consumer socio-economic and demographic characteristics. The stratified three-staged random representative sample is applied (N=516). Based on reported frequency heavy traditional food consumers, who simultaneously reported lower level of functional food consumption (NT=196) and heavy functional food consumers with lower level of traditional food consumption (NF=60) are identified. A descriptive statistical analysis (parametric and non-parametric) is conducted with the aim to investigate all statistically significant differences between two consumers’ group profiles.The heavy traditional dominate over heavy functional food consumer group in Serbia. “Traditional food” in Serbia is perceived as home-made, tasty and healthy, with long heritage. Rank of motivations is very similar: after ‘taste’ - ‘price’, ‘natural content’ and ‘health’ are most frequently chosen by both consumers groups. However, the heavy traditional food consumers are more old, therefore unemployed (as retired people are considered as unemployed) and exposed to social influences. Differences in age and education between two compared consumers groups indicate possible transition of diet pattern toward more frequent functional food consumption
How do Concerns about Pesticides Impact Consumer Willingness to Buy Genetically Modified French Fries in Germany? Results from a Purchasing Experiment
Get PDFA purchasing experiment in which genetically modified (GM) and conventional french fries were offered for sale at fast food stands in Germany was conducted to assess whether a market exists for GM fries and to identify factors influencing the willingness to buy such fries. The GM and conventional fries were offered for sale at the same price at eight different locations. The GM fries were labelled as being made from “environmentally-friendlier genetically modified potatoes (much less sprays)” while the regular fries were labelled as being made from “conventional potatoes”. Consumers were not aware of their participation in the purchasing experiment until after their purchasing decisions were made. The goal of the experimental set-up was to mimic an actual buying situation to the fullest extent possible. Therefore, information, such as the percentage in reduction of pesticide application or genetic information on the GM potato, were not provided to customers. Of the 331 customers who made a purchasing decision, 56.5% decided to purchase conventional fries and 22.4% GM fries, while 21.1% had no preference between conventional fries and GM fries. A short questionnaire was administered after purchasing decisions were made to better understand factors impacting purchasing decisions. Results from a logistic regression model revealed that worry about pesticides, frequency of organic food purchases, perceptions of the risk of GM foods on health, and the acceptability of GM foods for the environment significantly impact the probability that a customer is willing to buy GM fries. A surprising result is that people who purchase organic food often or always have much higher odds of being willing to purchase GM fries compared to people who purchase organic food less often. The main implication of this study is that a market for fries made from GM potatoes with less pesticide applications currently exists in Germany and could be expanded by providing more information about their genetic origin and reduced pesticide usage
Combined Innovation Policy: Linking Scientific and Practical Knowledge in Innovation Systems
Get PDFNew research indicates that firms combining the science-based STI (Science, Technology, Innovation) and the experience-based DUI (Doing, Using, Interacting) modes of innovation are more efficient when it comes to improving innovation capacity and competitiveness. With regard to innovation policy, the STI mode calls for a supply driven policy, typically aimed to commercialise research results. The DUI mode suggests a demand driven policy approach, such as supporting the development of new products or services to specific markets. This paper analyses how the two types of innovation policy and the two innovation modes can be combined in regional innovation systems. The analysis builds on studies of the food industry and related knowledge organisations in two counties, Rogaland County (Norway) and Skåne County (Sweden), and two policy initiatives (NCE Culinology and Skåne Food Innovation Network) aimed at strengthening the innovative capability of the regional innovation systems. The analysis indicates that policies aimed to link science and user driven innovation activity should focus on building absorptive capacity of DUI firms (e.g. through increased scientific competence) and implementation capacity of STI firms (e.g. through increased market and process competence)
New Trends in Chinese Diet: Cultural Influences on Consumer Behavior
Get PDFAlthough the Chinese market is traditionally characterized by a gastronomic culture which is profoundly different from its Western counterpart, the emerging social classes is expressing a growing demand for processed food, opening up to foreign influences, which are neither accepted with prejudice nor viewed passively.This paper analyzes of the propensity of consumers to include in the ancient Chinese culinary culture food products from other countries. A market segmentation of the Chinese consumers was performed, according their degree of cultural openness towards non-Chinese food, taking into account both socio-demographic and cognitive and psychographic variables. The research was carried out by administering a questionnaire to 500 Chinese consumers, living in urban areas, including a consumer analysis of the "values" and the "lifestyle".The results seem to confirm the relevant potential of the Chinese market as a destination for quality western products. The cognitive and modern approach in the market segmentation, provides a Chinese consumer profile “open mind” that is very useful for the implementation of policies for specific marketing and promotion strategies
Food Consumption, Food Chains and Market Evolution in São Tomé e Principe: Case Study in Sub-Sahara Africa
Get PDFSão Tomé e Principe is a small country in the middle of the Atlantic and exactly located at the Equator. It is a country where food consumption has been mainly dependent upon local production (where nature is very exuberant), but where imports, donations and globalization are determinant elements in consumption changes in the last decades.This article provides an analysis of the most significant changes in the last decades, showing how local product consumption is associated with lower income households, how recent improvements are maintaining the local consumption basis in many cases, and also how food markets are missing improvements with big price differences across different regions. This behavior is consistent with many problems in market performance, showing how important can be adequate technical support.Market problems are not the only important constraint for supply growth and food chain development but provide evidence of the need for better food policy and technical intervention to improve production systems while, at the same time, providing a better use of local resources and of the international trade/cooperation for better quality of live and food security
A Review on Quantitative Models for Sustainable Food Logistics Management
Get PDFThe last two decades food logistics systems have seen the transition from a focus on traditional supply chain management to food supply chain management, and successively, to sustainable food supply chain management. The main aim of this study is to identify key logistical aims in these three phases and analyse currently available quantitative models to point out modelling challenges in sustainable food logistics management (SFLM). A literature review on quantitative studies is conducted and also qualitative studies are consulted to understand the key logistical aims more clearly and to identify relevant system scope issues. Results show that research on SFLM has been progressively developing according to the needs of the food industry. However, the intrinsic characteristics of food products and processes have not yet been handled properly in the identified studies. The majority of the works reviewed have not contemplated on sustainability problems, apart from a few recent studies. Therefore, the study concludes that new and advanced quantitative models are needed that take specific SFLM requirements from practice into consideration to support business decisions and capture food supply chain dynamics
Information Demand and Agriculture Commodity Prices
Get PDFThis paper investigates the effect of information flow on corn futures price variability for the period January 2004 -July 2011. The theoretical framework is the Mixture Distribution Hypothesis, that posits a joint dependence of return volatility and information. The main contribution of this article is that we use two different proxy for the observed component of information flow that allow to separate the effect of supply (News) and demand (Internet Search Volume) of information.Empirical estimates highlight that: i) results support the MDH since observed volatility persistence appears to be related to the information flow; ii) variation in information demand has a significant effect on volatility of futures corn returns even controlling for variation in information supply and such result can be interpreted in light of behavioural finance
The Resilience Approach Contribution to Rural Communities Social Assessment for Social Sustainability-Based Strategies Implementation
Get PDFEvaluating the rural communities social context capacity to manage changes coming from external agents is of paramount importance for effective Social Sustainability strategies identification.A literature survey was carried out on the Resilience approach definition and its application to the Social Assessment in rural areas. The analysis showed that the Resilience approach is dynamic and context-dependent. It enriches the Social Assessment by focusing on the specific capabilities of the communities in managing changes. The Resilience perspective embraces the dynamic character of communities and human-ecosystem interactions outlining multiple potential pathways. It provides a deeper understanding of how a community’s positive response to change can be strengthened and supported. Moreover, the specific focus on rural communities highlights how strongly Social and Ecological Resilience are intertwined in the identification of the mechanisms that guarantee Social Sustainability which, in turn, is strictly interrelated with Environmental and Economic Sustainability