Dear Colleagues,

Over the last few decades, the agri-food industry has faced several issues, with wide and often underestimated effects on society (Marotta and Nazzaro, 2020). Specifically, economic and political-institutional changes along with environmental concerns are increasing citizen-consumers’ awareness about food production and its connection with health and the environment (Nazzaro et al., 2018; 2019). To overcome this challenge, agri-food companies are substantial efforts to increase their sustainability (Kemp and Pearson, 2007) by implementing sustainable innovations through the adoption of different governance mechanisms (Stanco et al., 2020).

The academic debate on sustainable innovations in the agri-food industry is quite recent, involving facets such as i) consumers’ preferences and willingness to pay for sustainable food products (Lerro et al., 2018; Nazzaro et al., 2019; Stanco and Lerro, 2020); ii) policies to promote the implementation of sustainable innovations in the supply chain (Cuerva et al., 2014; Frondel et al., 2008); iii) governance mechanisms encouraging cooperation among stakeholders (e.g., consumers, suppliers, universities and research centers) for the adoption of sustainable innovations (Segarra-Oña et al., 2013; De Marchi, 2012; Sáez-Martínez et al., 2014).

More recently, a further driver of the promotion of sustainable innovations was introduced in the form of the sustainable development goals of Agenda 2030. The Agenda aims to adopt an integrated approach to tackling the current environmental and institutional challenges. The latter requires the involvement of different actors through the implementation of governance mechanisms able to encourage their cooperation and the creation of shared value in the supply chain (Karantininis et al., 2010; Zilberman et al., 2019; Martino, 2010). Governance, in fact, represents the key factor for the success of sustainable innovation processes (Stanco et al., 2020).

Given the crucial role of sustainability and innovation, there is the need to further explore the aspects able to promote the adoption of sustainable innovations in the agri-food industry as well as the governance mechanisms necessary to facilitate their implementation in the supply chain.

This Special Issue aims to contribute to the literature on sustainable innovations and governance mechanisms in the agri-food industry investigating the factors that enable their implementation and the creation of shared value.

References

Cuerva, M.C.; Triguero, A.; Córcoles, D. Drivers of green and non-green innovation: Empirical evidence in low-tech SMEs. J. Clean. Prod. 2014, 68, 104–113.

De Marchi, V. Environmental innovation and R&D cooperation: Empirical evidence from Spanish manufacturing firms. Res. Policy 2012, 41, 614–623.

Frondel, M.; Horbach, J.; Rennings, K. What triggers environmental management and innovation? Empirical evidence for Germany. Ecol. Econ. 2008, 66, 153–160.

Karantininis, K.; Sauer, J.; Furtan, W.H. Innovation and integration in the agri-food industry. Food Policy 2010, 35, 112–120.

Kemp, R.; Pearson, P. Final Report MEI Project about Measuring Eco-Innovation; UM Merit: Maastricht, The Netherlands, 2007; Volume 10, p. 2. Available online: https://www.oecd.org/env/consumptioninnovation/43960830.pdf (accessed on 30 April 2020).

Lerro, M., Caracciolo, F., Vecchio, R., and Cembalo, L. Consumer’s Side of Corporate Social Responsibility: A Nonhypothetical Study. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 2018, 52(3), 689-710.

Marotta, G., and Nazzaro, C. Public goods production and value creation in wineries: a structural equation modelling. British Food Journal, 2020, 122(5), 1705-1724.

Martino, G. Trust, contracting, and adaptation in agri-food hybrid structures. Int. J. Food Syst. Dyn. 2010, 1, 305–317.

Nazzaro, C., Lerro, M., and Marotta, G. Assessing parental traits affecting children’s food habits: an analysis of the determinants of responsible consumption. Agricultural and Food Economics, 2018, 6(1), 23.

Nazzaro, C., Lerro, M., Stanco, M., and Marotta, G. Do consumers like food product innovation? An analysis of willingness to pay for innovative food attributes. British Food Journal, 2019, 121(6), 1413-1427.

Sáez-Martínez, F.J.; González-Moreno, A.; Díaz-García, C. Environmental orientation as a determinant of innovation performance in young SMEs. Int. J. Environ. Res. 2014, 8, 635–642.

Segarra-Oña, M.D.V.; Peiró-Signes, A.; Mondéjar-Jiménez, J. Identifying variables affecting the proactive environmental orientation of firms: An empirical study. Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2013, 22, 873–880.

Stanco, M., Nazzaro, C., Lerro, M., and Marotta, G. Sustainable Collective Innovation in the Agri-Food Value Chain: The Case of the “Aureo” Wheat Supply Chain. Sustainability, Sustainability, 2020, 12(14), 5642.

Stanco, M., and Lerro, M. Consumers’ Preferences for and Perception of CSR Initiatives in the Wine Sector. Sustainability, 2020, 12(13), 5230.

Zilberman, D.; Lu, L.; Reardon, T. Innovation-induced food supply chain design. Food Policy 2019, 83, 289–297.

Prof. Concetta Nazzaro
Dr. Marco Lerro
Dr. Marcello Stanco
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• innovation
• sustainability
• governance
• value creation
• contractual relationship
• cooperation
• consumer