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Collaborative Strategies for Sustainable Agri-Food Supply Systems of the Future

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2021) | Viewed by 17873

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Juan Carlos Pérez-Mesa

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Guest Editor

Department of Economics and Business, Mediterranean Research Center on Economics and Sustainable Development (CIMEDES), University of Almería, Agrifood Campus of International Excellence, CeiA3, Almería, Spain
Interests: demand analysis; retail; transportation planning; transport management; logistics; supply chain management

Dr. Cynthia Giagnocavo

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Guest Editor

Department of Economy and Business, University of Almería, 04120 Almería, Spain
Interests: sustainable agriculture; business models; change management; organisations; digitalisation
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleague,

What is commonly referred to as the food supply “chain” is an interorganizational network made up of multiple supplier–supplier–customer–stakeholder combinations, in which the sustainability of an individual actor or firm can only be achieved by optimization of the system as a whole. Ideally, the objective of a sustainable agri-food supply chain is to ensure the supply of food to the final consumer whilst guaranteeing the economic, social, and environmental sustainability of the system. However, businesses have often focused on short-term cost advantages with little regard for the longer-term implications of sustainability. In this sense, collaborative strategies are shown to have positive effects (market creation, promotion, quality, training, joint supply purchases, data sharing or research ventures, to name a few). With this in mind, this Special Issue aims to explore cooperation strategies that can be implemented within the agri-food system to increase sustainability, including, but not limited to:

Improving farmer income;
Implement strategies among stakeholders using big data, IA, Block Chain, IoT or other technologies;
Potential of digitalization to optimise agri-food systems;
Future sustainable logistics and transport;
Short supply chains;
Circular economy, bioeconomy, and agroecology as frameworks for new business models;
Supplier–supplier collaboration or supply concentration;
Collaborative strategies with consumers;
Design of alternative supply chains to those dominated by the big retailer.

In short, the general vision of this issue is to promote innovative strategies within the agri-food supply chain to bring about significantly improved sustainability.

Dr. Juan Carlos Pérez Mesa
Dr. Cynthia Giagnocavo
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.

Keywords

coopetition
agriculture
retailer
smart agri-food
digital technologies
supply chain management
innovation

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 1742 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Management Strategies and Collaborative Relationships for Sustainability in the Agrifood Supply Chain

by Juan Carlos Pérez-Mesa, Laura Piedra-Muñoz, Emilio Galdeano-Gómez and Cynthia Giagnocavo

Sustainability 2021, 13(2), 749; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13020749 - 14 Jan 2021

Cited by 28 | Viewed by 4740

Abstract

The present article proposes a complete framework for supply chain strategy (SCS) analysis that is adapted to the specific characteristics of the agrifood chain, thereby facilitating the management of the former. As a specific case of analysis, the horticultural supply chain, originating in Spain and ending with the European consumer, was analyzed, taking as a reference the marketing companies at origin (mainly social economy companies, that is, cooperatives). In addition, a survey of marketing companies is conducted to possibly determine which explicit cooperative growth strategies may include horizontal and vertical collaboration relationships with other members of the chain. The aim was to analyze with whom the horticultural commercialization company collaborates within the supply chain and the key points of such a collaboration. A model analyzing the influence of collaboration on company performance was also considered. The results reveal that, in recent years, aspects related to quality and health have been surpassed and replaced by the concept of sustainability within a framework of collaboration with customers. Additionally, upstream collaboration has been found to be, in most cases, more profitable than collaboration with customers. In any case, it became evident that there is a need to expand collaboration within the chain by incorporating the supplier of the supplier, with the aim of making the chain more profitable. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Collaborative Strategies for Sustainable Agri-Food Supply Systems of the Future)

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16 pages, 968 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Exploring Factors Affecting Sustainable Innovation Performance of Food Firms. A Case of Korean Food Industry

by Harry Jeong and Kwangsoo Shin

Sustainability 2020, 12(23), 10157; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su122310157 - 04 Dec 2020

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2916

Abstract

This study examines the influence of government support, research and development (R&D) investment and cooperation networks on sustainable innovation performance of the medium-sized food firms in South Korea. Climate change, population growth, lifestyle change and consumer demands for new products allow firms to explore innovation for sustainable growth. In the food industry, where various stakeholders are involved in the value chain, government support, R&D investment and cooperation are affecting firms’ sustainable performance. However, there are few empirical studies that examine the relationship among them, especially regarding medium-sized food firms. This study aimed to analyze data regarding Korean food firms through a structural equation model. To overcome data scarcity, this study collected new data for 67 medium-sized food firms. The data is matched with the firms’ 10-year data on management, innovation performance, and cooperation networks. This study can contribute to filling the literature gap by exploring what innovation strategies should be used to improve food SMEs’ innovation performance in the latecomer countries, which have developed their food industries relatively recently. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Collaborative Strategies for Sustainable Agri-Food Supply Systems of the Future)

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16 pages, 2170 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Analysis of Intermodal Transport Potentials for Vegetables Export from Southeast Spain

by Juan Carlos Pérez-Mesa, Lucía Aballay, Mª Serrano-Arcos and Raquel Sánchez-Fernández

Sustainability 2020, 12(20), 8502; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12208502 - 15 Oct 2020

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2669

Abstract

This work studies the viability of intermodal transport of horticultural products from southeast Spain to the rest of Europe. This sector has an exportation turnover of 4100 million € and accounts for 69% of total Spanish exports and 35% of the consumption of vegetables in the European Union. The transportation services for the sector are carried out entirely by refrigerated trucks. Due to increased cost, transit limitations, and the strategic dependence on only one transport mode, it is necessary to seek out alternative logistics formulas. In this sense, intermodal transport could be a good option as it can reduce cost and the environmental impact of transport. This paper analyzes the problems involved in using intermodality by conducting a survey among exporters with the additional goal of looking for viable routes using road + short sea shipping. The impact of the transport modal shift on exports is also analyzed using a gravity model. The results show that the route from southeast Spain to the United Kingdom is the most viable. What is more, this strategy can increase exports to this country by reducing transport costs. In general, intermodality can help improve the competitiveness of the Spanish horticultural export sector. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Collaborative Strategies for Sustainable Agri-Food Supply Systems of the Future)

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21 pages, 1083 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Information Asymmetry as a Barrier in Upgrading the Position of Local Producers in the Global Value Chain—Evidence from the Apple Sector in Poland

by Michał Pietrzak, Aleksandra Chlebicka, Paweł Kraciński and Agata Malak-Rawlikowska

Sustainability 2020, 12(19), 7857; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12197857 - 23 Sep 2020

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 4132

Abstract

The typical approach in the business strand of literature on inter-organisational forms of cooperation is based on the Porter’s value chain model or on the body of literature related to the supply chain. However, there is extended research on value chains based on a different theoretical tradition, rooted in world-systems theory and commodity chain concepts, which recently tend to merge under the umbrella of the Global Value Chain (GVC). We use this eclectic approach as a theoretical framework to investigate the issue of informational asymmetries considered as a barrier in upgrading the position of local producers in the GVC by enhancing quality. As an empirical illustration, we use the Polish apple sector. Poland is one of the largest apple producers in the world with a strong export orientation and linkages with the global value chain. The study provides an insight into the barriers of upgrading the position in GVC and ways to overcome them. Responsibility for the final quality offered for the end-user is strongly dispersed across many actors in the chain, while interrelations between them are plagued by the information asymmetry problem. Therefore, the upstream transmission of end-user quality expectations within the chain fails due to the lack of orchestrating incentives and causes the misbehaviour in conducting different activities in the chain. Thus, attempts to upgrade the position of Polish apple growers in the GVC should be focused on overcoming information asymmetries. Mechanisms such as branding, standardisation and certification seem to be promising ways forward. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Collaborative Strategies for Sustainable Agri-Food Supply Systems of the Future)

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Review

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21 pages, 2334 KiB

Open AccessReview

A Review of Eco-Innovations and Exports Interrelationship, with Special Reference to International Agrifood Supply Chains

by María del Carmen Galera-Quiles, Laura Piedra-Muñoz, Emilio Galdeano-Gómez and Angel Carreño-Ortega

Sustainability 2021, 13(3), 1378; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13031378 - 28 Jan 2021

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2611

Abstract

Growing environmental awareness in recent years has led to greater efforts by companies and governments to promote eco-innovation, which is becoming an increasingly competitive factor in international supply chains. However, the interrelationships between exports and eco-innovation have not yet been studied in sufficient depth. As such, the purpose of this work is to analyze the influence that exists between these two variables, both at a business or micro level and at a country/region or macro level, and the most influential factors, such as country of origin and sector of activity, among others. To this end, 60 publications have been reviewed from 1996 to 2019 from a global perspective, to analyze the characteristics that define them and both the existing relationship and impact generated by the two variables being studied within international supply chains. The results show that, in general, there is a positive bidirectional relationship, influenced by several factors, such as social performance, environmental regulation, cooperation strategies, employment level, or business size. Additionally, there is a growing interest in this issue within the agrifood sector, as the benefits of an appropriate environmental policy based on innovation to promote exports are of great importance. Finally, a series of recommendations are made for future research that is able to serve scholars, companies and also policy makers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Collaborative Strategies for Sustainable Agri-Food Supply Systems of the Future)

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