Cross-Sector Partnerships and the Co-creation of Dynamic Capabilities for Stakeholder Orientation

This is the final version of the article. Available from Springer Verlag via the DOI in this record.This paper explores the relationship between business experience in cross-sector partnerships (CSPs) and the co-creation of what we refer to as ‘dynamic capabilities for stakeholder orientation,’ consisting of the four dimensions of (1) sensing, (2) interacting with, (3) learning from and (4) changing based on stakeholders. We argue that the co-creation of dynamic capabilities for stakeholder orientation is crucial for CSPs to create societal impact, as stakeholder-oriented organizations are more suited to deal with “wicked problems,” i.e., problems that are large, messy, and complex (Rittel and Webber, Policy Sciences 4:155–169, 1973; Waddock, Paper presented at the 3rd international symposium on cross sector social interactions, 2012). By means of a grounded theory approach of inductive research, we collected and interpreted data on four global agri-food companies which have heterogeneous experience in participating in CSPs. The results of this paper highlight that only companies’ capability of interacting with stakeholders continually increases, while their capabilities of sensing, learning from, and changing based on stakeholders first increase and then decrease as companies gain more experience in CSP participation. To a large extent, this can be attributed to the development of corporate strategies on sustainability after a few years of CSP participation, which entails a shift from a reactive to a proactive attitude towards sustainability issues and which may decrease the need or motivation for stakeholder orientation. These findings open up important issues for discussion and for future research on the impact of CSPs in a context of wicked problems

Towards a Theory of Managing Wicked Problems through Multi-Stakeholder Engagements: Evidence from the Agribusiness Sector

Part Two of our Special Issue on wicked problems in agribusiness, “Towards a Theory of Managing Wicked Problems through Multi-Stakeholder Engagements: Evidence from the Agribusiness Sector,” will contribute to four open questions in the broader fields of management and policy: why, when, which and how multi-stakeholder engagements (MSEs) are effective actions for managers and policy-makers to deal with wicked problems. MSEs across private, public and non-profit sectors have been considered the collaborative paradigm of the 21st century to move beyond market and state failures (Austin 2000). Moreover, the agricultural and food arena provides a unique context to analyze managerial and policy decisions to undertake (or not undertake) MSEs. This is because agricultural and food chains face the highest number of urgent, interlinked wicked-problem issues that are scientifically uncertain, change over time and determine value conflict among stakeholders (Dentoni et al. 2012). Such issues include food security, climate change, deforestation, obesity, the use of technology in food production, violation of human rights and animal welfare

Who Provides Information Matters: The Role of Source Credibility on US Consumers' Beef Brand Choices

Labels, certifications and endorsements signaling the quality of food have an impact on the purchasing choices of multiple segments of US consumers. At the same time, not much is known about the relationships between the sources providing information through these quality signals and consumer choices. In this paper, we explore 1) whether the credibility of an information source has an impact on US consumersâ¿¿ beef brand choices; 2) which labels, certifications and endorsements are chosen by US consumers among a range of eight brands with pre-selected sources of information; 3) which consumer segments have different perceptions on information sources and beef brand choices. Data are collected through an on-line survey on a representative sample of 460 US consumers and analyzed through structural equation modeling. The results show that credibility - although it has a positive impact on consumersâ¿¿ brand choice - is a complex concept which needs to be dissected in more specific variables, namely perceived knowledgeability, perceived absence of vested interests, perceived absence of mistakes in the past and trust. In particular, perceived knowledgeability and perceived absence of vested interests of the information source are inversely proportiona

Building Capabilities for Multi-Stakeholder Interactions at Global and Local Levels: An Executive Interview with Jan Kees Vis, Berton Torn and Anniek Mauser

Managers of Unilever discuss the processes that led the company to develop and implement a corporate sustainability strategy working with multiple stakeholders. Major learning points include: 1) interactions with stakeholders are crucial to secure strategic resources in developing countries; 2) developing multi-stakeholder platforms must be rooted in the corporate culture and based on principles of innovation; 3) the overarching sustainability strategy, Sustainable Living Plan, launched in 2010, set broad objectives, while empowering local and regional managers—and even individual employees—to start and scale bottom-up initiatives if they find consensus within the organization. The discussions promise to fuel the debate on how organizations can effectively manage “wicked problems” through multi-stakeholder engagement

Dealing with Cultural Differences in Public-Private R&D Projects: The Experience of the Australian Seafood Sector

This essay 1) discusses the current agribusiness managers’ human capital problem of dealing with cultural differences in public-private Research & Development (R&D) projects involving firms, government agencies and universities and 2) proposes a “learning by doing” process for managers to recognize and deal with cultural differences during project implementation

Understanding the organization of sharing economy in agri-food systems: evidence from alternative food networks in Valencia

This is the final version. Available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.Despite the proliferation of sharing economy initiatives in agri-food systems, the recent literature has still not unravelled what sharing exactly entails from an organizational standpoint. In light of this knowledge gap, this study aims to understand which resources are shared, and how, in a heterogeneous set of sharing economy initiatives in the context of food and agriculture. Specifically, this study compares the organization of various forms of alternative food networks (AFNs), which are recognized to be frugal forms of sharing economy initiatives (i.e., locally based, small-scale and with limited use of information technology), in terms of leadership, bureaucracy, shared resources and participants’ engagement. Data from a comparative case study across 18 AFNs identify five sharing economy models of AFNs with distinctive shared resources and organizational mechanisms: consumer groups; commercial community gardens; as well as network-based, privately owned and publicly owned self-consumption community gardens. These models also display notable differences in terms of their origins, participants’ goals and constraints which, to some extent, may be associated to the nature of their organization. Findings inform policy-makers, AFNs’ leaders and stakeholders—especially those seeking to support innovative models towards sustainable transitions—on how to tailor institutional norms and develop networks to meet the heterogeneous needs of different typologies of sharing economy initiatives in agri-food systems

Managing wicked problems in agribusiness: the role of multi-stakeholder engagements in value creation: Editor's Introduction

Environmental degradation and biodiversity loss, persisting poverty, a mounting obesity epidemic, food insecurity and the use of biotechnology are all examples of wicked problems faced by agricultural and food organizations. Yet, managers and policy-makers often do not recognize that these problems are “wicked”. Wicked problems have cause-effect relationships that are difficult or impossible to define, cannot be framed and solved without creating controversies among stakeholders and require collective action among societal groups with strongly held, conflicting beliefs and values. In contrast to past research, this Special Issue takes an organizational perspective by tackling three key managerial questions: what is the value of managing wicked problems and engaging with multiple stakeholders? What are the human and organizational resources and the strategic conditions needed to engage with multiple stakeholders effectively? How can multi-stakeholder engagements be undertaken? A world collection of empirical case studies conducted by business, NGO and university leaders tackle these questions. For managers, the Issue offers recent and thought-provoking insights on how to recognize and deal with wicked problems. For academics, it proposes an agenda for addressing the topic and promises to fuel a research and education debate for years to come. Keywords: wicked problems, sustainability; agriculture; Stakeholder Theory; multi-stakeholder initiative

The Beauty of the Commons? Consumers participation in Food Community Networks

Why are consumers increasingly joining farmers to co-produce and transact sustainable foods world-wide? May these networks be a new tool to promote sustainable practices? As stated by Sandler (2010): “Longitudinal collective action environmental problems are likely to be effectively addressed only by an enormous number of individuals each making a nearly insignificant contribution to resolving them”. Consumers-farmers networks may serve this scope by inducing individual actors to change their preferences towards sustainable products. However participation in these networks is still not well understood. On one hand new institutional economics explains consumers joining farmers in creating a network as a choice of the “most cost-economizing” governance structure to carry out a transaction where credence attributes are involved (i.e. sustainable-produced foodstuff). Thus a credence food is transacted through a consumers-farmers network if this governance structure can ensure the minimization of the transaction costs. However the way different (transactional) contexts can influence the change of consumers perceptions and preferences for credence foods is still not completely addressed. On the other hand behavioral economics underlines the role of social and psychological motivations such as altruism and fairness, to describe this type of decision making process. Still a clear link between transaction costs, motivations and the choice context to describe consumers participation in these networks is not completely understood and analysed. In this paper we use both new institutional and behavioural economics arguments to conceptualize the consumers participation in this new type of governance structures, which we have defined as food community network (FCN). More specifically we have investigated an Italian fast-spreading type of FCN named Solidarity Purchase Group . GAS are associations of consumers whose behavior is characterized by a strong philosophical and ethical agreement in which the territorial, economic and social ties between the individuals involved in it, tend to evolve into networks of participative economy. The present study, which is part of a wider study financed by the Sicilian Regional Authority, analyses the GAS presence in Sicily (a region in Southern Italy), where 32 active GAS are present, representing an estimated number of 1,200 families. Although this phenomenon is still marginal and limited to recent years, it can be particularly interesting because of its rapid proliferation. Attention to this type of participative consumerism is warranted for two reasons: firstly, because of its progressive expansion into rural areas, far from the main cities where the phenomenon originated, and secondly, because of its potential impact on the sustainability of food production in this region. To evaluate the potential impact of this phenomenon in Sicily a sample of involved consumers has been interviewed. This sample included some 200 individuals (those in the household in charge of buying) belonging to the main GAS operating in Sicily. This group represents 946 consumers. More specifically a survey was developed to investigate consumers participation in this GAS. In the questionnaire three main issues have been investigated: transaction costs, motivations and social preferences (i.e. altruism and trust), and choice context features as driving factors of consumers participation. Moreover we controlled for i) attitudes towards environmental protection and nature, industrial food production, technological progress, animal welfare, food and environment; ii) consumption frequencies and type of purchased products (i.e. organic, other certified products, conventional products, environmental friendly products and not certified products); and iii) socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents, including food-related lifestyle (FRL). The transaction-costs-related, motivational and choice-context-related variables have used to analyse different level of participation, comparing results from a conditional logit model with a latent-class one. Results indicate different factors affecting participation and profiles of GAS participants, which we can classify as follow: environmentalism and ecological sensitivity (1); gourmet, innovations and creativity (2); cultural patriotism and ethnocentrism (3); animal welfarism (4); cost and price awareness (5); belief in food traditionalism and purity of cuisine (6). Based on these results policy implications have been drawn to promote public support of GAS and food community networks both in the Italian and European contexts

The impact of public R&D on Marketing and Supply Chains on Small Farms' Marketing-Sensing Capability: Evidence from the Australian Seafood Industry

Agri-food organizations that are capable of “sensing the market” – that is, capable of searching, processing and using market information, are usually also market oriented, innovative, entrepreneurial and successful. But how can a small farm with limited resources develop market sensing capabilities? This research explores when public Research & Development (R&D) has an impact on small farms’ market sensing capabilities. The literature on the impact of public R&D on small farms’ market orientation is limited despite the importance of the topic for regional competitiveness and economic development. This research follows an inductive “grounded theory” approach of investigation. Qualitative and quantitative data is collected from five cases of public-private R&D projects funded by the Australian Seafood Cooperative Research Centre (CRC). One “typical” in-depth case study of an R&D project in the oyster sector provide empirical evidence for cross-case comparison and structural equation modeling (SEM). Findings highlight the provision of R&D market information on estimated prices and quantities, end users’ lower initial capabilities and higher discipline clarity, and the absence of industry associations undertaking marketing roles for farmers to enhance the impact of public R&D on small farmers’ market sensing

Learning and Transformative Networks to Address Wicked Problems: A GOLDEN Invitation

This essay explores the role of learning networks in strengthening the transformative potential of multi-stakeholder initiatives in the agro-food sector. It begins with reflections on the learning needs of a regional multi-stakeholder initiative in the agro-food sector, the Southern Africa Food Lab (SAFL).Then, the essay introduces an emerging learning network, namely GOLDEN for Sustainability. GOLDEN is a global learning network currently developing outside the agricultural and food sector, but with the ambition of including the agro-food sector. The authors are all connected to GOLDEN, and through this article they aim to leverage the International Food and Agribusiness Management Review (IFAMR) platform as a tool for developing such networks (Dentoni et al. 2012) and to invite agro-food organizations to participate in learning networks such as GOLDEN