Consumer behavioral intention toward sustainable biscuits:An extension of the theory of planned behavior with product familiarity and perceived value

Sustainable food consumption may help mitigate the impact that the food industry exerts on the natural environment. To foster sustainable food consumption, it is essential to understand consumers' perceptions related to sustainable food as well as the determinants of the intention to purchase sustainable food. Through an extension of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) with product familiarity (direct and indirect experience) and perceived value (perceived quality and green perceived utility), this study examines the drivers of purchase intention of sustainable biscuits. A survey of 2396 Italian consumers was conducted and structural equation modeling was used to test the developed model. Results show that perceived quality and environmental concern have positive and significant effects on purchase intention, regardless of the specific characteristics of sustainable biscuits, whereas mixed results are obtained about the effect of direct experience and perceived consumer effectiveness. Indirect experience, green perceived utility, perceived behavioral control, and subjective norms do not display any significant effect.</p

Determinants of the intention to purchase sustainable beer:Do gender and type of sustainable solution matter?

This paper aims to shed light on the determinants of sustainable products' purchase intention, with a focus on sustainable beer. Specifically, three determinants related to the theory of planned behavior (i.e., perceived consumer effectiveness, social influence, and environmental concern) and two determinants related to the perceived value (i.e., green perceived utility and perceived quality) have been investigated. Five categories of environmentally sustainable beer have been considered: three referred to the types of ingredients (organic, local, and Italian) and two to the type of packaging (recycled and biodegradable). Furthermore, the effect of gender has been investigated for all the five above-mentioned sustainable solutions. A survey has been conducted on 790 Italian consumers and structural equation modeling (SEM) has been employed for hypothesis testing. Results show that perceived quality, green perceived utility, and environmental concern influence the purchase intention of sustainable beer, regardless of the specific type of sustainable solution. Further, results highlight that gender does moderate the relationship between perceived quality and purchase intention only for two types of sustainable solutions (local ingredients and recycled packaging). Several implications for scholars, companies, and policymakers are drawn from this study.</p

Green supply chain practices as a consequence of the green bullwhip effect: understanding the relationship

This article aimed to understand and analyze how different institutional pressures created by different stakeholders tend to promote the green bullwhip effect and consequent adoption of green supply chain management practices across a supply chain. Based on case study methodology, the relationship between a focal company in the automotive battery supply chain in Brazil and its primary stakeholders was analysed

The Green Bullwhip Effect, the Diffusion of Green Supply Chain Practices, and Institutional Pressures: Evidence from the Automotive Sector

This paper aims to understand and analyze how different institutional pressures created by stakeholders tend to promote the green bullwhip effect and the consequent adoption of green supply chain management (GSCM) practices across a supply chain. It examines GSCM practices adopted in the supply chain as a result of pressure from primary stakeholders, and how they exert environmental pressures. A case study methodology has been adopted to study a focal company (an automotive battery company located in Brazil) and its stakeholders, including customers, its supplier, and the government. The results, synthesized through eight propositions, highlight the effect that the institutional environment exercises on generating the green bullwhip effect in the supply chain

What drives green product development and how do different antecedents affect market performance? A survey of Italian companies with eco-labels

Green products can play a key role in the achievement of sustainable development goals. Through a survey of 188 Italian companies with eco-labeled green products, this study aims at understanding the relative importance of several motivations to develop green products, the influence of different motivations and firm characteristics on green product features (radicalness and differentiation), and which factors affect market performance of green products. This study reports a ranking of 49 motivations, highlighting that the most relevant are related to the prospect of market benefits. Results also show that product radicalness and differentiation have partially different antecedents in terms of motivations, while being a family firm positively influences only product differentiation. With regards to factors affecting market performance of green products, prospect of market benefits, availability of new technologies, firm foreign ownership, product radicalness and differentiation show a positive influence, while firm age displays a negative effect

Firm environmental performance under scrutiny: The role of strategic and organizational orientations

Reducing firm environmental burden is not easy. Thus, several studies have investigated the antecedents of good firm environmental performance; however, they provide contrasting results, focus on specific categories of antecedents, and often rely on subjective performance measures. This study overcomes these gaps by jointly considering the effects of different firm strategic and organizational orientations on several dimensions of environmental performance, objectively measured. Through the analysis of 269 large global companies included in the Newsweek Green Ranking 20141, we found that: both market and environmental management orientations have a positive effect on carbon, energy, and water productivity; green supply chain management orientation has a positive influence on waste and water productivity; and technology orientation negatively affects carbon and waste productivity. Based on these findings, we advise managers that strategic and organizational orientations do not affect all types of environmental performance in the same way, thus calling for caution when they are designed for environmentally friendly purposes

Smart wearable technologies: Current status and market orientation through a patent analysis

Technology is the vital criterion to boosting the quality of life. Nowadays, innovation in smart wearable technologies (SWTs) has been coming up to different sectors and is gaining momentum to be implemented in everyday objects. The successful introduction of SWTs will present the production of new generations of innovative and high value-added products. Furthermore, this topic is gaining ground within both academic and practitioner studies with the attempt to better understand the innovation trend in order to provide a guidance for both policy makers and companies in supporting its development. Thus, the aim of this study is to analysis the development trends of SWTs. To this aim, we have built a unique database of 1062 patents included in the Thomson Innovation database and registered between 1998 and 2015. Data analysis are also conducted through citation analysis based on assignees and top IPC subclasses. Our analyses show the overall development trend for different product classes, and top assignees. This study also provides useful results for managers who can monitor their competitors in this industry in order to make decisions on technological investments and market strategies. © 2017 IEEE

Family firms’ approach to green innovation: an exploratory study among Italian SMEs

Despite the growing scholar attention towards green innovation, on the one hand, and family firms, on the other hand, there is still limited attention toward the intersection of these two streams of literature, since very few studies deal with green innovation in family firms. This paper aims at shedding light on the peculiarities of family firms in their approach to green innovation. To this aim, a multiple case studies methodology was used to understand whether and to what extent family firms and non-family firms differ in their approach to green innovation. In particular, a convenience sample of four small-medium enterprises (SMEs) (two family firms and two non-family firms) operating in the food industry and located in Italy was selected. Results suggest that family firms differ from non-family firms in five key areas: firm’s motivations, stakeholders’ most relevant pressures (internal vs external), green innovation as opportunity or necessity, type of innovation (product/process), and networking