An Investigation of the Environmental Turbulence Factors and their Sources in the Collaboration - Post-harvest Food Loss Relationship

Recent studies suggested that collaboration among upstream agricultural supply chain (ASC) partners will impact and possibly reduce postharvest food loss (PHFL) levels; a possible direct relationship between collaboration and PHFL was indicated. There have been many changes in the ASC’s environment related to globalization, changing consumer attitudes and concerns, changing markets, increased competition, new technologies, commodity price fluctuations, food safety and quality standards and regulations, Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform in EU. The aforementioned changes cause turbulence in ASC’s environment and possibly impact both collaboration level among upstream partners and PHFL levels. The Greek ASC environment is characterized as being highly turbulent due to the changes in EU’s ASC environment. Contingency theory (CT) is utilized to conceptualize the different environmental turbulence factors in the Greek ASC. This research aims to identify the relevant environmental turbulence factors in the Greek ASC that might moderate the collaboration-PHFL relationship in the Greek ASC

An investigation of the collaboration - postharvest food loss relationship and the effect of the environmental turbulence factors

The increasing need for food supply chain sustainability and food security has considerably strengthened the importance of reducing Postharvest Food Losses (PHFL). Recent studies suggested that collaboration among upstream Agricultural Supply Chain (ASC) partners will impact and possibly reduce PHFL levels; a possible direct relationship between collaboration and PHFL was indicated. Hence, collaboration could be a possible solution to PHFL. Research done in the area of PHFL reduction has not considered the producers unit of analysis. Moreover, there have been many changes in the EU ASC s environment and those changes cause turbulence in the latter environment and impact both collaboration among upstream partners and PHFL. Thus, this research investigates the relationship between collaboration and PHFL as well as the possible moderating effects of the different environmental turbulence factors in the aforementioned relationship in the EU ASCs from the producers perspective

Circular and Lean Food Supply Chains

Circular economy (CE) refers to the industrial economy that aims to achieve enriched sustainability through restorative objects and supply chain design. Many governments have put in place different initiatives in line with the CE. On the other hand, the term Lean operations refers to the reduction of the non-value adding activities and waste in a supply chain. The food sector has been criticized for its sustainability and circularity due to the high levels of food and packaging waste and at the same time the increasing costs. Although food supply chain entities have started to implement circular economy and lean practices, the current efforts do not seem to be sufficient to achieve a circular and lean food system. The aim of this chapter is to explore the possibility of a circular and at the same lean food supply chain

A review of resilience within the UK food manufacturing sector

Research on food security and resilience has focused primarily on improving production of traditional crops and livestock (agriculture, crop science, genetics etc.). However significant losses occur after this initial production phase during storage, transportation, processing and preparation. Whilst increased competition and margin pressures within this sector are constant drivers for efficiency improvements and waste reduction, they can also have unintended consequences on the resilience of food manufacturers and their supply chains. This paper examines how current trends and initiatives could impact the resilience of the UK food manufacturing sector and their wider impacts on UK food security

Unpacking the productivity narrative in manufacturing organisations

This paper explores the narratives around productivity in UK manufacturing firms. Whilst we hear a lot about the UK’s poor productivity from politicians and economists, this paper explores the conversations within manufacturing firms. Initial evidence from a project funded by the ESRC through the Productivity Insights Network is presented. It appears that there are many different narratives around productivity and often the conversations in the manufacturing firms bear little resemblance to the productivity statistics being presented by politicians and economists. The work is innovative in that it moves the conversation from the economists, politicians and statisticians to the manufacturing workplace

Supply chain resilience in mindful humanitarian aid organizations:the role of big data analytics

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to understand the nomological network of associations between collective mindfulness and big data analytics in fostering resilient humanitarian relief supply chains. Design/methodology/approach: The authors conceptualize a research model grounded in literature and test the hypotheses using survey data collected from informants at humanitarian aid organizations in Africa and Europe. Findings: The findings demonstrate that organizational mindfulness is key to enabling resilient humanitarian relief supply chains, as opposed to just big data analytics. Originality/value: This is the first study to examine organizational mindfulness and big data analytics in the context of humanitarian relief supply chains

A planetary boundaries perspective on the sustainability:resilience relationship in the Kenyan tea supply chain

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether agricultural supply chains (ASC) can be simultaneously sustainable and resilient to ecological disruptions, using the Planetary Boundaries theory. The nine different Planetary Boundaries i.e. climatic change, biodiversity loss, biogeochemical, ocean acidification, land use, freshwater availability, stratosphere ozone depletion, atmospheric aerosols and chemical pollution are examined in relation to ASC sustainability and resilience. Kenya's tea upstream supply chain sustainability and resilience from the ecological point of view is questioned. This study adopts a multi-case study analysis approach of nine producer organisations from Kenya's tea supply chain. The data from the in-depth semi-structured interviews and a focus group discussion are analysed using thematic analysis. The Kenyan tea supply chain producers are not aware of all the nine planetary boundaries, although these impact on their resilience practices. They are engaged in pursuing both sustainability and resilience practices. They implement mainly environmental practices in relation to sustainability, while only a few of them are implementing resilience practices. The sustainability and resilience concepts were found to be interrelated, but resilience does not improve at the same pace as sustainability. It is suggested that the relationship between sustainability and resilience is non-linear. Limitations and future research avenues are also provided

A firm-level analysis of the interaction between productivity antecedents

This study focuses on productivity at a firm level, examining the levers that management can potentially use to improve the productivity of their firm. Previous studies have characterised the factors that affect productivity at a firm level; however, the relative importance of these factors, and the way in which these factors interact, remains unclear. This study builds on the classification of productivity antecedents proposed by Syverson (2011), and it proposes two different archetypes of interaction between productivity antecedents: the hierarchical vs the flat model. Data collection is ongoing to refine and validate the theoretical model

Global orientation and export competitive advantage: A study of Malaysian firms [Abstract]

Global orientation and export competitive advantage: A study of Malaysian firms [Abstract

The role of circular economy principles and sustainable-oriented innovation to enhance social, economic and environmental performance: Evidence from Mexican SMEs

The UN's sustainable development goals underscore engaging supply-chain stakeholders with environmentally friendly practices. Small- and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) are key participants in several supply chains, but their operations often produce a significant environmental impact. Their transition to sustainable practices is challenging because they operate with constrained resources, which are mostly invested in pressing activities. Therefore, evidence is needed that shows the benefits of investing limited resources in sustainable activities to support decision-making in SMEs. Research has neglected to connect circular economy and sustainable-oriented innovation whilst accounting for external factors affecting the implementation of sustainable processes and technology within SMEs in developing countries. This paper fills that gap by analyzing the impact of external factors on the implementation of circular economy and technology, and their influence on sustainable-oriented innovation and sustainable performance. Responses from 165 Mexican SMEs have been collected and analyzed using structural equation modeling to test direct and indirect effects between constructs. Findings reveal that while both governmental support and customer pressure facilitate the adoption of circular economy, only governmental support contributes directly to technology implementation. They also highlight the value of circular economy to support the adoption of sustainable-oriented innovation and to mediate the relationship between technology implementation and sustainable-oriented innovation. The overarching finding is that circular economy promoting sustainability-oriented innovation has a positive impact on financial, environmental, and social performance. This is a key implication to inform managers in SMEs on the potential benefits of investing in sustainable solutions