Is Sustainability Compatible with Profitability? An Empirical Analysis on Family Farming Activity

Sustainability is a social concern and a new strategic factor for productive and economic viability. Nevertheless, research on this subject in a holistic approach is limited, and even to a lesser extent when dealing with family farms. This paper analyzes the impact of different aspects of sustainability (socio-economic characteristics, environmentally respectful practices, and innovation) on profitability. The data collection instruments include a survey questionnaire on farming in Almería, a province in Southeast Spain, and the methodology followed involves a two-step regression model. The main results show how several socio-economic and environmental-innovation features of family farms have positive effects on their economic performance. Among others, profitability increases when there are better educated and younger family farm decision-makers; the farm is specialized and supported by more efficient cooperatives: and, particularly, when the family farm displays greater concern for environmental practices and better disposition towards agroecological innovation

Transferencias redistributivas en metálico y en especie: una síntesis.

Although the traditional argument states that transfers should always be made in cash, based on the idea of the consumer’s absolute sovereignty; in an imperfect world, there are many reasonings which are clearly in favor of in-kind transfers (egalitarianism in term of goods, paternalism, externalities, Second-Best scenarios, effects on the incentive to work, “The Samaritan’s dilemma”, pecuniary effects, social insurance, transmission of individual values, political considerations, or inflation). In this paper we review all these theoretical arguments given in the literature to justify that public transfers are carried out in cash or in kind. In addition, we outline the most relevant empirical studies.Public expenditure, cash transfers, in-kind transfers, efficiency, equity.

Determinants of Food Safety Level in Fruit and Vegetable Wholesalers’ Supply Chain: Evidence from Spain and France

Food safety management in short supply chains of fruit and vegetables, controlled by large retailers, has been widely studied in the literature. However, when it comes to traditional long supply chains, which include a greater number of intermediaries and wholesalers who, in some cases, play a dual role as resellers and producers, the mechanisms which promote the use of safety certifications have yet to be clearly defined. The present study intended to fill this gap in the literature and shed light on the food safety level that exists in this channel. In addition, this work attempted to identify the existence of differences between both sales systems. For this purpose, the empirical research studied the most important variables that influence the food safety level of some of the main European fruit and vegetable wholesalers. A survey was thus designed and later applied to Spanish and French intermediaries working in key wholesale markets and in the southeast of Spain, which is the leading commercialization area of these products in Europe. The results revealed the positive influence of specific customers (big retailers) on establishing stricter safety controls within wholesale companies. It was also observed that specific wholesalers also play an important role in the system, namely those dedicated to importing, but which are also responsible for quality and safety inspection of agri-food products exported from third countries into the European Union

Examining experiences concerning goals pursued and smart dimensions to develop in cities on their path to become smart. The case of Costa Rican cities

The rapid growth of the population in cities has given rise to major urban challenges. This has led city governments to use technical solutions based on ICT, arising the concept of smart city (SC). However, the strategy followed to become smart is still very diffuse. This paper seeks to analyze the opinion of the ICT managers of local governments in their initial stage of cities to become smart. To achieve this aim, we have conducted empirical research in Costa Rican cities, which are initiating the SC process, but emphasizing the technological implementation strategy they are using. Concretely, this paper analyzes variables such as the number of ICT projects, dimensions, goals, impacts and expected timeframes as well as their association. Findings provide technological strategies that can be used and thus facilitate the implementation process of cities to become smart as well as the achievement of results

Water–Energy–Food Nexus in the Agri-Food Sector: Research Trends and Innovating Practices

Natural resources are becoming scarcer and, together with the growth of the population, a widespread situation of overexploitation is inevitable that has become the biggest challenge for today’s world. In this context, the agri-food sector has a considerable environmental impact in terms of water and energy consumption. For about two decades, the Water–Energy–Food Nexus (WEF) Nexus has been trying to address this problem, focusing on efficient interrelationships among these dimensions. The objective of this work is to analyse the evolution of research on WEF Nexus in the agri-food sector and its development in scientific databases. For that purpose, a bibliometric study was carried out with publications obtained from the Scopus database, examining the main journals, authors, institutions, countries, subject areas, funding sponsors, and keywords. Moreover, a final section is specifically dedicated to the agri-food innovations in WEF Nexus in order to explore innovative aspects to effectively overcome technical barriers that hinder a real implementation of the Nexus approach. The results show that, over the past decade, Nexus research in the agri-food sector has been growing exponentially. The top country in this field is USA, the most studied area is environmental science, and the most relevant keywords are “energy use”, “water budget”, “food security”, “sustainable development”, and “water resources”

Interrelationship between international trade and environmental performance: Theoretical approaches and indicators for sustainable development

In recent years, a great deal of research has analyzed the impact of trade openness on the environment, with the aim of determining whether internationalization contributes to the improvement of environmental performance or, on the contrary, hinders the achievement of sustainable development. The objective of the present work is to conduct a systematic literature review on the interrelationship between international trade and environmental performance (EP) at the micro and macroeconomic levels, analyzing the existent theoretical approaches and the EP indicators utilized in practice. The most prominent theories found are firm heterogeneity, at a microeconomic level, and the pollution haven/halo hypotheses, at a macroeconomic level. Also, the EP indicators have been classified according to five dimensions: energy consumption, resource consumption, emissions, risk potential and toxic potential, of which pollutant gas emissions and energy consumption are the most used. The results obtained show evidence of the interrelationship mentioned from the perspective of the different theories. In addition, this analysis helps to identify several gaps in this line of study

Measuring eco-innovation dimensions: The role of environmental corporate culture and commercial orientation

Eco-innovation (EI) is a complex process that involves product, process, organizational and marketing dimensions, each with its own determinants, characteristics and contributions to environmental business performance. Thus, analyzing EI activity is essential to obtaining a holistic view in order to achieve sustainable development. This study offers a multidimensional EI measurement and, what is more, evaluates its relationship with environmental corporate culture and commercial orientation drivers in a high environmental impact context, i.e., the agri-food sector. The proposed model was tested using the partial least-squares technique, which was applied to data collected from a sample of 93 companies located in southeast Spain. This study confirms the importance of several dimensions, namely marketing, organization and process, to corporate adoption of EI. Additionally, this research also reveals the positive relationship that both drivers, environmental corporate culture and commercial orientation, have with EI. The findings also suggest that theorists and practitioners must contemplate EI from the point of view of its four dimensions in order to achieve an efficient, more realistic analysis. Subsequently, this work carries some theoretical conclusions and implications for research and practice

Eco-innovation measurement: A review of firm performance indicators

Increased awareness on sustainability has influenced business organizations to improve their environmental performance and efficiency. In this context, eco-innovation implementation is positioned as a target for organizations to be more sustainable in order to reduce negative externalities and reach governments’ green requirements and consumers’ demands. The aim of this paper is to provide a critical review of literature on eco-innovation performance indicators. This study identifies the 30 firm performance indicators most cited by researchers and classifies them into four different green innovation types, i.e. product, process, organizational and marketing. A substantial gap has been found throughout the literature on this issue as studies do not include a complete combination of the key performance indicators across the four types of eco-innovation. This information is necessary to obtain an accurate measurement of eco-innovation level and it is useful to companies and stakeholders for performance evaluation. Moreover, understanding which performance indicators are more suitable for measuring the level of environmental innovation affords governments the possibility to draft policies that encourage companies to be more sustainable and firms to implement green practices in a more efficient way

DRIVERS FOR EFFICIENT WATER USE IN AGRICULTURE: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF FAMILY FARMS IN ALMERÍA, SPAIN

This paper aims to determine the influence of family farming features on efficient use of water. The analysis focusses on a random sample of family farms in the province of Almería, southeast Spain. A hierarchical regression model was conducted to determine how the water efficiency is related to environmental awareness and certain characteristics of farmers, decision-makers and the family farm itself. The results show that these family farms strive to be more efficient in their use of water when they are going to be inherited, when there are younger decision-makers who have received a better education, and also when women are involved. Moreover, this efficiency is positively related to more ecological production and to the farmer's habitual behaviour with respect to water economy. The study provides evidence regarding the influences of socio-economic and environmental features of family farming on water use efficiency that may prove useful for other analyses and policy makers on water management in agriculture

Response of Fresh Food Suppliers to Sustainable Supply Chain Management of Large European Retailers

This article analyses new supply chain management (SCM) strategies of the largest retail distribution chains in Europe within the context of differing sustainability concepts and approaches. An analysis is carried out of the strategic plans of such retailers, as well as recent developments in the sector. We begin by identifying the priority actions of retailers and then evaluating, by means of a survey, how small horticultural marketing firms (mainly cooperatives) in southeast Spain respond to the needs of these retailers. Subsequently, an analysis is carried out on these small marketing firm exporters to identify the relative weight which they assign to the variables assessed, while also considering the existing relationships between said weighted variables and business profits. Our results show that retailers tend to establish more simplified supply chains (that is, shorter and more vertical), essentially demonstrating their interpretation of a sustainable supply chain. In contrast, horticultural marketing firms have concentrated more on tactical and operational issues, thereby neglecting environmental, social and logistics management. Thus, their success rate in meeting the sustainability demands of their customers can be considered medium-low, requiring a more proactive attitude. Improved and collaborative relations, and the integration of sustainability concepts between suppliers (marketing firms) and their clients could contribute to successfully meeting sustainability demands. From the point of view of the consumer, close supplier–retail relationships have solved food safety issues, but the implementation of sustainability in other supply chain activities and processes is a pending issue. We propose strategic approximation and collaboration to bridge the gap between the varying sustainability demands in the supplier–retail relationship within perishable supply chains. Although this article specifically addresses fresh vegetable supply chains, the results may be extrapolated to other agri-food chains with a similar structure