Special Issue "Sustainable Food Management and Marketing"

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2021.

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Maria Pilar Martinez-Ruiz
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Business Administration Department, University of Castilla-La Mancha, 02071 Albacete, Spain
Interests: food marketing and management; retailing; consumer behaviour; innovation
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals
Dr. Alicia Izquierdo-Yusta
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Business Administration, University of Burgos, 09001 Burgos, Spain
Interests: food marketing and management; retailing; consumer behavior; innovation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The aim of this Special Issue is to analyze the key importance of sustainable food and drink from different management and marketing perspectives. In particular, works taking into account different aspects that promote sustainable food and drink production, distribution, and consumption are especially welcome. Within this research field, contributions that consider diverse management and marketing approaches are of special relevance. Among others, articles related to specific topics such as the development and launch of new products, food and beverage distribution, variables and factors that motivate the consumption of these types of foods and beverages by final consumers in different marketing channels will be especially welcomed. With regard to this research line, it is important to bear in mind that all stakeholders involved in the value chain are capable of leading the changes desired to achieve sustainability throughout the chain. Indeed, all stakeholders might play an essential role in these processes of change, as they can all develop more sustainable management and marketing practices—all of which will lead to the establishment and maintenance of fairer relationships in the long term.

Dr. Maria Pilar Martinez-Ruiz
Dr. Alicia Izquierdo-Yusta
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 papers will be 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 1900 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

  • sustainable food and beverage
  • management
  • marketing
  • production and manufacturing
  • retailing
  • distribution channels
  • food values
  • consumer behavior

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

Article
Marketing Activities of Local Food Producers in E-Commerce
Sustainability 2021, 13(16), 9406; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13169406 - 21 Aug 2021
Viewed by 347
Abstract
The food industry is characterized by a constant increase in value. The purpose of this study is to identify the most popular marketing forms used by the analyzed enterprises, which were food producers selling online among the local community and identification of the [...] Read more.
The food industry is characterized by a constant increase in value. The purpose of this study is to identify the most popular marketing forms used by the analyzed enterprises, which were food producers selling online among the local community and identification of the correlation of the analyzed variables with the age of companies. The survey was carried out with the use of the CATI (Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing) method, and the research tool was a questionnaire. The Chi-square statistics was used to examine the dependencies of individual variables and V-Cramer coefficient was used to identify the strength of the correlation. The obtained results and their analysis enable to conclude that there is a strong relation between the number of encountered problems in conducting online sales and the period of the company’s existence. The relationship (with a moderate strength) between sources of marketing inspirations used in e-stores and the company’s age was also confirmed. Furthermore, it was noticed that the number of marketing tools increases with the period of the company’s existence. Sales promotion, social media marketing and website positioning were indicated among the most popular tools. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Food Management and Marketing)
Article
Consumers’ Willingness to Purchase Imported Cherries towards Sustainable Market: Evidence from the Republic of Korea
Sustainability 2021, 13(10), 5420; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13105420 - 12 May 2021
Viewed by 399
Abstract
Globalization has led diverse stakeholders to join the market and has resulted in corporate and product diversification; however, some markets remain monopolized by a few countries owing to “shadow trade barriers” influencing willingness to purchase. The Korean cherry market has grown rapidly since [...] Read more.
Globalization has led diverse stakeholders to join the market and has resulted in corporate and product diversification; however, some markets remain monopolized by a few countries owing to “shadow trade barriers” influencing willingness to purchase. The Korean cherry market has grown rapidly since 2000 but is monopolized by U.S. cherries, which makes the market unsustainable; however, Uzbekistan cherries are 1.75-times less expensive than U.S. cherries. We examined the potential of Uzbekistan cherries to replace U.S. cherries as cherries are imported only from these countries during the spring–summer season. After collecting data through a web survey, we conducted logistic regression analyses to investigate what specific factors affect Korean consumers’ willingness to purchase Uzbekistan cherries over U.S. cherries: price perception, brand familiarity, perceived risk, and country of origin. Results showed that the more price awareness (price perception), experience (brand familiarity), and higher confidence of safety (perceived risk) that consumers had, the more they were willing to purchase Uzbekistan cherries. Consumers who checked the country of origin were less likely to purchase Uzbekistan cherries. The results provide useful information for exporters, importers, researchers, decision-makers, and policymakers concerning the utilization of products for sustainability in a monopolized market. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Food Management and Marketing)
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Article
The Effect of Ethnocentrism on Product Evaluation and Purchase Intention: The Case of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
Sustainability 2021, 13(9), 4744; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13094744 - 23 Apr 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 490
Abstract
This study is framed within the concept of sustainability of local foods such as extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) and considers the effects of country of origin (COO) and ethnocentrism as relevant factors in decision making about product choice. Our work contributes to [...] Read more.
This study is framed within the concept of sustainability of local foods such as extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) and considers the effects of country of origin (COO) and ethnocentrism as relevant factors in decision making about product choice. Our work contributes to the literature regarding the food industry with the main objective of investigating how consumer ethnocentrism may affect not only behavioral intention but also the perception of the quality of the EVOO. The authors of the present paper developed this line of research via a review of the existing literature, leading to the elaboration of the conceptual model proposed in this paper. The research was developed through a laboratory experiment and the modeling of consumer behavior, raising a series of hypotheses, which were contrasted following the different analyses conducted on the data. Results were obtained on factors such as the differences in evaluation according to label type, the effect of ethnocentrism on perception and purchase intention, and structural knowledge of the weight of the different variables that influence this decision making. Several guidelines and conclusions are derived from these results, which refer to the use of COO information as well as the satisfaction of consumer ethnocentrism. Understanding the role played by consumer ethnocentrism in the evaluation of food products in accordance with their origin may yield useful information for local food producers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Food Management and Marketing)
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Article
Food Values, Satisfaction, and Loyalty: Some Evidence in Grocery Retailing Acquired during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Sustainability 2021, 13(7), 3908; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13073908 - 01 Apr 2021
Viewed by 522
Abstract
Recent evidence illuminates the importance of relatively new concepts in grocery retailing, such as the concept of food values. The present work aims at analyzing the influence of: (i) food values on key non-financial results, particularly satisfaction and loyalty; and (ii) satisfaction on [...] Read more.
Recent evidence illuminates the importance of relatively new concepts in grocery retailing, such as the concept of food values. The present work aims at analyzing the influence of: (i) food values on key non-financial results, particularly satisfaction and loyalty; and (ii) satisfaction on loyalty. The paper makes a further delineation for both satisfaction and loyalty (i.e., with the product and with the grocery store), as well as considers the potential implications derived from the COVID-19 pandemic. With these objectives in mind, the paper distributed an online survey to the residents of Toledo (Spain) during April and May 2020 (a period characterized by a national lockdown, where grocery stores and essential business were open to the public). This effort produced 303 valid questionnaires and the resulting data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics alongside linear parametric regressions. The findings show how food values have a positive and significant influence on both types of satisfaction and loyalty; there is also a significant and positive influence of both types of satisfaction on both types of loyalty. Moreover, the results corroborate previous works about the most influential food values. These findings highlight the importance of considering food values in grocery retailing in order to achieve key non-financial benefits. The paper ends with a discussion of several interesting managerial guidelines, particularly in light of situations like the COVID-19 pandemic. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Food Management and Marketing)
Article
Sustainability, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Performance in the Spanish Wine Sector
Sustainability 2021, 13(1), 7; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13010007 - 22 Dec 2020
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 784
Abstract
This paper analyzes the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of a sample of wineries in Spain and its effect on the companies’ performance. We used a questionnaire created with a validated scale that includes environmental and social dimensions. The final sample was made up [...] Read more.
This paper analyzes the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of a sample of wineries in Spain and its effect on the companies’ performance. We used a questionnaire created with a validated scale that includes environmental and social dimensions. The final sample was made up of 127 firms that participated in the National Wine Fair (FENAVIN) in 2019, and this was analyzed using a cluster analysis and means contrast to verify whether a CSR-performance relationship exists. The performance was measured using the average return on assets (ROA) for the prior three years. The results obtained do not support the general opinion that enterprises involved with CSR achieve better results. On the contrary, we found that wineries that are more environmentally responsible are the least profitable and that those with more socially responsible behavior do not have a significant CSR-performance relationship. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Food Management and Marketing)
Article
Food Values, Benefits and Their Influence on Attitudes and Purchase Intention: Evidence Obtained at Fast-Food Hamburger Restaurants
Sustainability 2020, 12(18), 7749; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12187749 - 19 Sep 2020
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1066
Abstract
This paper analyzes the effects of: (i) Food values on their related benefits (hedonic and utilitarian); (ii) both kinds of benefits on attitudes toward eating hamburgers; and (iii) attitudes on purchase intention. To this end, we adapted the food values scale to the [...] Read more.
This paper analyzes the effects of: (i) Food values on their related benefits (hedonic and utilitarian); (ii) both kinds of benefits on attitudes toward eating hamburgers; and (iii) attitudes on purchase intention. To this end, we adapted the food values scale to the context of fast-food hamburger restaurants. Data were collected from a survey of 512 Mexican consumers and analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The results show that the strongest influences are those exerted by food values, first, on hedonic benefits and, second, on utilitarian benefits. In contrast, the weakest influence is that exerted by utilitarian benefits on attitudes, followed by that exerted by hedonic benefits on attitudes. Among other findings, this study highlights the importance consumers give to the taste and safety of food, as well as the greater importance given to hedonic benefits compared to utilitarian ones. These findings have several important implications for managers in the industry. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Food Management and Marketing)
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