Special Issue "Sustainable Marketing and Consumers’ Food Preference"

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Social Ecology and Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2021.

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Gabriele Scozzafava
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry, University of Florence, 50121 Florence, Italy
Interests: consumer preferences; environmental economics; food marketing; agricultural economics
Prof. Dr. Christine Mauracher
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Management, Ca’ Foscari University Venice, 30123 Venice, Italy
Interests: consumer behavior; agri-food marketing; food quality; agricultural economics
Dr. Francesca Gerini
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry, University of Florence, 50121 Florence, Italy
Interests: agricultural economics; consumer preferences; food marketing

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The study of consumer preferences constitutes a fundamental phase in the development of strategies of sustainable agriculture and food marketing.  The information frame of reference that the numerous studies conducted in this field have generated to date, however, risks being undermined by the advent of Coronavirus.  This circumstance indeed brings to the attention of researchers the question of the possible variation in the purchasing behavior of agriculture and food products by consumers.  In fact, while on one hand, the limitation of freedom of movement and aggregation has had, without doubt, a definite impact on the models of consumption in the HORECA channel (hotel/restaurant/catering), on the other hand, the health crisis might have had an even more radical effect, modifying the structure of preferences and, thus, the purchasing behavior and consumption of food.  In light of this event of a global magnitude, it appears particularly interesting and strategic to analyze the effects on consumers, their preferences, and their habits, in view of identifying new models of sustainable marketing, capable of steering consumption toward products with a lesser environmental impact and, at the same time, to support the local agriculture and food sector.

The studies in this Special Issue are expected to address the following topics, also tackling them in light of possible structural and transitory modifications imposed by the advent of COVID-19:

  • Identification of impacts on key preference structures which guide consumers’ sustainable food choices and behavior;
  • Identification of new models of sustainable marketing;
  • Identification of new post-COVID-19 food patterns;
  • Identification of policies to support the post-pandemic agriculture and foods sector;
  • Consumer segmentation and analysis of their willingness to pay;
  • Strategies of agriculture and food companies aimed at weathering the crisis;
  • Product innovation and sustainable consumption.

Dr. Gabriele Scozzafava
Prof. Dr. Christine Mauracher
Dr. Francesca Gerini
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

  • consumer preferences
  • marketing
  • sustainability
  • food
  • COVID-19

Published Papers

This special issue is now open for submission.
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