Abstract
The aim of the paper is to investigate the artificial intelligence (AI) function in agri-food industry, as well as the role of stakeholders in its supply chain. Above all, from the beginning of the new millennium, scholars and practitioners have paid an increasing attention to artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in operational processes management and challenges for new business models, in a sustainable and socially responsible perspective. Thus, the stakeholders can assume a proactive or marginal role in the value creation for business, according to their own environmental awareness. These issues appear still “open” in some industries, such as the agri-food system, where the adoption of new technologies requires rethinking and redesigning the whole business model. Methodologically, we brought forward an in-depth review of the literature about major articles in this field. Especially, the study has been conducted following two phases: firstly, we extracted from scientific databases (Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar) and studied relevant articles; secondly, we analyzed the selected articles. The findings highlight interesting issues about AI towards a “space economy” to achieve sustainable and responsible business models, also in the perspective of the COVID-19 pandemic scenario. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.
Highlights
In the past 20 years, scholars and practitioners have taken a more thorough interest in artificial intelligence (AI) technologies
The combination among “business model”, “Artificial Intelligence”, “sustainability”, “social responsibility”, “agri-food industry”, and “COVID-19 pandemic” provided results that allowed us to identify a relevant need for coordination and communication in the food industry, which has been for several years an independent sector from agriculture industry without considering the reciprocal dependencies among firms along the “food value chain” [36]
The adoption of AI technology in the agri-food setting, as well as the use of other information technology applications, enables all players of the supply chain, from “farm” to “fork”, to be competitive by sharing information and using the same language codes looking for the balance among government regulation frameworks and customers’ and stakeholders’ interest [37,38], and to ensure that food safety and sustainability become key factors in all the issues of transparency, accountability, and verifiability about resources to use in the operational processes of the agri-food chain [39]
Summary
In the past 20 years, scholars and practitioners have taken a more thorough interest in artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. For AI, some authors identify the ability of a “machine” to understand in a “clever” way the inputs provided by the environment, or better decipher the external variables by a flexible configuration [1,2]. In this direction, AI represents a new way to create and manage the information in a business model properly rethought [3,4], including the link between innovation and sustainability [5]. The adoption of innovative technologies can allow adopting business models addressing the UN 2030 Agenda The need to ensure adequate nutrition for the growing human population is tied to a system able to guarantee sustainable agricultural and food production, and to increase efficiency of production processes and reduce their negative effects on the environment [9,10]
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