Abstract
The shift from an industrial to a post-industrial economic system encourages an alternative to the globalized food chains—short food supply chain initiatives, which come alongside the servitization concept and are often discussed in the context of sustainability. However, short food supply chain literature is mainly focused on the aspects typical of the industrial economic system and neglects new important business drivers arising in the post-industrial era. This research aims to discuss the evolution of short food supply chain theory and practice in the context of three paradigm innovations that emerged in the post-industrial economic system and suggest new paths for sustainable agri-food system building. All three paradigm innovations are closely related to each other, but each changes a certain dimension of the mental model concerning the food production and delivery system. The article examines the organizational model of the alternative local food market in Lithuania that has been designed according to the “new rules of game” suggested by the post-industrial economic system.
Highlights
Chain Theory and Practice: The prevailing trend in the industrial agri-food system was the development of global value chains
Short food supply chain literature is mainly focused on the aspects typical of the industrial economic system and neglects new important business drivers arising in the post-industrial era
This study examined the sustainability of a Lithuanian short food supply chain designed as a two-sided network
Summary
Chain Theory and Practice: The prevailing trend in the industrial agri-food system was the development of global value chains. One of the most debated aspects is the sustainability of short food supply chains [2–8]. Short food supply chain literature is mainly focused on the aspects typical of the industrial economic system and neglects new important business drivers arising in the post-industrial era. The comparative analysis between characteristics of global and short food supply chains rarely addresses paradigm innovations of the post-industrial stage that emerged as changes in mental models. The further development of short food supply chain theory requires identifying the paradigm changes in dominant mental models relating to characteristics of food delivery and production. Without a clear understanding of them, the reorganization of the food supply chain is becoming inadequate for the realities of the post-industrial society and () is unable to take all benefits of the new stage of economic and social evolution
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