Abstract
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the use, applicability and relevance of strategic planning as a process and tool when applied to exploring food security challenges, in the context of existing research on food security and food waste in the food supply chain. The issues associated with robust and resilient food supply chains within a circular economy are increasingly being seen as supportive of creating enhanced levels of food security but the authors argue that this is only sustainable when strategically planned as part of a cross-enterprise, information-rich and complex supply chain. The relevance of the Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental (PESTLE) strategic planning tool is explored to establish whether it can play a role tacking the complexity of food insecurity (i.e. a lack of food security).Design/methodology/approachThis is a viewpoint piece therefore as a result, thought, normative literature and supposition are used as a means to ground and orientate the views of the authors.FindingsThe authors identify and conclude that strategic planning tools like PESTLE across enterprises may not be relevant in supporting the reduction of food insecurity. This conclusion is predicated on the heightened level of complexity surrounding the pursuit of food security and the simplistic categorisation of PESTLE factors in a linear fashion that underpin this tool. Rather, the authors’ call for the use of strategic planning tools that are able to capture a large number of inter-related factors holistically.Practical implicationsThis insight to the inter-related factors that contribute to food insecurity will allow policy developers, decision makers and others to develop their understanding of how strategic planning can support increased levels of food security within a circular economy and across cross-enterprises.Originality/valueThe authors contribute to the literature through a new insight of how normative strategic planning tools need to evolve in a complex, inter-connected world of international business and geo-politics. In doing so, it is expected that this research will motivate others to develop their line of enquiry around uncovering and exploring those inter-relationships connecting PESTLE factors.
Highlights
Interventions to provide food security are many, ranging from strategically leasing arable land overseas through to innovative approaches that seek increased levels of produce yield as described by Sinclair et al 2004
Whilst there are at an organisation(al) or even country level a plethora of strategic planning, such as those evaluated by Webster et al (1989), the question around relevance of application to the idiosyncrasies of securing regional, national and international food security remains a pertinent one that this paper will seek to explore
This paper proposes that there is a real need to understand how the challenges of food security can be met across the enterprise, within a model of a circular economy via taking a perspective on the numerous inter-relationships that inherently exist within each notion
Summary
Interventions to provide food security are many, ranging from strategically leasing arable land overseas through to innovative approaches that seek increased levels of produce yield as described by Sinclair et al 2004. It has been suggested that to frame, understand and even take advantage of the opportunities presented within food supply chains, elements of agri-science, agri-business, agri-technology, agri-enterpreneurship and agri-transformation may be useful (Sharif and Irani, 2015) Taking these elements as a reference point and building upon the four interlinking environmental and economic functions as part of the so-called circular economy (Pearce and Turner, 1990), the authors suggest that the wider environment within which food security sits provides utility value and offers itself as a resource and landscape for economic activity whilst being fundamental to sustain life. In doing so and noting previous perspectives on the enterprise information (Irani and Sharif, 2016) as well as systemic (Sharif and Irani, 2016) inter-relationships between food security factors, the authors extend these approaches to considering the Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental (PESTLE) factors
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