How Knowledge Sharing Culture Can Become a Facilitator of the Sustainable Development in the Agrifood Sector

Amedeo Maizza,Paola Scorrano,Monica Fait,Antonio Iazzi

doi:10.3390/su11040952

Abstract

This article proposes a managerial vision of the sustainability planning of a territory. The main assumption is that the sustainable development policies of a territory oriented to the agrifood sector cannot be separated from the participation in the decision-making process of the stakeholders as well as the sharing of objectives and development paths. The paper offers an innovative perspective because it proposes a model in which sustainable development can be improved not only through the attention to the production process, but also through the Knowledge Sharing Culture, which allows the inclusion of social innovation. This model was tested on the companies participating in the Italian Agri-food Protection Consortia as they represent an example of a managerial vision of the territory use and also because they integrate the protection of specific agricultural and food production with the commitment of entrepreneurs and families who share a common growth path. The empirical results show that Knowledge Sharing Culture can become a facilitator of the sustainable development of the territory when it is activated along specific “determinants” and related “operative activities” that transform the Knowledge Sharing Culture into a driver of social innovation oriented to the sustainability of businesses and their territory.

Highlights

The relationship between business and land—the traditional driver of the pursuit of sustainable competitive advantages [1,2,3] can determine the relational and participatory developmental paths [4,5,6,7,8,9] through which an environmental, economic, and social identity can be built [10,11,12]—an identity that is unique for businesses and their territory
Has always represented a fertile land of different aggregative formulas, which, depending on the legal typology assumed, take on different names, despite having similar goals, collaborative relationships between companies, operating rules, and controls [17]
Beyond the consolidated sharing of cultivation and production methods acquired by the companies in the protection consortia, they consider the following to be fundamental in achieving a competitive advantage: The realization of cultural events and initiatives for the rediscovery of local traditions and productions, investment in technology to improve production techniques, and to train professionals with skills transversal to the sector and to local development issues

Summary

Introduction

The relationship between business and land—the traditional driver of the pursuit of sustainable competitive advantages [1,2,3] can determine the relational and participatory developmental paths [4,5,6,7,8,9] through which an environmental, economic, and social identity can be built [10,11,12]—an identity that is unique for businesses and their territory. Has always represented a fertile land of different aggregative formulas, which, depending on the legal typology assumed, take on different names (districts, consortia, cooperatives, business networks, business groups, supply chain agreements), despite having similar goals, collaborative relationships between companies, operating rules, and controls [17]. Among these aggregative formulas, a important position is held in the agrifood sector by the Protection Consortia—systemic realities that have been formed and consolidated through a process of sharing visions, missions, and principles by entrepreneurs with the ambition and desire to make a land, its products, and its values known. The product brands are, the names of the territories to which they belong, the “brand–land” relationship [19,20,21]; that is, those aggregative territorial typologies that developed through the logic of the self-generation of well-being, conservation, and enhancement of the territory thanks to the sharing of “behavioral values” (through actions of moral suasion) and “product values” (with appropriate quality control), sharing practices, methods, values, and knowledge

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Results

Discussion

Conclusion