Willingness to implement innovative solutions for creating information-based added value in food value chains

Abstract

Due to the increasing consumer awareness about global sustainability issues, rising interest in sustainable development postulates and their translation into practical solutions can also be observed in markets linked to food industry. More and more food business organizations are now focused on how to increase the integrity and transparency of the value chain and one of the areas where these postulates can be implemented is the development of information-based value chains. Thus the purpose of this study is to clarify the internal antecedents and discuss external barriers behind the process of implementing innovative solutions in food value chains to improve information-based added value for customers. Thus CATI was conducted on a sample of 157 companies operating within the food industry.Results show a strong correlation between producers’ willingness to implement information-based innovations to increase added value created from a value chain and (a) their innovativeness, (b) sustainable development oriented strategy and (c) orientation towards consumer cooperation. In order to explain the issues connected with practical implementation of the above mentioned solutions, qualitative results from analysis of 24 in-depth interviews with food systems organizations were referred to. Cost of implementing intelligent packaging technology on a mass scale appears to be the main barrier that holds back the creation and implementation of smart tags in food value chains, but it is worth mentioning that also the lack of consumer awareness.