Food Supply Chain Members Research Articles

Promoting a resilient food supply chain model facing disruptions associated with black sky hazards

PurposeThis study explores how small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the food industry in Puerto Rico can enhance resilience to cope with critical infrastructure (CI) collapse due to natural disasters. This study aims to validate the food supply chain (FSC) resilience model for SMEs in rural areas.Design/methodology/approachThis study used qualitative in-depth interviews to gather data and a coding process for the analysis. The participants were members of the FSC located in the municipality of Adjuntas and nearby towns in Puerto Rico. For this study, the sample participants selected to conduct the interviews were the farmers, producers and retailers.FindingsThe results show the importance of local CI backup, networks and flexibility among FSC members in alternating supply chain logistics and distribution. Other transportation modes include drone pilots, aerial and land, facilities to transport and deliver merchandise and positioning farmers and producers as important players in the FSC.Originality/valueA modified FSC resilience model from previous research is presented to include SMEs located in highly vulnerable remote zones, where access to resources is limited after a disruptive event, and a typology of enterprises with local CI backup according to their level of adoption of resilient practices. This study contributes to enhancing resilience and mitigating the vulnerabilities of SMEs after the CI collapses.

Research on paths of opportunistic behavior avoidance and performance improvement in food supply chain from the perspective of social control.

It is essential to avoid opportunistic behaviors of food supply chain members to guarantee food safety and sustainable supply. This research adopted the perspective of supply chain membership governance to discuss the critical mechanisms of opportunistic behavior avoidance and performance improvement in the food supply chain. Two information-sharing mechanisms (information sharing with customers and information sharing with suppliers) were used as mediating variables to explore the mechanisms of how social control, information sharing, and opportunistic behavior worked on supply chain performance. Furthermore, an online questionnaire survey was conducted to collect 210 data samples from the food manufacturing industry in China, and the structural equation model method was applied to test the research hypotheses. According to the empirical research findings, social control can directly reduce opportunistic behaviors of supply chain members and reduce such behaviors indirectly via the mediating factor of information sharing; social control affects the supply chain performance via the mediating factors of information sharing and opportunistic behavior, instead of directly improving supply chain performance. Two information sharing mechanisms vary in their mechanism of influence. Information sharing with customers reduces opportunistic behaviors, but does not directly improve supply chain performance. Information sharing with suppliers enhances supply chain performance and reduces opportunistic behaviors. This research offers theoretical and practical suggestions for performance improvement and opportunistic behavior avoidance to promote food supply chain management.

Antecedents of IoT adoption in food supply chain quality management: an integrative model

PurposeThe introduction of quality management Internet of things (QM IoT) can help food supply chain members to enhance real-time visibility, quality, safety and efficiency of products and processes. Current literature indicates three main research gaps, including a lack of studies in QM IoT in the food supply chain, the vagueness of integrative adoption of new technology framework and deficient research covering both adoption attitude and intention in the same model. This study aims to propose an analysis model based on the technological–organizational–environmental (TOE) framework and reinforced by the collaborative structure to capture the importance of the supply chain network.Design/methodology/approachThe partial least square-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was applied to test the impacts of the adoption factors on QM IoT adoption attitude and intention among 197 respondents in food manufacturing in Thailand.FindingsThe results indicated that compatibility, trialability, adaptive capacity, innovative capability, executive support, value chain partner pressure, presence of service provider and information sharing significantly impacted the attitude toward QM IoT adoption, while adaptive capability, innovative capability and information sharing directly influenced the QM IoT adoption intention. Furthermore, the attitude toward QM IoT adoption positively impacted the QM IoT adoption intention.Practical implicationsThis study contributed to academicians by proposing a more solid adoption framework for QM IoT area. In addition, the business practitioners could actively prepare themselves for the QM IoT adoption, whereas the service providers could provide better and suitable service.Originality/valueThis research contributes to the building of a more solid framework and indicates significant factors that impact the attitude toward QM IoT adoption and adoption intention.

Research on Food Safety Control Based on Evolutionary Game Method from the Perspective of the Food Supply Chain

Food safety is related to people’s health and the sustainable development of the food supply chain, so it is of crucial practical significance to study food supply chain quality management. This paper employs the evolutionary game method to develop a tripartite evolutionary game model that reflects the interaction of interests among food raw material suppliers, food manufacturers, and consumers. It identifies the key factors that influence the decision-making of each game participant and attempts to use these factors to guide the behavior of the food supply chain members scientifically. The study results demonstrate that sustainable management of food supply chains can be improved by strengthening the intensity of government supervision, narrowing the production cost gap between high-quality and poor-quality food raw materials, improving the inspection ability of the food manufacturer, increasing complaint incentives of consumers, etc. Finally, this paper puts forward suggestions and countermeasures for the government to improve the supervision mechanism of food safety, thereby achieving sustainable management of the food supply chain.

Cooperation mechanisms for a competitive, sustainable food supply chain to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The food industry is a major source of greenhouse gases (GHG). Given that consumers in this industry are aware of the negative consequences of GHG emissions, such as global warming and climate change, members of the food supply chain should consider mechanisms to reduce GHG emissions. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of supply chain structure and cooperation methods on the objectives and decisions of a sustainable food supply chain composed of one manufacturer and two suppliers. In the first scenario, a single-level problem is solved for a centralized supply chain. Other scenarios consider the decentralized structure, in which supply chain members face constraints such as maximum additive use and GHG emission, budget, and capacity. The bi-level programming is used to model competition between members of the sustainable food supply chain. It is demonstrated first that the lower-level models in decentralized scenarios can be converted to a single-level model, and then the proposed bi-level model is converted to a single-level one using the KKT method. Computational results show that the alliance of the manufacturer and the first supplier yields the highest total profit for all decentralized scenarios. Because the lowest GHG emission rate among decentralized scenarios is achieved through alliance and cost-sharing mechanisms, the use of these mechanisms concurrently is appropriate for environmental purposes. In scenarios where supply chain members compete with each other, it is found to be cost-effective to increase the budget. Additional considerations can be made regarding the effects of other variables such as distance and advertising on demand as well as alternative forms of the demand function.

Do Consumer's Green Preference and the Reference Price Effect Improve Green Innovation? A Theoretical Model Using the Food Supply Chain as a Case.

Today, complex consumer purchase decisions affect company revolution, especially that dealing with environmental (green) innovation. Consumer preferences and pricing could interact in influencing green innovation. This situation is especially vital in industries that are characterized with many safety concerns that urge collaborative development between consumers and companies, such as the food industry. The aim of this paper is to explore the influence of the change in consumer preference characteristics on the green innovation efforts of the food supply chain, introducing the green preference of consumers and the reference price effect. A differential game model of green innovation in the food supply chain is constructed in this paper and solved. It was found that the change in consumer preference characteristics is an important factor to motivate supply chain members to make green innovation efforts. With the enhancement of consumer preference characteristics, the Pareto improvement effect of cost-sharing contracts on the profits of supply chain enterprises is clearer. Further, manufacturers can stimulate suppliers’ green innovation efforts through cost-sharing contracts. When the marginal profit ratio of food supply chain members reaches a certain threshold, the incentive effect of this cost-sharing contract is more significant, and it is more likely to realize the optimal profit of the food supply chain.

Assessment of traditional food supply chain performance using triadic approach: the role of relationships quality

PurposeThe objectives of this paper were twofold: to explore if there are differences in the perceptions about supply chain performance (SCP) and relationship quality (RQ) among traditional food supply chain members, and to examine the influence of individual relationship variables and aggregated relationship quality on SCP in the traditional food sector.Design/methodology/approachThe survey was conducted in a triadic context with 189 supply chain members (62 suppliers, 65 focal companies and 62 customers) of 65 traditional food supply chains (cheese, olive oil, meat products, brandies and liqueurs, wine and honey) in Croatia. The influence of individual relationship variables and aggregated RQ on perceived SCP was tested using regression analysis.FindingsIt was found that there were no significant differences in the perception of overall SCP and RQ among supply chain members. It was identified that aggregated RQ and all individual relationship variables (trust, commitment, economic satisfaction, non-coercive and coercive power, reputation and conflict) have a significant influence on perceived SCP of the traditional food supply chains.Practical implicationThis study provides a systematic approach to investigate the SCP and supply chain RQ in the traditional food sector. The findings suggest that managers should not neglect any aspect of supply chain relationship to keep high SCP and to be competitive on the market.Originality/valueThis multiple supply chain study makes an original empirical contribution to the supply chain and network management literature by using a triadic approach to investigate RQ and SCP. The influence of individual RQ constructs and aggregated RQ on traditional food SCP examined in this study has not been explored thus far. This study also makes an original empirical contribution by investigating RQ and SCP in the traditional food sector, which has received little attention recently.

The Impact of Food Quality Information Services on Food Supply Chain Pricing Decisions and Coordination Mechanisms Based on the O2O E-Commerce Mode

This paper considers the price conflict problem between the online channel of a food processing factory and the offline channel of the food retailers in food supply chains by analyzing the pricing decisions and coordination mechanisms between the food processing factory and food retailers under the influence of a food quality information service. First, the Stackelberg game method and the Bertrand game method are used to optimize the pricing decisions with the goal of maximizing the profits of the food processing factory and retailer. The analysis shows that the food quality information service level is positively correlated with the price of the factory’s own channel, and the influence of the food quality information service level on the price of the food processing factory’s or the food retailer’s own channel is stronger than its influence on the price of a competitor’s channel. Second, the food supply chain members’ pricing decisions are analyzed using the case analysis method by considering practical problems in the food supply chain. The results indicate that the food processing factory should use the Stackelberg game to make pricing decisions. However, it is optimal for the food retailer to make pricing decisions under the Bertrand game, and the total profit of the food supply chain is optimized under centralized decision making. Finally, we use both the quantitative discount mechanism and the Stackelberg game method to analyze the profits obtained by the food processing factory and retailer. The results indicate that the food processing factory should implement a quantitative discount mechanism when the quantity discount coefficient is greater than 0.4, and the retailer should implement a quantity discount mechanism when the quantity discount coefficient is in the range of 0.25 to 0.4.

Sustainable consumption and production in the food supply chain: A conceptual framework

Increased globalization and a growing world population have a great impact on the sustainability of supply chains, especially within the food industry. The way food is produced, processed, transported, and consumed has a great impact on whether sustainability is achieved throughout the whole food supply chain. Due to the complexity that persists in coordinating the members of food supply chain, food wastage has increased over the past few years. To achieve sustainable consumption and production (SCP), food industry stakeholders need to be coordinated and to have their views reflected in an optimized manner. However, not much research has been done concerning the influence of stakeholders and supply chain members’ coordination in the food industry’s SCP context. To facilitate the theory development for SCP, in this work, a short literature review on sustainable supply chain management and sustainable supply chains in the food industry is provided to give the reader current knowledge on how the past and current research are introduced in this work. Following that, different theories that drive sustainable consumption and production have been identified and focused. As a result, theories like the institutional theory, dynamic capability theory, and stakeholder theory are presented. Additionally, a conceptual framework has been developed by identifying the indicators, drivers, and barriers based on the stakeholder theory to achieve the SCP in food supply chain. Finally, limitations and future scope are discussed.

The spread model of food safety risk under the supply-demand disturbance.

In this paper, based on the imbalance of the supply-demand relationship of food, we design a spreading model of food safety risk, which is about from food producers to consumers in the food supply chain. We use theoretical analysis and numerical simulation to describe the supply-demand relationship and government supervision behaviors’ influence on the risk spread of food safety and the behaviors of the food producers and the food retailers. We also analyze the influence of the awareness of consumer rights protection and the level of legal protection of consumer rights on the risk spread of food safety. This model contributes to the explicit investigation of the influence relationship among supply-demand factors, the regulation behavioral choice of government, the behavioral choice of food supply chain members and food safety risk spread. And this paper provides a new viewpoint for considering food safety risk spread in the food supply chain, which has a great reference for food safety management.

Performance perceptions among food supply chain members

Purpose– A good supply chain relationship quality (RQ) is a crucial precursor for any stable exchange relationship which ensures relationship continuity. Although empirical research suggests that strengthening RQ improves supply chain performance (SCP), most studies have focused on dyadic business relationships. To fully understand the relational behaviour of a firm embedded in a supply chain, we need to look beyond the dyad into triads. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how SCP is influenced by RQ in a triadic agribusiness supply chain.Design/methodology/approach– Evidence is drawn from a quantitative survey of 150 agribusiness firms in the maize supply chain in Uganda. Data were collected in triadic context from 50 direct supply chains each composing of a supplier, focal firm and customer. Multi-group structural equations modelling (SEM) was used to assess the differences in perception on the influence of RQ on SCP amongst the supply chain members.Findings– Results provides empirical support for the positive influence of RQ on SCP. SEM reveals differences in perception between the upstream and downstream and amongst the supply chains members. While focal firms considered conflict, coercive power, commitment and trust to be important; suppliers considered trust, dependency and non-coercive power; and customers considered trust, dependency and coercive power to be important RQ factors affecting SCP.Practical implications– For agribusiness managers to enhance business performance there is need to cultivate strong and mutual relationship with supply chain members. It is also important to know how to handle conflicts and use of power so as to realise the benefits of supply chain relationships.Originality/value– The paper is novel in that it assesses SCP in a triadic context in an agribusiness sector from a developing country context. The authors used novel approaches including analysis of a triad, and multiple groups SEM to assess perceptions of each supply chain member’s.

Firm size and sustainable performance in food supply chains: Insights from Greek SMEs

This paper analyses sustainable performance differences within the Greek food supply chain and provides numerous statistical comparisons of its key members (growers, manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers) with respect to firm size. In an attempt to fill a gap in the relevant literature, we examined micro, small and medium-sized firms against a set of sustainable performance measures and we employed survey research using a sample of 997 firms operating in the Greek food supply chain. Key informants evaluated their firms based on sustainable performance measures (consumption, flexibility, responsiveness, product quality and total supply chain performance). The results were analysed using ANOVA. The findings identify the Greek food supply chain members who over-perform or underperform in relation to size. These include small growers, wholesalers, retailers, medium-sized manufacturers and wholesalers, micro manufacturers and retailers. Specific reasons are provided for these sustainability performance differentials including the role of locality as well as the asset and resource intensity of some operations (e.g. manufacturing). Another key finding relates to small firms which are the top performers in terms of sustainability performance measures especially in the areas of flexibility and responsiveness. Members of this chain also underperform in the product conservation time measure, irrespective of size, and we highlight the urgent need for this to be addressed. Findings of this paper will prove useful for food SMEs and policymakers planning to introduce specific sustainability incentives related to firm size and to the food chain.

Research on Knowledge Transfer among Food Supply Chain Members

A knowledge transfer process model among food supply chain members is proposed. The knowledge transfer performance is discussed with the methods of theoretical and quantitative analysis. The results show that the knowledge transfer among food supply chain members can be divided into three levels. An undirected weighted small-world network model can be used to evaluate the knowledge transfer performance among food supply chain members.