Organic Food Company Research Articles

Fairness and trust in organic food supply chains

PurposeThe authors analysed fairness as an antecedent of trust to understand how trust building can be actively managed to facilitate collaboration in buyer–supplier relationships.Design/methodology/approachA case study was employed to buyer–supplier relationships of five organic food companies from three different sectors. The research was developed with data collected in 2022 through qualitative research interviews and analysed using a structured content analysis. A practitioner workshop served to complement findings and confirm the interpretation of data by discussing interview results from a managerial perspective.FindingsA conceptual model based on organisational trust and justice theory was developed to examine causal relations between fairness and trust. Findings show that perceived distributional, procedural and interactional fairness mutually interact with the perceived trustworthiness of business partners and that both contribute to building personal, organisational and institutional trust. Qualitative data support the conceptual model and show that trust is a valuable relational resource that affects relationship quality and the willingness to collaborate and to take risks in times of uncertainty.Practical implicationsHigh trust levels developed through positive fairness perceptions can lower risk perceptions whilst increasing the willingness to collaborate in supply chain relationships. This can help deal with market uncertainties.Originality/valueThrough the lens of organisational trust and justice theory, this study extends the literature on collaboration in supply chains by including a comprehensive view on the formation of trust in business-to-business (B2B) relationships.

Fostering green purchasing behavior: the moderated mediation role of customer disidentification

PurposeThis study aims to identify the determinants of customers' green purchasing behaviors. First, the study examines the relationship between green self-identity (GSI) and green peer influence (GPI) on green purchase behavior (GPB). Second, it examines the relationships between both GSI and GPI, and purchasing behavior mediated by green consumption values (functional value (FV) and social value (SV)). Third, it investigates the moderating effect of customer disidentification (CDI) on the relationships between GSI and both green consumption values. Finally, it investigates the indirect relationships between GSI and purchasing behavior moderated by CDI.Design/methodology/approachA quantitative study is conducted using a survey of 204 Egyptian buyers of organic food products. AMOS and Hayes's PROCESS macro are used to test the hypotheses under investigation.FindingsThe customer's peer influence and GSI are found to have a positive impact on green purchasing behavior. Additionally, the mediating impact of values and the moderating impact of CDI are also confirmed.Practical implicationsThis study helps organic food companies in identifying the determinants of customers' green purchasing behavior. The results of the study will guide the efforts of green marketing professionals in promoting green products in the Egyptian market.Originality/valueSince the notion of green consumption is still in its infancy, there is a need for further exploration on the green consumption concept to better understand customers' predictors of that type of consumption; accordingly, the current research was conducted.

Organic food corporate image and customer co-developing behavior: The mediating role of consumer trust and purchase intention

The impact of organic food corporate image on customers' surpassing purchasing behavior is absent in prior literature. Based on the S–O-R framework, the current study focuses on organic food member customers to explore the influence of corporate ability (CA) image and corporate social responsibility (CSR) image of organic food company on the consumption behavior and co-developing behavior of customers. The consumer samples came from 269 member customers of an organic food enterprise in southwest China. The results show that organic food company CA and CSR image positively affect consumer trust and co-developing behavior. CSR image enhances consumer trust and co-developing behavior than CA image does. Additionally, consumer trust and purchase intention play a multi-step mediating role in the relationship between corporate image (CA and CSR) and consumers' co-developing behavior. In conclusion, our findings provide new insights for understanding the relationship between the corporate image of organic food and the co-developing behavior of customers. The research results provide support for organic food companies that can effectively promote consumer trust, continuous purchase, and active engagement in the co-development of products and services by creating an image of ability and social responsibility.

Agri-food companies in the social media: a comparison of organic and non-organic firms

Organic agri-food products in Spain face major commercial problems in the home market as a result of consumers’ lack of information about this type of product and difficulties in accessing it, and the considerable price differential between organic products and their conventional equivalents. This study proposes that consideration should be given to social media as a factor for mitigating these commercial problems and improving the competitiveness of organic food companies. Specifically, the aim of this research was to examine the social media penetration and activity of olive oil sector companies and ascertain whether organic and non-organic operators present differences in this respect. To this end, a checklist was used to analyse the social media activity of 663 olive oil companies in total, comprising both organic and non-organic producers. The results reveal statistically significant differences in social media penetration and use by organic and non-organic operators, with the former being more active in these networks. Nevertheless, the social media efforts of organic operators are less effective, owing to the limited demand for their products.

Can Bio-labels help Companies to Gain Competitive Advantage in the Organic Food Market in Germany?

Consumers’ attitudes towards food underwent large changes in Germany. This has resulted in an increase of demand for organic food. However, some analysts claim that the organic food market in Germany might be maturing. Within this context, this paper has two main objectives: first, to explore the attitude of German consumers towards organic food and bio-labels; and second to identify potential areas for improvement to help organic food companies to become more competitive. This study used a quantitative research approach. 627 German consumers completed the survey. The results of this study indicate that there is potential for the organic food market to carry on growing. Findings have also revealed that a large percentage of participants do not trust some bio-labels. Trust and brand recognition are the most important factors that have helped Bioland and Demeter to develop a competitive advantage against other labels.

Search engine advertising for organic food: The effectiveness of information concreteness on advertising performance

AbstractThe purpose of this article is to explore the effects of information concreteness (i.e., abstract and concrete information) on the performance of search engine advertising for organic food. We test our conceptual framework in one field experiment conducted by an organic food company. Both the model‐free evidence and empirical model results show that the effects of abstract and concrete information in advertising for organic food depend on the specificity of search keywords. Specifically, when consumers are searching for generic keywords without organic claims, using abstract information to describe the benefits of organic food in advertising could help to improve the advertisement performance. However, when consumers are searching for specific keywords with organic claims, concrete information in advertising would perform better than abstract information.

Organic food sourcing, processing and distribution: a case of satisfying a growing market

A case study of an organic food company in the Slovak Republic involved in producing and sourcing inputs, food processing and distribution is presented. The case is based on a June 2014 “live” case study prepared for students in International MBA in Agribusiness programs at the Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Warsaw University of Life Sciences and the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine, Kiev. The company was established in 2001 with the objective to bring organic food to health conscious consumers. The company grows organic spelt grain, wheat, rye, buckwheat, herbs and apples on its 156 ha and 400 ha of owned and rented farmland. The company further processes these crops into more than 40 finished products. Students are presented with company information and summaries of a company visit and discussions with management. Students perform PEST and SWOT analyses, identify a shortage of owned and leased land as a problem the company must address, conduct research and analysis, and recommend product specification contracts as a solution to the problem.

A Study on Valuation of Environmental-friendly and Organic Food Company Hwang Jae-Hyun

A Study on Valuation of Environmental-friendly and Organic Food Company Hwang Jae-Hyun

The Human Ecology of Mayan Cacao Farming in Belize

This paper describes the expansion of cacao farming among Mayan farmers in the Toledo District, Belize, during the 1980s and why the expansion took place. Land planted with cacao increased from 237 acres in 1983 to 1014 acres in 1990. The number of cacao farmers increased from 70 to 365 and beans sold to Hershey Foods Corporation increased from 1086 to almost 32,000 pounds. This paper describes the distribution of cacao farming in space and time and it uses a holistic approach to explain land-use/cover change. An ecologic model is proposed that explains the cacao expansion that involves the interaction of several forces. During the 1980s, Hershey Foods Corporation provided an unlimited market for cacao beans, agricultural loans and technical assistance were provided by international development agencies, and Mayan farmers planted cacao to gain usufruct rights to reservation and national land. During the 1990s a British organic food company became the new market for cacao beans.

Business Sponsorship in British Schools

Is it ethical for a school to accept sponsorship from business, and if so under what conditions? Indeed, given the poor provision of many UK local schools for their pupils is it ethical to refuse business sponsorship? Where does responsibility lie? “To attract and persuade is not an appropriate behaviour in dealing with inexperienced parties.” The author completed her MBA at London Business School in July 1997 and is currently setting up a new family business, The Organic Food Company Ltd.