Sustainable global agrifood supply chains: exploring the barriers
The article investigates the factors that make businesses postpone integrating the performance dimension of sustainability in global agrifood supply chains. Based on literature-based conceptual reasoning, the article conceptualizes a double company lens distinguishing between substantial supply chai...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2016
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/39113/ |
| _version_ | 1848795766215147520 |
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| author | Gold, Stefan Kunz, Nathan Reine, Gerald |
| author_facet | Gold, Stefan Kunz, Nathan Reine, Gerald |
| author_sort | Gold, Stefan |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | The article investigates the factors that make businesses postpone integrating the performance dimension of sustainability in global agrifood supply chains. Based on literature-based conceptual reasoning, the article conceptualizes a double company lens distinguishing between substantial supply chain management and mere public relations endeavors as a major obstacle for businesses pursuing comprehensive supply chain performance in global agrifood chains. We point out that many supply chain performance attributes represent in fact credence attributes that cannot be verified by the consumer, hence entailing an information asymmetry between the company and its consumers. Rational business responses to this situation tend to focus on symbolic actions and communication efforts by means of sustainability reports and other brand-enhancing marketing tools that may be decoupled from substantial operations and supply chain improvements. The research propositions developed have partly been corroborated by a content analysis of annual and sustainability reports of four major agrifood companies (Nestlé, PepsiCo, Unilever, Mondelez International). The conceptual arguments and empirical analysis presented in the article may serve as the basis for managers and academics to develop innovative inter- and intra-organizational business processes that reconcile tradeoffs between various agrifood supply chain performance dimensions, thus pushing the performance frontier outwards; and that provide the necessary transparency for overcoming the currently adverse setting of incentives inherent in the food production, processing, retailing, and consumption system. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:37:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-39113 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:37:18Z |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-391132018-05-26T02:35:56Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/39113/ Sustainable global agrifood supply chains: exploring the barriers Gold, Stefan Kunz, Nathan Reine, Gerald The article investigates the factors that make businesses postpone integrating the performance dimension of sustainability in global agrifood supply chains. Based on literature-based conceptual reasoning, the article conceptualizes a double company lens distinguishing between substantial supply chain management and mere public relations endeavors as a major obstacle for businesses pursuing comprehensive supply chain performance in global agrifood chains. We point out that many supply chain performance attributes represent in fact credence attributes that cannot be verified by the consumer, hence entailing an information asymmetry between the company and its consumers. Rational business responses to this situation tend to focus on symbolic actions and communication efforts by means of sustainability reports and other brand-enhancing marketing tools that may be decoupled from substantial operations and supply chain improvements. The research propositions developed have partly been corroborated by a content analysis of annual and sustainability reports of four major agrifood companies (Nestlé, PepsiCo, Unilever, Mondelez International). The conceptual arguments and empirical analysis presented in the article may serve as the basis for managers and academics to develop innovative inter- and intra-organizational business processes that reconcile tradeoffs between various agrifood supply chain performance dimensions, thus pushing the performance frontier outwards; and that provide the necessary transparency for overcoming the currently adverse setting of incentives inherent in the food production, processing, retailing, and consumption system. Wiley 2016-05-19 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/39113/1/International%20Food%20SC_JIE_R2_final.pdf Gold, Stefan, Kunz, Nathan and Reine, Gerald (2016) Sustainable global agrifood supply chains: exploring the barriers. Journal of Industrial Ecology . ISSN 1530-9290 Supply chain management Global agrifood chains Sustainability Multi-dimensional performance Information asymmetry. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jiec.12440/abstract doi:10.1111/jiec.12440 doi:10.1111/jiec.12440 |
| spellingShingle | Supply chain management Global agrifood chains Sustainability Multi-dimensional performance Information asymmetry. Gold, Stefan Kunz, Nathan Reine, Gerald Sustainable global agrifood supply chains: exploring the barriers |
| title | Sustainable global agrifood supply chains: exploring the barriers |
| title_full | Sustainable global agrifood supply chains: exploring the barriers |
| title_fullStr | Sustainable global agrifood supply chains: exploring the barriers |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sustainable global agrifood supply chains: exploring the barriers |
| title_short | Sustainable global agrifood supply chains: exploring the barriers |
| title_sort | sustainable global agrifood supply chains: exploring the barriers |
| topic | Supply chain management Global agrifood chains Sustainability Multi-dimensional performance Information asymmetry. |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/39113/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/39113/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/39113/ |