scholarly journals Moving Consumers along the Innovation Adoption Curve: A New Approach to Accelerate the Shift toward a More Sustainable Diet

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 4477
Author(s):  
Antje Gonera ◽  
Erik Svanes ◽  
Annechen Bahr Bugge ◽  
Malin Myrset Hatlebakk ◽  
Katja-Maria Prexl ◽  
...  

Unsustainable food production and consumption contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and global warming. Adopting a more plant-based diet has been identified as a necessary change toward a more sustainable food system. In response to the call for transdisciplinary research on the sustainability of food consumption, this exploratory study combined consumer science, nutrition and health, sustainability research, and innovation to develop a new approach that can accelerate the shift toward a more sustainable diet. Quantitative data on the eating habits and attitudes of 1785 consumers was combined with data on environmental impacts via a life cycle assessment for different consumer segments. We studied the sustainable dietary shift using the diffusion of innovation theory, as well as qualitative and quantitative approaches. We identified and characterized seven consumer segments and related habits and attitudes toward an increase in plant-based foods and meat reduction. The nutritional quality and the environmental footprint of the segments’ dinners showed large differences. The results indicate that moving consumers along the innovation adoption curve with targeted interventions can reduce the environmental footprint of people’s diets and improve dietary health. We also discussed the value of user-centric innovation tools for the translation of insights into interventions by working with personas.

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 60-63
Author(s):  
Mariana Sandu ◽  
Stefan Mantea

Abstract Agri-food systems include branching ramifications, which connect in the upstream the input suppliers with farmers, and downstream farmers, processors, retailers and consumers. In the last decades, at the level of the regions, food systems have undergone rapid transformation as a result of technological progress. The paper analyzes the changes made to the structure, behavior and performance of the agri-food system and the impact on farmers and consumers. Also, the role of agricultural research as a determinant factor of transformation of agri-food system is analyzed. The research objective is to develop technologies that cover the entire food chain (from farm to fork) and meet the specific requirements of consumers (from fork to farm) through scientific solutions in line with the principles of sustainable agriculture and ensuring the safety and food safety of the population.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 6879
Author(s):  
Hassan P. Ebrahimi ◽  
R. Sandra Schillo ◽  
Kelly Bronson

This study provides a model that supports systematic stakeholder inclusion in agricultural technology. Building on the Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) literature and attempting to add precision to the conversation around inclusion in technology design and governance, this study develops a framework for determining which stakeholder groups to engage in RRI processes. We developed the model using a specific industry case study: identifying the relevant stakeholders in the Canadian digital agriculture ecosystem. The study uses literature and news article analysis to map stakeholders in the Canadian digital agricultural sector as a test case for the model. The study proposes a systematic framework which categorises stakeholders into individuals, industrial and societal groups with both direct engagement and supportive roles in digital agriculture. These groups are then plotted against three levels of impact or power in the agri-food system: micro, meso and macro.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 49-55
Author(s):  
Bunyod Nosirov ◽  

The article discusses the issues of the activity of the public catering system during the Soviet period, in particular, the policy and problems in this area affecting the issues of ensuring the material and technical base, as well as the need of the population itself in the field of public catering.During the years of Soviet rule, new directions in the public catering system were formed. A new approach was integrated in the management structure and in provision.A differentiated approach was introduced in the direction of public catering, i.e. reform in the issue of service, the cost of public catering. In other words, the cost price and service (in the public catering system) in large enterprises differed sharply from the prices in schools.


2018 ◽  
Vol 133 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 44S-53S ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Barnhill ◽  
Anne Palmer ◽  
Christine M. Weston ◽  
Kelly D. Brownell ◽  
Kate Clancy ◽  
...  

Despite 2 decades of effort by the public health community to combat obesity, obesity rates in the United States continue to rise. This lack of progress raises fundamental questions about the adequacy of our current approaches. Although the causes of population-wide obesity are multifactorial, attention to food systems as potential drivers of obesity has been prominent. However, the relationships between broader food systems and obesity are not always well understood. Our efforts to address obesity can be advanced and improved by the use of systems approaches that consider outcomes of the interconnected global food system, including undernutrition, climate change, the environmental sustainability of agriculture, and other social and economic concerns. By implementing innovative local and state programs, taking new approaches to overcome political obstacles to effect policy, and reconceptualizing research needs, we can improve obesity prevention efforts that target the food systems, maximize positive outcomes, and minimize adverse consequences. We recommend strengthening innovative local policies and programs, particularly those that involve community members in identifying problems and potential solutions and that embrace a broad set of goals beyond making eating patterns healthier. We also recommend undertaking interdisciplinary research projects that go beyond testing targeted interventions in specific populations and aim to build an understanding of the broader social, political, and economic context.


2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdullah Al Mamun

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the attributes of innovation adoption and its effects on the performance of Malaysian manufacturing SMEs. Design/methodology/approach Quantitative data were collected from 360 randomly selected manufacturing SMEs through structured interviews. Findings The findings of the study confirmed that, in Malaysian manufacturing SMEs, the degree of persuasion (i.e. relative advantages, compatibility, complexity, trialability and observability), strategic orientation (i.e. consumer, market and entrepreneurship) and firm antecedents (i.e. prior condition, knowledge and risk orientation) have significant effects on the innovation (i.e. product, process and service) adoption and performance of SMEs. Practical implications For policymakers, this study emphasizes the areas to focus on the development of an effective innovation ecosystem for an innovation-led economy. Because SMEs operate with limited resources and capacity, the programs and policies for innovation support systems must focus on providing new innovation information, cost-benefit analyses for new innovation adoption, innovation adoption processes and how new innovations affect performance. Originality/value The paper examines an important, but under-researched issue – designed and tested a model under the premises of the DOI and organizational diffusion of innovation theories which improve the knowledge and understanding about the innovation adoption by manufacturing SMEs.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 58-72
Author(s):  
Violah Mpangwire ◽  
Annabella Ejiri Habinka ◽  
Fred Kaggwa

The use of the unified identification system (UIDS) can undoubtedly result in increased effectiveness and efficiency, improvement in the quality of life, reduction of crime, enhanced transparency, and good government. This study examined the dimensions of environmental factors in explaining the adoption of a unified identification system (UIDS). Dynamic capability theory (DCT), technology- organisation-environment (TOE) framework, and diffusion of innovation (DOI) were used as grounding theories. The study opted for a concurrent triangulation research design. The results revealed that government support, competitive pressure, and perceived trust are significant and support the adoption of a unified identification system. However, user readiness was insignificant in explaining the use of UIDS in the Ugandan context. This study recommends that policymakers focus on government support as it is a symbol of leadership in IS innovation adoption.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Divesh Kumar ◽  
Monika Sheoran

Purpose This study aims to unfold the factors which influence the sustainability innovation (SUSINNOV) adoption initiatives taken by the hoteliers in India. Also, an empirical approach has been used to develop a scale entitled “sustainability innovation adoption scale”. Design/methodology/approach Churchill’s (1979) scale development methodology has been used in the current study. An exhaustive literature review was done for item generation. For scale refinement, an empirical study was conducted on managers of hotels in India to understand the sustainability initiatives taken by them. Structural equation modelling has been implemented to know about the causal effects between the various unobserved variables. Findings A scale to measure factors influencing SUSINNOV adoption by hoteliers has been developed and validated empirically. The findings highlight that there are three major factors which influence SUSINNOV adoption: diffusion of innovation (DIT) within the industry, environmental marketing strategy adopted by organisations and sustainability initiatives taken by companies and customers. Moreover, current study also attempts to highlight that DIT has a significant positive influence on environmental marketing system. Research limitations/implications This study has multiple implications for hotel industry practitioners as well as academicians. The present three-dimensional conceptual model can be used for novel causes by implementing the sustainability initiatives in the hotel industry which can result in socially acceptable, economically viable and environment-friendly practices. An important contribution of the current study is that it proposes a theoretical model and develops a scale which will enrich the innovation adoption theories. Managers can use this scale to evaluate the status of SUSINNOV adoptions in their business practices. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first temporal and spatial study which tries to make a scale by including a holistic view of the facilitators of sustainable innovation adoption in the hotel industry.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Viviana Lopez ◽  
Jenny Teufel ◽  
Carl-Otto Gensch

Community catering or to use another common term especially in the American literature institutional foodservice plays a central role in changing our food system towards sustainability. Community catering establishments can bring about changes in this context at various levels. Hence, in the context of menu planning, they have a direct influence on the level of meat consumption. Indirectly, however, they can also support changes in eating habits by offering the guest an equally attractive alternative, thus giving him or her a sense of how tasty a low-meat cuisine can be. On the basis of this experience, the consumer may possibly change in turn his or her own purchasing behavior and menu planning at home. With the increasing importance of catering for day-care centers and schools, community catering also has a considerable influence on the nutritional status as well as on the development of people’s individual diet and the later eating habits of young people. By understanding socio-technical systems as embedded in ecological systems this paper takes a systemic view on innovations in transformation domains as the objects of desire for governance towards sustainability. The framework developed in the context of the BMBF-funded research project “Governance model for socio-ecological transformation processes in practice: development and testing in three areas of application” known by its acronym TRAFO 3.0 was applied to examine innovative approaches and actors in community catering and their contributions to more sustainable food systems. A number of studies show that a very large environmental relief potential can be achieved by reducing the quantity of meat and other animal products offered. However, the concrete implementation of this goal is associated with a multitude of challenges, since meat-containing meals are an important part of German food culture. How the transformation towards meals with fewer animal products in German community catering can succeed is an important question in the context of the transformation to sustainable food systems. To answer this question, we analyzed the status quo of the socio-technical system of German community catering using a developed governance model. One of the central results was that community catering stakeholders who have successfully reduced their offer of animal products died fundamental changes in meal planning. Cooks had to “reinvent” meals completely to be successful.


Foods ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 1260
Author(s):  
Namy Espinoza-Orias ◽  
Antonis Vlassopoulos ◽  
Gabriel Masset

The global food system faces a dual challenge for the decades ahead: to (re)formulate foods capable to feed a growing population while reducing their environmental footprint. In this analysis, nutritional composition, recipe, and sourcing data were analyzed alongside five environmental indicators: climate change (CC), freshwater consumption scarcity (FWCS), abiotic resource depletion (ARD), land use impacts on biodiversity (LUIB), and impacts on ecosphere/ecosystems quality (IEEQ) to assess improvement after three reformulation cycles (2003, 2010, 2018) in three extruded breakfast cereals. A life cycle assessment (LCA) was performed using life cycle inventory (LCI) composed by both primary data from the manufacturer and secondary data from usual third-party LCI datasets. Reformulation led to improved nutritional quality for all three products. In terms of environmental impact, improvements were observed for the CC, ARD, and IEEQ indicators, with average reductions of 12%, 14%, and 2% between 2003 and 2018, respectively. Conversely, the FWCS and LUIB indicators were increased by 57% and 70%, respectively. For all indicators but ARD, ingredients contributed most to the environmental impact. This study highlights the need for further focus on the selection of less demanding ingredients and improvements in agricultural practices in order to achieve environmental and nutritional improvements.


2017 ◽  
Vol 119 (11) ◽  
pp. 2448-2461
Author(s):  
Erica Varese ◽  
Paola Cane

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse how the food innovation strategies carried out by an Italian firm, Argotec, responsible for the development and supply of space food (SF) for European astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS), can also be applied to food suitable to be eaten on Planet Earth. This study aims at showing the relationship between SF innovation and terrestrial strategies directed at implementing this kind of food also on terrestrial tables. Design/methodology/approach This research focusses on a case study. The subject of the case study under analysis is Argotec, an internationally recognised Italian aerospace engineering company, dealing with research, innovation and development in various sectors, including engineering, information technology, system integration, small satellites and “Human Space Flight and Operations”. The company produces innovative SF for European astronauts performing long-duration missions on-board the ISS. Moreover, the SF is made available also for terrestrial beings as a solution for everyday eating necessities. Findings Argotec is characterised by strong innovation in terms of products and processes. Throughout the case study, the authors focus on the relationship between SF innovation and its terrestrial applications, since this company also manufactures products, traded under the brand “ReadyToLunch”, suitable for daily meals on Earth. Innovation applied to SF can thus offer advantages also for terrestrial daily meals and therefore help the company achieve other competitive advantages: as to the authors’ knowledge, this is a unique case. Research limitations/implications This study also has some limitations, typical of the applied methodology. In relation to the interview technique, further interviews would be required in order to fully understand the end-user perspectives regarding the importance and interest of this kind of “ready-to-eat” food. Practical implications Practical implications relate to astronauts and to terrestrial consumers. For astronauts, SF is not any more intended only to satisfy humans’ basic needs, and to provide the necessary nutrients during space missions, but has become an important factor in the quality of life in space. For terrestrial consumers, SF may represent a healthy, tasty and nutritious “ready-to-eat” choice: single courses for the main meals and snacks for a break. Originality/value This research fills a gap in literature: to the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper presenting a case study on a company responsible for the development and supply of SF for European astronauts on-board the ISS, as well as encouraging the consumption of SF by terrestrial beings, as an ordinary “ready-to-eat” lunch/dinner.


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