Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Implementation of sustainability activities in food retail chains

Implementation of sustainability activities in food retail chains This study aims to examine the implementation of sustainability activities in food retail chains operating in the Czech market and discusses the specific activities that influence their implementation.Design/methodology/approachUsing the neo-institutional theory as a framework, the research employs qualitative content analysis with an explanatory and inductive approach based on the stratification of data collected by multiple-round, personal, face-to-face interviews by the researchers with managers of the Czech headquarters of multinational food retail chains.FindingsThere is lively development in activities in the fields of the environment and social welfare, while the activities in governance and economic resilience are more stabilised. To remain ahead of the competition, retail chains aim to implement and communicate as many activities as possible where at least some links to sustainability can be found. A lack of benchmarks and clear definitions reduce the ability to determine their degree of engagement. Thus, market actors are inundated with sustainability claims leading to inflation of the concept, while significant achievements are drowned.Originality/valueThis paper, based on empirical research, contributes to the current literature by showing inflation of the sustainability concept as one of the key effects of retail-chain competition. In this context, it also strengthens previous findings on the profitability motive behind sustainability activities. Moreover, we have developed our own stratification method, enabling differentiation between activities getting the most attention due to their progressive phase and those where development is in the background. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png British Food Journal Emerald Publishing

Implementation of sustainability activities in food retail chains

Boskova, Iveta; Valenta, Matěj; Dolanova, Ivana
British Food Journal , Volume 126 (9): 21 – Aug 15, 2024
Download PDF
21 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/emerald-publishing/implementation-of-sustainability-activities-in-food-retail-chains-EJsu5LSgNo

References (57)

Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
© Emerald Publishing Limited
ISSN
0007-070X
DOI
10.1108/bfj-01-2024-0007
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

This study aims to examine the implementation of sustainability activities in food retail chains operating in the Czech market and discusses the specific activities that influence their implementation.Design/methodology/approachUsing the neo-institutional theory as a framework, the research employs qualitative content analysis with an explanatory and inductive approach based on the stratification of data collected by multiple-round, personal, face-to-face interviews by the researchers with managers of the Czech headquarters of multinational food retail chains.FindingsThere is lively development in activities in the fields of the environment and social welfare, while the activities in governance and economic resilience are more stabilised. To remain ahead of the competition, retail chains aim to implement and communicate as many activities as possible where at least some links to sustainability can be found. A lack of benchmarks and clear definitions reduce the ability to determine their degree of engagement. Thus, market actors are inundated with sustainability claims leading to inflation of the concept, while significant achievements are drowned.Originality/valueThis paper, based on empirical research, contributes to the current literature by showing inflation of the sustainability concept as one of the key effects of retail-chain competition. In this context, it also strengthens previous findings on the profitability motive behind sustainability activities. Moreover, we have developed our own stratification method, enabling differentiation between activities getting the most attention due to their progressive phase and those where development is in the background.

Journal

British Food Journal – Emerald Publishing

Published: Aug 15, 2024

Keywords: Food retail chains; Sustainability activities; Implementation

There are no references for this article.