Circular Economy Engagement in the Agri-Food Industry During the Covid-19: Evidence from the Twitter Debate

The Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated the environmental crisis in which our ecosystem is posed. In this context, the call to reorganize the production and consumption models to implement sustainable economic models is emerging. Accordingly, the Circular Economy paradigm, based on the reduction, reuse and recycling practices, has spurred as one of the best ways to manage this emergency state. The scientific literature has highlighted that, to shift from a traditional linear economic model to a circular economic one, the involvement of the whole supply chain is required, especially in the agri-food sector. In this perspective, the stakeholders' engagement plays a pivotal role in reaching the global goal. The present research aims to explore the stakeholders' perception of messages conveyed through social media on circular economy in agri-food, using a coding framework based on the reclassification of the "Glossary of Circular Economy” according to a 4-R paradigm (reduce, reuse, recycle and reduce). In particular, the study analyses the stakeholders' reactions to Twitter posts focused on agri-food and circular economy from the beginning of the pandemic until now. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Social media on the route to circular economy transition from a dialogic perspective: evidence from the agri-food industry

Purpose: This paper investigates circular economy communications and stakeholder dialogic engagement with circular economy posts published by European agri-food companies on Twitter from the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. It explores the use of social media as a dialogic tool to activate circular economy engagement in order to involve all supply-chain actors on the route to a circular transition. Design/methodology/approach: A coding framework based on the reclassification of the Glossary of Circular Economy, according to a 4-R paradigm (reduce, reuse, recycle and recover), was developed for the analysis. All tweets published by a sample of European agri-food companies, starting from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic until data extraction, were collected, purified and analysed. Findings: Agri-food companies showed a higher level of engagement through social media, even if mainly focused on "recycling” and "general circular economy” issues. In general, awareness among social network users of the need to be part of the circular economy transition emerged. Moreover, the highest percentage of posts published by the companies' Twitter accounts was informative rather than interactive. In addition, starting with the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, the circular economy has arisen as a central topic of debate and a driver for the rethinking process of the agri-food business community. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this research represents the first study focused on circular economy engagement through social media from the company perspective in the agri-food industry. © 2023, Benedetta Esposito, Daniela Sica, Ornella Malandrino and Stefania Supino.

Service innovation in the restaurant sector during COVID-19: digital technologies to reduce customers' risk perception

Purpose This paper investigates the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated service innovation in the restaurant sector. It explores the use of digital technologies (DT) as a safety-empowerment and resilient strategy in the food-service industry during the pandemic. It also investigates the impact of DT on customers' risk perception (CRP) and customers' intention to go to restaurants (CIR) in Italy. Design/methodology/approach Based on the theory of planned behaviour and perceived risk theory, this study investigates a sample of customers residing in Italy. Multiple regression and mediation analyses are conducted to test the research hypotheses, adapting the logic model developed. Using the bootstrapping technique, this study also explores whether the pandemic has moderated the relationship among several variables adapted from the literature. Robustness tests are also performed to corroborate the analysis. Findings The pandemic has accelerated the food-service industry's digital transformation, forcing restauranteurs to implement DT to survive. Findings show that DT support restauranteurs in implementing innovative services that reduce interactions and empower cleanliness among workers and customers, reducing CRP and preserving CIR. Thus, managing risk perception is helping the restaurant sector to recover. Practical implications Practical implications are presented for policymakers to catalyse the digital transformation in small- and medium-sized restaurants. The results may also be beneficial for entrepreneurs who can implement innovative service practices in order to reduce interaction and empower cleanliness levels. Moreover, academics can use these results to conduct similar research in other geographical contexts. Originality/value The present research represents the first study investigating the relationship between the use of digital technologies and the intentions of customers to go out for dinner during the ongoing pandemic in Italy.

Exploring the Link Between Customers’ Safety Perception and the Use of Information Technology in the Restaurant Sector During the Covid-19: The Case of the Campania Region

As a safety-empowerment strategy, technology innovation is likely to play a pivotal role in the restaurant sector’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. However, its impact on customers’ perceptions is still unexplored in the literature. To fill this gap, this research attempts to provide an innovative contribution to the existing literature by investigating the relationship between customers’ safety perception (CSP) and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the restaurant sector during the coronavirus pandemic period. Drawing upon a sample of customers resident in the Campania region, the research provides early evidence about the positive impact exerted by ICT on CSP. More specifically, our findings show that the use of ICT, on the one hand, should reduce customers’expected interactions. On the other hand, enhance the level of expected cleanliness. Accordingly, academics and restaurant managers can rely on these results to implement resilience strategies. Results may be also beneficial for policymakers who can develop guidelines and measures to support restaurateurs in maturing resilience to the ongoing health crisis. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Exploring Corporate Social Responsibility in the Italian wine sector through websites

Purpose: This paper aims to explore how the Italian wine industry discloses corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices and quality certifications and the corresponding determinants via websites. The study also aims to investigate the relationship between CSR practices and financial performance. The information consistency between the quality certificates reported on corporate websites and official database statements is also explored. Lastly, the paper investigates how the relationship between the size of wineries and CSR disclosure changes according to firms' geographic location. Design/methodology/approach: This paper analyses CSR corporate communication via the websites of a sample of Italian wineries by adjusting the theoretical framework developed by Amran (2012) to the wine sector's peculiarities. Moreover, a cross-certification analysis and a moderation analysis were performed to fulfil the purpose of the research. Findings: The analysis revealed the extensive use of CSR disclosure via websites. It was found that company size positively affects CSR disclosure and Quality Certification Disclosure (QCD), while geographic location slightly moderates the relationship between the two variables. In addition, a negative relationship between CSR disclosure and corporate financial performance and its reverse causality emerged. Moreover, for most wineries, information consistency between the quality certificates reported on corporate websites and official database statements was observed. Research limitations/implications: The study's main limitation is that the search process was performed during lockdown. Therefore, the examined issues could change in the near future due to the shift in priorities that the COVID-19 pandemic is determining. Practical implications: The results can help managers implement CSR disclosure and QCD practices to enhance stakeholder legitimacy and enable their companies to compete in strongly competitive international markets. Originality/value: The paper represents the first study investigating online QCD and its consistency in the Italian wine sector. © 2020, Benedetta Esposito, Maria Rosaria Sessa, Daniela Sica and Ornella Malandrino.