This paper presents a rapid assessment of current and likely future impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak on rural economies given their socio-economic characteristics. Drawing principally on current evidence for the UK, as well as lessons from the 2001 Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak and the 2007/8 financial crises, it outlines the likely key demand and supply effects, paying attention to the situation for agriculture as well as discussing the implications for rural communities. A distinction is made between the effects on businesses offering goods and services for out-of-home as opposed to in-home consumption. Gendered dimensions are also noted as likely business and household strategies for coping and adaptation. The paper concludes with a brief mapping of a research agenda for studying the longer-term effects of COVID-19 on rural economies.
Much of the existing literature in the area of food and consumer behavior concerns consumer evaluation of individual products. However, obesity and other food‐related health conditions typically occur as a result of poor diets and lifestyle, rather than poor individual product choices. As consumers, we generally have an imperfect understanding of our diet and lifestyle and use heuristics to process complex diet and lifestyle information. Increasingly, as ubiquitous computing applications in the area of food and consumption proliferate a number of questions arise about how consumers are using these technologies to assist them in processing their diet and lifestyle information. This article addresses this juncture by integrating streams of research in food consumption, information processing, and technology adoption to better understand consumer interaction with Digital Health Technologies (DHTs) to assist in information processing. As this represents a relatively new stream of research in an area of growing importance, the article develops a conceptual framework about consumer interaction with DHTs and identifies a number of pertinent questions for future research to examine.
To examine how socioeconomic and institutional factors impact UK food retailers Corporate Responsibility Strategies (CSR) as revealed in corporate communications and product marketing. Building on institutional theory, we empirically examine whether discourse in CSR reports aligns with commercial strategies. Methods: Employing a mixed method approach we quantify quotes related to key CSR themes in annual reports and claims on new private label products launched in 9 key product categories using information from Mintel's Global New Products Database. These measures are grouped into 8 distinct CSR themes across 7 retailers and 7 years (2006-2012). Findings: Health & Safety and Environment are the leading themes in both datasets. Animal Welfare, Community and Biotechnology & Novel Foods take the middle ground with differing use across reports and products. Fair Trade, Labor & Human Resources, and Procurement & Purchasing are the least commonly described themes in reports and on products. Retailers focus on different CSR themes in reports and new products, which may be evidence of competitive rather than pre-competitive strategies. Research implications/limitations: This research shows that UK food retailers CSR strategies between 2006 and 2012 were more competitive than pre-competitive, which is in line with theory that suggests economic pressures decrease incentives to cooperate. However, this research is limited to innovation data and analysis of CSR reports. A more complete analysis would need to consider sales or consumption data, wider sources of corporate communications and independent measures of social, environmental and economic impact. Our findings caution policy makers to be wary of retailers commitments to voluntary agreement pledges, particularly when the competitive environment and economic conditions are more challenging. Practical implications: Firms are increasingly pressured to contribute to social and environmental domestic and international commitments. Business should enhance coordination between CSR offices and commercial divisions to develop more consistent and effective social responsibility programs. Originality/value: This is the first attempt to compare the evolution of CSR discourse and marketing strategy over time and across businesses in a key retail market.
The version in the Kent Academic Repository may differ from the final published version. Users are advised to check http://kar.kent.ac.uk for the status of the paper. Users should always cite the published version of record.
Purpose -This paper aims to determine the response of manufacturers and retailers to voluntary UK front of package (FOP) schemes through food product innovations. Design/methodology/approach -A food innovation database (Global New Products Database) was used to track all food products released in the UK from January 1, 2002 to December 31, 2008. Meal, bakery and breakfast cereal products were classified into two groups, according to whether the food category was targeted by the Food Standard Agency (FSA) for FOP labelling. Analysis includes descriptive statistics and cross-tabulations of factors such as product category, type of FOP scheme, company, and year. Findings -Private label brands dominate food innovations in the UK. The use of FOP labels is selective among companies and across food categories. Guideline daily allowance (GDA) labelling is more widely adopted than the traffic light labelling system (TLS). Both systems have been more broadly adopted in target food categories when compared to non-target food categories.Research limitations/implications -The database used to conduct this research provides detailed data on food product innovations released in the UK. However, this is not linked to sales data and therefore cannot be used to analyse changes in consumption due to FOP labelling systems. Nevertheless, the response of food manufacturers and retailers in their innovation strategies is a critical piece to understanding how voluntary labelling polices may impact public health. Originality/value -The paper presents evidence of dynamics of supply-side responses to increasing consumer demand for healthier foods.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.