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Purpose As pressure for companies to improve their environmental performance has intensified in recent years, research attention has shifted away from establishing a link between environmental practices and performance towards consideration of other factors that might facilitate performance improvements. The purpose of this paper is to: first, to investigate whether internal support processes interact with pollution prevention by positively moderating the relationship between pollution prevention and environmental performance; and, second, to assess whether the relationship between pollution prevention and cost performance is mediated by environmental performance. Design/methodology/approach It uses a cross-sectional survey of 1,200 UK-based food processing firms to gather information on environmental practices and performance. Regression analysis was conducted on a sample of 149 responding firms to assess the hypothesised relationships. Findings Support was found for two of the four moderated relationships hypothesised namely, suggesting that internal support processes support the environmental performance of some pollution prevention practices. Strong support for a mediated relationship between pollution prevention, environmental performance and cost performance was provided by the results. Originality/value This study provides an original contribution to the literature on the performance outcomes of environmental practices by considering a number indirect relationships between environmental practices and performance. This has implications for the interpretation of the relationship between environmental practices and performance.

This study examines the independent and combined influences of internal and external antecedents to upstream environmental practices. Proactive environmental strategy is considered as an internal antecedent and competitive pressure as an external antecedent. Multiple hierarchical regression analysis is used to test the hypothesized relationships using data from a sample of 149 manufacturing companies located within the U.K. food industry. The results suggest that proactive strategy and competitive pressure exert both independent and combined influences on environmental supply chain practices. Proactive strategy appears to be a stronger driver of these practices, suggesting that internal stakeholders such as directors, managers, and employees may be more influential in the adoption of certain practices than external stakeholder pressures. This article builds upon the recent wave of research highlighting the potential for internal and external factors to generate a combined influence on the adoption of environmental practices within companies and their supply chains.

Please cite this article as: Potter, A., Murray, J., Lawson, B., Graham, S., Trends in product recalls within the agri-food industry: Empirical evidence from the USA, UK and the Republic of Ireland, Trends in Food Science & Technology (2012), doi: 10.1016/j.tifs.2012 This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. M A N U S C R I P T A C C E P T E D ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT Trends in Product Recalls within the Agri-Food Industry: Empirical Evidence from the USA, UK and the Republic of Ireland AbstractThe increasing frequency of product recalls within the agri-food industry has led many to question food safety. Research studies also often focus on biological hazards without considering how past, present and emerging risks change over time. We undertake a systematic review of the different biological, operational and chemical hazards within the agri-food industry using a dataset of 2,070 registered food recalls in the USA, UK and Republic of Ireland between 2004-2010. We show product recalls have become more frequent over time and operational hazards, rather than biological and chemical hazards, are the most frequent recall type within the agrifood industry.

The co-development of electric, hybrid and fuel cell technologies within the Japanese automotive industry ABSTRACT: Recently, automakers have invested heavily in alternative fuel technologies to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from vehicles. Yet we know comparatively little about how automakers work collaboratively with their suppliers to develop interorganizational eco-innovations. We address this research gap and contribute to the ecoinnovation literature by investigating whether suppliers' eco-innovation capabilities in electric, hybrid, and fuel cell technologies influence the degree of eco-innovation co-patenting between Toyota and its suppliers. We also expand research in the strategic alliance literature by exploring the moderating effects of alliance partner diversity. To test our research hypotheses we use data from firms in the Toyota supplier association together with negative binomial and zero-inflated negative binomial regression models. Our empirical results demonstrate that supplier electric capabilities and supplier hybrid capabilities are positively related to the occurrence of eco-innovation co-patents. However, supplier fuel cell capabilities have no effect on eco-innovation co-patenting, especially as firms often choose to develop this technology inhouse. Moreover, alliance partner diversity has a negative moderating effect on the relationships between supplier electric capabilities, supplier hybrid capabilities, and ecoinnovation co-patents. Finally, we evaluate how our findings from the Toyota supplier association compare to similar Japanese automakers and their supplier networks.

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