Innovation and tradition-based firms: a multiple case study in the agro-food sector

Abstract

Purpose Over the past few years, several scholars have focused on innovation strategies with specific regard to family food firms. In line with this research stream, the purpose of this paper is to understand how family food firms with long-standing traditions can implement innovative productions while remaining anchored to the past. Design/methodology/approach By adopting a qualitative research methodology, mainly based on a multiple case study, this paper seeks to cover some unexplored areas regarding the opportunity of combining tradition and innovation to achieve success in the highly competitive international arena in which family food firms operate. The authors analyze the cases of “La Torrente,” “Cioccolatitaliani” and “La Fabbrica della Pasta di Gragnano.” Findings Successful family food firms leverage their deep-rooted knowledge of both family and local traditions to innovate. At same time, they establish continuous info exchange flows with all of the firm’s stakeholders by adopting an open innovation approach. Research limitations/implications From a theoretical perspective, there is a need for an in-depth study of how an effective blend of tradition and innovation is formalized, above all, in family firms. As for the practical implications, all the three case studies represent a best practice, especially for family firms with a long-standing history and strong local connections. Practical implications The paper shows how important it is to keep traditional factors in food industry and offers hints and suggestions to decision makers of family firms on how to valorize, in terms of competitiveness, their traditional resources – almost bound to their territory with innovation tools and processes. Social implications The paper is interesting because it offers an analysis of a specific group of firms – family firms – that characterize many industries in Italy and in Europe. Although often small, these firms can show dynamism and creativity. The paper offers hints on how to approach innovation in the sector while keeping the value of tradition. Originality/value The originality of the proposed conceptual model stems from the need to overcome the previous theoretical models, which deal separately with sources of past knowledge and sources of new and/or external knowledge.

Eating Hamburgers Slowly and Sustainably: The Fast Food Market in North-West Italy

“…It may be incremental or radical, whereby incremental would imply wider coverage, whereas consumers tend to maintain their habits regarding food [42][43][44][45][46][47][48]. A part of food innovation is tradition, a strategic key to changing what the food sector offers [49][50][51] to increase the value of specific foods and foodstuffs [52][53][54][55][56][57].…”

Open innovation in family firms: empirical evidence about internal and external knowledge flows

“…Identified as the knowledge that firms can obtain by leveraging on their track record as well as their human competencies, materials, symbols and values (Messeni Petruzzelli and Albino, 2012;Messeni Petruzzelli and Savino, 2014;De Massis et al, 2016;Vrontis, Bresciani and Giacosa, 2016;Vrontis, Thrassou, Santoro and Papa, 2016), traditions are confirmed as a meaningful lever for the innovation process in family firms. Innovation through traditions is useful for the search and recombination of knowledge that is temporally dispersed into new product innovation (Vrontis et al, 2018) as well as for supporting the entrepreneurial development of family firms and their nurturing capabilities and relationships with stakeholders (Della Corte et al, 2018). As for entrepreneurs' skills, the presented evidence shows that younger generations pay attention to the consolidation of their educational background as a means of affirming their role in the family firm (i.e.…”

“…All this highlights the importance of traditions for innovation in family firms to provide the managerial and entrepreneurial competencies able to balance the exploration of novelty and the exploitation of previous knowledge, and this can be achieved through mechanisms such as ambidexterity (Vrontis et al, 2018). In Italian family firms (Giacosa et al, 2017;Della Corte et al, 2018), for example, innovation through traditions results from the exploitation of consolidated knowledge as well as firms' nurturing capabilities, open innovation approach and relationships with their stakeholders. In planning the strategic development of a family firm, such features as interpersonal skills and education can be used to evaluate potential succession by limiting cross-generational conflicts (Brockhaus, 2004), representing an opportunity to introduce innovation into the business (Fendri and Nguyen, 2019).…”

Generating New Snack Food Texture Ideas Using Sensory and Consumer Research Tools: A Case Study of the Japanese and South Korean Snack Food Markets

“…Innovation helps to develop new market segments, expand current market segments and product portfolios, provide positive image building, and bring new consumers to food companies [ 3 ]. The rapid changes in technology, market trends, and consumer expectations (e.g., specific dietary, health, environmental sustainability, and packaging) is keeping the food industry under tremendous pressure to spend large amounts of money on new food product development (NPD) to either increase profits or survive [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ].…”

“…A sensory method called projective mapping (PM) or “napping” is used as a tool to categorize products and discover white spaces among product groups. In PM, assessors position the products (samples) on a two-dimensional space according to the similarities and differences of product characteristics [ 5 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 ]. PM has been described as a natural, holistic, and spontaneous way for people to describe products.…”