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PurposeTechnological regimes define the environment in which innovative and learning activities take place in each sector of the economy. In this paper, the authors argue that technological regimes must be interpreted and elaborated by each organisation operating within a sector in order to be implemented rationally, which leads us to the concept of perceived technological regimes.Design/methodology/approachThe authors tested the relevance of firms' perceptions of different technological regimes on a sample of wine companies in Italy. The authors run a questionnaire survey and obtained 334 clean responses. Data drawn from questionnaires were analysed via econometric analysis.FindingsThe authors present empirical evidence that this perception tends to vary across different wine technologies. Additionally, the authors find evidence that firms' technology adoption, absorptive capacity and external knowledge sourcing have a strong impact on their perceptions of the relevance of a given wine-making technology.Originality/valueWhile individual technological regimes are characterised by systematic differences in the distribution of heterogeneous firm types, previous empirical studies have not explored whether the technological environment defining a given industry is differently interpreted and elaborated by each firm operating in it.

We explore how consumers’ willingness to buy is driven by perceptions on potential risks and potential benefits for different types of nano-inside applications. Our empirical approach follows a two...

During the last decades, significant changes in trade regulations are modifying the global trade of wine. The number of non-tariff measures (NTMs) implemented in the wine sector is relevant: a large number of country-specific NTMs, set in the occasion of trade agreements, have been adopted. The impact of these policy instruments on trade is not always clear, nor quantified at global scale. We investigate the effects that country-specific NTMs are showing on global imports of wine. In particular, we estimate a gravity model to explain how and to what extent country-specific NTMs influence wine trade, and we disentangle these effects for different segments of the international market of wine.Our results suggest that country-specific NTMs tend to favour imports of wine. Differences emerge across market segments and types of regulations. In particular, the Technical Barriers to Trade favour (friction) bottled (bulk) wine; pre-shipment inspections enhance imports of bottled wine; the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards and the export-related measures are the most trade-enhancing NTMs, regardless of the market segment. JEL Classification codes: Q17, Q18, F13, Keywords: Global trade, NTM, Policy, SPS, TBT

This study started from the assumption that children's healthy diets are primarily determined by their parents and their intentions towards serving fruit and vegetables. Although it is widely known that a significant share in fruits and vegetables in children's diets has several advantages, there are some safety issues that can act as barriers in promoting fruit and vegetable consumption.Therefore, we investigated parents' determinants in giving fruits and vegetables to their children taking into account that the trust in actors who minimize the presence of risks could be instrumental to understand the whole story. Due to the incidence of childhood obesity, Southern Italy is a suitable case study. An extended Theory of Planned Behavior (tpb) model including trust towards government and retailers has been set up.Results suggested that parental intention to give to their children fruits and vegetables in primarily determined by their perceived behavioral control, then by their attitude and by subjective norm.Trust has been proved to influence parents' intentions, but only related to retailers and not to government. Furthermore, the model positively explained childrens' behavior reported by parents.

Understanding the determinants of price volatility is a key step to prevent potential negative consequences of to the uncertainty faced by farmers. Our critical provides a novel categorization of grain price volatility drivers. We distinguish endogenous and exogenous causes and conclude on the potential effects that each of identified factors may generate on price dynamics. In particular, we deepen on the contribution of endogenous factors such as spatial and temporal arbitrage, as well as drivers of shocks of demand and supply.

This study aims to explore consumer acceptance of a new functional fish burger using a qualitative approach based on four focus group discussions conducted in selected major Italian cities. Results show that the development of functional fish products may bypass fish consumption barriers, combining convenience and health benefits delivered by functional ingredients. The acceptance of new functional fish products seems to be influenced positively by the enrichment of functional ingredients naturally present in fish, particularly omega-3 fatty acids. Consumer acceptance of this new product is also influenced by the use of different nutritional and health claims. Implications for marketers and policy makers and insights for further research are discussed in the conclusions.

Although there is a long-term decrease in the consumption of fruits and vegetables (hereafter F&V), fresh-cut products, because of their convenience, represent a valid alternative to counteract this negative trend. In fact, the fresh-cut sector is showing positive figures, and innovation in product quality and safety attributes, which are generally valued by consumers. Nonetheless, which product innovations will effectively take place in the coming years? Will they be accepted by consumers? Will they increase the probability of switching from fresh to fresh-cut F&V? Our study, with the help of on-field research, aims at analysing the trending attributes in the fresh-cut F&V industry, and evaluating their impact on segments of F&V consumers’ preferences in terms of attitude and willingness to pay. Therefore, we applied a latent class discrete choice model with an original dataset consisting of face-to-face interviews conducted across EU. Results of the study highlight the similarities in preferences of consumers across the EU countries and the relevance of shelf-life and food safety attributes in orienting choices.

A priority for the new Common Fishery Policy will be to enhance the competitiveness of EU aquaculture in compliance with high standards of consumer protection, animal welfare, and environmental sustainability. Consumer expectations in relation to food quality present new business opportunities for EU aquaculture producers who are willing to differentiate their products. In particular, new convenience formats and certification labels are likely to influence consumer choices. This study uses the choice experiment method to investigate consumer preferences and willingness to pay for new convenient formats and certification labels for oysters. Cross-sectional data were collected through a web-based consumer survey carried out in Italy in 2015. The main result of the study is that certification labels are decisively more effective than new convenient preparation formats to differentiate high-quality products. However, some heterogeneity was detected in consumer preferences.

Italy is a worldwide known destination for tourism. In the Italian food industry, wine is a major sector. We analyse the synergic relations between the domestic tourism in Italy and wine industry exploring data on flows of domestic tourism among the Italian regions and key indicators for the wine industry. The region of origin of tourists is a determining factor in the choice of destination; we also highlight the role of customer loyalty. The political implications are relevant: institutions and political actors could exploit the synergies between the tourism and the wine industries by promoting excellence in wine.

PurposeThe paper explores whether consumers' environmentally sustainable attitudes and behaviors (e.g. saving water, energy, etc.) are associated with high frequency of local food purchases. The study uses a large sample of individual data collected across all Italian regions as well as accounts for the respondents' socioeconomic characteristics.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis uses a large sample of individual-level data (n = 21,081) collected by the Italian National Bureau of Statistics in the annual Italian Multipurpose Households Survey (MHS). Data contain individual information on the frequency of local food purchases as well as socioeconomic characteristics and environmentally friendly attitudes and behaviors. Data were analyzed using a multivariate ordered logit regression.FindingsResults indicate that individuals sensitive to environmental issues and adopting sustainable behaviors are more likely to purchase local food products than others. Also, age, education and occupational status positively are associated with a high frequency of local food purchases. Reading food nutrition labels, living in small communities as well as buying organic products are strong predictors of a higher frequency of local food choices.Originality/valueThe role of individual sustainable attitudes and behaviors in local food purchases has been marginally investigated in the literature. We addressed the issue by jointly accounting for several individual-related characteristics potentially shaping such relation. To the best of authors’ knowledge, the authors use the largest sample ever used to explore the individual's local food purchases in Italy.

The importance of eco-innovations to food manufacturing has risen exponentially in recent years. In this paper we investigate the drivers of different types of eco-innovation in the Italian wine industry, a particularly relevant sector both in terms of its economic performance and its use of natural resources. We focus on the internal knowledge sourcing of firms and on the ‘breadth’ and ‘depth’ of their engagement with external agents when performing eco-innovation activity. We test our research hypotheses in the context of cleaner processes, end-of-pipe technologies and the use of organic input factors. The empirical evidence is based on a questionnaire survey administered to 334 Italian wine producers. The econometric exercise provides mixed results: both internal R&D and engagement with external agents have a significant effect on eco-innovations depending on the type of eco-innovation taken into account. Moreover, we find a non-linear relationship between external knowledge sourcing and eco-in...

The present study aimed to investigate, from a psychological perspective, the elements that are able to predict attitudes to, and purchases of, organic products. Our specific focus was organic milk due to the reputation established by this product over the years, especially thanks to sales by large retailers. The analysis was performed within the theoretical framework of the Theory of Planned Behavior, which was extended to include trust in supply chain actors and self-identity of the consumers in question as “green consumers”. A large sample of Italian consumers (n = 1509) was interviewed in two stages in order to obtain data regarding both intentions and actual behavior in respect of organic milk purchase. Our results suggest that TPB is, indeed, a predictive model for explaining organic milk purchase intentions and behavior. Furthermore, it can be successfully extended to elements such as self-identity and trust. Yet among all the dimensions of trust in the different actors of the supply chain, only trust in farmers was supported by our results. Therefore, campaigns aimed at fostering trust in farmers could reinforce the position of this food category when required.

During the last decades there have been significant changes in trade regulations that are modifying the global trade of wine. The number of non-tariff measures (NTMs) adopted in the wine sector is relevant. Similarly, a large number of bilateral trade agreements have been adopted. Despite the regulation is heavy, the impact of these policy instruments on trade is not always clear, nor quantified at global scale. We investigate the effects that bilateral NTMs are showing on global imports of wine. In particular, we estimate a gravity model to explain how bilateral NTMs influence wine trade, and we disentangle these effects for different segments of the international market of wine. Our results suggest that bilateral NTMs tend to favour imports of wine. Differences emerge across market segments and types of regulations. In particular, the Technical Barriers to Trade favour (friction) bottled (bulk) wine; pre-shipment inspections enhance imports of bottled wine; the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards are the most trade-enhancing NTMs, regardless of the market segment.

The new shape of competition is pushing wine firms to invest into new technologies. Given the growing interests in this area, we provide evidence on the determinants of the adoption of the new technologies industry. On the basis of a survey on Italian companies, the main investments in innovations and their key drivers are investigated. We tested whether firm characteristics impact the adoption as well as absorptive capacity, networking and shared knowledge among firms and research institutions and demand factors. Drivers are explored throughout an econometric model. Results lead to policy implications that could be useful to develop supportive actions to innovation.

International trade in table grapes has expanded tremendously over the last few decades, with out-of-season fresh produce now being traded and consumed globally. Trade intensification has been driven by emerging traders who have changed the economic geography of table grape production. Improving competitiveness in global markets is a driving objective for entrepreneurs and policy makers. However, while the global trade in table grapes has become very important, empirical papers on the topic are limited. In this study, the authors investigate the global dynamics in the trade of table grapes between 1961 and 2011 and characterize the time series properties of the market shares for leading table grape-exporting countries. The analysis shows how trends in the market shares of historical exporters and emerging countries have changed over the past few decades. The paper provides new and useful insights for forecasting the prospects for the international fresh food trade.

Consumers' food choices are often driven by reasons of which consumers are not fully aware. Decision-making about food is influenced by a complex set of emotions, feelings, attitudes, and values that are impossible to assess simply by asking consumers their opinions. Indeed, traditional techniques, such as self-reports or interviews, mainly allow the measurement of conscious and rational reactions to a product or advertising. Recently, there has been a rapidly growing interest in the multidisciplinary field of "neuromarketing," which takes advantage of neuroscientific techniques to study consumer behavior. This discipline applies neuroscientific methods and tools that allow the measurement of consumers' emotional and spontaneous reactions in a more objective and observable way. The aim of this paper is (a) to describe neuromarketing's underlying assumptions, techniques, and the advantages of this perspective, examining the scientific literature on the use of neuromarketing in food studies; and (b) to suggest best practices to apply this novel approach in the food marketing domain, with a specific focus on non-invasive methods. Finally, although the perception of nutritional elements has already been explored, the health content of labels, the presence of additives, and the evaluation of the information conveyed by food packaging remain other possible elements of interest in future food neuromarketing research.

Understanding how an adequate food security may be determined, how nutritional intakes evolve over time and are influenced by global dynamics are few of the questions scholars are trying to answer. In addition, a great interest is devoted to the changes in consumers' preferences and expectations as well as to the analysis of food innovations and their impact on the global market. We review the recent and emerging trends in food supply chains of selected sectors (fruits and vegetables, meat, and seafood), and deepen on emerging trends in the food industry. By presenting the evidence provided by the literature and emphasizing the unresolved research questions, we offer a critical view of future directions that should be followed by research agenda.

Fresh-cut and ready to eat products are gaining market shares over fruits and vegetables. Dining habits and cooking time are changing over time and life styles are modifying the food preparation and the time used for eating. In the meanwhile, prices could be playing an important role in the substitution between fresh products and ready-to-eat alternatives. Therefore, the present paper tests the following hypotheses: - measuring the direct price effect on ready-to-eat and fresh cut product in order to verify market stability and price war probability; - measuring the substitution effect between fresh and ready-to-eat categories; The hypotheses have been verified throughout the estimation of a la/aids model that considers a system of 10 equations. The data used for the analysis have been collected by iri-Infoscan and represent the total Italian grocery sales for the years 2008-2010. Results provide evidence that the market is price sensitive and that substitution effect is negligible. Therefore, past, present and future evolutions of fresh-cut and ready-to-eat products should be attributed to price wars. Promotional activities, private label strategies and other price reduction strategies could be winning strategies in order to gain market shares within fruits and vegetable market.

Support for technology clusters is an important element of innovation policy, with an increasing number of national and regional plans promoting Research and Development projects in collaborative networks. This promotes the need to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of these policies. Several methods and techniques have been proposed, but a standardised approach has not yet emerged. It is important to assess the role of non-economic effects and, in this paper, we propose a methodology, which uses a social network approach, to assess the social capital outcomes of a technology district policy. Building on social capital theory, we construct a set of indicators to account for structural, relational and cognitive components, as well as bonding, bridging and linking kinds. This approach is not costly, in terms of data and information collection and can be combined with other methods that measure policy performance via physical, as well as economic, outputs and impacts.

Obesity rate worldwide have more than doubled since the 1980s, reachingunprecedented level, it has exceeded 30% in the U.S. while in some EuropeanCountries the population being overweight and obese has reached 50% (oecd, 2010).In Italy about 1 over 10 adults are obese, below the oecd average of 1 over 6, butthese data come from-self reported individuals weight and height and could alreadybe severely underestimated (Hansstein et al., 2009; oecd, 2010). Lastly, Italy is thethird largest spender among the eu-15 in terms of direct health-care and indirect costdue to the obesity, around its € 4.7 billion (Fry and Finley, 2005).Our study aims to evaluate the impact of local food retail systems such asfarmers’ market and farmers who sell directly from farm, on adult obesity level inItaly since preliminary evidence demonstrated that buying local food in farmers’markets has positive influence both on food habits both on health (Pascucci S. et al.,2011).We use a cross-section of individual-level data on bmi and others individualcharacteristics, from the Multipurpose Survey of Households: Aspect of Daily Lifeof the Italian National Institute of Statistics (istat), year 2009, matched withregional-level data on food outlets density such as farmers’ market, and farmers whosell directly from farm (Fondazione campagna amica - Coldiretti, OsservatorioNazionale del Commercio, 2009). Food store location endogeneity was accounted foradopting an IV estimation method exploiting variation in supply-side factorsimpacting the location decision of different food retailers.The study shows the evidence that the having access to local food is associated toa reduction in obesity rate. In particular, we found that the having access to farmers’market and farmers who sell directly from farm reduce the bmi of "0.55 and "0.12respectively. These evidences confirm the importance to promote "direct saleformat" in order to improve not only farmers’ profitability but also consumers’ wellbeingwith consequent reduction of obesity health-care costs.

summary How Nanotechnologies Can Contribute to Innovation in Food Firms in Europe The possibility of nanotechnologies being introduced in the food industry in a profound way depends on many factors. These include how they meet the demand for innovation made by firms together with acceptance by final consumers as well as the ability of the technological transfer system to reduce the cognitive distance between users and providers. Our discussion indicates that nanotechnologies are able to fulfill different needs of food firms, especially with respect to improving food safety and sensory features. However, their deployment has raised public concerns on ethical and societal issues that are still to be investigated and, in many cases, regulated. Finally, given that nanotechnologies represent a domain with significant knowledge asymmetries and that the food industry has a relatively low absorptive capacity, this presents a good opportunity for innovation brokers to promote technology transfer. The theoretical framework that lies behind this article is a useful instrument to narrow specific cognitive distances to facilitate matching demand and supply of innovative nanotechnologies. It also provides for a better comprehension of the technological paradigm and analysis of consumer acceptance, and draws attention to the necessity of stricter regulations for improving acceptance by consumers. La possibilite d’introduire de maniere extensive les nanotechnologies dans l’industrie alimentaire depend de nombreux facteurs, entre autres la facon dont ils repondent a la demande d’innovation des entreprises et sont acceptes par les consommateurs finaux, ainsi que la capacite du systeme de transfert technologique a reduire la distance cognitive entre les utilisateurs et les fournisseurs. Notre examen indique que les nanotechnologies sont capables de remplir differents besoins des entreprises alimentaires, en particulier en ce qui concerne l’amelioration de la securite et des caracteristiques sensorielles des aliments. Leur diffusion a cependant souleve dans le public des questions d’ethique et de societe qui restent a explorer et, dans de nombreux cas, a reglementer. Enfin, comme les nanotechnologies constituent un domaine avec des asymetries de connaissances importantes et que l’industrie alimentaire a une faible capacite d’absorption, elles representent une bonne occasion pour les intermediaires de l’innovation de promouvoir le transfert technologique. Le cadre theorique qui sous-tend cet article peut utilement reduire les distances cognitives particulieres pour faciliter la rencontre entre la demande et l’offre de nanotechnologies innovantes. Il peut egalement contribuer a mieux comprendre le paradigme technologique et l’analyse de l’acceptation par les consommateurs, et attirer l’attention sur le fait que des reglementations plus strictes sont necessaires a l’amelioration de l’acceptation par les consommateurs. Die mogliche umfassende Einfuhrung von Nano-Technologien in die Lebensmittelindustrie hangt von zahlreichen Faktoren ab. Darunter fallen Aspekte wie z.B. das Mas, in dem Nano-Technologien die Nachfrage der Unternehmen nach Innovation befriedigen und gleichzeitig auf Akzeptanz bei den Endverbrauchern stosen, oder die Fahigkeit des Technologietransfers, die kognitive Distanz zwischen Anwendern und Anbietern zu schliesen. Unsere Diskussion deutet darauf hin, dass Nano-Technologien verschiedene Anforderungen von Unternehmen aus der Lebensmittelindustrie erfullen konnen, insbesondere mit Blick auf Lebensmittelsicherheit und sensorische Eigenschaften. Diese Entwicklung hat jedoch zu offentlichen Bedenken im Hinblick auf ethische und gesellschaftliche Fragen gefuhrt, die noch untersucht und haufig auch reguliert werden mussen. Da Nano-Technologien einen Bereich mit erheblichen Wissensasymmetrien darstellen und die Lebensmittelindustrie eine relativ geringe Absorptionsfahigkeit hat, stellt dies letztlich eine gute Gelegenheit fur Innovationsbroker dar, den Technologietransfer voranzutreiben. Der diesem Beitrag zu Grunde liegende Ansatz bietet ein nutzbringendes Instrument, um kognitive Distanzen zu schliesen, damit sich Angebot und Nachfrage fur innovative Nano-Technologien einander anpassen. Er tragt ebenfalls zum besseren Verstandnis des Technologiemodells und zur Analyse der Verbraucherakzeptanz bei und macht darauf aufmerksam, dass scharfere Bestimmungen erforderlich sind, um die Verbraucherakzeptanz zu erhohen.

Today yogurt is produced and consumed worldwide, and its popularity has increased in recent years. In Italy, yogurt consumption grew by 43% in the period 2004–2008. This study is focused on the analysis of yogurt retail prices that show a great variability in the Italian market. In fact, our survey, carried out in a selected area of Italy during the last months of 2010, showed that yogurt retail prices range from 0.9 Euro/kg to 9.6 Euro/kg. We deemed the hedonic price model to be the most appropriate analytical tool for this investigation because it allows explaining how the price of yogurt varies depending on its main quality attributes. The study's results may be useful in better understanding the evolutionary dynamics of an important market, such as yogurt in Italy, and, second, in addressing the marketing strategies of yogurt manufacturers facing an expanding market that is also characterized by an increasing competitive pressure and a rapid change in consumer preferences. [EconLit Citations: Q110, D400, L660].

The choice of a bottle of wine is affected by the presence of attributes that are searched by consumers and can be evaluated before the purchase. The aim of the paper is to analyze the effect of some search attributes on wine price variability applying the Hedonic Price Model. It allows explaining how the price of wine varies depending on its main quality attributes. The analysis has been based on a sample of wines made in Puglia, Italian region characterized by a tradition in wine production and consumption. Data have been collected from a wine guidebook considering the years 2008–2013. The study provided a measure of the market value of some search attributes for wines produced in Puglia. Attributes as alcoholic content, age and score given by experts, influence price variability allowing wines to obtain a premium price, such as the most known Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and some Protected Geographical Indication (PGI). The name of the variety seems not to have high influence with the exception of less known and locally grown varieties. Results may be of interest for marketers and policy makers of wine industry. Managerial implications could refer to the importance of differentiation strategies aimed to market segmentation and to the pricing strategy. Policymakers could also find interesting hints about the influence of the different appellations and the importance of minor autochthonous grape varieties.

This systematic literature review collects and summarizes research on consumer acceptance and preferences for nutrition-modified and functional dairy products, to reconcile, and expand upon, the findings of previous studies. We find that female consumers show high acceptance for some functional dairy products, such as yogurt enriched with calcium, fiber and probiotics. Acceptance for functional dairy products increases among consumers with higher diet/health related knowledge, as well as with aging. General interest in health, food-neophobia and perceived self-efficacy seem also to contribute shaping the acceptance for functional dairy products. Furthermore, products with “natural” matches between carriers and ingredients have the highest level of acceptance among consumers. Last, we find that brand familiarity drives consumers with low interest in health to increase their acceptance and preference for health-enhanced dairy products, such as probiotic yogurts, or those with a general function claim.

Firms’ collaboration with academic institutions expands their range of expertise and can support the development of business innovations in several industries. For technological as well as structural reasons, university–industry collaborations are especially important in the case of the food industry. This paper aims at assessing the drivers of knowledge transfer from academic departments to industry. We analyse the dynamics of private funding of university research activities and investigate the drivers of university knowledge transfer from food science university departments, identifying how they differ from drivers in other areas of science. The empirical investigation is based on the econometric analysis of financial data on the whole population of university departments in Italy. We provide some implications for policy, highlighting whether and how university food science departments differ from university departments engaged in other areas of science, and how their interactions with industry can be increased.

The development of bio-refineries has become a relevant topic in the EU's agenda. However, the promotion of a new industry in rural areas is typically hindered by the scarcity of human capital, lack of information, infrastructures, and competing interests. In this context, public support is unavoidable to assist promotion of this innovative sector. The various policy options reveal some strengths and drawbacks, posing the problem of finding the best trade-off to public decision makers. In this paper we aim at developing a methodology to support policy decision making within the biorefinery framework, with the purpose of determining a way to identify the most suitable policy option given the actual uncertainty in developing the bio-refinery industry in rural areas. The empirical experiment, based on a simulation of the enforcement of four identified policy instruments, highlights that, although subsidies and incentives to profitability of dedicated crops appear to have the greatest effects on the development of bio-refinery, the best performances are exhibited by technological innovation and information options.

PurposeGeographical indications (GIs) provide a strong differentiation tool for firms. Whether this statement is confirmed at aggregate level in terms of market independence of different GIs is not tested yet. The purpose of this paper is to provide demand estimates and elasticities (own‐price and substitution) in order to test this hypothesis and verify the differentiation effect of GIs at aggregate level.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis consists of the application of a quadratic almost ideal demand on a four equation system. Estimates are obtained through an iterated version of a generalized method of moments, which corrects for endogeneity determined by expenditure and prices in case of promotional activities.FindingsEstimates prove the existence of a differentiation effect of GIs in terms of magnitude of elasticities and substitution effects. GIs corresponding to higher quality generate lower price sensitiveness and product substitution, contrarily to wine without GI. Controlled origin denomination (DOC) wine demand results are price sensitive and they substitute for wines of different GI. Controlled and guaranteed origin denomination (DOCG) is the most profitable GI. In fact, because of its inelastic demand, DOCG price could be potentially increased, to a certain extent, without having significant effects on volumes consumed.Research limitations/implicationsForeign wine should also be included in the demand system in order to understand the whole Italian wine market. Data concern retail level demand. The whole market, including hotels, restaurants and catering, should be included to offer a wider set of implications.Practical implicationsMarketers and producers could use the information provided by the estimates in order to forecast Italian wine demand. Elasticities and substitution effect provide them with a precise measure of consumers' price sensitiveness, which would be beneficial for their pricing strategies.Originality/valueThe paper provides, for the first time, estimates of a demand system relative to GI differentiated Italian wine.

To foster the development of the biomasses for solid fuel it is fundamental to build up a strategy at a local level in which co-exists farms as well as industrial farms. To such aim, it is necessary to implement an effective vertical coordination between the stakeholders with the definition of a contract that prevents opportunistic behaviors and guarantees the industrial investments of constant supplies over the time. Starting from a project that foresees a biomasses power plant in the south of Italy, this study reflects on the payments to fix in an eventual contract in such a way to maintain the fidelity of the farmers. These one have a greater flexibility since they can choose the most convenient crop. Therefore, their fidelity can be obtained tying the contractual payments to the price of the main alternative crop to the energetic one. The results of the study seem to indicate the opportunity to fix a purchase price of the raw materials linked to the one of durum wheat that is the most widespread crop in the territory and the one that depends more on a volatile market. Using the data of the District 12 of the province of Foggia Water Consortium with an area of 11.300 hectares (instead of the 20.000 demanded in the proposal), it has been possible to organize approximately 600 enterprises in five cluster, each of them identified by a representative farm. With a model of linear programming, we have run different simulations taking into account the possibility to grow sorghum in different ways. Through an aggregation process, it has been calculated that farmers may find it convenient to supply the energetic crop at a price of 50 €/t when the price of durum wheat is 150 €/t. Anyway, this price is lower than the one offered by firm that is planning to build the power plant. Moreover, it has been identified a strong correlation between the price of the durum wheat and the price that makes convenient for the farmers to grow the sorghum. When the price of wheat goes up to 400 €/t then the price that must be paid to the farmers for the energetic crop is 70 €/t. Even though these results offer no definitive indications about the economic convenience of industrial firms to pay greater prices for the biomasses, they represent an important step towards the definition of contractual clauses that may prevent phenomena of hold-up and moral hazard.

Consumers' interest towards food with healthy and sustainable characteristics is growing and companies try to address such trend through the supply of products with characteristics for which consumers show willingness to pay a premium price. Table grapes could be considered a product with functional characteristics since offer a wealth of health benefits due to their high nutrient and antioxidant contents. Moreover, its production and distribution are increasingly affected by sustainability concerns. On the basis of these considerations, the objective of this paper is to evaluate the consumer preferences for health and environmental attributes of table grapes. For this purpose, a nationwide survey was conducted in Italy using the Computer Assisted Web Interviewing (CAWI) method and the Best- Worst Scaling Method (BWS) for data analysis. The survey is divided into sections which consider, besides the socio-demographic characteristics of respondents, questions about their preferences related to specific attributes of table grapes (variety, color, seedless, organic or conventional production, origin) and to nutritional and sustainable characteristics reported on the label. Results could be of interest for companies which can focus their marketing strategies on specific characteristics of the product, and for policy makers who are asked to take decisions for public health.

PurposeThis paper aims to focus on understanding how demand for innovation is articulated in low‐tech industries, dominated by SMEs, where innovation is often based on informal processes and uncodified knowledge, relying on intangible assets.Design/methodology/approachThe authors hypothesize that the problems found in the innovation area are exacerbated in a traditional industry. SMEs might have difficulty understanding what their requirements might be, let alone finding the optimal provider of technologies. The authors therefore expect to find three main forms of demand: real, latent, and potential. The specific case is the food industry in Apulia, Italy. First, focus groups identified general business and technology needs. Then in‐depth interviews were conducted with 87 firms, stratified in order to be representative of food firms in Apulia.FindingsThe authors detected 285 different needs requiring an innovative solution. In most cases, firms understand the areas to be improved, but do not have a technological solution in mind. Demand for innovation is mostly latent.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is narrow in geographic and industry scope. This limits generalizability, but the methodology is transferable and the results comparable. The authors studied the demand side, whereas interaction between supply and demand needs to be understood. Future studies into regional public research organizations (PROs) and intermediaries can therefore be useful.Practical implicationsThe findings can be used to understand how PROs can engage with SMEs and what policymakers can do to facilitate the interaction.Originality/valueThis study applies thinking typically used in high‐tech sectors to a traditional sector, hence testing and extending the theoretical boundaries.

Organization. Innovation and Competitiveness of the Agro-Food System: Theoretical Aspects amd Strategic Implications - This paper aims to identify which public strategies can be more effective in promoting the growth of agro-food production system’s organizational models tailored to foster innovation. It starts from the existence of a clear relation between the propensity to innovate and the competitiveness of the national firms. The theoretical framework that underlies the analysis explains the optimal level of coordination among food firms with the structure of the productive system and the characteristics of the technological regime such as the pervasivity, the sistematicity, the degree of newness, the appropriability, the cumulativeness and the basic knowledge. As a result of the analysis, it is shown the opportunity to favour the development of a structured network of food firms more than large Fordist firms. In this sense, the public incentives with a systemic approach the National Government has promoted in this last decade (such as supply-chain agreements, programmers for producer organizations, etc.) appear to be particularly useful to the scope. In the specific, we argue that a pol-icy promoting Technological Districts could be very promising to guide the development of the national agro-food system in the direction envisaged by the paper. JEL Code: Q13 Key words: organization, innovation, technological regime, technological district

Wine industry is characterized by high added value, particularly for some segments. The quality of the final product is the result of the right combination of many variables which involve the choice of the suitable wine grape varieties to particular conditions of site location, soil, climate, landscape together with entrepreneurial right decisions in management. The globalization of the market with the increasing of competition among producers and the evidences of climate change, that has different effects on the vitivinicultural areas in the world, have led to the growth of frequency and intensity of risks that winegrowers have to cope with. Their behaviour and reactions in managing risky situations of different nature, often adopting instruments they are not familiar with, as insurance or derivatives, could result in relevant consequences on prices, costs of production, revenues and profits, in other words, on the value chain of the wine production. This paper aims to provide a general overview of the economic literature on risk management in the wine industry.

The present systematic review was performed to assess consumer purchasing behaviour towards fish and seafood products in the wide context of developed countries. Web of Science, Scopus, ScienceDirect and Google Scholar engines were used to search the existing literature and a total of 49 studies were identified for inclusion. These studies investigated consumer purchasing behaviour towards a variety of fish and seafood products, in different countries and by means of different methodological approaches. In particular, the review identifies and discusses the main drivers and barriers of fish consumption as well as consumers' preferences about the most relevant attributes of fish and seafood products providing useful insights for both practitioners and policy makers. Finally, main gaps of the existing literature and possible trajectories for future research are also discussed.

To foster their competitive advantage, food firms pay an increasing attention to strategies that tend to distinguish their products from the one supplied by their competitors, dedicating to this task most of their resources, knowledge and creativity. In such a framework, also the resource “water”, often seen as an homogenous product, is more and more utilized in the advertisement as an element that increase the quality of the final good. This paper aims to build a model that can explain the observed behavior in the different food industries and that can give some insights about the future perspectives of the utilization of the water as a differentiation factor. To reach this goal, first we present a survey of the commercials of specific food industries (beverages, pasta, bread, fresh produce) in which it is shown the contribute of water on the product. On the base of the empirical evidence, we argue that the propensity to use the water as an element of differentiation is greater when greater are the degree of technological knowledge, the consumers’ perceptions, and the importance of the differentiation strategy in that specific industry. Since we expect that these three factors will increase over time, we also conclude that it is rational to experiment a generalized increase of the utilization of the water in the commercials of the food products. We also recommend to extend the analysis testing the results using a quantitative approach.

The Blackmouth catshark, Galeus melastomus, Rafinesque, 1810 (Carcharhiniformes; Scyliorhinidae), is a common, although at present discarded, by- catch of the bottom trawl fisheries in the Strait of Sicily. Given its ecological interest, data gathered in experimental bottom trawl surveys were analysed in order to describe its distribution and main biological traits. The Blackmouth catshark was sampled almost exclusively on the upper slope (200-800), showing the highest frequency of occurrence (69-100%), biomass (BI; 10-85 kg*km-2) and density (DI; 54-506 N*km-2) indexes in the deeper (501-800m) grounds. Individual size (total length, TL, mm) were between 70-590 and 90-510 in females and males, respectively. The sex ratio (SR) was around 0.5. The SR by size showed a gradual decrease till 450 mm class size, followed by an increase up 1 after 500 mm. Virginal/immature specimens represented the bulk of the samples in both females (77%) and males (65%); the length at 50% of sexual maturity (Lm50%) and corresponding maturity range (Lm25% - Lm75% ) was 433 (423-443) and 380 (366-394) mm, respectively.