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The World Health Organisation estimates that 92 per cent of the world’s population does not have access to clean air. The World Bank in 2013 estimated that only air pollution (AP) was responsible for a $225bn cost in lost productivity. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the current scholarly debate on the value of Big Data for effective healthcare management. Its focus on cardiovascular disease (CVD) in developing countries, a major cause of disability and premature death and a subject of increasing research in recent years, makes this research particularly valuable.

In order to assess the effects of AP on CVD in developing countries, the city of Bangalore was selected as a case study. Bangalore is one of the fastest growing economies in India, representative of the rapidly growing cities in the developing world. Demographic, AP and CVD data sets covering more than 1m historic records were obtained from governmental organisations. The spatial analysis of such data sets allowed visualisation of the correlation between the demographics of the city, the levels of pollution and deaths caused by CVDs, thus informing decision making in several sectors and at different levels.

Although there is increasing concern in councils and other responsible governmental agencies, resources required to monitor and address the challenges of pollution are limited due to the high costs involved. This research shows that with developments in the domains of Big Data, Internet of Things and smart cities, opportunities to monitor pollution result in high volumes of data. Existing technologies for data analytics can empower decision makers and even the public with knowledge on pollution. This paper has demonstrated a methodological approach for the collection and visual representation of Big Data sets allowing for an understanding of the spread of CVDs across the city of Bangalore, enabling different stakeholders to query the data sets and reveal specific statistics of key hotspots where action is required.

This research has been conducted to demonstrate the value of Big Data in generating a strategic knowledge-driven decision-support system to provide focused and targeted interventions for environmental health management. This case study research is based on the use of a geographic information system for the visualisation of a Big Data set collected from Bangalore, a region in India seriously affected by pollution.

Although sales activities in the wine industry are becoming increasingly important, there has been little research on the sales capabilities in wine businesses. The purpose of this paper is to address this gap by examining the most important salesperson and sales management capabilities and emerging trends related to the management of sales capabilities in the wine industry.

Empirical analysis based on an explorative research design was conducted in the Italian wine industry. Sales directors from 4 of the 30 largest Italian wine producers were interviewed. Textual data were analysed using template analysis.

Analysis of the findings revealed the most important capabilities of salespeople and sales managers and identified four emerging trends related to sales capability management in the wine industry – capabilities enrichment, capabilities balance, capabilities specialisation and capabilities acquisition process.

Given that only large wine producers in the Old World were interviewed, caution should be exercised before extending the findings to small and medium-sized players and to those in the New World.

The trends identified in this study provide actionable insights for designing strategies to manage sales capabilities in wine businesses.

This was one of the first studies to address the capabilities of salespeople and sales managers and to provide an in-depth examination of sales capability management trends in the wine industry.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how grape varieties are narrated online by non-winery-owned sources in four countries: Australia, Canada the UK and the USA. This study focuses on Sangiovese, the most important varietal of Italy.

Texts collected on the Internet underwent a software-assisted semantic clustering procedure based on text-mining techniques. Identified clusters were then qualitatively analyzed by content.

The digital narrative on Sangiovese is mainly technical and conveyed by adopting a professional slant that is suitable for knowledgeable consumers but less effective for common and unexperienced wine drinkers. Online information is concentrated in few websites that act as information gatekeepers.

The study contributes to the wine-related managerial literature on grape varieties, which are considered one of the most powerful factors in addressing consumer wine choice. Additionally, the investigation sheds light on the online wine ecosystem, by providing insights on how information is provided and the contents that are conveyed on the Internet. The findings of this study may be useful for Italian operators willing to promote Sangiovese-based wines in foreign markets.

Though explorative in nature, this study represents one of the first attempts to investigate the online narrative of grape varieties by presenting a marketing perspective and examining the characteristics of non-winery-owned online information which may shape wine consumers’ behavior.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the communication patterns adopted by special organisations, called Producers’ Consortia, to promote Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) products. In particular, the paper analyses the key differences among the communication patterns in terms of the task assigned to communication, the communication tools employed to convey key messages to customers and the amount of the budget allocated to the mix of communication.

The authors analysed the communication activities conducted by all the Italian Consortia (112 in total) over a period of four years. A centred log-ratio transformation (clr) was applied to make the compositional data treatable in the Euclidean space. A clustering procedure was then followed to identify the different communication patterns adopted by the Consortia. The authors adopted an analytical framework where different communication patterns of Consortia are identified by the mostly used types (traditional advertising, public relations and digital communication) and the corresponding aimed consumer response (i.e. awareness, attitude and engagement).

This paper identifies four relevant and different communication patterns that co-exist in the Italian PDO market. Each pattern responds to a different logic and focusses on a specific task assigned to communication: to increase the awareness of the PDO label, to improve the attitude towards the PDO products and to enhance the engagement with the PDO’s values.

PDO products are key assets of a growing relevance for the European agri-food industry and consumer education is at the very core of the PDO labelling system. By law, the Consortia are in charge of the crucial task of communicating to customers. This research suggests that the communication of PDO is a complex activity that requires a careful choice of the right communication mix. Different patterns are driven by specific logic and are suitable for Consortia with different characteristics. Future research could complete the results of this study using a qualitative analysis of the content of communication activities. Caution should be used when generalising these findings to markets that present relevant differences in consumer food culture.

This research identifies some possible communication mixes that managers of the Consortia can adopt to promote PDO products and some options that can guide the development of their communication activities over time.

This work adds value to the literature on food marketing, and more specifically on food communication, by analysing the yet underexplored issue of how PDO products can be promoted in the “post-modern” food consumption era.

The purpose of this paper is to enrich the knowledge about blockchain (BC) technology implementation in the agri-food industry by providing an interpretive framework of the key marketing opportunities and challenges, related to the adoption of BC for Geographical Indication (GI) products.

The study adopts an explorative qualitative research design through the cognitive mapping technique applied to the cognition of different market players involved in agri-food BC projects: farmers, distributors, companies and consultancies.

This study presents a comprehensive examination of the marketing impacts of BC across various marketing objectives, including product enhancement, brand positioning, consumer relationships, market access and supply chain relationships. It highlights the capability of BC to facilitate data-enabled ecosystems within the agri-food sector, involving supply chain actors and control agencies. Additionally, the study sheds light on the challenges (technological, collaborative, political, financial and organizational) associated with the implementation of BC in the marketing of agri-food products.

This work provides a comprehensive examination of the relevance of BC in the marketing activities of firms, particularly in the context of quality food products. It highlights the main areas of impact and effects and emphasizes the complexity of the phenomenon, which extends beyond its technical issues. Furthermore, it offers a systematic exploration of the challenges associated with the adoption of BC in marketing activities, thus contributing to a broader understanding of the implications of BC adoption in companies' marketing strategies.

The practical implications for this work addresses both GI companies and policy makers. Implications for companies relate to the market benefits associated with the implementation of BC, which allow further strengthening of market positioning, relationships of trust within the supply chain and integration between physical and digital market channels. The study also systematizes the challenges underlying the implementation of BC projects. The implications for policy makers regard the role they have to play in BC projects at regulatory, financial and policy levels.

Studies focusing on BC applications in marketing are still limited and characterized by a very narrow perspective (especially in the food industry). This study contributes to the conceptual design of the marketing applications of BC in the agri-food sector. The value of the study also lies in having framed the marketing impacts of BC in a holistic perspective, along with the technological and non-technological challenges that are related to the integration of BC in marketing strategy and operations.

The paper investigates the role of social networks in the millennials’ decision-making process of illegal and unnotified food supplements purchase. The connections and interactions that (co) produce information are studied with a holistic perspective of social sustainability as a development driver of business model innovation.

An exploratory qualitative multiple analysis study was conducted in two consecutive phases. Data from 23 semi-structured individual interviews were collected, followed by a netnographic analysis of the Facebook virtual community.

The results show that the decision-making process does not develop following the traditional sequence, as social networks modify the wellness meaning creation process and reduce risk perception. Moreover, social networks introduce the use of similar experiences of others and online information and emotional support on unethical and unhealthy behavior.

Due to the application to a social network, the results should be understood within this context. Future studies would benefit by expanding the target and the range of social networks explored.

The official information quality control, as a prerogative of public and professional health stakeholders, and the medialization of medicalization, contribute to the conscious development of their wellness meanings and values.

This work represents one of the first attempts to investigate resources integration through social networks in the pre-purchase decision-making process of unnotified and illegal food supplements. Unethical and unhealthy behavior develops through the interaction of actors, firms, influencers and individuals over social networks.

This paper analyses the impact of digitalization in the marketing of geographic indication (GI) products. Specifically, the objective is to provide a systemic and comprehensive view of marketing issues and challenges arising from evolving digitalization in the agriculture sector.

The authors employed an explorative cognitive mapping technique on a sample of key informants among Italian companies and a consortium of registered food, spirits and wine products.

This study describes the key concepts dominant in the discourse of informants concerning digitalization and its influence on the GI market. Three clusters and two loops were also identified to explain the relationship among key concepts, which stress changes regarding the relationship with the consumer, product experience and innovation, and the integration between physical and virtual space.

This is the first attempt to apply cognitive maps to GIs. However, the study does have limitations: it was conducted on a small number of producers and was restricted to only Italy. Another limitation is that interviews were conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The results suggest important practical implications that stress the need for learning and increased digital competences for the efficient embedding of digital technologies in all business areas, increase product value and innovation, and the need for governance in support of digital transformation.

This work creates the new and valuable literature on food marketing and, specifically, on a changing market environment resulting from digitalization, by providing a holistic overview of digitalization in reference to the marketing of GIs.

The choice of typical products as an area of autonomous business with great potential comes from the development of a scenario of supply made up of important trends – within wealthy countries – that simultaneously invested in: the economy, the agricultural sector, the agro‐food sector and, on the same level, in the tourist industry and (of consumption) in the cultural sector, in the broad sense. It is well‐known that the more significant traits of the matter are connected to the following elements: globalisation; the increased use of technology in agricultural production; the renewed concept of territory; the “philosophical” change of agricultural policies; the great fragmentation of the tourist industry; the tensions generated by public opinion towards subjects like food safety, exacerbated by recent shocking events (mad cow disease, GMO, etc.); and new food consumption behaviour. The definition and background of typical food products are located in these varied elements.

None of the numerous food products that comprise the Italian food tradition can boast of business revitalisation as much as that which involved the wine industry in Italy and in the rest of the world in the last decade. This is not the appropriate moment to consider the reasons for this change, nor is it the right place to compare the industrial situations of that time with those present today. Rapidly covering the field of the extensive history of the wine business, it is sufficient to cite certain simplified facts in order to show how the end user of the product – the consumer – has dramatically changed his consumption history, which initiated the process of regeneration of the business, a process never before seen, in the world of agricultural industries. The companies in the vine‐growing and wine‐making business have been both the driving force and the beneficiaries of this state of affairs. Indeed, to have a clearer picture, a hypothetical external person, observing the wine business panorama today, would notice clear features and company models, that are unrelated to the historical past of the industry.