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1 – 3 of 3Tiziana De Cristofaro, Lolita Liberatore, Nicola Casolani and Eugenia Nissi
This work aims at discovering the multifaceted business performance of SA8000-certified companies operating in the Italian food and beverages manufacturing industry.
Abstract
Purpose
This work aims at discovering the multifaceted business performance of SA8000-certified companies operating in the Italian food and beverages manufacturing industry.
Design/methodology/approach
A clustering based on a principal component analysis considering 20 profitability, productivity and value-added distribution ratios was carried out on a sample of 105 Italian SA8000-certified food and beverages manufacturing companies.
Findings
Two clusters (CL1 and CL2) emerged from the statistical analysis, where CL1 represents 85.71% of the sample. Despite their general and some labour-related features being similar, they show very different performances. While CL2 performs better both within the food and beverage manufacturing industry than CL1, the latter performs similarly to industry, although even lower. Labour productivity pushes the gap between the clusters mostly through sales (generating revenues) and production (in the aspect of generating personnel costs). These findings suggest that a nonunique performance profile of firms SA8000 certified exists and that low performances do not prevent certification.
Originality/value
By focusing on SA8000 standard in the food and beverage sector, the study contributes to the research field by investigating the relationships between corporate social responsibility and firm performance in an important industrial sector for the Italian economy.
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Keywords
Elisabetta Savelli, Federica Murmura, Lolita Liberatore, Nicola Casolani and Laura Bravi
The food consumption has always received a lot of attention in the marketing literature, as it tends to reflect and determine the overall consumer behaviour, expression of the…
Abstract
Purpose
The food consumption has always received a lot of attention in the marketing literature, as it tends to reflect and determine the overall consumer behaviour, expression of the individual lifestyle. Nevertheless, less attention has been devoted to the young. This paper aims at analysing how university students, a segment of young people, perceive and evaluate the quality of food and which attributes most influence their food choice and consumption.
Design/methodology/approach
An online questionnaire was carried out from March to December 2015 among Italian university students. A sample of 1,138 people took part in the survey. Data were elaborated through SPSS 21.0 statistical software package.
Findings
Findings suggest a number of interesting points. First, a high attention of university students towards price and sales promotion was observed. Nevertheless, they are well informed in food products they buy and pay high attention to ingredients, origin and healthiness of food products. Finally, performing a principal component analysis three different components on food store selection were found, namely, “Price saving”, “Convenience” and “Food assortment and quality”.
Practical implications
A more comprehensive understanding of the food behaviour of the young could be useful for marketing researchers and practitioners to define marketing programs aimed at satisfying the food demand of a growing segment of the market.
Originality/value
The food behaviour of young people as a whole has been little addressed in the marketing literature. Existing studies have explored specific topics such as the consumption of organic food, fast-food buying habits or alcohol abuse.
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