Alessia Cavaliere

What is the role of marketing capability to be a price maker? An empirical analysis in Italian food SMEs

L’industria alimentare italiana appare caratterizzata da una crescente competizione verticale, imputabile al forte potere contrattuale della grande distribuzione, e da una competizione orizzontale che incide sulla convivenza fra PMI e grandi imprese. Cio tende a ridurre la possibilita delle PMI di decidere il prezzo dei propri prodotti. D’altro canto, l’attenzione dei consumatori verso gli aspetti qualitativi degli alimenti e verso i prodotti legati al territorio puo rappresentare un’opportunita per le PMI. Le loro strategie potrebbero focalizzarsi sulla differenziazione dei prodotti, rafforzando le attivita di marketing, in modo da riuscire ad agire come price maker. Il lavoro e finalizzato a valutare la capacita delle PMI di decidere il prezzo dei propri prodotti, esaminando la relazione che esiste con le attivita di marketing delle stesse imprese. Il campione analizzato e composto da 130 PMI che producono alimenti tradizionali. Nell’analisi empirica e stato utilizzato come modello un ordinal regression. I risultati hanno evidenziato come le PMI siano caratterizzate da una certa capacita di decidere il prezzo dei propri prodotti. Inoltre, si e riscontrata una relazione positiva fra la possibilita di agire come price maker e le attivita di marketing delle imprese, indicando in particolare l’importanza della differenziazione dei prodotti e delle analisi del mercato.

The Italian food industry in the era of the TTIP negotiate

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to focus, first, on the analysis of recent trends of the European and Italian food industries, and, second, on the possible implications that the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiate can exert on the Italian agri-food system. Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on an in-depth analysis of current economic trends, characteristics of production structure, and the trade balance of Italy-USA commercial relationship in the context of EU market. The main advantages and disadvantages that can be derived from the TTIP negotiation are pointed out. Findings – The analysis of the Italian food industry highlights a very fragmented production structure characterized by the coexistence on the market of a small number of big companies and a large number of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. Such bipolar structure constitutes a constraint to internationalization and limits the quantities of exportable products. The TTIP can represent an...

Voluntary traceability standards and the role of economic incentives

Purpose – The proliferation of traceability standards shed light on the understanding of the mechanisms leading agri-food firms to choose among different kind of rules and systems for their implementation. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of firms economic incentives on the adoption of different traceability systems. In specific, the analysis aims at segmenting food firms on the basis of economic incentives for the adoption of voluntary traceability and the levels of the system complexity implemented. Design/methodology/approach – A survey based on an ad hoc questionnaire was conducted in 2014 on a sample of firms certified ISO 22005/2008. Cluster analysis was run for the analysis and one-way ANOVA was used to confirm differences among clusters. Findings – The analysis presents three different clusters in terms of economic incentives for voluntary traceability and the level of systems complexity implemented. All the clusters reveal that supply chain incentives play a key role. Moreover...

Environmental Sustainability and the Food System

The food system and the natural environment are closely linked. Indeed, food production strongly relies on environmental resources and services, and releases outputs into the environment. This implies that food-related activities can create negative externalities for the environment, for example related to overexploitation and pollution, given that the market fails to deliver the socially optimum level of resource use and/or pollution. Given this market failure, public intervention is required to regulate such activities. Public intervention can take different forms, from no intervention to simple guidelines up to strict regulation. Indeed, regulation can follow either an approach that outlines general principles or that fixes specific standards, or that promotes information and education.

Exploring the Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet and Its Relationship with Individual Lifestyle: The Role of Healthy Behaviors, Pro-Environmental Behaviors, Income, and Education

The reduction of diet-related diseases and the improvement of environmental sustainability represent two of the major 21st century food policy challenges. Sustainable diets could significantly contribute to achieving both of these goals, improving consumer health and reducing the environmental impact of food production and consumption. The Mediterranean diet (MD) represents an excellent example of sustainable diet, however recent evidence indicates that such a dietary pattern is now progressively disappearing in Mediterranean countries. In such a context, this paper explores how individual lifestyle and habits are related to a high/low adherence to the MD model. The goal is to examine whether there is a relationship between individuals’ healthy and pro-environmental behaviors and their level of adherence to the MD. The analysis also explores the role of consumer income and education. The study is based on the Italian population (n = 42,000) and uses a structural equation model approach. The results outline that the MD is part of a sustainability-oriented lifestyle and stress the key role of both income and education in affecting adherence to MD. Future policy aimed at contrasting the gradual disappearance of the MD should emphasize the sustainable dimension of the MD, meanwhile reducing socio-economic disparities among different population segments.