Bianka Kühne

Market orientation and marketing management of traditional food producers in the EU

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the market orientation and the marketing management capabilities of SMEs that produce traditional food products, by identifying their critical points in marketing activities.Design/methodology/approach – The theoretical framework of this analysis relates to market orientation approach. Marketing management capability was evaluated through a questionnaire using proxies to study the different stages of marketing management. The survey involved 150 firms of which 118 are SMEs producing traditional food products, located in Hungary, Belgium, and Italy. The data were collected by a self‐administered internet survey and were analysed using multivariate analyses.Findings – Cluster analysis resulted in four clusters with different marketing management capabilities. Most of the SMEs in the sample lack marketing management capabilities, even if a considerable proportion of the firms considered report good marketing capabilities that lead to a market orientation. Th...

The influence of relationship quality on the innovation capacity in traditional food chains

Purpose – Relational aspects between actors in a chain have been found to influence innovation capacity. Yet, many studies focus rather on groups of chain members, without investigating personalized links between the chain members. Other research involved case‐studies on a limited number of individual chains. The purpose of this paper is to examine quantitatively how the perceived relationship quality among three relational linked chain members affects the innovation capacity in traditional food chains beyond the dyad.Design/methodology/approach – Evidence is drawn from a survey of 90 triplets of firms (three interlinked chain members), with each triplet belonging to a single individual traditional food chain. Research was conducted in three European countries and six traditional food product categories. Heterogeneity across these chains is examined based on cluster analysis. Binary logistic regression is used to examine the influence of relationship quality on the innovation capacity in the chains.Findin...

Innovation capacity of food chains: a novel approach

Our study aims at being the starting point for a novel approach of investigating the innovation capacity of and the relationships in the whole chain. We combine the analyses of the innovation process and the innovation system, thereby, following the theory of the new economy. Extensive data collection was conducted in the traditional food sector with SME-food manufacturers (FMs) and their suppliers and customers, in order to compare a large number of individual chains by applying multivariate statistical methods. Our study reveals that the comparison of individual chains delivers valuable results. It is shown that chains with three different types of innovation capacity exist in the traditional food sector: low, medium and high. These chains differ according their chain relationship quality in terms of trust, reputation and conflict. For future research, we suggest to gradually increase the degree of complexity of the studied system.

How do innovation partners differ with respect to innovation type and stage in the innovation journey of farmers

The locus of innovation is the network within which a farm is embedded. This paper investigates the relationships between network partners and innovation (types and stages in the process) in agriculture, which is unique in this field. In contrast to the majority of innovation studies, the authors also include marketing and organizational innovations and investigate the need for different partners along the innovation journey. The study is based on in-depth interviews with farmers. The findings provide useful research-related and managerial implications that enable farmers and network coordinators to improve the innovation capacity in agriculture via networking. The main conclusion is that, depending on the stage in the innovation journey and the type of innovation, different resources and hence different partners are needed. Therefore, farmers must be aware of the importance of partner suitability and network heterogeneity related to the type of innovation and stage in their innovation process.

The importance of networks for knowledge exchange and innovation in the food industry

Abstract: The various types of knowledge flows that are important in the various types of innovations are investigated using three case studies on networks in the Flemish food sector. Knowledge flows in networks are shown to depend on various types of ties, context-dependent variables, and the intermediation functions of the network, i.e. demand articulation, network formation and innovation process management.

Asymmetric relationships in networked agricultural innovation processes

Purpose – In innovation networks, asymmetric relationships are both considered as an opportunity and a threat for the enhancement of innovation. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how much asymmetry Flemish farmers perceive in their relationships for innovation with colleagues, suppliers and buyers. Design/methodology/approach – In total, 86 farmers active in four different agricultural subsectors in Flanders were consulted, of which 38 via in-depth interviews and 48 in seven focus groups. Data were analysed using NVivo. Findings – The authors found that across subsectors, different players in innovation networks play different roles. Furthermore, the authors observed that the majority of farmers see their relationships more as a necessity for the farm to be able to function, than as an opportunity for innovation. If they collaborate for innovation, they often prefer symmetric relationships with similar companies on horizontal level. Vertical collaboration for innovation is not very popular in th...