Bianca Polenzani

Introduction: A value is an implicit principle that arises from judgments about everything around people, whereas a value system is a set of values ordered according to personal preferences. In this context, values can be seen as the adherence to an implicit or explicit set of rules, many of which are related to legality. In this study, legality is understood as the willingness of citizens to abide by the existing set of formal laws. A value system can guide consumers' food choices and provide information on their preferences. In this way, the citizens' food value system can influence the decisions of producers and policymakers.Methods: The present study investigates the food value system of a sample of young adults using the Best-Worst Scale method.Results: Values such as environmental impact rank high in their value system, indicating that adherence to a set of implicit rules and regulations concerning the environment are very important values when choosing food.Discussion: Although adherence to a legal system that protects a public good (the environment) is considered an essential value, legality per se is not. This might suggest, on the one hand, a lack of awareness of legality issues in the Italian food system and, on the other hand, a strong interest in issues perceived as more urgent.

The current paper aims to explore the drivers of the implementation of e-commerce and social commerce among Italian virgin olive oil micro-companies (10 employees or less), according to the Technology-Organization-Environment framework. In order to observe this phenomenon over time, a Generalized Linear Mixed Model was used for the analysis, because it allows considering the heterogeneity characteristic of such types of companies. The results show that technological change is influencing the drivers toward e-commerce adoption and that the size is not as important as it seems. The implementation of new technological sales channels could allow not only to broaden micro firms’ sales horizons but also to overcome significant geographical barriers, enabling expansion toward otherwise inaccessible international markets. It is even more critical considering that the current pandemic situation is forcing the transition from direct/physical to online sales.

The purpose of the research is to evaluate the impact of different kinds of information disclosures of milk labels, investigating the interest among consumers based on their consumption behaviours and characteristics. In this research, all the actions which lead to a healthiness, become expressions of a production process, among which consumers’ food choices, purchase, preparation, and also self-production. Therefore, in the “health creation” production process, information and knowledge about food become “investments”. In this context, label disclosures become a tangible expression of this kind of “investment”. The research question is: what impact do purchase preferences and consumers’ characteristics have on their interest towards the label information provided? Several information disclosures, both mandatory and voluntary, are investigated. Therefore, some choice attributes will be analysed as indicators of the consumer’s behaviour in relation to his investment in food information. The methodology used for the analysis is an Ordered Logit. The analysis of the consumer’s behaviour has been performed by transposing Ménard’s analysis of firm corporate governance (Ménard, Agribus. 34:142–160, 2018) to the consumer as producer of welfare equity. The reduction of information asymmetry is a cost for the producer, and this research may be able to measure how much it would be convenient to invest in this reduction, based on the analysis of the consumer’s behaviour toward his personal investment in food information acquisition.

Extra virgin olive oil sustainability shows that it is strictly connected to local production and certifications. However, consumers’ behaviour toward a local product is tied with the information exchange between producers and consumers. The aim of the research is to analyse, using a logistic regression model, if the attitudes, habits, and behaviours of the consumers influence their opinion on the sustainability of local extra virgin olive oil, relative to the three dimensions of sustainability (environmental, socio-cultural, and economic). This study tries to combine studies about agri-food sustainability and consumers’ behaviour about local consumption, in an attempt to evaluate their attitude towards an agroecology food regime. Indeed, this information can be useful in order to plan adequate and specific interventions to improve the sustainability of the extra virgin olive oil production. The results indicate that the opinion about the sustainability of local extra virgin olive oil is linked to the information exchange between producers and consumers. This confirms that local alternative trade channels require numerous interventions in order to simplify and improve such exchange, both from a managerial and political point of view. Moreover, it can be useful to develop the information and communication technologies, in order to ensure the reliability, the transparency, and the security of the information exchange. This can also be useful to prevent frauds that are very common for this product.