Serena Strazzullo

Agrifood supply chains are increasingly exposed to environmental, operational, and food safety risks, while technological innovation is attracting growing attention for its potential to improve supply chain resilience and management. However, limited attention has been devoted to understanding how technological applications may contribute to mitigating specific risks affecting agrifood supply chains. This study examines the relationship between technological innovation and risk management in agrifood supply chains. To this end, the main risks relevant to technological innovation are identified based on the literature, then prioritised through expert evaluation using a fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process. Next, we examine how technological applications may contribute to mitigating specific risk categories. The findings show that risks can be organised into categories relating to environmental conditions and natural resource availability, food safety and product authenticity, data and information management, and supply chain activities. The results highlight the relevance of food safety and environmental risks, as well as vulnerabilities related to traceability, logistics, and information management. Moreover, the study shows how technological applications may contribute to mitigating specific risks, particularly by improving information availability, traceability, monitoring, and coordination. This study contributes to the literature by providing a conceptual classification of the main risk categories affecting agrifood supply chains in relation to technological innovation and by analysing the connections between technological applications and risk management. From a practical perspective, the findings offer useful insights for practitioners and policymakers to orient technological innovation towards the mitigation of specific supply chain risks.

The fashion industry in Europe has increasingly recognized the importance of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting as a key driver for sustainable development and transparency. As consumer awareness grows and regulatory frameworks evolve, companies are pressured to disclose their sustainability practices, ethical labor standards, and governance policies. Artificial intelligence (AI) is emerging as a powerful tool in this transformation, providing innovative solutions for data collection, analysis, and reporting. AI‐driven systems support fashion companies in monitoring environmental impacts, optimizing supply chains, and improving labor conditions while ensuring ESG compliance. Their predictive capabilities also enable early detection of ESG risks, supporting proactive sustainability strategies. However, the adoption of AI into ESG monitoring and reporting is still underdeveloped, particularly in sector‐specific contexts. This paper examines the intersection of ESG reporting and the role of AI in enhancing transparency and accountability, in the European fashion industry. Drawing on seven in‐depth interviews with sustainability managers from Italian companies, the study employs thematic analysis to identify key patterns in ESG reporting and AI adoption. The findings reveal heterogeneous ESG maturity levels, limited but growing AI integration, and strong managerial awareness of digital transformation needs in sustainability reporting. This study contributes to the growing body of research on sustainable business practices. Theoretically, it offers an empirical foundation to explore AI–ESG integration across industries. Practically, it drives both corporate responsibility and competitive advantage, emphasizing the need for digital transformation to meet the evolving demands of stakeholders in the European fashion sector.

The adoption of blockchain systems can help agrifood companies improve social sustainability by enhancing transparency and accountability. In the wine industry, this is important to build trust relationships with consumers, contrast counterfeiting, and prove regulatory compliance. Despite this, blockchain adoption remains limited. This study aims to analyze the determinants of blockchain adoption intention through a quantitative survey of 103 small Italian wineries. Specifically, we use structural equation modeling to test a model grounded in the UTAUT theory, enhanced by the inclusion of the market dynamics variable. This includes aspects related to changing consumer preferences and competitive dynamics and aims to capture the effects of recent changes within wine supply chains on wineries' intention to adopt blockchain. The results show that performance expectancy and social influence have a positive effect on blockchain adoption intention, while effort expectancy, facilitating conditions, and market dynamics are not significant. This study provides several contributions. First, it offers a theoretical framework for investigating blockchain adoption in the wine industry. Second, it prompts reflection on the role that organizational, technological, and environmental variables may play in fostering blockchain adoption.

Gen Z is playing a key role in advancing sustainability efforts by driving climate activism, promoting responsible consumption, and engaging in political discourse. However, research on the factors influencing Gen Z's green purchase intentions remains limited, particularly regarding the role of greenwashing perception in shaping these decisions. This study expands the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) framework by incorporating greenwashing perception as a key determinant of green purchase intentions among Italian Gen Z consumers. A quantitative approach using PLS‐SEM is employed to test the proposed hypotheses. The results confirm that the TPB constructs positively drive green purchase intentions, while greenwashing perception has a negative impact, potentially counterbalancing the influence of pro‐environmental drivers. This study offers valuable insights into sustainable consumer behavior and provides practical implications for businesses and policymakers, emphasizing the need for transparent and credible sustainability strategies to maintain consumer trust and encourage genuine green consumption.