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Private eco-brands and green market development: towards new forms of sustainable governance in food retailing

Chkanikova, Olga LU and Lehner, Matthias LU orcid (2015) In Journal of Cleaner Production 107. p.74-84
Abstract
This study seeks to analyze the role of retail eco-brands in the development of markets for sustainability certified food products. Building on insights from the New Institutional Economics (NIE) paradigm, but also broader literature in the supply chain management and marketing research, we suggest that private eco-branding and third-party certification can be explained as private institutional arrangements that motivate and enable sustainability governance by retailers both upstream and downstream in the value chain. Based on semi-structured interviews with Western European retailers, this study reveals critical functions of retailers' sustainabilityeoriented brands. These functions address a number of inefficiencies pertained to the... (More)
This study seeks to analyze the role of retail eco-brands in the development of markets for sustainability certified food products. Building on insights from the New Institutional Economics (NIE) paradigm, but also broader literature in the supply chain management and marketing research, we suggest that private eco-branding and third-party certification can be explained as private institutional arrangements that motivate and enable sustainability governance by retailers both upstream and downstream in the value chain. Based on semi-structured interviews with Western European retailers, this study reveals critical functions of retailers' sustainabilityeoriented brands. These functions address a number of inefficiencies pertained to the third-party certification, making eco-branding a private product policy tool to proac- tively set and implement sustainability in food production and consumption practices. At the same time, limitations associated with the development and use of private eco-brands are identified. Based on these limitations, we suggest that while retailer's eco-brands are likely to play an important role in trans- forming food markets towards higher levels of sustainability in the future, the continuous value of third- party certification schemes in implementing sustainability in the food supply chain should not be underestimated. The role of the latter will be to reduce transaction costs and liability risks associated with retail efforts to govern product sustainability issues upstream in the supply chain. (Less)
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author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Standards, Certification, Eco-branding, Sustainability governance, Green market, Food retailing
in
Journal of Cleaner Production
volume
107
pages
74 - 84
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • wos:000363071000008
  • scopus:84942988793
ISSN
0959-6526
DOI
10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.05.055
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
c6ed1d7c-034e-4f52-a2dc-e29569ef7177 (old id 5141955)
alternative location
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652614005320
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 15:03:35
date last changed
2024-01-10 12:05:40
@article{c6ed1d7c-034e-4f52-a2dc-e29569ef7177,
  abstract     = {{This study seeks to analyze the role of retail eco-brands in the development of markets for sustainability certified food products. Building on insights from the New Institutional Economics (NIE) paradigm, but also broader literature in the supply chain management and marketing research, we suggest that private eco-branding and third-party certification can be explained as private institutional arrangements that motivate and enable sustainability governance by retailers both upstream and downstream in the value chain. Based on semi-structured interviews with Western European retailers, this study reveals critical functions of retailers' sustainabilityeoriented brands. These functions address a number of inefficiencies pertained to the third-party certification, making eco-branding a private product policy tool to proac- tively set and implement sustainability in food production and consumption practices. At the same time, limitations associated with the development and use of private eco-brands are identified. Based on these limitations, we suggest that while retailer's eco-brands are likely to play an important role in trans- forming food markets towards higher levels of sustainability in the future, the continuous value of third- party certification schemes in implementing sustainability in the food supply chain should not be underestimated. The role of the latter will be to reduce transaction costs and liability risks associated with retail efforts to govern product sustainability issues upstream in the supply chain.}},
  author       = {{Chkanikova, Olga and Lehner, Matthias}},
  issn         = {{0959-6526}},
  keywords     = {{Standards; Certification; Eco-branding; Sustainability governance; Green market; Food retailing}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{74--84}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Journal of Cleaner Production}},
  title        = {{Private eco-brands and green market development: towards new forms of sustainable governance in food retailing}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.05.055}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.05.055}},
  volume       = {{107}},
  year         = {{2015}},
}