Common Cause, coopetition or competition? Resource contestation in food waste recovery networks

Abstract

Food waste is a problem that occurs throughout the supply chain, squandering natural resources, and contributing to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. While attention has been directed at systems designed to facilitate movement of food from manufacturer to consumers, little is known on alternative practices to recover food products no longer desired by the consumers. Responding to calls for greater attention to systems elements in macromarketing and for work that challenges the WEIRD hegemony, we investigate the issue of how collaborative networks can support more robust food systems. A qualitative case study draws on prolonged participant observation and depth interviews to address the question, “How do stakeholders in collaborative networks achieve shared system outcomes?” We apply institutional logic and the concept of coopetition to explore the dynamics within a food recovery network. Our findings suggest that notwithstanding shared commitments to sustainability, competition and conflicting interests can compromise systems performance. This study contributes a new perspective of collaborative network behaviour and highlights shortfalls in current theory and practices resulting from reliance on data collected from WEIRD contexts.

WEIRD is not Enough: Sustainability Insights from Non-WEIRD Countries

“…Kunchamboo, Little, and Cheah (2023) find a ‘different reality’ in non-WEIRD contexts relative to WEIRD research on the same phenomena. Transporting WEIRD solutions to the rest of the world will almost certainly not result in success.…”

“…In Kunchamboo, Little, and Cheah (2023) “Common Cause, Coopetition or Competition? Resource Contestation in Food Waste Recovery Networks” the authors focus on one of the world's most significant problems, food waste.…”

“…Sustainability activities without trust represent green washing and not only damage trust in sustainability transitions, they also damage the reputation of the discipline of marketing and with that our ability to be part of the solution to over consumption, waste, etc.. In Kunchamboo, Little, and Cheah (2023) "Common Cause, Coopetition or Competition? Resource Contestation in Food Waste Recovery Networks" the authors focus on one of the world's most significant problems, food waste.…”

Marketing E Sustentabilidade Na Prática: Um Estudo De Caso Sobre a Integração Entre Marketing E Sustentabilidade Nos Programas De Logística Reversa De Quatro Empresas Multinacionais Atuando No Brasil

“…Em outro estudo de caso múltiplo, também do setor de moda,Bastos Rudolph et al (2023) analisam, por meio de entrevistas em profundidade e observação direta online em website e mídias sociais, as práticas de marketing de pequenos varejos que se autodeclaram éticos e as comparam com a literatura sobre as práticas dos varejos tradicionais e fast fashion . Outros estudos que analisam sistemas de marketing específicos (e.g., DAVIES; TORRENTS, 2017; KALVERKAMP; RAABE, 2018;KUNCHAMBOO et al, 2023) -empreendedorismo em mercados de subsistência, economia circular na indústria automotiva e rede de redistribuição de alimentos descartados, respectivamente -também optaram pelo estudo de caso como método, baseando-se em entrevistas em profundidade com informantes chave, e triangulando os achados com observação direta, dados secundários (websites e dados de imprensa) e entrevistas com stakeholders externos.…”