Green innovation in the Latin American Agri-food Industry : Understanding the influence of family involvement and business practices

Müller, Claudio and Canale, Fernanda and Discua Cruz, Allan (2022) Green innovation in the Latin American Agri-food Industry : Understanding the influence of family involvement and business practices. British Food Journal, 124 (7). pp. 2209-2238. ISSN 0007-070X

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Abstract

PurposeOver the past few years, several scholars have focused on green innovation in the agri-food industry. In line with this research stream, the purpose of this paper is to cover some unexplored areas regarding if stakeholder pressures have a positive influence on family engagement to implement green innovation practices and socially responsible practices.Design/methodology/approachBy adopting a qualitative research methodology, mainly based on a multiple case study, this paper seeks to cover some unexplored areas regarding the understanding the relationship between stakeholders, family involvement and business practices in green innovation. The authors analyze eight cases from five Latin American countries selected, all are family firms focused on agricultural production.FindingsLatin American family firms from agri-food industry, have a positive influence from internal/external stakeholder to implement green innovation initiatives and socially responsible practices, that result in short/long term business practices.Originality/valueThe originality of the proposed conceptual model stems from the need to overcome the previous theoretical models based on the stakeholder theory, which deals separately with internal/external influence over the firm.