SMEs, that represent the greater part of European food firms producing traditional food products (TFPs), meet difficulties in adapting their strategies to market changes, and in competing with big enterprises. Marketing management capabilities play a key role in good SMEs performance in the...

In the EU, small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), which constitute the majority of firms in the food industry, are fighting for survival as they face growing market competition from large firms (Knight, 2000). On the other hand, market opportunities for SMEs are connected to the evolution of...

This paper analyses voluntary traceability effects on the coordination of the food supply chain from the transaction cost perspective. The analysis concerns Italian firms and makes particular reference to the meat sector. A survey was conducted by questionnaire to assess the changes in key...

The purpose of this paper is to assess the marketing management capabilities of SMEs producing traditional food products in EU throughout the development of a benchmarking tool. SMEs represent the greater part of European food firms and they find it very difficult to adapt to market changes, and...

Private standards are among the main measures that can be implemented to differentiate food production. Retailers have been particularly active in setting food safety and quality systems for the development of their private labels. The purpose of this paper is to identify the effects of...

ABSTRACT The price‐making ability of food small and medium‐sized enterprises (SME) is important for their market survival. Since pricing is a part of marketing activities, by developing specific marketing capabilities, firms can improve their ability to make pricing decisions. This paper...

Paper accepted after the review process for presentation at the 8th International Conference on Management in AgriFood Chains and Networks Ede-Wageningen, The Netherlands, May 28–30, 2008

Traceability is helping retailers manage food safety risks and support product differentiation. This paper aims to investigate how traceability may be used to screen supplier for private labels dedicated provider pools. Retailers in the UK and Italy have several private label product lines and...

Within the framework of European food safety measures, Reg. 1760/2000 and 1825/2000 have introduced mandatory traceability and relevant labelling into the beef sector. The paper analyses whether information on meat labels can be considered a useful instrument for consumers, facilitating the...

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the marketing management capabilities of SMEs producing traditional food products, in order to analyse the market orientation of SMEs in the food industry. Following the theoretical approach of Market Orientation, our analysis is based on an assessment of...