Purpose: The need for consumer involvement in innovation processes has been recognised for four decades. Consumer involvement as a part of open innovation is an important strategy in the food sector, specifically for enhancing consumer acceptance and promoting successful market introduction. The purpose of this paper is to systematically analyse the concept of consumers’ role and the level of consumer integration and interaction in recent food innovation processes.Design/methodology/approach: In 2016, a three-step literature search was performed to identify the state-of-the-art scientific literature on consumer-involvement approaches and methods in the food sector. These methods and approaches were qualitatively analysed based on categories in accordance with the qualitative content analysis method.Findings: A key finding is that most implemented consumer-involvement approaches and methods fall under von Hippel’s manufacturer-active paradigm rather than the customer-active paradigm (CAP). However, there are practical reasons for the low diffusion of CAP. The presumed reasons include needed change of the perception of roles and of organisational structures, as well as a lack of trust among actors.Practical implications: There remains a need to promote an active role for consumers, especially amid changing consumer demand and increasingly conscious consumer behaviour concerning food production and processing conditions.Originality/value: This paper contributes to the theoretical and practical discussion about innovation management by reflecting on the innovation paradigm underlying an approach or method. The paper may also have practical implications for the choice and implementation of business models that consider consumers’ role.

An alarming decrease of insects in number and variety calls for measures of protection and promotion, since insects are crucial for the functioning of ecosystems and provide multiple ecosystem services. Agricultural landscapes can provide vast insect habitats if they are managed accordingly. However, little is known about farmers’ problem awareness and attitudes toward insect biodiversity loss, related farming practises, or alternative acceptable insect-friendly solutions. To fill these research gaps, this paper aimed to reveal farmers’ perceptions and attitudes regarding these aspects in two German case studies. We conducted 23 semi-structured interviews with farmers in 2019 and qualitatively analysed them using semantic web analysis. Farmers mostly reported awareness of insects’ ecosystem services and disservices related to agricultural production rather than mentioning the holistic ecological importance of insects. About half of the farmers confirmed insect loss based on their own observations, whereas a similar number doubted there had been a decrease of insects. Most farmers are open-minded towards insect-friendly measures if financially compensated. The farmers also mentioned a joint societal responsibility for insects, economic pressure on farmers to use pesticides due to global market prices, and unbalanced agricultural policies. This study revealed in-depth insights into farmers’ thinking about insects and how farmers contextualise arguments. Our results identified overlaps in farmers’ mental models, which paves the way for co-designing insect-friendly farming practices in landscape labs. Local transformation efforts can also demonstrate new pathways for a shift on the higher levels.

How can buildings be combined with agricultural production and what are the major potential benefits and challenges for the introduction of zero-acreage farming (ZFarming) in Berlin from the relevant stakeholders’ perspectives? These questions were explored through a series of interviews and stakeholder workshops held between 2011 and 2013. The aim was to identify the most suitable building-integrated farming model for the Berlin metropolitan area and to develop guidelines for the model’s successful and sustainable implementation through a stakeholder-driven approach. This paper provides an aggregated synthesis of the outcomes derived from the qualitative interviews and stakeholder workshops. As the results reveal, the stakeholders perceive potential benefits and challenges related to the issue of ZFarming in all dimensions (economic, social, environmental and political). They largely agreed on the importance of focusing on local resources, using energy-efficient production—including social and educational aspects—and developing new market structures when introducing ZFarming to the city of Berlin. The stakeholders identified urban rooftop greenhouses (RTG) as the most promising farming model for Berlin. In a joint collaboration of all stakeholders, a manual for RTG was developed within the participatory innovation process that addresses the identified problems and challenges associated with future implementation and governance of RTG in Berlin and beyond.