The traditional global food supply chains are not just complex, but they do not support the sustainability of agriculture. The business models with the greatest growth potential are those that would allow consumers to buy more directly from producers. Before COVID-19, these alternatives were not just popular but had a relatively high market share compared to post COVID-19 era. However, due to the pandemic and the changes in consumers’ purchasing behavior, the players of short food supply chains had to adapt to the new circumstances. This is why business model innovation is nowadays a priority, which means a substantial renewal of the value delivered to customers, and a significant transformation of the processes and activities of the company/network. The study aimed to examine the dynamic innovation through applied digital marketing solutions that could open up new sales channels and increase the competitiveness of the companies involved. Since Austria is one of the “greenest” countries, its consumers are interested in purchasing sustainably, so they strive to buy directly from the producers. This motivates the authors to use its representative sample to investigate how well adapted the Austrian direct sellers are to the unsteady circumstances. Based on a previous research framework, a principal component analysis was applied and the elements defined therein were the variables of non-hierarchical clustering. The used methods highlight the lack of online distribution and marketing of the farmer shops, which could multiply the harmful effects of the pandemic. The classification of the shops demonstrated the generally low share of innovative direct sellers. We conclude that in the new era, businesses that effectively apply open business innovation models will be able to compete in the market.

The present work is a selection of empirical studies focusing on the characteristics and attitudes of Short Food Supply Chain (SFSC) consumers. Using a systematic literature review approach (PRISMA), we identified five different aspects of the SFSC within the publications: producer participation, swot, state intervention, attitude and “other”. Based on the findings of studies from the academic literature, the results are quite mixed. Though the number of SFSC-related empirical studies has risen in recent years, there is a lack of SFSC-related data, even in the European Union (EU), where a sustainable agriculture and food system must play a crucial role in the implementation of the Green Deal. Overall, it is hard to name those features that, without any doubt, affect the willingness of consumers to purchase from an SFSC. The studies mostly remarked on age and education; however, even these findings cannot be generalized. Therefore, some consumers of non-global food supply chains could be characterized very well, but these observations could differ in diverse cases because of local factors.

Today’s rapidly changing economic and social environment requires many new and sustainable solutions for the agricultural sector, in particular in terms of achieving higher yields and conserving arable land. However, the latest technologies and innovative ideas could answer these issues and even support a smooth transition into a green economy. The current work studies one of the best solutions—consumer acceptance. Even though vertical farming is relatively widely researched, the potential clients are seldom analysed. The applied systematic literature review (PRISMA) approach revealed various vital characteristics related to the consumers based on academic publications. According to the selected studies’ results, consumers’ adoption of innovative technology is most influenced by prior knowledge of vertical farming and the importance of sustainability. Some studies found further correlations between age and gender regarding adoption, while others did not investigate these or found their role irrelevant. Most consumers found vertical farming “too artificial” and identified this as a major inhibiting factor. However, further investigation has shown that appropriate and informative marketing could significantly increase the understanding of the concept and, through this, the acceptance and widespread practical application of the innovation. In addition, the authors want to use the current work to highlight the unsettled state of vertical management. It can be concluded that new regulations could increase confidence in vertical farming, which could be further supported by the theoretical model developed in this study, thus allowing the creation of a fully traceable product chain.

Legitimacy theory posits that organizations strive to align with societal expectations to gain advantages, yet its focus has primarily been at the company level. The purpose of the study is to investigate the global applicability of legitimacy theory by examining the relationship between Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) disclosures and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). In particular, the study sets the task : analyze the impact of ESG disclosures on FDI across twenty-eight countries; compare the ESG performance of different nations; and explore the role of regional ESG standards in influencing ESG performance and FDI. The application of the Kruskal-Wallis test revealed the dominant position of Western nations with developed ESG standards. The Bonferroni adjustment post hoc test on World Bank data indicated that countries with well-developed ESG standards act as global investors, trusting the high standards of rapidly improving Western regions. Statistical tests confirmed that countries in the developing stage, with values somewhat similar to the most developed areas, present attractive alternatives for foreign investors. However, the lack of standardized norms hinders the establishment of trustworthy economic relationships. These findings suggest that just as businesses use Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to gain legitimacy, countries can adopt ESG practices to align with global norms and attract FDI. Although this transition may be time-consuming, developing regional ESG disclosure norms could serve as an effective stepping stone.

Water management is one of the crucial factors that impact the globally. As droughts become more frequent due to global warming, of this limited resource becomes increasingly important. Lately, tion of wastewater for irrigation purposes is considered a game that in many cases, wastewater treatment is poorly studied. This the EU member states water management practices based on the FAO Kruskal-Wallis test of the clustered countries revealed that the the most attention to wastewater treatment within the EU. Even oped countries treat quite low amount of wastewater, and based on are more likely to face water scarcity, the applied methods did not between the water stress levels of the clustered member states. cal tests highlighted that the various water stress levels of the not be connected with the utilization of the existing irrigation results, increasing the application of the built-out system may cient to serve and even increase the operation of the agricultural putting additional strain on the resources in the short term. of wastewater-based irrigation systems could be useful in those lization of the existing irrigation system is already high, or face Since we are still learning how to deal with this new resource, the of less contaminated water sources like collected rainwater or the development of the new system. This promising approach could significantly to several Sustainable Development Goals but also hance and over time even supersede the current method. Highlights for public administration, management and planning: The research analyzes water management practices across the member states using FAO’s Aquastat database. The study found that developing EU regions pay more attention to ment compared to more developed regions, which treat a lower ater despite facing water scarcity risks. The EU countries’ diverse water stress levels could not be of the current irrigation system. In short term, the built-out the demand of the agricultural production without increasing sure on the limited resources. The wastewater-based innovations should utilize less contaminated like collected rainwater or greywater in more water-stressed the development of a new sustainable irrigation system.

The increasing food prices, the intensifying competition, and even the need for sustainable operation lead the players in the food sector to innovative strategies. Food Loss and Waste (FLW) is a major issue, which the solution could significantly contribute not only to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) but through the novel approaches also to the competitiveness and hence financial success of the actors. The FLW studies are often related to the production, while the retailers have not been broadly researched. Food upcycling has been emerging as an innovative solution, to transfer food loss into marketable food products. The current study analyses the surplus-based upcycled food products’ consumer acceptance and the competitive advantages that could be realized by the exploitation of this innovative approach. Following the PRISMA guidelines, some of the essential product features could be observed based on academic publications. The upcycled food is not well-known. Individuals who are environmentally conscious support the most this type of product. However, the low level of processing was seen as a desirable feature for everyone. Due to the low level of processing, technophobia should not hamper, but rather support the widespread of surplus-based products. Similar to conventional food, taste, sensory appeal, and price are those characteristics that can influence the consumers' decision-making. Without a significant increase in marketing expenditures, innovative retailers can influence the potential customer engagement through comprehensive and educational advertising. Offline presentations and trials are consistently more persuasive in involving customers, but the significance of online information sharing is equally important. These results imply, that innovative businesses by selling upcycled food could realize competitive advantages from multiple sources, while contributing to the SDGs too.