Purpose: To explore the relationship between sustainability and the complexity of the food supply chain (FSC) and to promote adopting a sustainable approach that balances financial growth, environmental preservation and social well-being.Design/methodology/approach: Aquantitative method approach was employed using a survey of 379 respondents. Principal component analysis (PCA) was employed to evaluate the factors contributing to sustainability and their impact on the complexity of the FSC.Findings: Sustainability amplifies the complexity of the FSC. Several factors that influence the complexity attributes were identified, including clean technologies, stakeholder engagement and supply chain coordination.Research limitations/implications: Highlights the importance of adopting a sustainable approach that balances financial growth, environmental preservation and social well-being in FSCs. It also suggests the need for further research to improve understanding of the factors influencing the complexity of the FSC.Practical implications: Companies operating in the FSC should invest in control measures, risk identification and prevention, employee training and awareness and policies and procedures for waste management and environmental sustainability.Social implications: Highlights the importance of social responsibility in the FSC, including all stakeholders. It also emphasizes the need to minimize negative impacts on the environment and ensure the preservation of natural resources.Originality/value: Provides a comprehensive analysis of the complexity attributes of the FSC and their relationship with sustainability factors. It offers practical and theoretical insights for companies to sustainably manage the FSC.

Mass customization is a strategy to improve value generation for customers, by offering product variety and, at the same time, maintaining costs and delivery time to an acceptable level. A key problem for applying this strategy in the housebuilding sector is the definition of the solution space, i.e. the range of product alternatives that will be offered. This paper proposes an adaptation of conjoint analysis to identify customer preferences regarding customizable attributes in low-cost housing projects. The utility of this adaptation is illustrated by a case study, which was carried out in a construction company that had delivered low-income housing projects, and offered some degree of product flexibility. Results indicate that this technique was effective to understand customers' preferences out of a range of housing attributes, by providing a ranking of those attributes chosen by customers. Therefore, this technique can support decision-making when dealing with trade-offs between customers' preferences, product flexibility and costs, which is an important concern for companies that deliver customized housing units.