The significant changes which have occurred in the competitive scenario in which fashion companies operate, combined with deep transformation in the lifestyles of final consumers, translate into the need to redefine the business models. Starting from a general overview of the emerging trends today affecting the fashion industry, the paper will devote particular attention to the analysis of the most important phenomena that are influencing this market and the drivers for long-lasting competitiveness: sustainability and attention to the so-called circular economy. According to the literature, from the consumer behavior’s point of view, the younger generations are paying growing attention to these issues. In light of these considerations, this paper aimed to analyze how sustainability and circular economy principles are influencing the perception of the fashion world among the new generations of consumers. After mapping the emerging trends in the fashion industry and analyzing the role of sustainability from both the demand and supply side, this paper presents the results of a survey conducted through an anonymous questionnaire made in collaboration with Insubria University. The results of the survey describe the students’ behaviour as regards fashion’s emerging trends, with particular attention to sustainability issues and the application of circular economy principles. The survey results were analyzed from both a descriptive and quantitative point of view with the aim to check the different perceptions as regards sustainable fashion and circular economy in fashion, focusing mainly on the so-called Generation Z. The results of the analysis proved to be consistent with the theoretical framework and confirm the relevance of sustainability issues in the fashion industry today in driving the demand of Generation Z, by considering a gender perspective. Moreover, the circular economy is descriptively analyzed with the aim to understand the relevance of the different facets for the entire sample of respondents.

The advent of the digital economy and, implicitly, of competition in the online marketplace has triggered new challenges in terms of consumer protection approaches. Online, consumer skills are expected to be improved and the level of consumer awareness and engagement increased. These are the baseline prerequisites of the sustainable purchasing decision and, thus, should be considered as pillars of responsible online consumption. Consistent with the novel consumption challenges, the current paper is intended to advance and test a research model integrating five main constructs, namely, competition in the online marketplace, online consumer skills, online consumer awareness, online consumer engagement and sustainable purchasing decision. A total of 318 college students—a representative population of the new Millennials generation—accepted the invitation to participate in a questionnaire-based survey. In order to pertinently analyze the collected data, a structural equation modeling technique based on partial least squares was employed for the assessment of the measurement and the structural model. The findings indicated that the model explained 24.4 percent of the variance of sustainable purchasing decisions, while the highest influence was exerted by the improvement of online consumer skills. This implies that online providers should revisit their products sustainability standards on purpose to preserve a competitive advantage.

One form of cycle tourism can be represented features tourism that focuses on the relation between biking and the discovery of a territory. Geared toward forms of holiday that allow for the low consumption of natural resources and a connection with the landscape, cycle tourism represents a concrete expression of sustainable tourism. As an emerging phenomenon in Italy, cycle tourism requires further understanding in order to identify methods of development and applicable business models. The aim of this paper is to explore the characteristics of cycle tourism’s development in northern Italy in order to identify the links that exist between sustainability and the group of cycle tourists who prefer to spend their holidays discovering little-known or remote territories. For this study, we selected three different destinations in sensitive mountain areas that converge on the common goal to use cycling to rejuvenate the tourism sector. It has been found that the development of cycle tourism in areas not characterized by mass tourism, such as those considered here, is economically, socially, and environmentally beneficial. The business models through which cycle tourism usually develops include a bottom up approach or a top down approach, involving the cooperation of several local destination stakeholders.

Food product safety and quality are considered to be of the utmost significance on a global scale. Highly publicized food safety incidents have significantly increased public interest in food traceability, defined as “the ability to track any food, feed, food-producing animal or substance that will be used for consumption, through all stages of production, processing, and distribution” (European Union). The World Health Organization (WHO) suggests that governments, producers, and consumers work together to ensure food safety, which calls for the dissemination of pertinent information throughout complex food value networks. Therefore, it is in the best interest of profit-driven businesses to implement information systems for tracking food goods, a significant byproduct of which is the likelihood of increased profitability. This paper aims to explore the ample possibilities for such implementations that are now available thanks to blockchain technology. In particular, the goal is to explore the dynamics of this technology and identify how it helps to create good customer relationships. For this purpose, the case of Lavazza, an important Italian roasted coffee company that has recently introduced a blockchain-tracked product to the market, is analyzed in detail, including all the steps that made the application of the technology possible and how it was finally communicated to the consumer. The case study offers a concrete example that resulted from both stakeholders’ internal need for greater traceability and consumers’ external need for greater transparency regarding the company’s sourcing processes. In this pilot project, collaboration among all the entities that are part of the chain was essential to delivering a formative, customized, and ultimately, easy-to-understand experience to the end consumer. Finally, Lavazza is an example of a company that decided to challenge itself by following a trend that will be increasingly present in future socioeconomic scenarios.