Evaluating the role of short food supply chains as a driver of sustainability: Empirical evidence from China

Wang, Meng

Abstract

While the industrialised agri-food supply chain has achieved tremendous success in the past decades, it has been increasingly criticised for its unsustainable issues. Short Food Supply Chains (SFSCs) have emerged as one of the sustainable alternative food networks. While some studies have shown that SFSCs is closely linked with sustainability, research on this topic in a developing country context is limited. Therefore, this thesis proposes to investigate the linkage between SFSCs and sustainability in the context of China. A systematic literature review was conducted to investigate the sustainable performance of SFSCs and provide theoretical foundations for this research. Afterwards, a novel conceptual framework was developed, which examines the relationships of SFSCs with the extended five dimensions of sustainability, sustainable livelihoods framework, moral economy, and the Chinese relationship. With the research paradigm of interpretivism, the mixed-method
approach was applied in this study. In the city of Xinxiang, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 farmers and survey data were collected from 532 customers. Covariance-based structural equation modelling (CB-SEM) was used to analyse the survey responses. It was found that the Chinese relationship is ineffective in motivating consumers’ performance towards SFSCs, while the awareness of moral economy positively influences consumers’ motivations towards SFSCs. Moreover, qualitative data from farmers and other quantitative data from consumers suggested that SFSCs play a vital role in enhancing sustainability and farmers’
livelihoods. This study contributes to SFSCs research by originally focusing on the cultural and governance dimensions of sustainability, examining the joint implementation of sustainable livelihoods and moral economy, and featuring the Chinese relationship between farmers and consumers in SFSCs practices. The study sets a foundation for new research avenues in the SFSCs context and provides practical implications for policymakers to monitor and encourage farmers and consumers’ participation in SFSCs.

Citation

Wang, M. Evaluating the role of short food supply chains as a driver of sustainability: Empirical evidence from China. (Thesis). University of the West of England. Retrieved from https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/7734696

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Sep 9, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: May 26, 2022
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/7734696
• Award Date: May 26, 2022