Stakeholder perceptions of alternative food entrepreneurs.

This paper focuses on rural entrepreneurs' perceptions of their stakeholders with respect to their influence towards the economic success of farms and environmental issues, as well as their trustworthiness. There is special emphasis on the comparison of perceptions between suppliers of alternative food supply chains and suppliers of conventional supply chains. Survey research, with a final sample size of 522 rural entrepreneurs in Central Finland, was used as a research method. The results showed that 28% of the respondents could be defined as alternative food entrepreneurs. Significant differences between alternative and conventional food entrepreneurs were related to perceptions towards consumers, retailers/wholesalers, production input manufacturers and local farmers. The conclusion was made that particularly the relationship between alternative food entrepreneurs and consumers should be the focus of further studies.

[1]  Juha-Matti Katajajuuri,et al.  Experiences and Improvement Possibilities­LCA Case Study of Broiler Chicken Production , 2007 .

[2]  S. Schaltegger.  A Framework for Ecopreneurship: Leading Bioneers and Environmental Managers to Ecopreneurship , 2002 .

[3]  T. Marsden,et al.  Understanding Alternative Food Networks: Exploring the Role of Short Food Supply Chains in Rural Development , 2003 .

[4]  L. Linnanen.  An Insider's Experiences with Environmental Entrepreneurship , 2002 .

[5]  Madeleine E. Pullman,et al.  UNRAVELING THE FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN: STRATEGIC INSIGHTS FROM CHINA AND THE 2007 RECALLS* , 2008 .

[6]  Robert Isaak,et al.  Green Logic: Ecopreneurship, Theory and Ethics , 1998 .

[7]  Chris Cocklin,et al.  Building alternative agri-food networks: Certification, embeddedness and agri-environmental governance , 2008 .

[8]  Ilmo Mäenpää,et al.  MFA model to assess economic and environmental consequences of food production and consumption , 2007 .

[9]  Jeffery S. McMullen,et al.  Toward a theory of sustainable entrepreneurship: Reducing environmental degradation through entrepreneurial action , 2007 .

[10]  R. Klassen,et al.  Environmental management and manufacturing performance: The role of collaboration in the supply chain , 2008 .

[11]  John Elkington,et al.  Partnerships from cannibals with forks: The triple bottom line of 21st‐century business , 1998 .

[12]  Moya Kneafsey,et al.  Researching European ‘alternative’ food networks: some methodological considerations , 2006 .

[13]  Terry Marsden,et al.  Ecological entrepreneurship: sustainable development in local communities through quality food production and local branding , 2005 .