Innovation acceptability in dairy supply chain: a Q methodology analysis

Journal title ECONOMIA AGRO-ALIMENTARE
Author/s Simona Naspetti, Serena Mandolesi, Raffaele Zanoli
Publishing Year 2014 Issue 2014/2 Language Italian
Pages 17 P. 79-95 File size 150 KB
DOI 10.3280/ECAG2014-002005
DOI is like a bar code for intellectual property: to have more infomation click here

Below, you can see the article first page

If you want to buy this article in PDF format, you can do it, following the instructions to buy download credits

Article preview

FrancoAngeli is member of Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA), a not-for-profit association which run the CrossRef service enabling links to and from online scholarly content.

This work illustrates the acceptability of innovations in the Italian dairy supply chain. The research is part of a larger study financed by the EU Commission (EU-FP7 SOLID - "Sustainable Organic and Low-Input Dairying") aimed at optimising the financial, agronomic and nutritional aspects of the organic and low input dairy sector. Several studies demonstrate how the development and the adoption of innovations are critical in improving and increasing the competitiveness of the supply chains (es. Stewart-Knox & Mitchell, 2003). In this work, the Q methodology was applied to investigate the innovation acceptability to organic and low input dairy supply chain members (Consumers, Farmers and Retailers & Processors). The aim was to identify and analyse different and common opinions of the Q participants. The results showed two different perspectives. The first one is a ‘sustainable’ view, shared by the majority of participants to the Q study; the second one is more practical, and mostly adopted by farmers. Some methodological and strategic implications are also presented in detail.

Keywords: Dairy, organic, low input, innovation, Q methodology, supply chain

Jel codes: Q01, Q18, Q21, Q56

  1. Addams, H., & Proops, J. (2000). Social discourse and environmental policy: an application of Q methodology. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
  2. Barry, J., & Proops, J. (1999). Seeking sustainability discourses with Q methodology. Ecological Economics, 28, 337-345. DOI: 10.1016/S0921-8009(98)00053-6
  3. Brown, S.R., (1970). On the use of variance designs in Q methodology. Psychological Record, 20, 179-189.
  4. Brown, S.R. (1980). Political subjectivity, applications of Q methodology in political science. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
  5. Brown, S.R. (1991). A Q methodological tutorial. Downloaded from: http://facstaff.uww.edu/cottlec/Qarchive/Primer1.html
  6. Brown, S.R. (1993). A primer on Q methodology. Operant Subjectivity, 16, 91-138.
  7. Brown, S.R. (1996). Q methodology and qualitative research. Qualitative Health Research, 6(4), 561-567. DOI: 10.1177/104973239600600408
  8. Dg Agri (2012). Prospects for Agricultural Markets and Income in the eu2012-2022, Commission’s Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural development, European Commission, Agriculture and Rural Development, December 2012.
  9. Dryzek, J., & Berejikian, J. (1993). Reconstructive democratic theory. American Political Science Review, 87, 48-60. DOI: 10.2307/2938955
  10. Fisher, R.A. (1935). The design of experiments. Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd.
  11. Grunert K.G., Verbeke W., Kügler J.O., Saeed F., Scholderer J. (2011). Use of consumer insight in the new product development process in the meat sector. Meat Science, 89, 251-258.
  12. Hall, C., (2008). Identifying farmer attitudes towards genetically modified (gm) corps in Scotland: Are they pro- or anti-gm? Geoforum, 39, 204-212. DOI: 10.1016/j.geoforum.2007.06.003
  13. Inea (2012). L’agricoltura Italiana Conta 2012, Il Sole 24 ORE – Agrisole.
  14. Ismea (2012a). Scenario mondiale e nazionale: 2010 e 2011 a confronto, presentazione Ismea, www.ismea.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/6611.
  15. Ismea (2012b). Check up competitività filiera lattiero-casearia, presentazione Ismea, www.ismea.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/5900.
  16. Jongen, W.M.F., Meulenberg, M.T.G. (2005). Innovation in Agri-Food Systems. Wageningen Academic Publishers. Wageningen. DOI: 10.3920/978-90-8686-666-3
  17. McKeown, B., Thomas, D. (2013). Q Methodology. sage Publications inc, 2nd Revised edition.
  18. Nicholas, P.K., Mandolesi, S., Naspetti, S., Zanoli, R. (2014). Innovations in low input and dairy supply chains. What is acceptable in Europe? Journal of Dairy Science, 97(2), 1157-1167. DOI: 10.3168/jds.2013-7314
  19. Previte, J., Pini, B., & Haslam-McKenzie, F. (2007). Q methodology and rural research. Sociologia Ruralis, 47(2), 135-147. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9523.2007.00433.x
  20. Rajé, F. (2007). Using Q methodology to develop more perceptive insights on transport and social inclusion. Transport Policy, 14, 467-477. DOI: 10.1016/j.tranpol.2007.04.006
  21. Schmolck, P. (2002). PQMethod Manual. Available on www.lrz.de/~schmolck/qmethod/pqmanual.htm.
  22. Stephenson, W. (1935). Correlating persons instead of tests. Character and Personality, 4, 17-24. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-6494.1935.tb02022.x
  23. Stephenson, W. (1953). The study of behaviour: Q technique and its methodology. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
  24. Stewart-Knox, B., & Mitchell, P. (2003). What separates the winners from the losers in new food product development? Trends in Food Science & Technology, 14(1-2), 58-64. DOI: 10.1016/S0924-2244(02)00239-X
  25. Van Exel, N.J.A., & de Graaf, G. (2005). Q methodology: A sneak preview. Available from www.jobvanexel.nl.
  26. Watts, S., & Stenner, P. (2012). Doing Q Methodological Research: Theory, Method and Interpretation. London: Sage.

  • Exploring rural tourism experiences through subjective perceptions: A visual Q approach Wookhyun An, Silverio Alarcón, in Spanish Journal of Agricultural Research /2020 pp.e0108
    DOI: 10.5424/sjar/2020183-16572

Simona Naspetti, Serena Mandolesi, Raffaele Zanoli, L’accettabilità delle innovazioni nella filiera lattiero casearia: un’analisi tramite la metodologia Q sort in "ECONOMIA AGRO-ALIMENTARE" 2/2014, pp 79-95, DOI: 10.3280/ECAG2014-002005