Consumer disposition toward fairness in agri-food chains (FAIRFOOD): scale development and validation

Fairness in agri-food supply chains receives increasing consumer, industry, and political attention but is currently under-conceptualized and lacks appropriate frameworks for measurement. Therefore, building on a theoretically grounded conceptualization of consumer dispositions toward fairness in ag...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Del Prete, Margherita (Author)
Contributors: Golossenko, Artyom ; Gorton, Matthew ; Tocco, Barbara ; Samoggia, Antonella
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Interlibrary Loan:Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany)
Published: 2025
In: Journal of business ethics
Year: 2025, Volume: 197, Issue: 2, Pages: 391-421
Further subjects:B Agri-food supply chain
B Fair play
B Aufsatz in Zeitschrift
B Scale Development
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Summary:Fairness in agri-food supply chains receives increasing consumer, industry, and political attention but is currently under-conceptualized and lacks appropriate frameworks for measurement. Therefore, building on a theoretically grounded conceptualization of consumer dispositions toward fairness in agri-food supply chains, we developed and validated a 14-item fairness measurement scale (FAIRFOOD). The scale comprises of four dimensions (economic, environmental, social, and informational) which are manifestations of the same construct (higher-order structure). We empirically validate the scale and its reliability using four studies and eight independent samples from Italy (n = 1386) and the UK (n = 1379). The findings reveal that FAIRFOOD is related, yet distinct from theoretically relevant constructs such as ethical consumption and pro-environment behavior. The FAIRFOOD scale is a strong predictor of outcomes such as willingness to purchase Fairtrade certified products, as well as boycott and negative Word of Mouth intentions if a brand treats other supply chain actors unfairly. Regarding business strategy, rather than focusing on one dimension of fairness independently, managers should adopt a holistic approach, devising initiatives that address all four dimensions in tandem.
ISSN:1573-0697
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of business ethics
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1007/s10551-024-05756-2