Geld es-Weiss, Valeska V.; Nicolas, Ca olina; Massa, Na haniel P.
A icle
Towa d a sus ainable esea ch agenda on ood eco-
labelling in he business and managemen esea ch
domain
Eu opean Jou nal o Managemen and Business Economics (EJM&BE)
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Sugges ed Ci a ion: Geld es-Weiss, Valeska V.; Nicolas, Ca olina; Massa, Na haniel P. (2024) : Towa d
a sus ainable esea ch agenda on ood eco-labelling in he business and managemen esea ch
domain, Eu opean Jou nal o Managemen and Business Economics (EJM&BE), ISSN 2444-8451,
Eme ald, Leeds, Vol. 33, Iss. 4, pp. 429-444,
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Towa d a sus ainable esea ch
agenda on ood eco-labelling in he
business and managemen
esea ch domain
Valeska V. Geld es-Weiss
Depa amen o de Adminis aci
on y Econom
ıa,
Facul ad de Ciencias Ju
ıdicas y Emp esa iales, Uni e sidad de La F on e a,
Temuco, Chile
Ca olina Nicolas
Depa amen o de Adminis aci
on, Facul ad de Adminis aci
on y Econom
ıa,
Uni e sidad de San iago de Chile (USACH), San iago, Chile, and
Na haniel P. Massa
Depa men o Business and En e p ise Managemen ,
Facul y o Economics, Managemen and Accoun ancy, Uni e si y o Mal a,
Msida, Mal a
Abs ac
Pu pose –This s udy aims o c i ically e iew he esea ch on ood eco-labels o iden i y esea ch gaps and
ecommend u u e esea ch di ec ions in business and managemen .
Design/me hodology/app oach –A hyb id in eg a ed e iew combines bibliome ic analysis wi h an
in-dep h amewo k-based s udy o heo y–con ex –cha ac e is ics–me hodology (TCCM) and e iews quali y
esea ch published o e 21 yea s be ween 2002 and 2022.
Findings –We iden i y key esea ch hemes and he knowledge s uc u e o ood eco-label esea ch. Fu u e
esea che s should explo e ood eco-label dynamics and phenomena in a eas ela ed o consume beha iou ,
in o ma ion, consume knowledge, en i onmen al conce ns, us , packaging and willingness- o-pay as
an eceden ac o s.
Resea ch limi a ions/implica ions –This e iew con ibu es o he business and managemen li e a u e
by quan i ying exis ing esea ch and consolida ing i s e olu ion. The a icles we e sou ced om he
es ablished Web o Science (WoS) da abase. O he da abases should be included in u u e e iews. We also
ocus on esea ch published in business and managemen . Fu he s udies could include esea ch beyond such
specialised domains.
P ac ical implica ions –Consume s need mo e in o ma ion on he objec i es and meaning o ood eco-
labels. The dissemina ion o knowledge on eco-labels, as well as e ec i e communica ion and in o ma ion on
eco-labels, a e ele an o u u e esea ch issues.
Social implica ions –The knowledge de i ed om his esea ch holds signi ican po en ial in shaping
policies and de ising ools aimed a educing he ca bon oo p in linked o ood p oduc ion and consump ion.
Food
eco-labelling
esea ch
agenda
429
© Valeska V. Geld es-Weiss, Ca olina Nicolas and Na haniel P. Massa. Published in Eu opean Jou nal o
Managemen and Business Economics. Published by Eme ald Publishing Limi ed. This a icle is
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Recei ed 3 Augus 2023
Re ised 4 Oc obe 2023
31 Oc obe 2023
24 Decembe 2023
28 Decembe 2023
Accep ed 8 Janua y 2024
Eu opean Jou nal o Managemen
and Business Economics
Vol. 33 No. 4, 2024
pp. 429-444
Eme ald Publishing Limi ed
e-ISSN: 2444-8494
p-ISSN: 2444-8451
DOI 10.1108/EJMBE-08-2023-0246
Conside ing he subs an ial impac o hese ac i i ies on ou plane ’s ca bon oo p in , add essing ood secu i y
and sus ainabili y eme ges as a c ucial conce n o humani y. Recognising he impo ance o eco-label
communica ion and in o ma ion becomes pa icula ly pe inen o u u e gene a ions, who s and o bea he
mos subs an ial impac o clima e change and sus ainable de elopmen . These gene a ions a e also mo e
inclined owa d emb acing and implemen ing sus ainable p ac ices.
O iginali y/ alue –The e a e no comp ehensi e, in eg a ed e iews explo ing he me hods, a iables and
cons uc s used in s udies on ood eco-labels based on all a icles published in WoS jou nals in he business and
managemen domains. This is he i s comp ehensi e li e a u e e iew using a hyb id app oach (bibliome ic
e iew wi h TCCM amewo k) in he ield o ood eco-label esea ch.
Keywo ds Eco-label, Food, Sus ainabili y, TCCM, Bibliome ic analysis, Ma ke ing
Pape ype Resea ch pape
1. In oduc ion
En i onmen al sus ainabili y poses a c i ical challenge o humani y. G owing
en i onmen al ini ia i es align wi h public conce n and consume ac i ism, p essu ing
poli icians and businesses o p io i ise esponsible p oduc ion and consump ion. Food
consump ion, accoun ing o a hi d o households’en i onmen al impac , plays a c ucial
ole. I s p oduc ion gene a es a simila sha e o human-caused g eenhouse gases. Calls o
ag icul u al sus ainabili y and he signi icance o sus ainable supplie selec ion o company
pe o mance a e emphasised by a ious au ho s (C ippa e al., 2021;Aliabadi e al., 2022).
Eco-labels in o m buye s abou sus ainabili y, impac ing hei choices. Few s udies on
ood eco-labels exis . Man a e al. (2023) sugges explo ing eco-label oles in local
de elopmen . D
o ea e al. (2022) emphasise consume in luence on en i onmen al labels.
Maesano e al. (2019) ad oca e examining social and economic sus ainabili y. No ably, hese
s udies co e di e se sec o s bu no speci ically ag i- ood p oduc s.
The only s udy o ocus on a esea ch a ea is Maesano e al. (2019), who ocused on social
sciences. To ill hese esea ch gaps, his s udy ocuses on ood eco-labels in he business and
managemen esea ch domains.
We analyse ood p oduc eco-label esea ch om business and managemen jou nals
using he Web o Science (WoS) da abase. We sc u inise s udies be ween 2002 and 2022 wi h
keywo ds like “ecolabel*”,“eco-label*”,“sus ainab* label*”,“eco- iendly label*”,
“en i onmen al label”and “ ood”in i les, abs ac s o keywo ds. Resul s a e e ined
based on business and managemen subjec a ea, jou nal sou ce and English language.
We pe o med a bibliome ic analysis, e iewing 32 esea ch pape s using he heo y–
con ex –cha ac e is ics–me hodology (TCCM) app oach (Paul and Rosado-Se ano, 2019).
This app oach di e s om p e ious s udies by p o iding comp ehensi e insigh s beyond
ypical bibliome ic desc ip ions. Ou analysis del es in o hema ic and co-occu ence
keywo ds, add essing u u e esea ch challenges, in con as o p io s udies ocussing on
a iables like au ho s, coun ies and keywo ds (Chen e al., 2023;Lim e al., 2021;Mandle
e al., 2021;Paul e al., 2021).
D
o ea e al. (2022) and Man a e al. (2023) explo ed en i onmen al/sus ainable labelling bu
no wi hin he ood sec o o a speci ic esea ch domain. In con as , Maesano e al. (2019)
exclusi ely s udied he wine sec o . This gap p omp s o e a ching ques ions o be add essed.
RQ1. Wha is he s uc u e o esea ch on ood eco-labels in he business and
managemen esea ch domains?
RQ2. Wha a e he esea ch gaps in he exis ing li e a u e, and wha a e a enues o
u u e esea ch in he ield o ood eco-labels in hese domains?
The pape ’s s uc u e is as ollows: Sec ion 2 e iews ele an li e a u e on eco-labels in ood
con ex s. Sec ion 3 de ails ou hyb id e iew me hod and he bibliome ic/TCCM app oaches
used. Sec ion 4 e eals he indings. Sec ion 5 consolida es ou discussion, summa ising s a e-
EJMBE
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o - he-a me hods. Fu he mo e, i ou lines u u e esea ch pa hs, po en ial limi a ions and
concludes by emphasising manage ial and social implica ions.
2. Li e a u e e iew
Pa icipa ion in eco-labelling schemes, as no ed by Gulb andsen (2006), allows companies o
add ess di e se s akeholde s –en i onmen al g oups, go e nmen s, e aile s and eco-
conscious consume s. Eco-labels communica e quali ies no e iden du ing consump ion (Rao
e al.,1999) and isually highligh a p oduc ’s g een a ibu es in business e ms (Thøge sen
e al.,2010). The ole o eco-labels a ies based on s akeholde s’pe spec i es (B a e al., 2011),
se ing as a benchma k o imp o emen and compe i i eness om a p oduce ’s iewpoin .
Consume - ocused eco-labels se e as in o ma ion channels and ools o sp eading awa eness
wi hin he ma ke . They communica e posi i e en i onmen al and social impac s while educing
unce ain y in consume s’en i onmen ally conscious pu chases (Dona o and Adıg€
uzel, 2022).
Lee e al. (2020) highligh ed ha sus ainable labels aim o p io i ise en i onmen ally iendly
p oduc s, ca ego ising hei impac in o h ee key a eas: educing en i onmen al impac ,
in luencing consume awa eness and a i udes, and changing consump ion beha iou .
Despi e a ious s udies on ecolabel adop ion and ou comes, comp ehensi e e iews in he
ood sec o , pa icula ly wi hin business and managemen jou nals, a e limi ed. Exis ing
esea ch p ima ily o igina es om jou nals ocused on ood policy, sus ainabili y,
en i onmen al s udies and go e nmen policy pape s (G une e al., 2014;Leach e al.,
2016;Riskos e al., 2021;S ein and de Lima, 2022;Na ciso and Fon e, 2021). Addi ionally,
e iews by Asioli e al. (2020),Po e e al. (2021) and P ie o-Sando al e al. (2016) encompass
li e a u e om di e se ields such as ag icul u al economics, en i onmen al s udies,
psychology and en i onmen al enginee ing.
G une e al. (2014) ound sus ainabili y labels don’ signi ican ly impac ood choices.
Leach e al. (2016) highligh ed he need o unde s and consume use o en i onmen al impac
labels, sugges ing a ying sui abili y ac oss sec o s. P ie o-Sando al e al. (2016) no ed a gap
in unde s anding eco-labels’in luence on echnological de elopmen . Asioli e al. (2020)
s essed he impo ance o unde s anding consume alues and enhancing eco-label
comp ehension. Na ciso and Fon e (2021) ad oca ed policy e o ms o inclusi e decision-
making in p omo ing heal hy die s. Po e e al. (2021) suppo ed eco-labels’ ole bu called o
mo e esea ch on hei a ibu es. Riskos e al. (2021) emphasised he c edibili y o eco-labels
in in luencing g een pu chase beha iou . Las ly, S ein and de Lima (2022) endo sed
comp ehensi e manda o y labelling o sus ainabili y, encompassing mul iple dimensions
and e idence-based c i e ia.
Eco-labelling p edominan ly in luences ma ke s, bu wide en i onmen al goals ely on
economic ac o s ansi ioning o sus ainable business models. Manage s and o ganisa ions
d i e eco-label decisions and sus ainabili y ini ia i es. D
o ea e al. (2022) highligh ed ma ke -
d i en a icles on eco-labelling dimensions. Hence, ocussing on business and managemen
jou nals in ou e iew seems c ucial o shaping esea ch agendas in his domain.
Th ee li e a u e e iews on eco-labels in business and managemen jou nals –D
o ea e al.
(2022),Man a e al. (2023) and Maesano e al. (2019) –we e iden i ied in he WoS da abase.
D
o ea e al. (2022) conduc ed a b oad analysis o en i onmen al labelling ac oss a ious
p oduc s. Man a e al. (2023) examined eco-labelling ce i ica ion app oaches ac oss di e en
sec o s, including ou ism. Maesano e al. (2019) ocused solely on wine- ela ed pu chasing
beha iou wi hin he speci ied ime ame o 2003–2018.
D
o ea e al. (2022) highligh ed he p e alence o eco-label s udies wi hin he ood indus y,
especially ega ding ish, ice and co ee, emphasising he sec o ’s signi icance in eco-
labelling due o i s engagemen wi h consume s, supplie s and he go e nmen . They no ed a
g owing in e es in sus ainabili y a e 2010, pa icula ly in ood, ag icul u e and sea ood.
Food
eco-labelling
esea ch
agenda
431
Maesano e al. (2019) no ed a esea ch ocus on he en i onmen al aspec o sus ainabili y and
iden i ied gaps in unde s anding con ex ual impac s on consume beha iou and pe sis en
con usion su ounding sus ainabili y concep s. Man a e al. (2023) emphasised e i o ial
de elopmen and s akeholde s’pe cep ions o labelling, highligh ing he need o unde s and
ac o s in luencing label design and de elopmen .
3. Resea ch me hodology
This s udy u ilises a hyb id e iew app oach combining bibliome ic analysis and a
amewo k-based e iew, as p oposed by Paul and Rosado-Se ano (2019) and Nicolas and
Geld es-Weiss (2023). Employing he TCCM app oach (Paul and Rosado-Se ano, 2019), his
sys ema ic analysis explo es ood eco-label li e a u e in business and managemen domains.
Aligned wi h Paul and Rosado-Se ano (2019), ou goal was o enhance comp ehension o
sus ainabili y labels in he ood and be e age sec o s wi hin business and managemen
s udies. Iden i ying key gaps in exis ing li e a u e, we aimed o guide u u e esea ch
di ec ions.
Al hough o he da abases like Scopus and Google Schola exis , ou s udy ocused on
WoS due o i s enowned jou nal quali y and analy ical sys ems. WoS is ecognised as a
eliable global ci a ion da abase o publishe s (Valenzuela e al., 2018) and is widely us ed
in academic and scien i ic esea ch wo ldwide (Cla i a e, 2023).
3.1 Da a collec ion and p ocessing
The WoS da abase was used o iden i y all i s published s udies on ood eco-label esea ch
be ween 2002 and 2022. The sea ch que y was buil as a keywo d sea ch: ecolabel* AND ood
AND business, OR ecolabel* AND ood AND managemen , OR eco-label* AND ood AND
business, OR eco-label* AND ood AND managemen , OR “sus ainab* label*”AND ood
AND business, OR “sus ainab* label*”AND ood AND managemen , OR “Eco- iendly
label*”AND ood AND business, OR “Eco- iendly label*”AND ood AND managemen , OR
“en i onmen al label”AND ood AND business; OR “en i onmen al label”AND ood AND
managemen .
Subsequen ly, he only documen s o in e es we e a icles, e iew a icles, le e s and
no es (Me ig
oe al.,2015). Then, he inal sea ch c i e ia we e il e ed and ede ined by
selec ing he c i e ia subjec a ea se o “business”and “managemen ”, ypeo sou cese
o “jou nal”, and language “English”–in o de o e ie e all ele an signi ican s udies
om all he a ailable jou nals in he a ea o business and managemen esea ch. A o al
o 79 documen s we e iden i ied (Figu e A1).Thesea chwaspe o medon7
Decembe 2022.
To ensu e s udy ele ance and quali y, speci ic inclusion and exclusion c i e ia we e se .
Following p o ocols om p io sys ema ic e iews in managemen (Ma
ınez-L
opez e al.,
2018), ou sea ch ocused on pee - e iewed academic publica ions in he WoS scien i ic
da abase, known o i s op- ie business and managemen jou nals. Pape s no aligning wi h
business and managemen analysis we e excluded, esul ing in he emo al o 25 pape s.
Addi ionally, 19 duplica es om he keywo d sea ch and h ee bibliome ic e iews we e also
excluded. Re e o Figu e A1 o he a icle selec ion p ocess.
Ou o he ini ially iden i ied 60 pape s, 25 we e disca ded a e e iew o misalignmen
wi h ou esea ch ocus. These excluded pape s co e ed di e se opics such as eco-labelling
o ganisa ions, o ganic ma ke s, non- ood p oduc s, ca bon calcula o s, sus ainable unds,
seed licences and s udies lacking label analysis, esul ing in 35 pape s emaining. Among
hese, h ee we e li e a u e e iews, lea ing 32 pape s o bibliome ic analysis (see
Figu e A1). I ’s impo an o no e ha he exclusion o s udies un ela ed o ood may limi he
b ead h o insigh s in eco-labelling beyond he ood sec o .
EJMBE
33,4
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3.2 S udy design
3.2.1 Bibliome ic analysis. Following he esea ch ques ions ou lined in he In oduc ion, he
s udy’s s uc u e was guided acco dingly. To add ess RQ1, a bibliome ic analysis was
conduc ed, d awing om me hodologies ou lined by Valenzuela-Fe nandez e al. (2019). This
analysis, pe o med using VOS iewe so wa e, aimed o unco e ends, ci a ion pa e ns
and in luen ial aspec s wi hin he esea ch ield h ough keywo d co-occu ence analysis.
A anking was es ablished based on se e al indica o s, wi h he H-index as he p ima y
c i e ion. The H-index, known o i s simplici y and balance be ween publica ion olume and
in luence, signi ies ha a minimum o “x”a icles ha e ecei ed a leas “x”ci a ions. This
me ic combines publica ion ou pu and ci a ion impac , ocussing on p ima y ci a ions and
o e ing equal weigh o bo h publica ions and ci a ions (Valenzuela-Fe nandez e al., 2019).
The bibliog aphic e iew co e ed he ollowing aspec s:
(1) Annual scien i ic p oduc ion: Re eals esea ch ends and in e es in he opic.
(2) Mos -ci ed jou nal: Iden i ies in luen ial jou nals based on o al pape s, ci a ions,
a e age ci a ions pe pape and H-index.
(3) Coun y ci a ions: Iden i ies esea ch p oduc i i y by coun y, conside ing o al
pape s and ci a ions.
(4) Mos -ci ed pape s: Ranks he op en in luen ial pape s, de ailing hei ci a ions,
au ho s and a e age ci a ions pe yea .
(5) Keywo d co-occu ence analysis: Examines ela ed opics wi hin he s udy by
analysing ci ed a icles and es ablishing he opic’s s uc u e.
3.2.2 Theo y–con ex –cha ac e is ics–me hodology (TCCM). Add essing RQ2, we employed
he TCCM analysis, p e iously used e ec i ely in business esea ch by Paul e al. (2021),
Chen e al. (2021),Lim e al. (2021) and Mandle e al. (2021). This amewo k acili a ed a
comp ehensi e explo a ion o p e alen heo ies, cons uc s, me hods and po en ial esea ch
di ec ions wi hin ood eco-label s udies, aiding in heo y de elopmen , con ex ual
unde s anding and me hodological explo a ion o u u e esea ch.
4. Resul s
4.1 Findings o bibliome ic analysis
The e’s a no able upwa d end in scien i ic in e es and a signi ican su ge in esea ch on his
opic, pa icula ly e iden om 2021. The publica ion o a icles on his subjec has seen a
ecen inc ease, a e aging h ee a icles pe yea o e he pas eigh yea s ( e e o Figu e A2).
Based on he Jou nal Ci a ion Repo (JCR), he op i e in luen ial jou nals in he “Business”
ca ego y o he social science ci a ion index (SSCI) ela e o ou opic ( e e o Table A.I). Each
jou nal lis ed had a minimum o wo publica ions o anking, as pe he WoS da abase.
Among jou nals publishing wo o mo e a icles on ood eco-labelling, he op- anking
jou nals based on o al publica ions a e as ollows: In e na ional Jou nal o Consume S udies:
4 a icles, 202 ci a ions, Q2, JCR Ca ego y: Business in SSCI; Business S a egy and he
En i onmen : 3 a icles, 102 ci a ions, Q1, JCR Ca ego y: Business in SSCI; Jou nal o
Business Resea ch: 3 a icles, 60 ci a ions, Q1, JCR Ca ego y: Business in SSCI and Jou nal o
Re ailing and Consume Se ices: 3 a icles, 12 ci a ions, Q1, JCR Ca ego y: Business in SSCI
( e e o Table A.I).
Rega ding he o al publica ions by coun y (see Table A.II) we conside he le el o
scien i ic e o in he espec i e coun ies o egions in ela ion o scien i ic publica ions and
ci a ions (Cla i a e Analy ics). These indica o s end o be closely associa ed wi h he g oss
domes ic p oduc (GDP) and o he economic ou pu measu es. Cla i a e Analy ics accoun s
Food
eco-labelling
esea ch
agenda
433
o coun ies/ egions based on he ins i u ional associa ions ep esen ed in published a icles,
conside ing he a ilia ions o all au ho s.
We conside ed coun ies wi h a minimum o wo WoS publica ions o analysis. The US,
Denma k and he Ne he lands eme ged as he mos in luen ial based on ci a ions, while he
US, UK and I aly we e equen ly men ioned in published pape s. No ably, Cen al Ame ica,
Sou h Ame ica and A ica lacked publica ions on his opic. F om 2002 o 2022, 11 coun ies
we e men ioned in a leas wo pape s, wi h he US leading wi h 13 pape s and 682 ci a ions.
S ong in e es in his esea ch is e iden in No dic coun ies like Denma k, he Ne he lands
and, o a lesse ex en , No way. Eu ope and he EU show subs an ial in ol emen in his ield
( e e o Table A.III).
The mos equen ly ci ed pape , wi h 218 ci a ions, is i led “Willingness o pay o
o ganic p oduc s: Di e ences be ween i ue and ice oods,”published in he In e na ional
Jou nal o Resea ch in Ma ke ing in 2021. Table AII displays he op en mos -ci ed a icles.
We aimed o iden i y p ima y keywo ds used by au ho s in he e iewed pape s.
Figu e A3 and Table AIII p esen he isual and analy ical esul s o keywo d co-occu ences.
Keywo d co-occu ence clus e ing was gene a ed using VOS iewe so wa e (Figu e A3).
Nodes’sizes ep esen keywo d equency, while connec ing lines indica e sha ed keywo ds.
Thicke lines deno e s onge co-occu ence ela ionships be ween keywo ds (see Table A.IV
and Figu e A3).
4.2 Findings o TCCM analysis
Theo y de elopmen . Recen s udies ha e inco po a ed se e al key heo ies: cue u ilisa ion
heo y (O lowski e al., 2022), aiding unde s anding o consume expec a ions o non- isible
p oduc a ibu es (Olson and Jacoby, 1972); he heo y o planned beha iou (TPB) (Chen,
2020;Si aj e al., 2022), comp ising a i ude, subjec i e no ms and pe cei ed beha iou al
con ol (Ajzen, 1991); and signalling heo y (De B abande e e al., 2022;Sigu dsson e al.,
2022), add essing in o ma ion asymme y educ ion in ma ke exchanges (Ka asek and
B yan , 2012) ( e e o Table A.V).
Con ex . Al hough esea ch p edominan ly a ge s ood in gene al, speci ic s udies ha e
del ed in o dis inc ood i ems like chocola e chip cookies (Amos e al., 2019), ce eal ba s (E z
e al., 2017), muesli ce eals (De B abande e e al., 2022), yoghu (Dona o and Adıg€
uzel, 2022)
and a ious commodi ies including co ee, ice, milk, ui , mea , sea ood and wine. Some
s udies ha e explo ed mul iple ood p oduc s.
Rega ding he eco-labels ea u ed o e alua ed, mos s udies discuss eco-labels in gene ic
e ms such as “sus ainable label”,“eco-label”,“eco- iendly label”,“g een label”o
“en i onmen al label”. Howe e , wo p ominen eco-labels o en s udied a e he “o ganic
label”and “ca bon label.”Geog aphic esea ch p ima ily ocuses on de eloped egions like
he Eu opean Union, No h Ame ica and Oceania.
We examined a ious an eceden s, mode a o s and dependen a iables in ood eco-label
esea ch. An eceden s encompass consume - ela ed ac o s like a i udes owa d
sus ainabili y labels, en i onmen al and heal h conce ns, p e e ences o eco-label
p oduc s and knowledge abou eco-labels ( e e o Table A.VI). Labels and packaging we e
also signi ican ac o s in luencing eco-label e ec i eness, alongside in o ma ion. Addi ional
a iables conside ed included heal hy ood, ood sa e y, subjec i e no ms and pe cei ed
beha iou al con ol.
Some s udies in oduce mode a ing a iables, no ably en i onmen al conce ns,
in luencing consume s’a i udes (De B abande e e al., 2022;De Canio e al., 2021;
Ho nib ook e al., 2015;Si aj e al., 2022). Addi ionally, a ious s udies examine di e en
media o a iables, wi h one a iable ac ing bo h as a media o and a mode a o , such as he
in en ion o pu chase labelled p oduc s (Thøge sen e al., 2010;Si aj e al., 2022).
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The mos equen ly s udied consequences e lec ing he e ec i eness o an eco-label in
he ood sec o a e ela ed o he ollowing componen s o he TPB: a i ude, pu chase
in en ion and pu chase beha iou . Pu chase in en ion and beha iou we e he main
cons uc s s udied (see Table A.VII).
4.2.1 Analy ical me hods. O he 32 pape s analysed, h ee we e ocused g oups
(Eldesouky e al., 2020;Ho nib ook e al., 2015;Si ieix e al., 2013), and one was a concep ual
p oposi ion (Acuaye e al., 2015). The mos widely used me hodology is eg ession analysis,
which includes media ion eg ession analysis, mode a ion eg ession analysis and Tobi /
Logi models (see Table A.VIII).
4.3 Fu u e esea ch agenda
4.3.1 Theo y esea ch agenda. Amos e al. (2019) sugges ed explo ing he heal h halo e ec in
eco-label pe cep ions o mo e ealis ic p oduc e alua ions. Chen (2020) highligh ed he
impo ance o compa a i e s udies in sus ainable ood consump ion o deepe heo e ical
and manage ial insigh s. D’Souza e al. (2021) unde sco ed hei con ibu ion o consume
decision-making dynamics ega ding eco-labels, o e ing g oundwo k o u u e s udies on
consume sel -con idence and g een pu chasing in en .
De Magis is e al. (2015) u ged heo e ical insigh s o s onge indings in hei s udy on
willingness o pay o canned una wi h co po a e social esponsibili y (CSR) labelling. Van
Doom and Ve hoe (2011) echoed his need o mo e de ailed s udies wi h solid heo e ical
ounda ions. Zepeda e al. (2013) sugges ed a label consume in e ac ion amewo k o u u e
esea ch on consume label choices.
4.3.2 Con ex esea ch agenda. Recommenda ions emphasise he necessi y o mo e
esea ch on di e se ypes o ca ego ies o labels, ex ending s udies o di e en ood and
be e age p oduc s o compa a i e e alua ions. Fu he explo a ion in a ious egional o
cul u al con ex s and demog aphic di e ences is sugges ed. Add essing he g owing a ay o
eco-labels, u u e s udies a e u ged o compa e and s udy di e en ypes comp ehensi ely.
The global COVID-19 pandemic heigh ened en i onmen al conce ns, impac ing pe cep ions
and beha iou s linked o eco-labelling, p omp ing he need o awa eness in u u e esea ch
(Chen e al., 2023;De Canio e al., 2021).
4.3.3 Cha ac e is ics esea ch agenda. S udies ad oca e explo ing in e ac ions be ween
esea ch a iables like b and p e e ences and consume beha iou , pa en al in luence on
pu chase decisions, and he impac o manu ac u e s’policies and e aile s”s a egies.
Addi ional a eas include analysing a i udes, beha iou al disposi ions and aspec s like
scep icism, legi imacy, us and con usion linked o eco-labels and ce i ying agencies.
4.3.4 Me hod esea ch agenda. S udies ha e a ied, wi h explo a o y o expe imen al
app oaches aimed a unde s anding eco-labelling phenomena. The e’s a need o eal-wo ld
alida ion o es ablished assump ions and indings. Addi ionally, he e a e calls o di e se
expe imen al, labo a o y app oaches, esea ch ins umen s and analy ical echniques.
5. Discussion
Ou bibliome ic analysis aligned wi h ce ain obse a ions om p io e iews ha
o e lapped wi h ou ocus. The g owing mo i a ion o esea ch his opic esona es wi h
ends ound in s udies by D
o ea e al. (2022),Maesano e al. (2019), and Man a e al. (2023).
In analysing scien i ic ou pu by coun y, ou e iew mi o ed indings om D
o ea e al.
(2022) ega ding he p e alence o publica ions om he US and Eu ope in eco-labelling. In
ou ocused s udy on ood eco-labelling, he p ima y coun ies o esea ch we e he US, I aly
and he UK This echoes Maesano e al.’s (2019) obse a ion o ex ensi e esea ch in I aly
(gi en i s ocus on wine) and p edominan ly in Eu opean coun ies and he US.
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435
Based on ou TCCM analysis, his s udy delinea ed he consume - ela ed an eceden s,
equen ly s udied consequences and mode a o /media o a iables in ood eco-label
esea ch spanning 2 decades. To ou knowledge, his comp ehensi e in es iga ion
ep esen s he i s o i s kind in his domain.
Ou indings align wi h eco-labelling dimensions impac ing consume willingness o pay
o en i onmen ally conscious p oduc s (D
o ea e al., 2022). They unde sco e he TPB model’s
componen s –a i ude, pe cep ion, pu chase in en ion and beha iou –in luencing eco-label
e ec i eness in he ood sec o . Ou s udy sheds ligh on consume pu chase beha iou in he
ood con ex (Maesano e al., 2019), emphasising he necessi y o eal-wo ld esea ch on
labelled ood pu chase beha iou . Mo eo e , ou indings echo conce ns abou sus ainabili y
comp ehension and consume con usion (Maesano e al., 2019), p omp ing u he explo a ion
in o consume knowledge, unde s anding and cla i y ega ding ood eco-labels. This s udy
also p omp s inqui y in o how in o ma ion on ood eco-labels is e ec i ely communica ed
and disclosed o consume s.
Based on ou comp ehensi e li e a u e e iew, nume ous ecommenda ions eme ge o
u u e esea ch in his expansi e ield. The p ima y emphasis e ol es a ound es ablishing
mo e obus heo e ical amewo ks o comp ehend he e ol ing dynamics. Addi ionally, he
p edominan sugges ions ad oca e expanding esea ch con ex ually, ei he h ough
compa a i e s udies o by explo ing a wide a ay o ood ca ego ies and di e se eco-
label ypes.
5.1 Theo e ical implica ions
While D
o ea e al. (2022) highligh ed an upsu ge in heo e ical applica ions o en i onmen al
labelling, ou examina ion o ood eco-labelling in he business and managemen domain
un eils openings o ad ancing, b oadening and sc u inising heo ies. These encompass
a eas such as consume beha iou , in o ma ion and knowledge, en i onmen al conce ns,
us , packaging and willingness- o-pay in eco-labelling domains.
P e ious s udies unde sco ed he nuances o consume beha iou , emphasising he
necessi y o app aise di e se eco-label a ibu es in eal-li e scena ios (Po e e al., 2021).
Unde s anding how consume s engage wi h oo p in eco-labels (Leach e al., 2016;Asioli
e al., 2020) and assessing con ex ’s impac on consume beha iou (Maesano e al., 2019)
emains pa amoun . Fu u e in es iga ions should ex end he TPB (Chen, 2020;Si aj e al.,
2022) o p obe he e ec i eness o a ious eco-label a ibu es in p ac ical con ex s.
Simila ly, ou indings on in o ma ion align wi h Maesano e al. (2019), highligh ing i s
sway on consume beha iou . The e o e, schola s could le e age he signalling heo y (De
B abande e e al., 2022;Sigu dsson e al., 2022) o explo e how in o ma ion abou ood eco-
labels is con eyed o and abso bed by consume s.
Expanding on he knowledge aspec , Asioli e al. (2020) emphasised unde s anding
consume s’comp ehension le els o eco-labels. Ou esea ch echoes conce ns abou
consume con usion ega ding ood eco-labels, aligned wi h Man a e al. (2023) and
Maesano e al.’s (2019) indings in business and managemen jou nals. Gi en hese insigh s,
u u e s udies could le e age an ex ension o he cue u ilisa ion heo y. This heo y explains
how indi iduals ga he and p ocess in o ma ion om hei en i onmen o make decisions o
pe o m asks. U ilising his amewo k can shed ligh on how he ex en o consume s’
knowledge, unde s anding and con usion ega ding eco-labels in luences hei beha iou .
Ce ainly, ou indings align wi h Maesano e al.’s (2019) conclusions abou he in luence o
alues and belie s on consume s’a i udes owa d sus ainable ood pu chases. G une e al.
(2014) also p oposed his as a ocal a ea o u u e esea ch, highligh ing ha he usage o
labels depends on consume s’o e all sus ainabili y conce ns. To del e deepe , schola s could
employ he a ibu ion heo y, which del es in o how indi iduals pe cei e and explain he
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Appendices
The supplemen a y ma e ial o his a icle can be ound online.
Abou he au ho s
Valeska V. Geld es-Weiss is Associa e P o esso a he Uni e sidad de La F on e a in Chile. She ea ned
he Ph.D. in Business Adminis a ion and Ma ke ing om Se ille Uni e si y (Spain) and comple ed a
pos doc o al p og am a he Uni e si y o Sao Paulo (B azil). He esea ch in e es s a e in e na ional
business, in e na ional ma ke ing, sus ainabili y and inno a ion. She has published in p es igious
jou nals ela ed o in e na ional business and in e na ional ma ke ing.
Ca olina Nicolas is Associa e P o esso a he Uni e si y o San iago o Chile. She holds a Mas e in
Ma ke ing and a PhD deg ee in Business Adminis a ion om he Uni e si y o Ba celona (Spain) and a
Bachelo deg ee o Business Adminis a ion in Uni e si y o Concepci
on (Chile). She has published in
esea ch books and pape s in jou nals, books and con e ence p oceedings, including pape s in jou nals
indexed in he Web o Science –Jou nal Ci a ion Repo s. Ca olina Nicolas is he co esponding au ho
and can be con ac ed a : [email p o ec ed]
Na haniel P. Massa is esiden senio acul y a he Depa men o Business and En e p ise
Managemen , Uni e si y o Mal a –whe e he is also ounding membe on he Cen e o
En ep eneu ship and Business Incuba ion boa d. He holds a PhD in in e na ionalisa ion and
business managemen om he Adam Smi h Business School, Uni e si y o Glasgow; and an MBA om
Henley Business School. Na haniel’s esea ch in e es s include in e na ional business and
in e na ionalisa ion, s a egy and en ep eneu ship –and is cu en ly engaged on a ious esea ch
ini ia i es ac oss Eu ope, he Ame icas and Asia. Spanning academia and indus y h ough consul ancy
assignmen s in public and p i a e sec o s, Na haniel is also in ol ed in execu i e aining o manage s
and p ac i ione s in indus y.
Fo ins uc ions on how o o de ep in s o his a icle, please isi ou websi e:
www.eme aldg ouppublishing.com/licensing/ ep in s.h m
O con ac us o u he de ails: [email p o ec ed]
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