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Nowadays, an increasing number of consumers are demanding more information and more direct contact with food producers in order to avoid the various intermediaries in the supply chain, thus improving food traceability and price transfer. This has led to the development of more direct (short) food supply chains (SFSCs). Although consumer preferences to use SFSCs rather than traditional (long) supply chains have been widely researched in the literature, this study brings a new approach with the use of social media sites to build online SFSCs. A focus group approach with a total of 32 participants was used in this study with the main objective to understand consumers’ awareness and acceptance of SFSCs. Special attention was given to the use of social media and electronic word of mouth (eWOM) as new approaches to support the creation of such alternative channels.

The increasing use of internet, especially the proliferation of social networks has offered companies of all sectors the opportunity to keep in contact with their consumers; getting their feedbacks and complains on a daily basis and even to create short online chains enabling consumers to buy their products. This trend is found to be rather limited in the case of food products. The main objective of this article is to deal with consumer’s perceptions towards the potential use of social media to create online short supply chains for food. Projective techniques (Sentence completion tasks) have been used in this study. As, they allow researchers to uncover motivations, emotions and beliefs that drive consumer’s perception and behavior which may not be detected by straightforward questioning. The findings of this study have allowed to obtain insight into those aspects that consumers regard as opportunities or barriers of such potential short food chains. The main aspect is to put food enterprises in the picture about what is going on in consumer’s mind. This might open new possibilities for food businesses to develop a new short food chain.

Since 2014, the Quality Standard for Iberian meat, leg ham, shoulder ham and dry-cured loin has regulated production factors and processes involved in the raw material and manufactured products from Iberian pigs, the most important pig breed in both population size and economic importance of the southwest Iberian Peninsula. Regarding the changes to the Quality Standard that industrial entrepreneurs and farmers are currently demanding, a qualitative research study has been developed through 14 in-depth interviews with the purpose of understanding the perception of Iberian pig farmers and industrial entrepreneurs of the requirements of the currently-effective Quality Standard, as well as the conditions under which this is being applied. The results showed a consensus amongst the majority of the participants in aspects such as the maintenance of the breed base as 100% Iberian for reproductive females, weight and age requirements at the time of slaughter for the montanera category and the manufacturing lengths for dry-cured products. On the other hand, there were discrepancies between the requirements defined by the Quality Standard and those requested by the respondents for the non-free-range fodder-fed and free-range fodder-fed categories, with the industrial entrepreneurs and farmers being inclined towards the reduction in the age of slaughter of the former and the distinction in the production conditions of the latter.

The publication of the Spanish Quality Standards legislation regulating meat products from Iberian pigs has meant the obligatory certification of the system of production, feed, and breed in the Iberian pig sector. The Standard is designed to ensure the quality of the final product, avoiding the frauds that may have occurred previously taking advantage of the heterogeneity of the product. Traditionally, the Protected Designation of Origin labels offered the consumer guarantee and security, but this role has largely been taken over by the Quality Standards. In this context, there is a need to study consumers' knowledge and valuation of these two quality indicators. It has been observed that, although PDOs are better known than the Quality Standards, consumers are willing to pay only a small premium for Iberian products with a PDO. Hence, PDOs need to be reoriented so as to provide added value to the product.

Le secteur alimentaire est le créneau porteur de l'industrie espgagnole. Les consommateurs espagnols achètent des produits alimentaires provenant de différentes sources, distribués surtout à travers les circuits traditionnels/longs. Cependant, il y a des segments de consommateurs toujours à la recherche d'une relation plus directe avec les producteurs, car ils veulent être informés de l'origine et du mode de production de ces produits. Ainsi, traiter directement avec les consommateurs en créant des circuits courts d'approvisionnement alimentaire pourrait être une excellente occasion pour les petites et moyennes entreprises. Dans ce contexte, l'augmentation sensible de l'utilisation des médias sociaux offre aux producteurs la possibilité de construire de nouvelles chames courtes pour promouvoir et vendre leurs produits d'une manière directe, rapide et peu coûteuse. Les avantages des réseaux sociaux sont divers : ils peuvent contribuer à réduire les marges du marché en améliorant la vente directe; ils facilitent l'identification du profil des clients, leurs préférences et la manière dont certains produits sont perçus. Mots-clés: marketing social, e-marketing, petites et moyennes entreprises, chames courtes d'approvisionnement alimentaire. The food industry is the first industrial branch in Spain, with Spanish consumers purchasing food from different sources, mainly via traditional/long chains. However, there are consumer segments seeking for more direct relationships with food producers, because they want to be informed about their food's origin and production model. So, dealing directly with consumers by creating short food supply chains could be a great opportunity for food small and medium enterprises. In this context, the huge increase in the use of social media offers producers the potential to build new short chains for promoting and selling their products in a rapid, low-cost and direct way. Benefits of social networks in this regard are various: they may contribute to reducing market margins by enhancing direct sales; they facilitate the identification of customers 'profile, their preferences and the way they perceive certain products. Keywords: social marketing, e-marketing, small and medium enterprises, short food supply chains.

Meat production and consumption have been claimed to have negative impacts on the environment, and even on the consumer’s health. In this sense, alternative sources of protein, mainly meat substitutes and cultured meat, have emerged due to those perceived negative effects. Our paper carries out a choice experiment to analyze the preferences of 444 Spanish consumers and their willingness to pay for plant-based and cultured meats, as compared to conventional meat. Spain was considered of interest for this study due to its significant gastronomic culture, with high-quality meat products that make a great contribution to the economy, meaning that this could be a suitable and also challenging market in which to test alternative sources of protein. The findings show that consumers’ motivations and their interactions with these products are complex. Additionally, a cluster analysis allowed us to identify three types of consumers in terms of preference for these products: price-sensitive millennials, conscious/concerned consumers, and indifferent consumers. Only one group showed some level of acceptance of these alternative products meats.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to get a consumer’s cross-cultural insight on the potential of using social networking sites as short food supply chains. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative approach, using free listing tasks and sentence completion techniques, was adopted in this research. The research group decided to apply the study in three countries with different cultural backgrounds, namely, Mexico, Spain and Egypt. The final sample consisted of 424 respondents in total, including 209 Spanish, 111 Mexicans and 104 Egyptians, all of them actual users of social networks. Findings The most significant result that emerges from this study is that a high percentage of consumers within the three countries might be interested in these new short food chains. Also, the study offers food companies the most relevant motivations and barriers of consumers for their engagement to this initiative. Also, the study provides categories of foods that consumers would purchase via these chains in each country. Originality/value The multicultural perspective of this study might open new opportunities for food businesses around the world, especially for SMEs, to develop new short food supply chains enabling them to increase sale levels and, therefore, increase profitability and reduce costs.

This paper aims to assess the main opinions of farmers and industrial entrepreneurs on the implementation of the current Spanish Iberian Pig Quality Standards regulation as well as on the processing technologies of Iberian cured products. The study is based on a qualitative research process through in-depth interviews, and has allowed the identification of aspects that can be improved both at the level of the Iberian meat industry and in the administrative processes in the view of the main actors of the Iberian pork sector in Spain. The aspects of the Quality Standard related to the protection of the base of the Iberian breed, the conditions of production in the traditional system (the montanera), as well as the ripening time of the products were mostly supported by the farmers and industrial entrepreneurs. However, they showed certain inconformity with the requirements established by the Quality Standard for other production systems such as the non-free-range fodder-fed and free-range fodder-fed, therefore they demanded changes in these aspects. Since 2014, the Quality Standard for Iberian meat, leg ham, shoulder ham and dry-cured loin has regulated production factors and processes involved in the raw material and manufactured products from Iberian pigs, the most important pig breed in both population size and economic importance of the southwest Iberian Peninsula. Regarding the changes to the Quality Standard that industrial entrepreneurs and farmers are currently demanding, a qualitative research study has been developed through 14 in-depth interviews with the purpose of understanding the perception of Iberian pig farmers and industrial entrepreneurs of the requirements of the currently-effective Quality Standard, as well as the conditions under which this is being applied. The results showed a consensus amongst the majority of the participants in aspects such as the maintenance of the breed base as 100% Iberian for reproductive females, weight and age requirements at the time of slaughter for the montanera category and the manufacturing lengths for dry-cured products. On the other hand, there were discrepancies between the requirements defined by the Quality Standard and those requested by the respondents for the non-free-range fodder-fed and free-range fodder-fed categories, with the industrial entrepreneurs and farmers being inclined towards the reduction in the age of slaughter of the former and the distinction in the production conditions of the latter. Keywords: Iberian pork; quality standard; qualitative analysis; in-depth interviews

The dehesa agroforestry system is classified as one of the most singular ecosystems in the European Union. In the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula, it spreads over an area of approximately 6.7 million hectares, contributing major environmental, cultural, aesthetic and economic value to the region. The main agricultural activity that is developed in this ecosystem is the extensive farming of cattle, sheep and Iberian pigs with low stocking density and few inputs. Sustainable management of these ecosystems’ existing production farms is essential in order to secure their continuity, as they face a difficult situation on account of their low profitability. One of the strategies that could be employed to attain a sustainable situation is the proposition of an organic production model. In order to explore this option, a participatory research process has been proposed and developed in the Spanish region called Extremadura (Spain). The aim of this process is to investigate the potential of extensive farming systems in moving toward a sustainable organic production model, identifying the main barriers preventing livestock farmers from converting to the organic model and seeking specific improvement measures that would reduce such barriers. For that purpose, four focus group sessions were run with a total of 33 participating stakeholders. For the analysis of these focus groups, Atlas.ti qualitative software was used to categorize and quantify the main ideas proposed during the sessions. The findings revealed that the main barriers can be classified into three groups: barriers that are inherent to the production processes and the structure of the specific sector, barriers associated with administration and management issues and lastly, barriers relating to education and training of the various actors involved. We consider this paper may contribute to policy makers’ decisions to focus on specific actions for improvement that are customized for the socio-economic and environmental conditions of the region.