Analysis of Food Supply Chain Digitalization Opportunities in the Function of Sustainability of Food Placement in the Western Balkans Region

Dražen Marić, Goran Vukmirović, Radenko Marić (), Daniela Nuševa, Ksenija Leković and Sonja Vučenović
Additional contact information
Dražen Marić: Faculty of Economics in Subotica, University of Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Goran Vukmirović: Faculty of Economics in Subotica, University of Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Radenko Marić: Faculty of Economics in Subotica, University of Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Daniela Nuševa: Faculty of Economics in Subotica, University of Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Ksenija Leković: Faculty of Economics in Subotica, University of Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Sonja Vučenović: Faculty of Economics in Subotica, University of Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-17

Abstract: This paper aims to analyze and define incentives for the implementation of modern technology and digitalization of the Food Supply Chain (FSC) in the function of sustainability of the food retail sector of the Western Balkans (WB) region. The survey method was applied to a sample of 255 employees. We tested the importance of certain indicators for the implementation of the digitalization process, such as the application of Blockchain Technology (BT), the use of modern IT solutions for traceability, the implementation of the Internet of Things (IoT), the introduction of Artificial Intelligence (AI), development of a system for electronic food placement, implementation of standards, measures, and procedures for regulating the digitalization process, continuous training of employees and economic and financial measures and incentives. A special segment of research deals with the impact of the implemented digitalization process on the sustainability of food placement. The research was conducted among employees of SMEs, large-scale business entities, and retail chains. The research results showed significant deviations from the mentioned incentives to the digitalization process depending on the size of the FSC participants. The work has practical implications because the obtained results show the FSC management, trade policy makers, and competent institutions (ministries, chambers of commerce, professional associations) what measures to apply in order to improve a more efficient implementation of the digitalization process of food placement and lay the foundation for the sustainability of the FSC. Guidelines for future research are outlined in the paper.

Keywords: Food Supply Chain (FSC); Internet of Things (IoT); Blockchain Technology (BT); sustainability; digitalization; retail; Western Balkans (WB) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/1/2/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/1/2/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2023:i:1:p:2-:d:1302719

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().