Digital Transformation in the Agri-food Sector: A Comparative Analysis of Industry 4.0 Innovations by Italian Sustainability Leaders

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.34190/ecmlg.20.1.3058

Keywords:

Agri-food Sector;, Digital Technologies;, Industry 4.0 Technologies;, Sustainability Leaders,, Sustainable Development Goals (Sdgs).

Abstract

The agri-food sector is a key actor in the Italian economy and plays a crucial role in rescuing and accelerating progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, diverse sustainability challenges including environmental conservation, economic volatility, political changes and regulatory constraints affect the agri-food company’s competitiveness and their ability to face global sustainability challenges. Exploiting digital innovation is then essential. By facilitating more efficient management of resources, reducing waste and improving supply chain transparency, digital innovations contribute to more sustainable, inclusive and resilient agri-food systems. This paper aims to understand the ongoing digital transformation of the Italian agri-food sector through a comparative analysis of innovative practices by Italian agri-food companies that are recognized as sustainability leaders. Among the Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies, sensors, blockchain, cyber security, and artificial intelligence appear to be the most adopted I4.0 solutions to help companies influence the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainable development.

Author Biographies

Tamara Menichini, University of Rome "Niccolò Cusano"

Tamara Menichini, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Business and Management Engineering at the University of Rome “Niccolò Cusano”. She received her Ph.D. in Economic and Management Engineering from the University of Rome “Tor Vergata”. She is co-author of different papers published on international refereed journals and proceedings of international conferences. Her research interests and areas of expertise mainly regard: Corporate Sustainability (CS), Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Sustainability Reporting, Stakeholder Engagement, Gender Equality, Eco-innovation, Circular economy, Fuzzy Multi Criteria Decision Making Methods (MCDM), Content Analysis.

Gennaro Salierno, University of Rome "Niccolò Cusano"

Gennaro Salierno is PhD student in Sustainable Innovation Engineering and Territory, at University of Rome “Niccolò Cusano”. His current research interests regard corporate sustainability, sustainability reporting, GRI guidelines, SDGs, Materiality Analysis, as well as methodological approaches such as Content Analysis and Multicriteria Decision Methods (MCDM) integrated with fuzzy logic.

Nicoletta Maria Strollo, University of Rome "Niccolò Cusano"

Nicoletta Maria Strollo is a PhD student in Industrial Innovation Engineering in the Business and Management Engineering context at the University of Rome “Niccolò Cusano”, Italy. Her research focuses on Circular Economy, Industry 4.0, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Reporting, Sustainability Reporting, ESG Reporting, and Sustainable Development.

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Published

2024-11-13

Issue

Vol. 20 No. 1 (2024): Proceedings of the 20th European Conference on Management, Leadership and Governance

Section

Academic Papers