Socio-technical transitions to sustainability in the food ecosystem: an exploratory study

• Grant number: 22/04337-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2022
• End date: March 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Administration - Business Administration
• Principal Investigator: Vivian Lara dos Santos Silva Rossignolo
• Grantee: Carolina Yumi de Lima Takahashi
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Zootecnia e Engenharia de Alimentos (FZEA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Pirassununga , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 23/10806-4 - Socio-technical transitions to sustainability in the food ecosystem: an exploratory study, BE.EP.IC

Abstract

The present Project has as a guiding question: where are we and how are we moving towards the socio-technical transition in the food ecosystem? From this question, the general objective is to put a magnifying glass on the role of micro-institutions (organizations), examining the route established by companies in terms of their strategies. The project provides for a qualitative exploratory study based on two phases. The first is dedicated to the question 'where are we, with research on the SDGs/UN that are in the sights of large food processing corporations? Content analysis of the corporate and sustainability reports of these companies is planned, comparatively examining the addressed SDGs; and how they unfold in organizational practices between goals, projects, and actions coined in the ESG System. From this empirical photograph unpublished in the literature, the Project moves on to its second phase, with the question 'of how we walk towards sustainability. In this second phase, case studies (in-depth interviews) are planned with managers of the companies selected in the previous phase, analyzing the role of micro-institutions towards socio-technical dynamics, in terms of how companies adapt to emerging technologies and can influence them. The Project brings an original proposal with the potential for scientific and managerial impacts, as well as contributions to the formation of the Scholar, in terms of knowledge, skills, and attitudes essential for its trajectory, including its leadership role with responsibilities in the ongoing socio-technical dynamics.(AU)