Table 3 Implications for food EE... | Emerald Publishing

Table 3

Implications for food EE researchers and practitioners

Implication	Description	Underlying CAS dimensions and characteristics	Strengths (S) and weakness (W)	Knowledge gap	Future development for research	Future development for practice
Local resource dependency	Relies heavily on local inputs, networks and regional identity	Place – Boundaries	S: Fosters regional development and protects local traditions	Limited understanding of how inter-sectoral linkages influence resilience in territorially-bound ecosystems	Analysing local food systems from a multi-sectoral perspective	Reinforcing multi-stakeholder/multi-sectoral collaboration in an ecosystem approach
Local resource dependency		Process – Feedback and delays	W: Vulnerable to regional shocks and limited scalability
Sustainability integration	Strong focus on ecological and social values in business practices	People – Adaptive and self-organising	S: Enhances community well-being and long-term environmental sustainability	Lack of longitudinal studies assessing the trade-offs between sustainability goals and economic performance	Prospecting future scenarios of sustainable EEs	Combining environmental and social sustainability with economic durability goals in the whole EEs
Sustainability integration		Purpose – Emergence	W: May limit short-term profitability and appeal to broader markets		Prospecting future scenarios of sustainable EEs
Context-dependence	Strong influence of local culture, policies and resources on ecosystem dynamics	Place – Path dependence and local rules	S: Tailored solutions to specific local needs, enhancing relevance	Insufficient exploration of how local institutional arrangements and governance shape entrepreneurial outcomes	Studying new business models able to integrate multiple context variables	Emphasising agricultural entrepreneurship
Context-dependence		Process – Hierarchy	W: Limits transferability of successful models to other regions		Analysing food culture, community cohesion, and the relationship between rural and urban contexts	Fostering intersectoral collaborations and collective reputation
Innovation diffusion	Innovations tend to spread through niche networks and sectoral collaboration	People – Complex interdependencies	S: Promotes widespread adoption of best practices within the ecosystem	Limited empirical evidence on how network ties and social capital of the entrepreneurs influence innovation spillovers of EEs in the food industry	Understanding mechanisms of innovation diffusion of EEs in the food industry	Expanding public–private partnerships, extending associations gathering events
Innovation diffusion		Purpose – Nonlinearity	W: Slow diffusion of innovations outside the local context

Implication	Description	Underlying CAS dimensions and characteristics	Strengths (S) and weakness (W)	Knowledge gap	Future development for research	Future development for practice
Local resource dependency	Relies heavily on local inputs, networks and regional identity	Place – Boundaries	S: Fosters regional development and protects local traditions	Limited understanding of how inter-sectoral linkages influence resilience in territorially-bound ecosystems	Analysing local food systems from a multi-sectoral perspective	Reinforcing multi-stakeholder/multi-sectoral collaboration in an ecosystem approach
Local resource dependency		Process – Feedback and delays	W: Vulnerable to regional shocks and limited scalability
Sustainability integration	Strong focus on ecological and social values in business practices	People – Adaptive and self-organising	S: Enhances community well-being and long-term environmental sustainability	Lack of longitudinal studies assessing the trade-offs between sustainability goals and economic performance	Prospecting future scenarios of sustainable EEs	Combining environmental and social sustainability with economic durability goals in the whole EEs
Sustainability integration		Purpose – Emergence	W: May limit short-term profitability and appeal to broader markets		Prospecting future scenarios of sustainable EEs
Context-dependence	Strong influence of local culture, policies and resources on ecosystem dynamics	Place – Path dependence and local rules	S: Tailored solutions to specific local needs, enhancing relevance	Insufficient exploration of how local institutional arrangements and governance shape entrepreneurial outcomes	Studying new business models able to integrate multiple context variables	Emphasising agricultural entrepreneurship
Context-dependence		Process – Hierarchy	W: Limits transferability of successful models to other regions		Analysing food culture, community cohesion, and the relationship between rural and urban contexts	Fostering intersectoral collaborations and collective reputation
Innovation diffusion	Innovations tend to spread through niche networks and sectoral collaboration	People – Complex interdependencies	S: Promotes widespread adoption of best practices within the ecosystem	Limited empirical evidence on how network ties and social capital of the entrepreneurs influence innovation spillovers of EEs in the food industry	Understanding mechanisms of innovation diffusion of EEs in the food industry	Expanding public–private partnerships, extending associations gathering events
Innovation diffusion		Purpose – Nonlinearity	W: Slow diffusion of innovations outside the local context

Source(s): Authors' own work