The role of sustainability-oriented innovation in food supply chain: a perspective of HR managers

Sustainable development implemented in the context of sustainable supply chain management is being recognized as a call from academics and practitioners. More interestingly, stages of establishing and implementing innovation at the whole supply chain can lead to better social, environmental and economic sustainability. The aim of this paper is to critically examine and validate how sustainable-oriented innovation (SOI) can influence actor, dyad and network levels in food supply chain management. The research is based on six case studies of supply chains of retailers from the perspective of their HR managers. Qualitative multiple cases are applied to provide a more holistic view of similarities and differences of SOI in food supply chains and how this is linked to sustainability performance. The research reveals key themes of SOI that are implemented to support focal actors, dyads and networks for food supply chains and how these themes are linked to sustainability performance. This research stands in sustainable supply chain management as an attempt to contribute to the increasingly debated supply chain levels and explains the associations to SOI literature aligned with the supply chain field.