IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i14p7563-d589613.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Role of Community-Led Food Retailers in Enabling Urban Resilience

Author

Listed:
  • Morven G. McEachern

    (Department of Management, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield HD1 3DH, UK)

  • Gary Warnaby

    (Business School, Metropolitan University, Manchester M15 6BH, UK)

  • Caroline Moraes

    (Department of Marketing, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK)

Abstract

Our research examines the extent to which community-led food retailers (CLFRs) contribute to the resilience and sustainability of urban retail systems and communities in the UK, contributing to existing debates on the sustainability and resilience of the UK’s urban retail sector. While existing literature has predominantly focused on larger retail multiples, we suggest more attention be paid to small, independent retailers as they possess a broader, more diffuse spatiality and societal impact than that of the immediate locale. Moreover, their local embeddedness and understanding of the needs of the local customer base provide a key source of potentially sustainable competitive advantage. Using spatial and relational resilience theories, and drawing on 14 original qualitative interviews with CLFRs, we establish the complex links between community, place, social relations, moral values, and resilience that manifest through CLFRs. In doing so, we advance the conceptualization of community resilience by acknowledging that in order to realise the networked, resilient capacities of a community, the moral values and behavior of the retail community need to be ascertained. Implications and relevant recommendations are provided to secure a more sustainable set of capacities needed to ensure resilient, urban retail systems which benefit local communities.

Suggested Citation

  • Morven G. McEachern & Gary Warnaby & Caroline Moraes, 2021. "The Role of Community-Led Food Retailers in Enabling Urban Resilience," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-17, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:14:p:7563-:d:589613
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/14/7563/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/14/7563/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Merlo, Omar & Bell, Simon J. & Menguc, Bulent & Whitwell, Gregory J., 2006. "Social capital, customer service orientation and creativity in retail stores," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 59(12), pages 1214-1221, November.
    2. Bertrand Moingeon & Muhammad Yunus & Laurence Lehmann-Ortega, 2010. "Building Social Business Models: Lessons from the Grameen Experience," Post-Print hal-00528385, HAL.
    3. Andrés Nova-Reyes & Francisco Muñoz-Leiva & Teodoro Luque-Martínez, 2020. "The Tipping Point in the Status of Socially Responsible Consumer Behavior Research? A Bibliometric Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-23, April.
    4. Aubry, Christine & Kebir, Leïla, 2013. "Shortening food supply chains: A means for maintaining agriculture close to urban areas? The case of the French metropolitan area of Paris," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 85-93.
    5. Martina Keitsch, 2018. "Structuring Ethical Interpretations of the Sustainable Development Goals—Concepts, Implications and Progress," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-9, March.
    6. Goulding, Christina & Kelemen, Mihaela & Kiyomiya, Toru, 2018. "Community based response to the Japanese tsunami: A bottom-up approach," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 268(3), pages 887-903.
    7. Hoang Long Nguyen & Rajendra Akerkar, 2020. "Modelling, Measuring, and Visualising Community Resilience: A Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-26, September.
    8. Neil Wrigley & Steve Wood & Dionysia Lambiri & Michelle Lowe, 2019. "Corporate convenience store development effects in small towns: Convenience culture during economic and digital storms," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 51(1), pages 112-132, February.
    9. Ron Martin, 2012. "Regional economic resilience, hysteresis and recessionary shocks," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 12(1), pages 1-32, January.
    10. Leigh Sparks, 2021. "Towns, High Streets and Resilience in Scotland: A Question for Policy?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-14, May.
    11. Ted Fuller & Yumiao Tian, 2006. "Social and Symbolic Capital and Responsible Entrepreneurship: An Empirical Investigation of SME Narratives," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 67(3), pages 287-304, September.
    12. Geoff DeVerteuil & Oleg Golubchikov, 2016. "Can resilience be redeemed?," City, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(1), pages 143-151, February.
    13. Reinecke, Juliane & Arnold, Denis G. & Palazzo, Guido, 2016. "Qualitative Methods in Business Ethics, Corporate Responsibility, and Sustainability Research," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 26(04), pages 1-1, October.
    14. Alistair R. Anderson & Sarah L. Jack, 2002. "The articulation of social capital in entrepreneurial networks: a glue or a lubricant?," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(3), pages 193-210, July.
    15. Jon Coaffee, 2013. "Towards Next-Generation Urban Resilience in Planning Practice: From Securitization to Integrated Place Making," Planning Practice & Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(3), pages 323-339, June.
    16. Teresa Barata-Salgueiro & Pedro Guimarães, 2020. "Public Policy for Sustainability and Retail Resilience in Lisbon City Center," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-22, November.
    17. Handan Vicdan & Wided Batat & Soonkwan Hong, 2016. "Social class dynamics in AFC," Post-Print hal-02311915, HAL.
    18. Suman Sen & James Cowley, 2013. "The Relevance of Stakeholder Theory and Social Capital Theory in the Context of CSR in SMEs: An Australian Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 118(2), pages 413-427, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Nina Hangebruch & Frank Othengrafen, 2022. "Resilient Inner Cities: Conditions and Examples for the Transformation of Former Department Stores in Germany," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-25, July.
    2. Grimmer, Louise, 2022. "Lessons from the COVID19 pandemic: The case of retail and consumer service firms," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    3. Ana-Maria Urdea & Cristinel Petrișor Constantin, 2021. "Experts’ Perspective on the Development of Experiential Marketing Strategy: Implementation Steps, Benefits, and Challenges," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-15, October.
    4. Wilson, Jennifer L. & Hodges, Nancy J., 2022. "What does it mean to “shop local†? Examining the experiences of shoppers and store owners within the framework of downtown revitalization," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nina Hangebruch & Frank Othengrafen, 2022. "Resilient Inner Cities: Conditions and Examples for the Transformation of Former Department Stores in Germany," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-25, July.
    2. Joanna Zuzanna Popławska, 2021. "The Resilience of Urban Retail System in the Face of the COVID-19 Pandemic. The Case Study of Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-22, December.
    3. Leigh Sparks, 2021. "Towns, High Streets and Resilience in Scotland: A Question for Policy?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-14, May.
    4. Leon Guillén & Afcha Sergio & Chu Manuel, 2022. "Research on social responsibility of small and medium enterprises: a bibliometric analysis," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 72(3), pages 857-909, September.
    5. Mai Dong Tran & Samuel Adomako, 2021. "How CEO social capital drives corporate social performance: The roles of stakeholders, and CEO tenure," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(2), pages 819-830, March.
    6. Dongsoo Kim & Jongseon Lee & Nami Kim, 2023. "Engaging CSR in SMEs by exporting: The critical factors of CEOs and markets," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(4), pages 1953-1964, July.
    7. Linda Westman & Christopher Luederitz & Aravind Kundurpi & Alexander Julian Mercado & Olaf Weber & Sarah Lynne Burch, 2019. "Conceptualizing businesses as social actors: A framework for understanding sustainability actions in small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(2), pages 388-402, February.
    8. Merja Lähdesmäki & Marjo Siltaoja & Laura J. Spence, 2019. "Stakeholder Salience for Small Businesses: A Social Proximity Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 158(2), pages 373-385, August.
    9. Lin Zhang & Xiaochen Zhang & Jingjing An & Wei Zhang & Jingshen Yao, 2022. "Examining the Role of Stakeholder-Oriented Corporate Governance in Achieving Sustainable Development: Evidence from the SME CSR in the Context of China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-22, July.
    10. Villegas Pinuer, Francisco & Valenzuela Fernández, Leslier & Llonch Andreu, Joan & López Belbeze, Pilar, 2022. "Environmental sustainability and their factors in SMEs: A multiple case study of Spain and Chile," Cuadernos de Gestión, Universidad del País Vasco - Instituto de Economía Aplicada a la Empresa (IEAE).
    11. Olga Ivanova Ruffo & Kamel Mnisri & Christine Morin-Esteves & Corinne Gendron, 2020. "Judgements of SMEs’ Legitimacy and Its Sources," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 165(3), pages 395-410, September.
    12. Carla Gonzales-Gemio & Claudio Cruz-Cázares & Mary Jane Parmentier, 2020. "Responsible Innovation in SMEs: A Systematic Literature Review for a Conceptual Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-27, December.
    13. Magrizos, Solon & Apospori, Eleni & Carrigan, Marylyn & Jones, Rosalind, 2021. "Is CSR the panacea for SMEs? A study of socially responsible SMEs during economic crisis," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 39(2), pages 291-303.
    14. Karolina Dmochowska-Dudek & Marcin Wójcik, 2022. "Socio-Economic Resilience of Poland’s Lignite Regions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-18, July.
    15. Justin Doran & Bernard Fingleton, 2014. "Economic shocks and growth: Spatio-temporal perspectives on Europe's economies in a time of crisis," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 93, pages 137-165, November.
    16. Marina Capparucci & Emanuela Ghignoni & Alina Verashchagina & Natalia Vorozhbit, 2015. "The Drivers of Innovation in the Italian Manufacturing Sector," Economia & lavoro, Carocci editore, issue 3, pages 111-128.
    17. Vinko Muštra & Blanka Šimundić & Zvonimir Kuliš, 2020. "Does innovation matter for regional labour resilience? The case of EU regions," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(5), pages 955-970, October.
    18. Junyon Im & Sunny Sun, 2015. "Profits and outreach to the poor: The institutional logics of microfinance institutions," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 32(1), pages 95-117, March.
    19. Agata Malak-Rawlikowska & Edward Majewski & Adam Wąs & Svein Ole Borgen & Peter Csillag & Michele Donati & Richard Freeman & Viet Hoàng & Jean-Loup Lecoeur & Maria Cecilia Mancini & An Nguyen & Monia , 2019. "Measuring the Economic, Environmental, and Social Sustainability of Short Food Supply Chains," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(15), pages 1-23, July.
    20. Carlo Rega & Alessandro Bonifazi, 2020. "The Rise of Resilience in Spatial Planning: A Journey through Disciplinary Boundaries and Contested Practices," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-18, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:14:p:7563-:d:589613. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.