Sustainable transitions in agrifood systems: A bibliographic analysis of the role of firms and industries

Abstract

There is a growing consensus that the modern food system lies at the center of the grand challenges facing humanity and requires urgent and profound changes in the way that food is produced, processed, distributed and consumed. This systematic review analyses the sustainability transitions literature within agrifood systems, focusing on the role of firms and industries in transitions as defined by the Sustainable Transitions Research Network (STRN). The only previous systematic review on agrifood sustainability transitions identified this STRN research theme as a marginal topic in the agrifood transitions literature. This paper conducts a systematic literature review using bibliometric analysis and visualization tools to assess the current state of research on the role of firms and industries in agrifood sustainability. The findings reveal a significant increase in publications related to firms and industries within agrifood sustainability transitions, constituting 20% of the overall literature by 2023. However, this research is geographically concentrated in the European Union, particularly the Netherlands and Germany and based at two key institutions. This Eurocentric orientation emphasizes mostly issues within European agrifood firms and industries. The study identifies two primary theoretical clusters through co-citation: one aligns with general sustainability discourse, and the other focuses more specifically on agriculture, ecology, and rural studies. Three thematic clusters emerge from bibliographic coupling analysis, emphasizing innovation, ecological aspects, and targeted interventions in agrifood sustainability transitions. This study confirms that there is an increased focus on "industries and firms" in agrifood sustainability transitions, offering insights into geographical and thematic patterns, journal preferences, and theoretical frameworks. These findings provide a greater understanding of the current literature landscape, laying a foundation for future research directions in sustainable agrifood transitions within the theme of firms and industries.