Does Food Safety Matter? An Analysis of Startup Entrepreneurs in the Food Sector

Objectives: This paper aims to investigate how new entrepreneurs in the food industry navigate food safety in their startups by answering the following research question: (RQ1) What is the role of food safety in the entrepreneurial process leading to the creation of new food enterprises? To answer this RQ, the paper combines the broad research strand on food safety with that investigating the entrepreneurial process. We consider the entrepreneurial process as the context of our analysis, within which we analyze the role of food safety for new entrepreneurs entering the food sector. Prior Work: Scholars have mainly investigated how food firms deal with food safety management systems and practices, factors that can stimulate/hinder their adoption and benefits perceived by firms. Less attention has been paid to the individual level, that is to how key actors who create and manage food companies can influence how the latter approach food safety. Thus a research gap emerges as the attitude of new entrepreneurs to food safety may be considered an "antecedent" of enterprise approaches to food safety and deserves further attention. Approach: This study adopts a qualitative approach based on the multiple case study approach. Ten new entrepreneurs, owners and managers of innovative startups in the food sector, have been selected and interviewed. Collected data were analyzed in two main steps: a) within-case analysis and b) cross-case analysis. Results: The analysis of the interviews revealed that food security can influence the entrepreneurial process by intervening in the recognition phase of entrepreneurial opportunities and/or in the phase of new venture creation. Based on the different roles of food safety in the entrepreneurial process leading to the creation of new food businesses, three types of entrepreneurs were identified: observant, innovator, and committed. They are characterized by different views, perceptions, and attitudes towards food safety and different ways of approaching it in business creation and management. Implications and Value: Studying antecedents that guide new entrepreneurs in the food industry is essential to understanding whether and how newly-created enterprises are sensitive to global trends for the food system's future and ready to take up the challenge of change.