Title: The digital economy: new e-business strategies for food Italian system

Authors: Luisa Sturiale; Alessandro Scuderi

Addresses: Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture (DICAR), University of Catania, Italy ' Department of Agrifood and Environmental Systems and Management (Di3A), University of Catania, Italy

Abstract: In the ICTs sector, innovations follow each other swiftly, as it is a very dynamic market, where Web 3.0 represents the latest phenomenon, after Web 2.0 and the social networks that had revolutionised the global world of information. The web has become a web ecosystem in which users create value by sharing and creating experiences in the web. However, despite the fact that there are interesting potentials for growth, Italian agri-food and agricultural enterprises have still not bridged the digital divide. The aim of this study is to provide a brief overview of the developments in the digital economy and of the changes in B2C models. In particular, the state of the art for agri-food products in relation to the evolution from e-commerce to social commerce will be analysed, through a specific survey, consisting of two complementary phases, related both to online businesses and to the web consumers.

Keywords: ICT; e-commerce; web consumers; social commerce; 8Ps marketing; social networks; web marketing; social media marketing; electronic WoM; word of mouth; e-WoM; digital economy; e-business strategies; food industry; Italy; agri-food products; electronic business; electronic commerce; digital divide; B2C; business-to-consumer; information and communications technology; information technology.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEMR.2016.080806

International Journal of Electronic Marketing and Retailing, 2016 Vol.7 No.4, pp.287 - 310

Received: 01 Dec 2015
Accepted: 03 Jan 2016
Published online: 08 Dec 2016 *

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