No description available.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate how grocery stores perceive the increasing demand for organic food among Swedish consumers. Furthermore, I have studied how Swedish consumers perceive the supply of organic foods in grocery stores. This comparative study aimed to shed light on the problems and opportunities this development brings, and how the control of organic food is conducted. The primary source for the results consisted of information gathered from two surveys: a consumer survey and a store survey. The majority of grocery stores in this study answered that there has been an increase in sales of organic food and this trend is noticeable. More consumers are demanding organic food in the stores and shortages in the organic supply is becoming increasingly prevalent. This development encouraged consumer’s environmental awareness in the grocery store and promotes increased interest in how the goods are produced and transported. Large areas of agricultural land should be converted to organic agriculture to meet this increasing demand for organic food. Some studies have proven large scale- shift to organic farming without food shortages. Sweden has both preconditions for sustainable agriculture produced with local renewable resources and has the most stringent regulations and higher standards in food production than other countries. Therefore, local production needs to be prioritized. A sustainable agriculture is a necessity in the future; that can both reduce its carbon footprint and at the same time respond to the world's increasing food supply.

No description available.

Master of Science / Department of Agricultural Economics / Hikaru Hanawa Peterson / The purpose of this study was to examine the economic contribution of rural grocery stores to the communities they serve. In addition, this study looked at the community characteristics that influence the level of economic contribution of a rural grocery store. The analysis was conducted for 163 Kansas rural grocery stores that were selected from cities with populations of fewer than 2,500 people. Regarding the first objective, household income changes and loss of business activity associated with each grocery store were estimated using the IMPLAN economic modeling system. To do so, changes in employment at each grocery store and household income in the community were measured assuming the loss of income that affected households in a city would face if they had to travel a greater distance to buy groceries. The economic contribution of rural grocery stores in Kansas averaged $644,413, ranging from $38,441 and $3,921,027. The results showed that population and location within the state had direct effects on the economic impact of a grocery store. With more complex economies in the eastern and south central parts of Kansas, these stores had a greater economic contribution than stores in the Southwest and Northwest. Communities in the western parts of Kansas would be the worst off from losing their grocery store because of increased travel costs they would incur by traveling the next alternative store. For the second objective, city and county characteristics that were thought to influence the level of the economic contribution of a store were tested. Two regression models were considered specifying the natural log of the economic contribution of the grocery store and the percentage of total value added the grocery store contributed to the county economy as the respective dependent variables. It was observed that population was one of the biggest drivers of the economic contribution of a grocery store. Other variables that were statistically significant in both models were the number of city households that had children, relative remoteness of the county, the number of convenience stores per 1,000 people, and the county wealth. In conclusion, this study showed that grocery stores have a significant impact on the communities that they serve. Both employment and travel costs had direct implications on the economic impact of a store. Additionally, demographic factors and other community characteristics influenced the level of impact that these grocery stores can have on their communities.

Master of Science / Department of Journalism and Mass Communications / Barbara DeSanto / This is an exploratory study looking at the communication channels used in the relationship between rural grocers and rural community members in four Kansas communities. The study is a continuation of research and efforts done by K-State’s Rural Grocery Initiative to help the sustainability of rural grocery stores. This study is looked at through the theoretical lens of uses and gratifications because of the identification of communication channels that satisfy users’ wants and needs. The study is qualitative, using individual interviews to gather data from rural grocers and rural community members. Eight communication channels are identified by the grocers and community members: onsite of grocery store, newspaper (published in a nearby community), mail, radio, website, word-of-mouth, email, and Facebook. The eight communication channels discussed in the study are identified as being beneficial, used, or both by rural grocers and rural community members. The information provided from the study offers suggestions for rural grocers to better reach community members to increase business, and thus increase sustainability in the community.

The purpose of this report was to find out if grocery stores in Örnsköldsvik and Kramfors municipality recycle their producer responsibility package waste, hazardous waste and their food waste and in what way they get rid of their waste. Are there any differences in how these two municipalities does it? Are there any variance between different stores depending on size, location and finally come up with suggestions for improvements. To find out the answer to this questions phone interviews with 25 grocery stores in these two municipalities were conducted. The results from the survey shows that grocery stores in both municipalities sort out their producer responsibility package waste and hazardous waste to a great extent. Only four stores indicated that they sorted out food waste. Responses were varied regarding in what way the grocery stores get rid of their waste. Some stores get their waste picked-up by the municipality and others by different entrepreneurs. One of the big food chains have a contract with an entrepreneur to pick up their waste at all the stores in this part of the country. Some of the suggested improvements are to minimize the amount of food waste that gets thrown away and clarify the laws on what waste that the municipality have monopoly on. The conclusion of this report is that grocery stores in these two municipalities are good at sorting out their waste except food waste.

Master of Science / Department of Agricultural Economics / Hikaru Hanawa Peterson / Over the past few decades, the prevalence of obesity and diet-related diseases has steadily increased and become a major public health concern. Part of the problem has been attributed to the large quantity of unhealthy (energy-dense) foods U.S. consumers include in their diets. Statistics on food environment suggest that some areas and households have easier access to fast food restaurants and convenience stores but limited access to supermarkets. Limited access to nutritious food and relatively easier access to less nutritious food have been shown to lead to poor diets and, ultimately, to obesity and diet-related diseases. These issues may more negatively affect some communities than others, particularly rural communities as they tend to be further away from food outlets compared to urban areas. Counties are classified as food deserts based upon the percentage of residents living below the federal poverty line and the percentage of residents residing more than one mile from a supermarket. This definition excludes many viable food outlet options, including smaller independently-owned groceries. With rural residents being at a greater disadvantage, it becomes important to consider smaller groceries as an alternative for these communities. The level of social capital may be an indicator of an area’s willingness to support its community. The social environment of rural communities can be characterized as having a high degree of interconnectedness within the community, so that “everybody knows everybody else” (Beggs, Haines, & Hurlbert, 1996). This unique social network in rural communities facilitates the buildup of social capital, which incorporates reciprocity and the willingness to do things for members within the network. This study finds a negative relationship between obesity and social capital in nonmetropolitan counties, as well as a negative relationship between obesity rates and rural grocery stores. These conclusions lend insight into ways to decrease the level of obesity in rural areas.

Aim:   It  has  been  demonstrated  that  customer  satisfaction  is  critically  important  to  the performance of grocery stores (Bamford and Xystouri, 2005). In Gävle, there is heavy competition among the three big brands - ICA, Willy:s and Coop. Therefore, the study of  customer  satisfaction  in grocery  stores  in  Gävle  is  worth  researching.  This  paper aims to establish major attributes that underlie sub-attributes, to examine which pose the  most  dynamic  influences  on  the  degree  of  customer  satisfaction  in  the  different store formats.  Method:  The  method  framework  consists  of  analysis  of  three  samples  of  customers who purchase in the three store formats of ICA, Maxi ICA, ICA Sätra Store and ICA Nära. Following  a  weighted  mean  calculation  of  the  15  sub-attributes,  thus  the  result  can show  us  the  influence  of  the  identified  attributes  and  sub-attributes  on  customer satisfaction.  Result & Conclusions:  The  degree  of  customer  satisfaction  in  Maxi  ICA  is  highest,  followed  by  Sätra  ICA and  ICA  Nära.  The  attributes,  such  as  additional  service,  store  location,  and  store environment exert greatest influence on customer satisfaction in the three  formats of   stores.  The  principal  sub-attributes,  such  as  opportunity  to  meet  friends,  attractive price,  convenient  car  parking,  location,  wide  range  of  food  and  helpful  staff act dramatically.  It is concluded that additional service and location satisfy customers most. The degree of customer satisfaction in grocery stores in Gävle, as different formats of stores can meet customers' different needs and requirements.  Suggestions for future research:   Four  suggestions  for  future  study  are  introduced.  Firstly,  researching  in  other  cities, such as Stockholm or Malmo, is advisable, as both of them differentiate from Gavle in terms  of  size  of  city  and  geographic  context.  Secondly,  research  on  comparison among ICA and its competitors is also advisable to be conducted as it can investigate Swedish retailing industry from a different aspect. Thirdly, Uutialo (2001)’s result appears  to  be  against  yours, the  gap  between  Uutialo’s and  ours  is  advised  to  be examine  further.  Lastly,  the  future  researchers  are  also  advised  to  concern  about  the relationship between traditional retailing industry and e-commerce.  Contribution of the thesis:  This work contributes to extant literature by assessing differences in the main factors that contribute to satisfaction in grocery stores in Gävle, depending on different store formats,  as  customer  satisfaction  is  commonly  linked  with  service  marketing. Moreover, the field of grocery market in Gävle has not studied before the way we did, so this thesis has its original value.

Service quality and customer satisfaction are important concepts to grocery industry.  It is therefore important for companies to know how to measure this construct of expectations and perceptions because consumers’ expectations of service quality are increasing and people are becoming more and more critical of the quality of service they experience. The service quality model SERVQUAL is discussed in this study and how it can be applied in the context of grocery stores. The data in use were gathered from consumers in a southern Swedish town, called Växjö and the goal was to measure their expectations and perceptions of the services provided to them. After going through a significant number of articles and literature, the SERVQUAL model was altered by adding more variables (products, location, and waiting time) to its five dimensions. The aim was to find out if consumers are satisfied with the services been provided to them by grocery stores. Purpose – The purpose of the paper was to identify the dimensions influencing consumers’ perceived service quality in the grocery retailing. Method/approach – Using a sample of 200 respondents, a self-completion questionnaire was given out to consumers in Växjö, to determine their expectations and perceptions of service quality in grocery stores. Findings – The results show that expectations exceeded perceptions, denoting gaps in service quality, which means that grocery stores do not provide the level of service demanded by customers. This entails that customer satisfaction is rather low and that there is still room for grocery stores to improve on their performance. Managerial implications – The findings show that the SERVQUAL model can be a very useful instrument in measuring service quality in grocery stores. The additional variables proposed show a strong correlation to customer satisfaction, with products and waiting time being of high importance to overall service quality. Managers can use this tool to understand how customers assess service quality in grocery stores and in turn enhance their service experience. Originality/value – We introduce three new variables in the SERVQUAL model which, we believe, complete the assessment of service quality in the context of grocery stores.

Title: Food waste from grocery stores in Umeå- the potential for taking care of and reducing the amount of food waste. Author: Helene Myhrberg Abstract Food waste from grocery stores is an increasing problem in Sweden, and amounts to roughly 67 000 ton per year. This has consequences both for sustainability in general, but also for achieving the targets stipulated by the EU. Given this, it should be relevant for the society that grocery stores both decrease the amount of food waste but also develop better ways of dealing with food waste. Although there exist methods for this, the practicability of such measures are unknown. In this thesis I assess these issues by conducting interviews with owners and employees at five grocery stores in Umeå, asking them how they think about these questions. In particular, I focus on how to take care of and prepare food waste for anaerobic digestion and how to decrease volumes of food waste. In essence, I find that both the knowledge of, and interest in, these issues vary substantially between grocery stores. Further, for these measures to be feasible, it requires the process to be both economically efficient while not requiring too much time of work. With this in mind, it seems necessary to have a facility that can take care of both packed and unpackaged food waste, making it as cheap and simple as possible for the grocery stores. For reducing volumes of waste, most grocery stores agrees on better planning as the way to go. Key words: food waste, grocery stores, anaerobic digestion, decreasing of food waste.