Local Food Systems

In this paper, we explore the entrepreneurial leadership strategies and routine work of actors located across a diverse array of organizational settings (ie, farmers’ markets, community farms, community-supported agriculture programs, food and seed banks, local food print media) that combine to shape and sustain the Southern Arizona (AZ) local food system (LFS). We use the theoretical principles of institutional entrepreneurship and logic multiplicity to show how the strategies and routine work of local food actors at the organizational level combine to negotiate system-level meaning and structure within and across the Southern AZ LFS, which is an otherwise seemingly fragmented and contentious social space. We illustrate how the entrepreneurial work performed within multiple organizations and organizational types converge to form a hybrid (or blended) local food logic. Implications are discussed and recommendations for practice are proposed. [Faculty]

This case study of a self-described community supported baker (CSB) in Southern Arizona explores entrepreneurial leadership as a model for promoting consumer co-creation of both local food businesses and food systems. The analytical focus of the case is the entrepreneurial strategy of the CSB to embed his customers in the creation of both his community supported business and the development of a more robust Southern Arizona local food system (LFS). Specifically, the CSB's business model positions customers not only as the purchasers of his product, but also as marketers of his breads, promoters of local grains, and champions of the Southern Arizona food movement. Data was collected through a series of individual interviews with the baker and other relevant informants, as well as through multiple instances of participant observation. The case illustrates the capacity of entrepreneurial leadership to serve as a model that promotes consumer co-creation of local food businesses and more cohesive and extensive LFSs. [Faculty]

Citation: Mars, M. M. (2015). From bread we build community: Entrepreneurial leadership and the co-creation of local food businesses and systems. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development. Advance online publication. http://dx.doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2015.053.005