The Diffusion of Innovative Practices Among Meat Retailers in Northern Greece: "Think Meal Not Meat"

Abstract

This paper investigates the degree to which Greek butchers try to come to grips with the implications of long term modern trends. The “traditional butcher versus modern supermarket” conceptual dichotomy is a dead-end for the former. In order to meet the long term challenges of contradictory consumer behavior trends, Greek butchers must embrace them and use them to their own advantage, rather than resist them. The paper deals with issues of innovation adoption by the sector, emphasising the role of the sectoral collective institutions that act as the collective consciousness of their constituents and can hinder or facilitate innovation diffusion. neighborhood butchers. The issue is viewed through the entrepreneurial versus conservative disposition dichotomy and is informed by the present day economic crisis, which forms the backdrop against which the story is unfolding. By now it is clear that the economic crisis we are going through is not going to have the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs, large and small. It is highly probable however that, at least in Greece, it will on the one hand leave behind a trail of ruined small business as it reduces the disposable income of lower and middle classes, and on the other hand will usher in an even more hectic life-style as it dismantles the public sector. Against this background, our subjects are a group of shop-owners that do not possess any of the kudos of high-tech DOI: 10.4018/jeei.2011070104 36 International Journal of E-Entrepreneurship and Innovation, 2(3), 35-45, July-September 2011 Copyright © 2011, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. SMEs nor are they expected to spearhead the recovery of the economy; in fact their job is a very prosaic one, butchering carcasses and selling meat. Our primary research subjects were seventy SME clients of Provil S.A., a food ingredients producer. Their mundane job however and their embeddedness in the local society – which makes them representative of many small enterprises offers no protection from the developments set in motion by globalisation. So, is the Greek neighborhood butcher on his way to joining the gallery of lost traditional professions like the travelling knife-sharpener and ice-cream seller? The proposition of this paper is the following: The “traditional butcher” versus “modern supermarket” conceptual dichotomy that dominates at present the sectoral discourse is a dead end, because it implicitly stresses the personal relationship and trust between shop-owner and customer without actually enhancing and utilising it to accommodate evolving customer needs. In order to meet the long term challenges of contradictory consumer behavior trends, such as the dominance of convenience food and health concerns, the Greek butchers have to embrace them and use them to their own advantage, rather than resist them.