Sustainable Development of Foodservices under Uncertainty
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Esteemed Author,
It has been a great honor, as well as a pleasantly challenging activity, to review the article entitled ”Sustainable Development of Foodservices under Uncertainty.”
Eating out is one of the most popular leisure activities among Europeans, resulting in a booming restaurant and foodservice industry. Food services, also known as catering services, refer to all services for out-of-home consumption of food and drink, including restaurants, cafés, bars, takeaway, food delivery, contract catering, cafeterias, and other food vendors. In Western Europe, the consumer foodservice market was valued at 427 billion euros in 2016 and the Eastern European market at 45.6 billion euros. Restaurants are possibly the main outlet type used by consumers in the foodservice industry, from full service 'sit down' restaurants to limited service and casual dining establishments.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), by the effect of demographic growth and changes in diets and incomes, the demand for food is likely to grow by 70% until 2050. The increasingly global market's current outlook is mirrored by considerable supply uncertainties linked to unpredictable economic and political, and climatic and biological developments (e.g., new crop and animal diseases). This implies a need for accelerated agricultural production growth in developing countries. Practically, for various reasons, we are witnessing an unprecedented diversification of everything that food services mean.
Theory-wise, the paper is likely to elicit specialists' interest in areas such as consumer behavior, conventional food consumption, sociology, sustainable development of agriculture, and sustainable food services development. The paper presents essential practical applicability related to the food chain, sustainable development of food services, public policies, consumer education, and economy. Moreover, the obtained results are also relevant to the production sector, particularly the industry of certain agri-food products in developing countries.
The paper is well structured and possesses an important novelty character. The article's major components – Introduction; Literature Review; Methodology; Proposed Approach; Case Study; Conclusions and Suggestions - are organized judiciously and directly linked to one another.
The documentation is adequate, and the provided scientific results are exact and precise. The goal of the conducted research is well specified and delineated. The working protocol is appropriate, and the used analysis methods are coherent with the proposed objectives.
The bibliography of the paper is it is appropriate in terms of the works consulted and their significance. What is even more relevant for the article's quality, all the authors in the bibliographic reference list are quoted in the text of the material, without exception.
Concerning the bibliography, I suggest that the authors make some brief references to the field of food safety, an essential component of public food services. In connection with this field, I suggest that they consult and include in the list of bibliographic references the following works:
Bondoc, I. European Regulation in the Veterinary Sanitary and Food Safety Area, a Component of the European Policies on the Safety of Food Products and the Protection of Consumer Interests: A 2007 Retrospective. Part One: the Role of European Institutions in Laying Down and Passing Laws Specific to the Veterinary Sanitary and Food Safety Area. Universul Juridic, Supliment, 2016, pp. 2-15 (Sources: Google Scholar; CAB International; HeinOnline; CEEOL – Central and Eastern European Online Library; ResearchGate).
Bondoc, I. European Regulation in the Veterinary Sanitary and Food Safety Area, a Component of the European Policies on the Safety of Food Products and the Protection of Consumer Interests: A 2007 Retrospective. Part Two: Regulations. Universul Juridic, Supliment, 2016, pp. 16-19 (Sources: Google Scholar; CAB International; HeinOnline; CEEOL – Central and Eastern European Online Library; ResearchGate).
All these papers approach food safety legislation enforced within the European Union, which usually constitutes a model for the food law in third countries. These documents outline the European legislative environment, starting with 2007, the year of the penultimate geo-political enlargement of the European Union. I want to add that all recommended papers have been indexed in CAB International and HeinOnline, the largest and most extensive worldwide database for documents in the legislative field.
I also recommend that authors write the bibliography in a uniform and clear manner. I am referring mainly to mentioning the following elements for each consulted article: journal, volume, issue, and pages (the DOI may also be mentioned, should the author so desire, but the basic descriptive elements are the previously mentioned ones).
For example - page 12, lines 388-389 - Sagheer, S., Yadav, S.S., Deshmukh, S.G. An application of interpretative structural modeling of the compliance to food standards. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management (or ISO Abbreviation – Int. J. Product. Perform. Manag.), 2009, 58 2, 136-159; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/17410400910928734.
Another example – page 14, lines 445-446 – Hwang, J., Choe, J.Y. Exploring perceived risk in building successful drone food delivery services. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management (or ISO Abbreviation - Int. J. Contemp. Hosp. Manag.), 2019, 31, 8, 3249-3269; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-07-2018-0558.
Under the recommended conditions, almost all bibliography must be adequately rewritten.
The work also benefits from adequate iconographic support, materialized by eight tables and three figures. All these figures are representative of the objectives pursued and show in a synthetic and easy to follow the results of the studies undertaken.
The authors should pay more attention to the use of certain abbreviations to avoid confusion; basically, all abbreviations are to be used in the text-only after at least one mention made in extenso.
The obtained results are interpreted correctly, and their practical value is visible.
The graphical representation of the results is adequate; as for the grammar of the paper, most of the text is very well written, with very few parts that would require some minor corrections, as follows:
Page 2, line 62 – rephrase “An overview of this research main objectives are as follows” to “The main objectives of this research are as follows:”
Page 5, line 192 – replace “all components” with “all the components”;
Page 11, line 339 – replace “The AP1 is improve” with “The AP1 improves”;
Page 12, line 355 – replace “using previous” with “using the previous”;
Page 12, line 366 – replace “in choosing” with “in making a choice”;
Page 12, line 380 – replace “reduce environmental” with “reduce the environmental”.
Minor corrections and clarifications notwithstanding, the author’s work and obtained results are highly commendable. They bring significant added value to the paper and may constitute a launching pad for further useful studies.
Best Regards,
Reviewer
Author Response
Dear Editor
Many thanks for reviewers’ useful and valuable comments and suggestions on the structure of our manuscript. Most of them have a professional aspect and this is interesting for us. We have modified the manuscript accordingly, and the detailed corrections are listed below.
Referee 1
Color: Phosphorus
Eating out is one of the most popular leisure activities among Europeans, resulting in a booming restaurant and foodservice industry. Food services, also known as catering services, refer to all services for out-of-home consumption of food and drink, including restaurants, cafés, bars, takeaway, food delivery, contract catering, cafeterias, and other food vendors. In Western Europe, the consumer foodservice market was valued at 427 billion euros in 2016 and the Eastern European market at 45.6 billion euros. Restaurants are possibly the main outlet type used by consumers in the foodservice industry, from full service 'sit down' restaurants to limited service and casual dining establishments.
Reply: This valuable article of yours was used in the introduction.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), by the effect of demographic growth and changes in diets and incomes, the demand for food is likely to grow by 70% until 2050. The increasingly global market's current outlook is mirrored by considerable supply uncertainties linked to unpredictable economic and political, and climatic and biological developments (e.g., new crop and animal diseases). This implies a need for accelerated agricultural production growth in developing countries. Practically, for various reasons, we are witnessing an unprecedented diversification of everything that food services mean.
Concerning the bibliography, I suggest that the authors make some brief references to the field of food safety, an essential component of public food services. In connection with this field, I suggest that they consult and include in the list of bibliographic references the following works:
Bondoc, I. European Regulation in the Veterinary Sanitary and Food Safety Area, a Component of the European Policies on the Safety of Food Products and the Protection of Consumer Interests: A 2007 Retrospective. Part One: the Role of European Institutions in Laying Down and Passing Laws Specific to the Veterinary Sanitary and Food Safety Area. Universul Juridic, Supliment, 2016, pp. 2-15 (Sources: Google Scholar; CAB International; HeinOnline; CEEOL – Central and Eastern European Online Library; ResearchGate).
Bondoc, I. European Regulation in the Veterinary Sanitary and Food Safety Area, a Component of the European Policies on the Safety of Food Products and the Protection of Consumer Interests: A 2007 Retrospective. Part Two: Regulations. Universul Juridic, Supliment, 2016, pp. 16-19 (Sources: Google Scholar; CAB International; HeinOnline; CEEOL – Central and Eastern European Online Library; ResearchGate).
Reply: Based on the above sources, a part of the introduction was devoted to food safety.
All these papers approach food safety legislation enforced within the European Union, which usually constitutes a model for the food law in third countries. These documents outline the European legislative environment, starting with 2007, the year of the penultimate geo-political enlargement of the European Union. I want to add that all recommended papers have been indexed in CAB International and HeinOnline, the largest and most extensive worldwide database for documents in the legislative field.
I also recommend that authors write the bibliography in a uniform and clear manner. I am referring mainly to mentioning the following elements for each consulted article: journal, volume, issue, and pages (the DOI may also be mentioned, should the author so desire, but the basic descriptive elements are the previously mentioned ones).
For example - page 12, lines 388-389 - Sagheer, S., Yadav, S.S., Deshmukh, S.G. An application of interpretative structural modeling of the compliance to food standards. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management (or ISO Abbreviation – Int. J. Product. Perform. Manag.), 2009, 58 2, 136-159; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/17410400910928734.
Another example – page 14, lines 445-446 – Hwang, J., Choe, J.Y. Exploring perceived risk in building successful drone food delivery services. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management (or ISO Abbreviation - Int. J. Contemp. Hosp. Manag.), 2019, 31, 8, 3249-3269; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-07-2018-0558.
Under the recommended conditions, almost all bibliography must be adequately rewritten.
Reply: References were modified according to the comment.
The authors should pay more attention to the use of certain abbreviations to avoid confusion; basically, all abbreviations are to be used in the text-only after at least one mention made in extensor.
Reply: All abbreviations in the text were reviewed according to the comment.
The graphical representation of the results is adequate; as for the grammar of the paper, most of the text is very well written, with very few parts that would require some minor corrections, as follows:
Page 2, line 62 – rephrase “An overview of this research main objectives are as follows” to “The main objectives of this research are as follows:”
Page 5, line 192 – replace “all components” with “all the components”;
Page 11, line 339 – replace “The AP1 is improve” with “The AP1 improves”;
Page 12, line 355 – replace “using previous” with “using the previous”;
Page 12, line 366 – replace “in choosing” with “in making a choice”;
Page 12, line 380 – replace “reduce environmental” with “reduce the environmental”.
Reply: All the above writing items were corrected in the text.
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
Review - Manuscript ID: sustainability-1045928
Dear Author, Dear Editor,
In my opinion, the title of the manuscript is quite laconic and thus promising. However, it clearly does not reflect the content.
It is not explained how the author defines/ explains (based on the background of scientific literature):
-sustainable development of food services (FS)
-what the term 'under uncertainty' refers to - I honestly expected a reference to COVID-19 or to the turbulent and dynamically changing macro environment of the organization.
The manuscript also lacks a diagnosis of the FS sector in Iran and I consider the paragraph on FS in the UK redundant. It is necessary to present the development trends of this sector against the background of the situation in the region or maybe even globally, taking into account aspects of sustainable development. In the paragraph in L. 39-45 there is a mention of 'food centers' (what does the author mean - restaurants, cafes and?) and culinary tourism ('food tourism'), but this is not enough for the reader to see that in Iran the FS sector has development potential. What are the legislative requirements for compliance with sustainable development practices and does it matter to clients? Therefore, these issues should be presented synthetically, but exhaustively, in the "Introduction" section or by extending the structure of the manuscript with an additional chapter before describing the methodology.
Abstract - the names of factors written in quotation marks are different than in Table 1, the name AP2 is also different than in Table 8; I propose to standardize. The "Conclusion" does not result from the presented analyses. It is not permitted to use the term 'in most provinces' based on a single case study. Among the evaluated factors, the meal/food offer was not included, so it cannot be referred to in the conclusions. In "Keywords" I suggest writing whole names and abbreviations in parentheses.
In the "Methodology" I propose to combine the text in L. 240-243 and 266-269, but it requires more detail and greater reliability. What questions were included in 'interviews' and 'questionnaire'? How many and what factors were taken into account in the selection process of the 17 factors analysed? Please write this to your readers, not refer them to the literature [24-26]. To what extent are these factors specific to Iran?
In my opinion, the names of groups of factors do not reflect their nature. In 'Social' there are also governmental, marketing, and legal ones. It is worth explaining what should be understood by the term 'government preassure or support' (‘pressure’?) - is Iran expected to treat FS sector differently from other sectors (especially in market economy conditions)? This is all the more true as this factor has proved to be crucial.
‘Environmental factors’ concern the factors of the organization's environment, both in the macro-sectoral and micro (inside the organization) environment. Why does the term 'shop' appear? - after all, the article concerns FS. By the way, in L. 321 also features a 'foodservice delivery unit' - why 'delivery'? Factor 10 is called 'facilities' - and then there is 'area facilities' in the text. Consistent and accurate names matter.
I am afraid there have been mistakes in the numbering of factors. Please check the conformity of the numbers in Table 1 and further tables, figures and descriptions. For example, in Table 1, factor 'government pressure or support' is number 1, but in L. 333 it is number 4. Is the whole argument therefore correct?
The process of IAPs emergence needs to be clarified, especially since the suggestion 'using healthy and organic materials' appears in Table 8. Shouldn't the factor of offering a healthy and sustainable menu/diet also be evaluated in the model? - since this is mentioned in the abstract.
The manuscript lacks a reference of the survey results to the trends observed in the functioning of the sector and its development in Iran/region/world. In L. 365-371 is a fragment of discussion, but it does not refer to the literature and is not sufficient in the context of the results obtained.
Author Response
Dear Editor
Many thanks for reviewers’ useful and valuable comments and suggestions on the structure of our manuscript. Most of them have a professional aspect and this is interesting for us. We have modified the manuscript accordingly, and the detailed corrections are listed below.
Dear Referee 2
Thank you very much for your useful comments in order to improve the scientific quality of the article. All your comments were fully considered and all the requested corrections were made. We hope that the quality of the article is now appropriate as a scientific work.
Color: Purple
-sustainable development of food services (FS)
-What the term 'under uncertainty' refers to - I honestly expected a reference to COVID-19 or to the turbulent and dynamically changing macro environment of the organization.
Reply: The term uncertainty refers to the nature of the factors influencing this area. In Iran, due to the existence of too many local brands in the field of food services, this field is constantly changing. For example, factors of competition and customer loyalty can even change instantly with the advent of new food service companies. Or even government support has been strongly influenced by the changing economic situation in Iran over the past few years. Meanwhile, with the recent global changes, due to the epidemic of COVID-19, we can also consider the uncertainty in the outbreak of the disease, which was mentioned in the research suggestions.
The manuscript also lacks a diagnosis of the FS sector in Iran and I consider the paragraph on FS in the UK redundant. It is necessary to present the development trends of this sector against the background of the situation in the region or maybe even globally, taking into account aspects of sustainable development.
Reply: According to the comment, in order to improve the quality of research, statistics related to Iran were replaced
In the paragraph in L. 39-45 there is a mention of 'food centers' (what does the author mean - restaurants, cafes and?) and culinary tourism ('food tourism'), but this is not enough for the reader to see that in Iran the FS sector has development potential. What are the legislative requirements for compliance with sustainable development practices and does it matter to clients? Therefore, these issues should be presented synthetically, but exhaustively, in the "Introduction" section or by extending the structure of the manuscript with an additional chapter before describing the methodology.
Reply: 'food centers’ word was a typing error that was corrected. Explanations on the requirements of sustainable development of the food service industry and the use of research results in this regard were added:
Abstract –
The names of factors written in quotation marks are different than in Table 1,
Reply: factors names were corrected according to the Table 1.
the name AP2 is also different than in Table 8; I propose to standardize.
Reply: AP2 in Table 8 relates to Improvement Action Plans (IAPs) and was standardized to avoid possible errors.
The "Conclusion" does not result from the presented analyses. It is not permitted to use the term 'in most provinces' based on a single case study.
Reply: In the abstract, the case study was revised and the exact scope of the research was pointed out.
Among the evaluated factors, the meal/food offer was not included, so it cannot be referred to in the conclusions.
Reply: This comment is fully considered and " meal/food offer" was deleted from conclusion.
In "Keywords" I suggest writing whole names and abbreviations in parentheses.
Reply: In keywords, words and their abbreviations were given in parentheses.
In the "Methodology" I propose to combine the text in L. 240-243 and 266-269, but it requires more detail and greater reliability.
Reply: The two paragraphs were combined and the text improved
What questions were included in 'interviews' and 'questionnaire'? How many and what factors were taken into account in the selection process of the 17 factors analyzed? Please write this to your readers, not refer them to the literature [24-26]. To what extent are these factors specific to Iran?
Reply: The method, the number of general and specific factors in Iran and the criteria were explained exactly.
In my opinion, the names of groups of factors do not reflect their nature. In 'Social' there are also governmental, marketing, and legal ones. It is worth explaining what should be understood by the term 'government pressure or support’ (‘pressure’?) - is Iran expected to treat FS sector differently from other sectors (especially in market economy conditions)? This is all the more true as this factor has proved to be crucial.
Reply: This division is a matter of taste and to avoid many groups, otherwise it has no effect on the results of research. There is both government support and government pressure. For example, the religious restrictions on food services included in the analysis.
‘Environmental factors’ concern the factors of the organization's environment, both in the macro-sectoral and micro (inside the organization) environment. Why does the term 'shop' appear? - after all, the article concerns FS. By the way, in L. 321 also features a 'foodservice delivery unit' - why 'delivery'? Factor 10 is called 'facilities' - and then there is 'area facilities' in the text. Consistent and accurate names matter.
Reply: "Facilities" was changed to "Environmental facilities”. Improvement Action Plans also refer to "the location and size of the food service." The term "shop" was a translation error, it was corrected.
I am afraid there have been mistakes in the numbering of factors. Please check the conformity of the numbers in Table 1 and further tables, figures and descriptions. For example, in Table 1, factor 'government pressure or support’ is number 1, but in L. 333 it is number 4. Is the whole argument therefore correct?
Reply: Your comment was fully considered. Typing errors were fixed and the whole text was reviewed and corrected.
The process of IAPs emergence needs to be clarified, especially since the suggestion 'using healthy and organic materials' appears in Table 8. Shouldn't the factor of offering a healthy and sustainable menu/diet also be evaluated in the model? - Since this is mentioned in the abstract.
Reply: These solutions have been provided by experts according to the root factors. The presentation of a healthy food menu was discussed and welcomed by experts. Then it was added to solutions and made calculations efficient.
The manuscript lacks a reference of the survey results to the trends observed in the functioning of the sector and its development in Iran/region/world. In L. 365-371 is a fragment of discussion, but it does not refer to the literature and is not sufficient in the context of the results obtained.
Reply: The alignment of the results of the current research with the results of previous studies mentioned in the research background was brought.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
Manuscript sustainability-1045928
describes an approach to identify and analyze the factors that affect the sustainable development of food services in Iran. The manuscript is well designed and written and data are supported by statistical analysis. The manuscript brings knew knowledge in the field. However, there are some technical errors that should be corrected. These follow the text sequence:
-Abstract
Line 9. ‘’…is to provide….’’.
Line 134. Correct the space between the words.
Line 154. Rephrase.’’ A lot of criteria or elements must be prepared’’.
Line 168. Same problem as above.
Lines 195,212. Same problem as in line 154.
Figures
There are missing words in Figure 1. Kindly correct it.
-Conclusion
The conclusion section is too long. It must be drastically reduced. The authors should provide the most pronounced findings and future perspectives in 200-250 words.
-References
These do not need bold writing.
Based on the aforementioned,
I suggest a minor revision of the present article.
Author Response
Dear Editor
Many thanks for reviewers’ useful and valuable comments and suggestions on the structure of our manuscript. Most of them have a professional aspect and this is interesting for us. We have modified the manuscript accordingly, and the detailed corrections are listed below.
Dear Referee 3
Thank you very much for your useful comments in order to improve the scientific quality of the article. All your comments were fully considered and all the requested corrections were made. We hope that the quality of the article is now appropriate as a scientific work.
Color: green
-Abstract
Line 9. ‘’…is to provide….’’.
Reply: the problem was corrected in the text.
Line 134. Correct the space between the words.
Reply: the problem was corrected in the text.
Line 154. Rephrase.’’ A lot of criteria or elements must be prepared’’.
Reply: this sentence is the name of stage. In order to prevent misunderstanding, the stage name is highlighted.
Line 168. Same problem as above.
Reply: this sentence is the name of stage. In order to prevent misunderstanding, the stage name is highlighted.
Lines 195,212. Same problem as in line 154.
Reply: this sentence is the name of stage. In order to prevent misunderstanding, the stage name is highlighted.
Figures
There are missing words in Figure 1. Kindly correct it.
Reply: The content of Figure 1 was modified
-Conclusion
The conclusion section is too long. It must be drastically reduced. The authors should provide the most pronounced findings and future perspectives in 200-250 words.
Reply: The conclusion was fundamentally revised and its words were reduced to 280 words
-References
These do not need bold writing.
Reply: the problem was corrected in the text.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Round 2
Reviewer 2 Report
Dear Editor,
Dear Author,
I’m glad that the reviewed manuscript, after taking into account my and other reviewers' suggestions, has been clearly upgraded. The most important change is the improvement of factor numbering and the inclusion of an additional IAP (which turned out to be the third in the hierarchy of priorities), making the whole analysis process understandable. However, I have one more doubt about the numbering of factors or their correct naming:
L. 333-334. I agree that F4 "government pressure or support" directly affects the factors of "area facilities" (F11), and "competition" (F7), but I cannot agree with the factor "tax" (F6) – Figures 3 and 4 indicate F5 - that is an "advertisement", according to table 1.
Moreover, in L. 35-36 is quoted [Fung, Wang, and Menon 2018] and in L. 377 [Naini et al.], but these new sources are not listed in the References section.
Author Response
Dear editor,
I would like to thank you again for giving me the opportunity to improve and resubmit manuscript. The manuscript has been revised according to the comments raised by the reviewer to the best of my ability. Changes to the manuscript are highlighted. I hope that the manuscript will be acceptable for publication in “Sustainability” journal.
Sincerely,
Sohrab Abdollahzadeh
Dear Referee #2
I very much appreciate your suggestions, which have been very helpful in improving the manuscript. I have revised the issues brought up; the point-by-point response can be found below. The changes in the manuscript are highlighted in Purple.
- 333-334. I agree that F4 "government pressure or support" directly affects the factors of "area facilities" (F11), and "competition" (F7), but I cannot agree with the factor "tax" (F6) – Figures 3 and 4 indicate F5 - that is an "advertisement", according to table 1.
Reply: The “tax” factor was in fact misrepresented in the text due to a misinterpretation of the ISM structure. The ISM figure was revised and interpreted correctly.
Moreover, in L. 35-36 is quoted [Fung, Wang, and Menon 2018] and in L. 377 [Naini et al.], but these new sources are not listed in the References section.
Reply: The first Reference (Fung, Wang, and Menon 2018) has listed in the reference section by updating the manuscript. The second reference in line 377 had a typing error, it was corrected.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
