3.1. Component Analysis
3.1.1. Practitioners
Practitioners identified 14 components and 20 connections, with eight drivers and only one receiver component.
The maps are were graphically homogeneous, without a clear net of connections. The variables, as mentioned by the stakeholders, are generic and approximately defined (e.g., “oil”, “extra-virgin”; “Italy”; “olive fly”, etc.). Farmers with an academic background provided the most complex maps. However, olive quality represents the core of the maps (
Figure 3).
According ro this stakeholder category, EVOO quality and company profit recorded the highest centrality at 5.9 and 5.8, respectively. Olive oil quality is of ordinary variability, but its indegree value is much higher than the outdegree value. Education of consumers (+1), logistic (+0.9), agronomic skills (+0.9) and organic management (+0.8) are the variables that positively affect the olive oil quality. On the contrary, this component is negatively influenced by climate change (−0.7) and conventional management (−0.7).
Company profit is a receiver variable with the higher indegree value. Labelling and packaging (+0.7), organic management (+0.8), education of consumers (+1), target market (+1) and production area of PDO (i.e., typical product of a specific rural area, +0.8) positively influence this component of the system. While, production costs (−0.8) and bureaucracy (−0.7) negatively affect the company profit.
Production costs recorded the third centrality value (3.9). It is an ordinary variable with indegree value much higher than the outdegree one. In fact, production costs negatively influence only the company profit, while this is positively affected by bureaucracy (+0.7) and climate change (+0.9), and negatively by cooperation (−0.8) and conventional management (−0.7).
Education of consumers recorded the fourth centrality value (2.9). It is an ordinary variable with the highest outdegree value and it positively influences olive oil quality and company profit (+ 1).
Finally, climate change and cooperation (centrality value 1.6) are driver components: the first influences production costs (+0.9) and olive oil quality (−0.7), while the second one influences productions costs (−0.8) and production area of PDO (0.8). Conventional management, labelling and packaging, bureaucracy, organic management, agronomic skills and logistics are the remaining driver variables with thelowest centrality (
Table 3).
3.1.2. Multipliers
Multipliers mainly included farm advisors, consumers and experts of the local olive oil value chain. These stakeholders identified 14 components of the systems and 18 connections, with eight drivers and two receiver components.
The EVOO production seems to represent the core of the multipliers’ map (
Figure 4).
According to the multipliers (
Table 4), oil production is the most relevant component of the systems (centrality value 9.9). It is an ordinary variable that recorded the highest indegree value compared to all other variables. In fact, oil production influences only public health (+0.9), while it is positively influenced by several components: biodiversity (+1), early harvesting (+1), policies (0.8), oil mill transformation (+1), PDO and territorial aspects (0.7), agro-management (+1), information and dissemination (0.5). On the contrary, climate change (−0.8), pathogens (−1), economic crisis (−0.7) and large scale retail (−0.6) affect this component negatively.
Biodiversity is the driver component with higher centrality value (2.7): it positively influences agro-management (+1), oil production (+1) and PDO and territorial aspects (+0.7). Climate change is a driver component too (centrality value 1.6), and it negatively affects pathogens (−0.8) and oil production (−1). Policies, information and dissemination, large scale retail, olive mill transformation, macro-economic crisis and early harvesting are the remaining driver components of the system, with the lowest centrality value. On the contrary territory and public health are the only two receiver components: the first is negatively influenced by economic crisis (−0.8) and pathogens (−0.8); oil production positively influences public health (+0.8), while large scale retail has a negative effect on this component (−0.7).
3.1.3. Researchers
The researcher stakeholder group includes scientists and academics. These stakeholders identified the highest number of components of the systems (16) and connections (42); two components are receiver, while none of the variables are driver.
The researchers’ map is very ramified and with a character of biunivocity (
Figure 5).
Researchers mainly consider the effects of climate change on the other components of the local olive oil value chain relevant. According to the researchers, climate change is in fact the most relevant component of the system (centrality value 11.4). It is an ordinary variable with a higher outdegree value (9.0). Climate change negatively influences several other components of the system. In particular, historical and cultural factors and the ecosystem recorded the maximum lowest value (−1). Biodiversity, rural landscape, networking, productivity and proactivity and exchanges recorded values were between −0.8 and −0.9. Other components such as innovation, the quality of products and organization of the value chain were scored between −0.6 and −0.7. Change in the use of soil is the only variable positively influenced by climate change (+1).
Rural landscape recorded 5.8 as the centrality value. This component, according to the researchers, is important to preserve the ecosystem (+0.8) and to provide satisfaction (+0.9). At the same time, historical and cultural factors (+0.7), biophilly (+1) and structure of society (+0.8) are relevant to preserve the rural landscape.
The quality of products and historical and cultural factors recorded 5.7 and 5.1 as centrality, respectively. Both variables are affected by climate change (−1 and −0.6, respectively). The quality of products is positively influenced by ecosystem services (+1), innovation (+0.9), biodiversity (+0.8), organization of value chain (+0.8), and historical and cultural factors (+0.3).
Historical and cultural factors positively affect biophilia (+0.8), rural landscape (+0.7), structure of society (+0.6), innovation (+0.4) and the quality of products (+0.3).
Researchers also consider the organization of the value chain important, since it recorded 5.0 as the centrality value. In fact, according to the researchers, this variable positively influences the quality of products (+0.8), ecosystem services (+0.6) and productivity (+0.4). At the same time, networking (+0.6), proactivity and exchanges (+0.9) and satisfaction (+0.7) positively affect the organization of the value chain.
Ecosystem and productivity are the only two receiver components of the system, with 3.7 and 2.0 as the centrality value. Researchers consider biodiversity (+1.0), biophilia (+0.9) and rural landscape (+0.8) as the most important components to preserve the ecosystem. At the same time, ecosystem services (+0.8) and organization of the value chain (+0.4) positively affect productivity of the local olive oil value chain (
Table 5).
3.1.4. Suppliers
Supplier stakeholders that participated in the survey included mainly oil millers. These stakeholders identified 14 components of the system and 13 connections with only positive relations, with three driver and four receiver components.
These stakeholders perceived technical–innovative variables, such as oil mill equipment and facilities, as the most relevant components of the system. The supplier maps showed a clustering that is particularly remarkable in this case, because often the variables are not connected at all among themselves (
Figure 6).
The variable information about purchasing has a higher centrality value (4.0). This component positively influences marketing and awareness, both scored with the maximum higher value (+1). Suppliers perceive driver components such as olive fruits, crop spacing, place of oil mills, and human resources and quality checks (
Table 6).
3.1.5. Administrators
The administration stakeholder category included members of the local authorities. This group of stakeholders identified 13 components of the system and 19 connections, with three driver and four receiver components.
In general, the maps of administrators were the most heterogeneous, wide ranged and well explained. Furthermore, administrators indicated digital platforms and events as relevant variables of the EVOO chain (
Figure 7).
According to the administrators, planning is the most relevant component of the system, of which the centrality value was 7.0, with a higher outdegree value (6.0). Additionally, theweb (internet in general), partnership and product are perceived important, since their centrality scored 5.0.
Planning has a positive effect on relations with institutions, the web, partnership, cooperation and norms. All these connections were scored with the maximum higher value (+1).
The web is a component mainly influenced (high indegree value), and programs, research, planning and awareness are the most important variables (all scored with the maximum higher number).
Moreover, partnership, like the web, is mainly influenced by research, planning, marketing and product.
Cooperation and norms are receiver components, both influenced by planning and product (
Table 7).
3.1.6. Global
All the stakeholders identified 33 components of the system and 86 connections, with seven driver and five receiver components (
Figure 8).
Among all the components of the system (
Table 8), the quality of products scored the higher centrality value (17.9), as well as the higher indegree value (12.9). Stakeholders perceive that the quality of products plays a crucial role within the local olive oil value chain, since it positively affects important components of the system, such as cooperation (+1), satisfaction (+1), legislation (+1), marketing (+0.9), public health (+0.8), and historical and cultural factors (+0.3).
At the same time, several components of the system influence the quality of products. Among the components that have a positive effect on the quality of products, terroir (+0.8), agro-management (+0.9), biodiversity (+0.9), and historical and cultural factors (0.3) are the most relevant, since all of them recorded the highest centrality value (above 5). On the contrary, climate change (−0.7), pathogens (−1), large distribution (−0.6) and macro-economic crisis (−0.7) influence the component of the quality of products negatively. However, among them, climate change is perceived as the most relevant, since it scored the second centrality value and the highest outdegree value, at 14.2 and 11.8, respectively.
Climate change scored the second centrality value and according to the stakeholders, it plays a crucial role with the local olive oil value chain. In fact, climate change is perceived to negatively affect several important components of the systems, such as biodiversity (−0.9), innovation (−0.7), productivity (−0.8), historical and cultural factors (−1), rural landscape (−0.8) and cooperation (−0.8). At the same time, according to the stakeholders, climate change increases production costs (+0.9), farm income (+1) and agro-management (+1). Moreover, stakeholders perceive that climate change can be reduced, improving historical and cultural factors (−1), biophilia (−0.6) and rural landscape (−0.8).
Finally, at the global level, stakeholders perceive important cooperation, since it scored the third centrality value (11.3) and the second indegree value (6.5). This component positively influences the structure of the society (+1), terroir (+0.8), planning (+1) and organization of the value chain (+1), and it negatively affects production costs (−0.8). Furthermore, stakeholders retain that cooperation increases if the innovation (+1), the quality of products (1), research (+1) and planning (+1) also increase.
Among the receiver components, stakeholders retain that farm income is the most relevant component, since it has a higher centrality value (5.1).
3.2. Scenario Analysis
3.2.1. Practitioners
According to the practitioner stakeholders, olive oil quality and company profit are the most relevant components of the systems. Compony profit is a receiver component and it is clear that by increasing the olive quality, the company profit increases too. At the same time, company profit is mainly positively influenced by organic management, education of consumers and target market, and negatively affected by production costs and bureaucracy. Thus, the best scenario is expected by reducing the influence of negative components (production costs and bureaucracy) and increasing the influence of the positive ones (organic management, education of consumers and target market). In this scenario, company profit and olive quality increase to 0.14 and 0.11, respectively. On the contrary, in the worst scenario (increasing the influence of negative components and reducing the influence of the positive ones), the company profit and olive quality reduce to 0.82 and 0.60, respectively.
3.2.2. Multipliers
According to the multiplier stakeholders, oil production is the most important component of the olive oil value chain system. Moreover, multipliers link the production to the improvement of public health. This group of stakeholders retains that oil production is positively influenced by the adoption of appropriate management practices (agro-management component) and biodiversity conservation. On the other hand, climate change and pathogens are the most relevant negative components affecting oil production. Thus, the best scenario is expected to increase the positive components, reducing the negative ones. In this context, the production and public health increase to 0.15 and 0.03, respectively. On the contrary, increasing the negative variables and reducing the positive ones, the production and public health reduce to 0.78 and 0.15, respectively.
3.2.3. Researchers
According to researchers, the climate change component represents the main concern of the local olive oil value chain, since it affects the rural ecosystem functioning and capability. In this perspective, considering the extreme positive scenario, with lowest value of climate change, the main ecological components of the ecosystems increase, particularly biodiversity (0.75). This scenario would improve also the quality of the rural environment such as the historical and cultural factors (0.26). At the same time, reducing the climate change would promote innovation (0.21), networking (0.19) and, thus, also the productivity of the ecosystems (0.18). Moreover, under this perspective, the land use change would also be reduce (0.28). On the other hand, an increase in the effects of climate change (worst scenario) would negatively impact all these components which are fundamental for the functionality and sustainability of the local olive oil value chain, together with an increment of land use change (0.19).
3.2.4. Suppliers
According to this stakeholder category, information about purchase is the most relevant component of the system, and awareness and marketing are seen as the most influencing variables of it. Thus, the best scenario, with higher level of both awareness and marketing, would also increase information about purchase (0.08). However, the reduction of awareness and marketing at the lowest level (worst scenario) would have a stronger impact on information about purchase (0.68).
3.2.5. Administrators
According to the administrators, planning is the most relevant component of the local olive oil value chain system, since it affects relationships with institutions, partnership, cooperation and norms. A reduction in partnership to the lowest level (worst scenario) would negatively affect relations with institutions (0.39), cooperation (0.39), norms (0.39) and partnership (0.32). On the contrary, the increase in planning to a higher level (best scenario) has a limited effect on these components (values between 0.02 and 0.05).