Understanding Stakeholder Functions in Food Supply Chains: A Human-Centric Approach to Sustainability

Food supply chain (FSC) issues such as food safety, food waste and sustainability are becoming increasingly critical due to their major and long-term impacts on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As inherently human-centric systems, FSCs operate as a complex network of human-centric stakeholders acting as autonomous agents whose needs and behaviours drive FSC system dynamics. Whilst Agent-Based Modelling (ABM) has been successfully used to simulate FSC dynamics, there is still a need for methods to understand how stakeholders, as human-centric agents, impact FSC systems and sustainability outcomes. To address the gap, this paper proposes a classification framework for using ABM to model FSC stakeholders as human-centric agents, connecting stakeholder intrinsic (e.g., needs, behaviours) and extrinsic (i.e., FSC systems) factors. Key FSC stakeholder groups, their needs and behaviours are then identified and classified from a sustainability perspective relevant to SDG key performance indicators (KPIs). By doing so, this paper aims to advance the current understanding of FSC stakeholders and sustainability dynamics to design new strategies, policies, and interventions to address critical issues like food safety, waste, and sustainability in line with SDGs.