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Cambridge Global Food Security

An Interdisciplinary Research Centre at the University of Cambridge
 
Prof Yasemin Kor at breakfast

Yasemin Kor is Beckwith Professor of Management Studies at the Cambridge Judge Business School.  Professor Kor studies strategy formulation and renewal, top management teams, and corporate governance.  Her industry-focused research has ranged across multiple businesses from medical devices, biotechnology, professional service firms (law firms), to the food and beverage industry, transportation, and international social ventures.

Her favourite food is a Turkish breakfast, which can be a feast with cheese, olives, eggs, tomato, cucumber, bread, parsley, and mint. 

We talked to her about her career, what equips managers to make changes and the role supermarkets could play in helping us to eat more healthily and sustainably.

I was born and raised in Turkey and went to the U.S. for my master’s and doctoral degrees in management. I found strategic management to be a fascinating subject to specialize in. It involves taking an overarching view of companies and understanding their long-term trajectory and the way that links to their resources and competencies.

I aspired to be an academic from early on and imagined myself doing research and was lucky to find the opportunities to study and fulfil my dreams in inspiring educational institutions. One of these opportunities involved moving to UK eight years ago to research and teach at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School, where I have become increasingly interested in sustainable food systems.

My current research deals with corporate executive teams and board governance and how these two shape the direction of strategy and growth of companies. Managers’ prior professional experiences shape their view of the world and their imagination about which business opportunities to pursue.

I have been studying the responsiveness of large food firms to the certified-organic food opportunity.  Pursuit of the organic food segment is risky because it involves departure from conventional farming and food production, and it may not deliver the expected returns.

My research shows that it takes a certain profile of chief executive officers for food companies to enter and grow into the organic food business. This profile involves a combination of firm-specific managerial experience and versatility-inducing experiences that make managers both willing and able to pursue opportunities where organizational change (resource reconfiguration) is required. Thus, my research explores managerial and organizational impediments to and facilitators for a more sustainable and regenerative food system.

There has been a shift towards cheap food sources which in some instances is linked with lower nutritional quality, over-consumption, and food waste. Supermarkets are a key distribution channel for food and what’s on the shelves of food stores do influence what consumers bring home. Mainstream supermarkets are under pressure to provide more affordable food and some of this is currently achieved by a shift towards store branded food (own label), wonky vegetables, and simplification of supermarket operations. These are all helpful. However, additionally, supermarkets can differentiate and protect themselves from a race to the bottom in food retail (which is destructive for farming communities) by being more proactive about providing consumers with a broader selection of healthy food options. This can involve selling healthier ready-to-eat meals and easy-to-prepare meal kits. It can involve shifting some of the shelf space from obesity-inducing highly-processed products to healthier food options and partially processed food (e.g., frozen chopped veggies) that can encourage home cooking. It can involve supermarkets demanding nutritional quality improvements from food producers (e.g., reducing excessive salt, sugar, additives, etc). All of this needs to be accompanied by the education of consumers on food nutrition and healthy cooking, and supermarkets should be at the forefront of this. As an example, weekly in-store and online free food magazines and healthy and practical cooking demos can teach and inspire consumers to cook more often with wholesome ingredients.

Supermarkets work around the clock to manage their cost levels so that they do not have to pass cost increases to their customers. Competition from discount food stores (which have a different business model and cost structure) is already a huge incentive for supermarkets to try to be price competitive. However, consumers can also save money by cooking and eating at home more often, and by reducing their food waste.

Supermarkets can play a crucial role in educating and encouraging consumers to waste less food. Research shows that people tend to underestimate their household food waste. Many guess that their food waste is equivalent to 10% of their food budget even though it can be closer to 20%. A study indicates that only 3% of people attach stigma to throwing away food. So, consumers can be uninformed about their own food habits and their consequences. Supermarkets can help consumers become more knowledgeable about food choices (nutrition, environmental impact, effects on farming and local community) and run creative campaigns to inspire new food habits and attitudes.

Please find Professor Kor's profile on our website here.

Cambridge University Research News on Food Security