I am a Full Professor of Agribusiness, Rural Development and Branding at the Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment of the University of Pisa. I received my PhD in Economics of Food and Environmental Resources from the University of Naples “Parthenope” (Italy) and previously a Master of Science (MSc) in Food Economics and Marketing at the University of Reading (UK). I have been Researcher, Associate Professor, and Full Professor at the Department of Education, Cultural Heritage and Tourism, the University of Macerata from 2006 to 2021. During my work there I developed 2 Double Degree programmes in Tourism with Spain and Ukraine. I have also been a Visiting Professor in several universities abroad (San Francisco State, Arctic University of Tromso, Göteborg, Oviedo).

My professional experience includes coordinating several Erasmus+ funded projects (The Wine Lab, FoodBiz, ON-IT) and working as a researcher in many national and international research projects. Apart from my academic work,  I have been an external expert, evaluator, consultant and trainer, and invited speaker in the fields of Food, Rural and Regional Development, Innovation, Sustainable Tourism, Smart Specialisation Strategy and University-Business Collaboration for both public and private sectors: several DGs of the European Commission (RTD, JRC, EAC, Regio), the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, the Italian Ministry of University and Research and the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage,  several regional governments as well as several agri-food firms in Europe.

My work has been published in several international books and journals. I am co-editor of the book series “Consumer Science and Strategic Marketing” published by Elsevier, Managing Editor of the “International Food and Agribusiness Management Review” and Associate Editor of “Food Economy“. I am also a member of the Scientific Board of the British Food Journal and the International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education.

I am currently a scientific coordinator of the MOOC “Sustainable Food Systems: a Mediterranean Perspective” offered by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Academy and attended by more than 8000 students worldwide.

KEY RESEARCH INTERESTS

• Rural development and Branding strategies
• Marketing of local food and sustainability of food systems
• Innovation in agriculture and rural areas
• University-Business Collaboration and Quadruple Helix of Innovation
• Sustainable Tourism

CORE COMPETENCES

• Agricultural and rural economics
• Marketing and consumer behaviour
• Rural and regional development, Rural Branding
• Participatory Action Research
• Constructivist teaching methods

CURRENT EU-FUNDED PROJECTS

EuAccel – Accelerating Innovation in Europe through Startup Development and Co-Creation

See the list of all projects the group is involved in here

SOME RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Tomasi, S., Ferrara, C., Perretta, F., Frittelloni, C., & Cavicchi, A. (2021). Innovation and Knowledge Exchange in Small-Scale Fishery and Aquaculture Sectors: Innovation Brokerage to Shape New Marketing Strategies and Practices. Journal of International Food & Agribusiness Marketing, 33(1), 36-52. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08974438.2020.1860854

Rinaldi, C., Cavicchi, A., & Robinson, R. N. (2020). University contributions to co-creating sustainable tourism destinations. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 1-23. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09669582.2020.1797056

Aleffi, C., & Cavicchi, A. (2020). The role of food and culinary heritage for postdisaster recovery: The case of earthquake in the Marche region (Italy). Journal of Gastronomy and Tourism, 4(3), 113-128. https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cog/gat/2020/00000004/00000003/art00001#

Ciampi Stančová, K. & Cavicchi, A. (2019) Smart Specialisation and the Agri-food System. A European Perspective. Palgrave Pivot, Cham. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-319-91500-5

Galli, F., Cavicchi, A., & Brunori, G. (2019). Food waste reduction and food poverty alleviation: a system dynamics conceptual model. Agriculture and Human Values, 36(2), 289–300. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-019-09919-0

Check my other publications: