Agribusiness: An International Journal

Moreno Gené, Jordi; Solé Puiggené, Sònia; Gallizo Larraz, José Luis

doi: 10.1002/agr.21947pmid: N/A

To guide consumers, wineries need credible attributes about the quality of their wines and its origin. In Spain, protected designations of origin (PDO) guarantee that the wine has been produced in a certain wine region in accordance with specific and officially regulated quality criteria thus providing elements of guarantee to the consumer. The objective of this work is to determine whether the belonging of a winery to a PDO is positively or negatively related to profitability. This analysis is important because based on its results, managers will have more knowledge to decide whether a winery is interested in joining the regional PDO or not. We performed an empirical study using a random‐effects generalized least squares regression analysis, with a sample of 1182 Spanish wineries, in which we determine the relation between belonging to eight of the major Spanish PDOs and winery profitability. The results show that wineries registered in these PDOs tend to have higher levels of profitability than wineries that have opted to remain outside, with these differences being significant in five of the eight PDOs analyzed. Additionally, the regression model reveals a positive relationship between PDO membership and winery profitability in six of the eight PDOs. Furthermore, the findings suggest that in some of these PDOs small wineries benefit the most from being part of a PDO due to their difficulties in having a recognized brand in the market, while belonging to a PDO seems to be less useful for large wineries that have greater resources to build their own quality brand. On the basis of these findings, the wineries now have more information to decide whether to stay in the PDO, join it, or focus exclusively on developing their own brands [EconLit Citations: L15, L66, Q13].

Liu, Wan‐Yu; Lin, Hsing‐Wei; Lin, Chun‐Cheng

doi: 10.1002/agr.21945pmid: N/A

Both the proportion and expenditure of dining out and takeaway in Taiwan have been increasing year by year. This study investigates the factors influencing the catering service providers (CSPs) procurement of domestically produced or imported food materials. The empirical results showed that the procurement cost, quality, safety, and availability of ingredients were the major considerations for CSPs to purchase ingredients. Different types of CSPs had different cognitions, attitudes, and purchasing behaviors toward domestically produced and imported ingredients. Bento establishments, self‐service cafeterias, and noodle shops adopted higher proportions of domestically produced ingredients (DPIs), and they also had more confidence in these ingredients. On the contrary, table service restaurants, all‐you‐can‐eat restaurants, breakfast eateries, coffee shops, and fast food restaurants adopted higher proportions of imported ingredients. The results may be related to the food items purchased and catering services provided by different CSPs. Therefore, CSPs should be included in the scope and promotion of food and agriculture education so as to increase their emphasis on ingredients for health, increase their tendency to purchase DPIs, promote the disclosure of information on food producers and ingredients, and enhance the communications among food producers, buyers, CSPs, and dining‐out consumers.

Acharya, Ram N.; Sapkota, Sushil C.; Bhandari, Pratima; Armijo, Carlos; Whitelock, Derek

doi: 10.1002/agr.21946pmid: N/A

The primary objective of this study was to investigate whether the cost of processing cotton using high‐speed roller gins is comparable to saw gins. The results from a “true” random effect model estimated using proprietary data voluntarily shared by cotton gins operating in Arizona and California showed that the average cost inefficiency for the sample gins analyzed in this study was 13.5%. Moreover, the cost of ginning using conventional roller gins and high‐speed roller gins was 24.42% and 14.18% higher than saw gins, respectively, and roller ginning costs were 10% lower for high‐speed roller gins than conventional roller gins. [EconLit Citations: D24; O14; Q16].

Ancín, María; Zouaghi, Ferdaous; Sánchez, Mercedes

doi: 10.1002/agr.21954pmid: N/A

This study examines how European food companies can operationally leverage the value created by strategic alliances into commercially viable products. More importantly, it emphasizes that the effects of alliance portfolio diversity (APD) on radical innovation performance can be achieved not only directly, but also via moderating roles, that is, the firm's social capital and the level of competitiveness of the country. Using three waves of the European Community Innovation Survey, our results show that the optimal level of APD varied depending on the industry in which the company operates (food manufacturing industry vs. the rest of manufacturing industries). Furthermore, social capital seems to be a crucial factor to mitigate the difficulties of leveraging very diverse knowledge from partners, especially in the food manufacturing industry. Moreover, the external environmental context where the firm is operating, measured as the growth competitive index that reflects the competitive level of the country, was shown to have an influence on the firms' innovative efforts.[EconLit Citations: M10, 013, 036].

Geffersa, Abebayehu Girma; Islam, Md. Monirul

doi: 10.1002/agr.21949pmid: N/A

The transition from subsistence to market‐oriented agriculture holds the potential to boost rural economic progress and improve the well‐being of the rural poor in developing countries. Despite this potential, there is limited understanding of the key drivers for smallholder commercialization. In this study, we utilize comprehensive three‐wave panel data collected from three major maize‐producing regions in Ethiopia to examine the role of agricultural cooperatives in promoting smallholder commercialization. Employing a double‐hurdle model, we smallholder commercialization as a two‐step decision process involving market participation and the extent of participation (sales quantity), conditional on market participation. Unobserved heterogeneity is accounted for using a correlated random effect procedure, and the potential endogeneity of cooperative membership is addressed through a control function approach. The findings reveal that cooperative membership increases the probability of market participation and the intensity of sales. However, further analysis demonstrates a heterogeneous relationship between cooperative membership and commercialization, underscoring the importance of targeted interventions to boost the contribution of cooperatives to rural development through commercialization. The main findings highlight that promoting smallholder commercialization through farmer groups necessitates implementing policies to increase cooperative membership, coupled with allocating resources that enhance the contribution of agricultural cooperatives [EconLit Citations: Q12, Q13, Q18].