A taste for temperance: how American beer got to be so bland

ABSTRACT

This article examines the historical origins of bland American beer. The US was not strongly associated with a particular beer type until German immigrants popularised lager beer. Lager, refreshing and mildly intoxicating, met the demands of America's growing working class. Over time, American lager became lighter and blander. This article emphasises America's uncommonly strong temperance movement, which put the industry on the defensive. Brewers pushed their product as ‘the beverage of moderation,’ and consumers sought out light, relatively non-intoxicating beers. The recent ‘craft beer revolution’ is explained as a backlash aided by a changing consumer culture and improved information technology.     

Death and re-birth of Alabama beer

ABSTRACT

The article provides a historical overview of Alabama beer production to the first state-wide prohibition in 1909. I discuss the legislative processes, including the second state-wide prohibition, the US national prohibition and repeal, and Alabama's return to local option rule for alcohol sales. The article describes the legal changes of the 1992 Brewpub Act that created the re-birth of Alabama breweries/brewpubs in the early 1990s and discusses the recent legislative changes and issues that have encouraged entrepreneurs to enter the Alabama marketplace.     

New identities from remnants of the past: an examination of the history of beer brewing in Ontario and the recent emergence of craft breweries

Abstract

We present an exploratory analysis of historical narratives and data covering 200 years of beer brewing in the Canadian province of Ontario. These data are used to illuminate the process of collective identity emergence in established organisational fields. We argue that established fields are typically littered with identity remnants from ancestral organisations and related institutional configurations that can facilitate the successful emergence of new collective identities. In our analysis we first show how multiple identity elements fell by the wayside as the beer brewing field matured and settled on a corporate path. We go on to detail how some of these identity elements were subsequently recovered during the recent decades which marked the successful emergence and proliferation of craft beer brewing. Our study has implications for research on collective identity and organisational legacy, and we stress the importance of taking a historical lens for understanding present day phenomena.     

Household production of sorghum beer in Benin: technological and socio‐economic aspects

This study evaluated the sorghum brewing microenterprises in Benin with emphasis on the beer quality, the social significance of the product as well as the income generated. Tchoukoutou, the Benin opaque sorghum beer, has important social functions as it fosters the cooperative spirit and remains an ancestral beverage widely used for traditional ceremonies. The manufacturing process consists of malting (soaking, germination and sun drying), brewing (mashing, boiling, filtration) and fermentation. The beer is sour with a pH of 3.2 and contains a relatively high but variable level of solids and crude protein. Most of the consumers appreciate an opaque, sour and pink‐coloured beer. The consumers related many of the beer properties to health effects. Participants can link the perceived qualities of the beer to the grain’s functional properties, and this leads to the classification of the farmers’ sorghum as varieties of top, medium and low quality for brewing. The profits from tchoukoutou production range from 2365 to 17 212 fcfa per month (1 euro = 656 fcfa) for the producers, depending on beer yield and quantity of raw grain transformed. The generated income is used for household needs and part of it is invested in children’s education.     

Shipbuilding administration under the Spanish Habsburg and Bourbon regimes (1590‒1834): A comparative perspective

Abstract

This article aims at understanding the evolution of the administrative methods devised by the Spanish monarchy to interact with regional private initiative for the production of warships. It also aims at understanding the practice of financing naval shipbuilding in the royal shipyards of Spain and Spanish America by public contribution, in the form of both credit and voluntary donations. These processes were largely influenced by the need of both political systems to perform efficiently in war. This article addresses the relationship between the state and local entrepreneurs and examines the reach and objectives of the Habsburg and Bourbon naval administrations, seen as variants of the ‘contractor state’.     

The Influence of High-/Low-Context Culture on Perceived Ad Complexity and Liking

ABSTRACT

According to Hall's context theory, people from different cultures may react differently to complex messages. The current study is the first empirical examination of context theory's role on message comprehension and appreciation. In a comparative survey-based study (N = 289), Belgian and Dutch participants judged 12 complex product advertisements with visual metaphors. As expected by context theory, perceived complexity was lower for Belgian (a higher-context culture) than for Dutch participants (a lower-context culture), and participants' personal context culture score fully accounted for this difference. Similarly, ad liking was higher for Belgian than for Dutch participants, and again, this difference was explained by context score.     

All Things Being Equal

Abstract

While many consumers enjoy beer, wine and spirits and while many restaurant professionals believe they understand the differences among the three categories, myths and misconceptions abound within the field of beverage alcohol. By observing the production processes for each category it is evident that beer, wine and spirits are more alike than different and consumer preferences and foodservice recommendations should focus on taste, price, food selection and other subjective factors rather than misinformation as to essential nature. Physiological reactions to alcohol beverages are predicated more on the number of ethyl alcohol molecules ingested than on chosen beverage category. As production processes evidence, standard servings of 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of table wine and 1.5 ounces of 80 proof distilled spirits contain equivalent amounts of chemically identical alcohol. Restaurant personnel should observe drinking patterns of beer and wine consumers as closely as spirits drinkers for adverse consequences.     

Fiscal and Regulatory Impediments to the Entry of New Firms in Five Transition Economies

ABSTRACT

This article focuses on the impact of fiscal and regulatory measures, at various levels of government, on the establishment of new businesses. We are interested in finding out whether, and to what extent, the existing rules and regulations (in particular the fiscal and regulatory frameworks) have impeded the entry of new firms in the early stages of transition. We are also interested in comparing the impact of such impediments amongst countries in different stages of transition. The paper is based on a survey of nearly 400 newly set up (de novo) firms in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Albania and Lithuania, all established in the 1992-94 period. We concentrate on four specific areas of regulation: registration and licensing of new businesses, rules governing the purchase or lease of commercial real estate, labour and employment laws, and the fiscal rules (taxes and contributions) to which new enterprises are subjected.     

“To love beer above all things”: An analysis of Brazilian craft beer subculture of consumption

In this article, we describe and analyze the Brazilian craft beer subculture of consumption. We observed that feelings play an important role inside this subculture and used a sociocultural approach to analyze it. Field notes from 9 months of fieldwork at beer festivals, craft beer meetings, and Collective Brassages and 40 interviews with consumers are used as data. “Drink less, drink better” is the subculture’s motto and shows commitment to enjoyment and responsibility as craft beer consumers reject mass-produced beer and antisocial behaviors usually associated with beer drinkers. We differentiated members of the craft beer subculture of consumption according to their commitment to subculture ethos, beer-specific knowledge, experience drinking and making beer, and emotional attachment to craft beer. Craft beer consumers experience different sentiments as their status inside the subculture increases and hard-core members show a religious fervor for the beer that is similar to consumer devotion.     

Patterns of Corporate Ownership and Privatization in Visegrad Countries

ABSTRACT

The article analyzes merger and acquisition activities in Visegrad Countries (the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia). The analysis established linkages among the FDI, Privatization and M&A activities and reports the characteristics of transactions in the region in a comparative spirit. The findings indicate that majority of activities in the region involved foreign investors from Western Europe and USA. The M&A activities were concentrated in manufacturing segments such as automobiles, food processing, glass and clay, service segments such as telecom, utilities and financial services. The study also revealed some pre and post transaction ownership patterns in respective countries as well as methods of acquisition.     

Path dependence,change and the emergence of the first joint-stock companies

This paper presents a model of path dependence and change and focuses on the gaining of new institutional knowledge. The main thesis is that in ‘extraordinary’ historical situations the possibility of change increases as a result of external pressure and successful adaptation to it. The model is tested applying it to the case study of seventeenth-century United Provinces (Dutch Republic). Such a situation existed in the sixteenth–seventeenth-century United Provinces, due to their uprising against Spanish rule. Because there existed no strong central authority, the decision-makers had to develop new institutions in order to successfully capture the lucrative spice trade from their enemies. The solution was the joint-stock company, which, through the phases of a continuous decision-making procedure, developed into the ‘permanent’ Dutch East India Company (VOC) in parallel also to the development of the Amsterdam Stock Exchange.     

Economic Effects of the Syrian War and the Spread of the Islamic State on the Levant

This paper uses a global computable general equilibrium framework with new detail on six Levant countries – the Arab Republic of Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, the Syrian Arab Republic and Turkey – to quantify the direct and indirect economic effects of the Syrian war and the advance of the Islamic State on the Levant. Syria and Iraq bear the brunt of the direct economic costs, while the other Levant countries lose in per capita but not in aggregate terms as the inflows of refugees increase the size of their populations. The war has undermined progress towards deeper regional trade integration, thus adding to varying degrees to the direct costs sustained by the Levant economies and, in the cases of Syria and Iraq, doubling their welfare losses. All Levant countries are foregoing opportunities to expand intra‐Levant trade and the associated gains in economic efficiency. The average welfare effects are not indicative of the distributional effects of war within countries.     

Beer,brewing, and business history

Abstract

This editorial introduces the eight articles in the special issue on ‘Beer, brewing and business history’. Following the BEERONOMICS conference held at the University of York, 2013, and the subsequent approval of the editorial board of Business History, we received many submissions discussing beer, brewing, and their importance to business history (broadly defined). In this editorial we provide a brief overview of the historical development of beer and brewing; explain the appeal to business historians of the principal themes which have emerged in the historiography of this industry, and provide a short introduction to the articles accepted for publication in this special issue.     

Undergraduate Business Education in the People's Republic of China

Abstract

Adaptation to the Market Economy

The People's Republic of China is transforming its economy to a market-driven focus. A key aspect of this is the conversion and elimination of state-owned enterprises. To do this requires a mass education program for enterprise managers. The approach to change examined in this study is based on curriculum internationalization models. This paper examines the needs perceived by potential employers for university graduates. Conclusions are based on in-depth interviews held in and around Shanghai as part of a City University of New York-Shanghai University cooperative program.     

The Role of Economics in the Management Curriculum

Abstract

The economic transition in the Central and Eastern European Countries provides a unique opportunity to observe the evolution of economies from planned systems to more market-oriented and decentralized systems. Aside from the bounty of economic policy issues raised by such a transition, a more fundamental adjustment involves the design of education for the future managers in these economies and, in particular, the role of economics-a subject at the core of the transition-in the management curriculum. Using the MBA curriculum as its focus, this paper discusses both the rationale for including economics in the program for various curric-ular models and the particular relevance of the subject to management students in the transition environment.     

Brands in the Basque gun making industry: The case of ASTRA-Unceta y Cía

Abstract

Basque gun making was an exception in early twentieth-century Spanish industry due to its high proportion of exports. The intense growth of handgun production during those years resulted from several factors such as Spanish patent law, the revolution in transport and communications, the electrification of manufacturing and the organisation of the sector as an industrial district. This article aims to analyse the role that brands played in this success, employing not only quantitative information but also the correspondence of one of the most important manufacturers of that time. Beyond counterfeiting, Basque gun making showed extraordinary marketing performance in which branding strategies were decisive for its success.     

The Effects of Internet Commerce on the Revenue Base of State and Local Governments

Abstract

Internet sales for 2000 are projected to be $850 billion. This explosion in growth of sales on the Internet has not been all good news to the U.S. business community. Both business and government have taken notice of taxation issues related to these electronically generated revenues. Sales taxes have been the primary focus of this attention. Many issues have been raised but the primary one is whether or not sales taxes should be collected from “cyberspace” customers. Many difficult questions have been raised and remain to be solved. One federally appointed commission has been formed, submitted recommendations to Congress and has dissolved. A National Governors' Association committee is currently in place to study the issues and provide suggestions to State legislatures in 2001.     

The all-American beer: a case of inferior standard (taste) prevailing?

America's preference for homogeneous, bland-tasting beer may have been largely derived not from an efficient, market-clearing equilibrium, but rather as a result of a series of interesting historical processes and events. The authors argue that the U.S. market may have become locked in a sub-optimal equilibrium in which most consumers are no longer familiar with the full range of what beer is and can be. As a result, most competition in this market concerns advertising campaigns designed to differentiate between increasingly generic beers. Although the concepts of path dependency, switching costs, and lock-in have been employed principally in studies discussing technology standards, these ideas may be usefully extended to consumer branded products, including foods and beverages.     

Effectiveness of Spanish versus English Language TV Commercials Targeted to the Hispanic Market

Abstract

This paper explores the effectiveness of television commercials transmitted in Spanish with those delivered in English. The research contrasts advertising recall of commercials for an Hispanic population, comparing the recall of Hispanics watching programs in Spanish with Hispanics viewing programs in English. The research suggests that for Hispanics, whether Spanish dominant or bilingual, recall increases when advertising is broadcast in Spanish rather than in English. A counter-intuitive finding is that bilingual Hispanics recall Spanish-language ads to a greater extent than those shown in English.     

MBA Studies in the Czech Republic

Abstract

A survey of MBA study programs in the Czech Republic is presented in this study. The authors share some of their first-hand experience gained during their own teaching in one of the MBA programs. The conclusion presented at the end of the study summarizes their views of developing trends in MBA programs in the Czech Republic. At present, MBA programs are offered by seven teaching institutions in the Czech Republic, three of which provide MBA studies of the American type, four of the European (British) type, and one of the distance-learning type.