Doing more and doing better are two different entities: Different patterns of family control and environmental performance

Family firms bear two types of agency costs, including type I and type II agency problems, in corporate environmental practices: (1) Outside executives at family firms hesitate to engage in environmental strategies, which can lead to drops in profits; (2) Controlling families employ opportunistically environmental management to achieve their interests. We argue that a primary cause for the agency problems lies on ineffective internal corporate governance at family firms, which can cause loss of managerial (or power) balance between outside executives and family executives. Our findings show that family firms with ownership and strategic control (FSC), which family executives and outside executives monitor and constrain each other, can achieve the highest environmental performance. Moreover, external controls, including product market competition and provincial environmental regulations, substitute effective internal control of FSC. The environmental performance premium of FSC is more prevalent when the production market competition is lower. Family firms with ownership, operational, and strategic control (FOSC) can achieve higher environmental performance within a province with more stringent environmental regulations.     

Consumer Quality Perception in Traditional Food: Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese

Abstract

The paper aims to classify the quality cues and attributes of grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, an Italian traditional food cheese, exploring if they affect consumers’ quality perceptions and expectations. Analysis is based on a questionnaire administered in hypermarkets where grated Parmigiano Reggiano is sold. A factor analysis, using varimax rotation, and a cluster analysis, were performed, using the Stata 12 software package. The clusters used were: geographical origin and packaging (cluster 1); price, brand and quality certification (cluster 2); all sensory attributes (cluster 3); and a combination of sensory attributes with price, brand, and quality certification (cluster 4). This is the first study to examine the quality cues and attributes affecting quality perception and expectations of cheese for grated Parmigiano Reggiano from a consumer perspective. It is also the first to classify cheese attributes following a quality approach, encompassing previously studied sensory and other attributes.     

基于主客视角的苏南传统村落旅游地乡愁的时间特征

“记得住乡愁”是乡村旅游和乡村振兴的重要内容。本文基于居民和游客视角,以苏南传统村落为案例地,探讨乡愁的时间特征。结果表明：（1）乡愁主体方面：相对暂居村落的外来人口,三代以上的世代居民对家乡乡愁情感更加强烈;出生在1950—1959和1960—1978年间的这两代游客较多成长在乡村,乡愁文化感知相对更高;离开家乡在外工作生活时间越长的游客在传统村落旅游时,其乡愁情感和乡愁记忆比起未离开家乡或离开家乡较短的人更加强烈。（2）乡愁触点方面：触发居民和游客乡愁的季节集中在秋天和冬天,天气集中在下雨和落雪时,时辰集中在深夜和傍晚时,节庆集中在春节、中秋节、清明节和家乡特有节日,假日主要集中在周末、寒假和“十一”国庆假期。（3）乡愁记忆方面：主客乡愁记忆都主要集中在童年,其次是青少年,最后是成年和老年;游客产生乡愁的频率比居民频率相对高。（4）乡愁载体回忆顺序：主客乡愁载体都会提到“家”和“乡”相关场所和空间,其回忆的顺序是家人、家、家乡和国家。文章最后总结了乡愁旅游开发的启示。     

贫困山区农户茶叶生产技术效率及影响因素研究

基于湖北省382份茶叶种植户调研数据,采用随机前沿生产函数模型“一步估计”法分析贫困山区农户茶叶生产技术效率和影响因素。研究结果表明:样本户茶叶种植存在较大改进空间;样本户资本和劳动力投入剩余;茶园的海拔、树龄、茶农是否加入合作社、种植面积、户主是否受过种茶培训等因素对农户茶叶生产技术效率有重要影响。因此,提出紧抓乡村振兴战略机遇,推动贫困山区茶产业高质量发展;建立茶产业“三项补贴”,改善茶园基础设施条件;优化茶叶种植布局,提高合作社服务水平;成立茶产业发展基金,加快培育职业茶农,以提高贫困山区农户茶叶生产技术效率。     

A study on motivation differences among traditional festival visitors based on demographic characteristics,case study: Gol-Ghaltan festival,Iran

Villages and cities have a growing tendency to share their culture and nature with tourists by developing events. This article aims to identify motivational factors influencing visitors' attendance in traditional festivals and then analyzing significant motivation differences among visitors based on their demographic differences. The statistical sample is domestic tourists who visited the 8th Gol-Ghaltan Festival, Iran in 2015. The convenience sampling method has been used and 287 acceptable questionnaires were acquired. Factor analysis has determined six important motivational factors, including “Gol-Ghaltan and Family,” “Cultural Exploration,” “Socialization,” “Supporting Local Community and Heritage,” “Event Novelty,” and “Escape.” Most of these factors are coinciding with previous literature on cultural events except first and fourth factors. Results of T-test and ANOVA show that visitors in various demographic groups have significant differences in the motivational factors. Finally, in accordance with the findings of the research, practical suggestions are presented for managers and marketers of this event.     

Impacts of sustainability certification on farm income: Evidence from small-scale specialty green tea farmers in Vietnam

Sustainability certification for small-scale farms has gained considerable momentum in developing countries. However, evidence on the economic benefits of certification schemes in the context of domestically consumed foods and beverages is scarce. This paper addresses this gap by evaluating the impacts of sustainability standards on the selling prices, sales, costs and net income of small-scale specialty green tea farming in Vietnam. We analyze original survey data on 401 smallholder green tea farmers and employ propensity score matching to mitigate self-selection bias. Our estimates reveal that certified green tea producers are able to obtain a higher average selling price and sales value. In addition, although certification leads to a dramatic increase in the costs of hired labor, net farm income is still significantly improved.     

三维视角下农民土地财产权的实现

研究目的:从时间性、社会性、空间性三维解读农民土地财产权的基本特征,进而探究其实现路径。研究方法:规范分析法、文献研究法。研究结果:(1)农民土地财产权由国家配置,呈现出开放性结构;(2)农民土地财产权本质上具有关系性,负有社会功能;(3)农民土地财产权受土地属性限制,在个人自治与公共利益互动平衡中动态发展。研究结论:农民土地财产权需要双重实现,公法上可以从基本权利的功能入手限定国家干预范围;私法上确立其独立民事权利地位,并借助集体成员概念明确成员权利和成员义务。     

Determinants of energy use in the informal food sector

Although enterprises in the informal food sector require energy to transform, cook and process food, energy-use patterns in this sector are not well understood by policymakers and the local-level authorities who regulate their trading activities. This paper reviews relevant literature and presents empirical data collected in Rwanda, Senegal and South Africa on the use of traditional and modern energy sources by informal food sector operators. Our sample includes male- and female-operated enterprises in the urban centres of three African countries where the informal food sector is important, not only for providing the convenience of affordable and readily prepared meals, but also as a source of income for women and men in developing countries. Multiple fuel-use and energy-stacking strategies are common among informal food enterprises and policy needs to acknowledge this if it is to intervene in ways that will benefit both enterprises and regulators.     

重男轻女观念会加剧当地家族企业的机会主义动机吗——以家族企业上市公司为例

本文基于重男轻女观念的视角，探究地区文化是否会影响当地家族企业的机会主义动机。本文研究发现，重男轻女地区的家族企业更愿意安排男性家族成员担任CEO等重要职位，更多地引入家族成员参与企业经营。由于担心这种机会主义行为，外部投资者对当地家族企业的投资更为谨慎。本文从地区文化的视角阐释了家族企业的异质性，推动了已有研究从“家族企业与非家族企业有何不同”向“不同地区文化下的家族企业间有何不同”层面深入。     

Inter‐firm R&D collaborations and green innovation value: The role of family firms' involvement and the moderating effects of proximity dimensions

The present paper investigates the relationship between the involvement of family firms in R&D collaborations aimed at developing green solutions and the value of resulting innovations. To dig into this relationship, the moderating effects of two proximity dimensions (i.e., geographical distance and technological relatedness) are also assessed. Analyses are based on a sample of 156 joint patents classified into the “Alternative energy production” field, as defined by the International Patent Classification Green Inventory and successfully filed at the United States Patent and Trademark Office in the period 1997–2010 by publicly listed companies. According to our conjectures, results reveal a positive relationship between the involvement of family firms and green innovation value. Moreover, our findings show that this relationship is hindered when partners are geographically distant or technologically proximate. Eventually, we contribute to the literature on green innovation by unveiling under which conditions inter‐firm R&D collaborations lead to more valuable innovations.