Ground beef recalls and subsequent food safety performance

The U.S. Food Safety Inspection Service recalled more than 370 million pounds of meat and poultry products and oversaw 680 Class 1 recalls over 1998–2014. The cost to firms was about $109 million in lost market value (Pozo and Schroeder, 2016). Thomsen and McKenzie (2001) argue that firms internalize the costs of recalls, and Marino (1997) asserts that high food safety costs lead to food safety investment, but no research has examined the impact of recalls on plant food safety performance. Using performance on tests for Salmonella conducted by the Food Safety Inspection Service as a measure of food safety, this article examines the performance on Salmonella tests of ground beef plants with Class 1 recalls. The results show that plants have high Salmonella levels before and during the year of the recall and have much lower levels afterward. The paper also shows that ground beef plants with recalls are less likely to meet the FSIS standard for Salmonella and that the likelihood of failing to meet the standard increases as the standard becomes more stringent.     

Product recalls,corporate social responsibility,and firm value: Evidence from the Chinese food industry

Product recalls frequently occur in the Chinese food industry, which is closely linked to public health and social security and attracts significant attention from the government, media, and public. We manually collect food recalls from listed firms in China from 2008 to 2016 and use an event study methodology to investigate the economic consequences of product recalls. First, we find that product recalls result in significantly negative abnormal returns for listed firms. Second, the level of corporate social responsibility (CSR) mitigates the negative effect of food recalls on the wealth of shareholders. Our results are robust to different specifications and measures. This study provides timely evidence and important policy implications for the ongoing food safety crisis in China. The government should release appropriate policies to improve firms’ product quality and activities on CSR in the food industry, which in turn helps the firms obtain benefits.     

Research notes and communications: The effect of product recall announcements on shareholder wealth

Previous research Has found that product recall announcements in the automobile industry are associated with negative abnormal returns. We extend this research by examining announcements of product recalls and products taken off the market outside the automobile industry. We find negative abnormal returns for these announcements and that the returns are significantly more negative when products are replaced (or the purchase price is returned) than when the products are checked and repaired. We find only limited evidence that government-ordered recalls produce more negative returns than voluntary recalls.     

Food safety recall effects across meat products and regions

Food safety is one of the key issues for the international meat market. As a major meat exporter, few things facing the U.S. meat industry in recent years have garnered more attention than food safety events and policies. The impacts of Food Safety Inspection Services (FSIS) recalls on United States consumer meat demand are estimated using monthly grocery-scanner data identifying effects across products, geographic regions, and recall type. Results suggest beef E. coli recalls significantly reduce the demand for recalled ground beef contemporaneously among most, but not all, regions in the United States. Evidence of heterogeneity in demand impacts across regions and products is provided for the first time. Domestic and international implications for policy makers, industry leaders, and researchers are discussed.     

Who Initiates Recalls and Who Cares? Evidence from the Automobile Industry

In this paper, we investigate two questions. First, we explore which entity (the NHTSA or the manufacturer) is more likely to initiate a given auto safety recall campaign. Second, we analyze the determinants of owner response rates to safety recalls. Our data spans nineteen years (1980–1998) for the six largest auto manufacturers. We find evidence that the government initiates larger, less hazardous recalls involving older models and financially weak firms. Inexpensive recalls are more likely to be manufacturer initiated. The largest owner repair responses are associated with newsworthy hazardous defects of new domestic vehicles in their inaugural model year.     

Food scare crises and developing countries: The impact of avian influenza on vertical price transmission in the Egyptian poultry sector

A bivariate smooth transition vector error correction model is applied to monthly poultry price data to analyze the effects that avian influenza has had on price transmission along the Egyptian poultry marketing chain. In order to reflect consumer awareness of the crisis, an avian influenza food scare information index is developed and used within the model as a transition variable. Our results suggest that price adjustments to deviations from the market equilibrium parity depend on the magnitude of the avian influenza crisis. Further these adjustments are found to have very different implications for market equilibrium: during the crisis retailers use their market power to increase marketing margins. In contrast, wholesaler margins are found to decline. Results also suggest that food safety information indices contribute to understanding the economic effects of food scare crises in developing countries.     

Gendered impacts of the 2007–2008 food price crisis: Evidence using panel data from rural Ethiopia

This paper provides empirical evidence on the gendered impact of the 2007–2008 food price crisis using panel data on 1400 households from rural Ethiopia that were initially surveyed before the onset of the crisis, in 1994–1995, 1997, and 2004, and after food prices spiked, in 2009. It investigates whether female-headed households are more likely to report experiencing a food price shock, and whether female-headed households experiencing a shock are more (or less) likely to adopt certain coping strategies, controlling for individual, household, and community characteristics. Our findings suggest that female-headed households are more vulnerable to food price changes and are more likely to have experienced a food price shock in 2007–2008. Because female-headed households are also resource poor and have a larger food gap compared with male-headed households, they cope by cutting back on the number of meals they provide their households during good months and eating less preferred foods in general. A combination of short-term measures to protect diet diversity and micronutrient consumption of vulnerable groups and longer-term measures to promote investment in sustainable agriculture, such as strengthening women’s property rights, may increase the ability of poor and vulnerable households to cope better with food price increases.     

The Nature and Causes of Effective Human Resource Management

Abstract : Four models of the causes of effective human resource management were tested using a large sample of national health service (NHS) provider trusts and districts. The four models, labelled organizational integration, policy integration, functional integration and process integration, were operationalized and tested in a regression analysis against a range of qualitative and quantitative measures of HRM effectiveness. The results reveal little or no association between the qualitative and quantitative measures of effectiveness and show that the models are better at explaining qualitative effectiveness. The most strongly supported models are organizational integration, reflected particularly in the formalization by senior management of HRM policy, and process integration, reflected in the quality and efficiency of personnel service and support. There is little support for policy integration — the idea of a coherent policy focus — and none at all for functional integration, that is, the view that a personnel department generously staffed by professional specialists will enhance effectiveness. The theoretical and policy implications of these results are discussed.     

Consumer knowledge and meat consumption at home and away from home

We investigate the roles of consumer knowledge and sociodemographic factors in the consumption of meat products at home and away from home. Censored dependent variables and endogenous dietary knowledge are accommodated by developing and estimating a simultaneous-equations system. Results suggest endogeneity of knowledge and support the system approach to demand functions for meat products. Dietary knowledge decreases consumption of beef and pork at home and away from home but does not affect poultry or fish consumption in either location. Men eat more meat and fish than women, meat consumption declines with age, and regional and racial/ethnic differences are present.     

Fear of climate change consequences and predictors of intentions to alter meat consumption

Reducing or altering meat consumption has the potential to significantly lower the impact humans have on climate change. Consumers, however, are unlikely to break their food habits unless they are aware of the problem and motivated by the solutions. Fear appeals are often used to overcome this, however, their effectiveness in the context of meat reduction and climate change is unclear. Given the widespread use of fear appeals in information policy, it is important to understand more. The aim of this study was to explore fear—or more specifically—the danger control process in a climate change—food context in order to understand the factors which motivate consumers to reduce or alter their meat consumption. Using a stratified random sample of 222 respondents in Southern Sweden, we develop a model for predicting intentions to adopt specific and general actions to reduce or alter meat consumption. Our results suggest that the general key to motivating consumers is through increasing their self-efficacy towards adopting meat alternatives and educating them on the importance their actions have in reducing the threat. We also found that appraising the threat to self (or those close) was significant, but surprisingly the effect size was greater when the threat concerned others (e.g. others in impoverished nations, animals).     

How can the EU climate targets be met? A combined analysis of technological and demand-side changes in food and agriculture

To meet the 2 °C climate target, deep cuts in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions will be required for carbon dioxide from fossil fuels but, most likely, also for methane and nitrous oxide from agriculture and other sources. However, relatively little is known about the GHG mitigation potential in agriculture, in particular with respect to the combined effects of technological advancements and dietary changes. Here, we estimate the extent to which changes in technology and demand can reduce Swedish food-related GHG emissions necessary for meeting EU climate targets. This analysis is based on a detailed representation of the food and agriculture system, using 30 different food items.We find that food-related methane and nitrous oxide emissions can be reduced enough to meet the EU 2050 climate targets. Technologically, agriculture can improve in productivity and through implementation of specific mitigation measures. Under optimistic assumptions, these developments could cut current food-related methane and nitrous oxide emissions by nearly 50%. However, also dietary changes will almost certainly be necessary. Large reductions, by 50% or more, in ruminant meat (beef and mutton) consumption are, most likely, unavoidable if the EU targets are to be met. In contrast, continued high per-capita consumption of pork and poultry meat or dairy products might be accommodated within the climate targets. High dairy consumption, however, is only compatible with the targets if there are substantial advances in technology. Reducing food waste plays a minor role for meeting the climate targets, lowering emissions only by an additional 1–3%.     

“大质量”环境下质量管理的几点思考

我国推行全面质量管理以来,质量管理发挥了重要的作用,推动了产品、工程和服务质量的改进和提高。但从目前的质量管理总体情况来看,产品、工程和服务质量和质量管理还存在一些问题,制约着质量管理的整体有效性。结合石油企业实际,针对质量管理现状、质量形势和存在问题,从机制建设、过程控制、资源配置、质量投入、质量监管等方面进行了分析和探讨,通过加强质量管理各项工作．提升质量管理的有效性。     

试论企业危机管理体系的构建

由于环境的日益复杂多变,在全球化与网络化的当今社会,任何企业都不可避免的面临着各种危机与潜在危机的威胁.为了防止或降低危机对企业所带米的伤害,适时适当的危机管理不可或缺.本文在对危机和危机管理进行诠释的基础上,根据危机发展过程提出企业的危机管理体系,希望对有效的危机管理产生借鉴作用.     

A choice experiment model for beef: What US consumer responses tell us about relative preferences for food safety,country-of-origin labeling and traceability

Several food safety issues have prompted questions regarding the role of country-of-origin labeling, traceability, and food safety inspections in consumers’ perceptions of food safety and quality. The importance of origin-labeling and traceability have been discussed in the EU for some time. North American cases of mad cow disease have led to increased discussions of these topics in the US, however, relatively little research has been conducted to examine the value US consumers place on these attributes. Choice experiments were used to analyze US consumers’ relative preferences and willingness-to-pay for these meat attributes in labeled ribeye beef steaks. Relatively speaking, consumers value certification of USDA food safety inspection more than any of the other choice set attributes, including country-of-origin labeling, traceability and tenderness. As a result, indication of origin may only become a signal of enhanced quality if the source-of-origin is associated with higher food safety or quality.     

The Financial Impact of Organisational Downsizing Practices—The New Zealand Experience

Partly in response to the Asian economic crisis, many organisations in the Asia Pacific rim reduced staff numbers. This research examines the New Zealand experience of this change intervention from 1997 to 1999. This includes an examination of the impact on financial performance, and how the process followed may moderate such an impact. A questionnaire instrument was designed to measure this, to which responses were received from 155 New Zealand for-profit organisations employing fifty or more people.There is some evidence to suggest that those respondents who had downsized over the period of the study reported lower measures of profitability than those who did not (p < .05). Also, ensuring the procedure was perceived as just by the employees, and offering outplacement help to those who lost their jobs, went some way to improving the financial performance of downsized firms (p < .05). This may suggest that if downsizing is necessary then attention needs to be given to how the process is implemented in order to maximise the financial return.Peter Carswell teaches, consults and researches in the areas of organisational change, development, and innovation; leadership; strategic management; team building; people management and human resource training; organisational culture; management development; and entrepreneurship. He is a research fellow at UNITEC Institute of Technology in New Zealand.     

Long-term sustainability of third-party facilitated market linkages: Evidence from the USDA marketing assistance program in the Armenian dairy industry

Public–private partnerships are increasingly seen as an important tool to build agri-food supply chains and develop markets for agri-food products in emerging economies. However, many of these initiatives fail when the public component of the program ends. One exception is the USDA Market Assistance Program (MAP) that facilitated the redevelopment of the Armenian dairy sector after privatization. This paper presents a case study of this initiative and hypothesize that the USDA MAP facilitated farmer investment in private enforcement capital. This investment resulted in sustainable market relationships between farmers and dairy processors even after the USDA MAP expired. We find empirical evidence to support this hypothesis using a panel dataset collected from 172 Armenian dairy farmers in 2004 and 2009.     

The Impact of Industrial Design Effectiveness on Corporate Financial Performance*

Despite the growing recognition of industrial design's value in creating sustainable competitive advantage, few studies have attempted to quantify the contribution that design makes to company financial performance. This article examines the relationship between industrial design and company financial performance in order to assess industrial design's contribution to this performance. Effective industrial design was evaluated by asking a panel of 138 industrial design experts to rank the industrial design effectiveness of publicly traded firms within nine selected manufacturing industries; the ranking process yielded 93 firms. Based on the rankings, firms within each industry were divided into two groups: those judged as exhibiting high design effectiveness versus those judged as low in design effectiveness. Audited financial data reported to the SEC across a seven‐year period from 1995 to 2001 were used to evaluate financial performance. Using traditional financial ratios senior managers consider essential performance measures, those firms with high design effectiveness were hypothesized to have higher returns on sales, returns on assets, and growth rates of sales, net income, and cash flow than firms with low design effectiveness. High design effectiveness firms further were hypothesized to have higher stock market returns. These comprehensive, corporate financial measures incorporate expenditures made on industrial design (industrial designers' salaries, design consultants' fees, computer‐aided industrial design equipment) and expenditures that designers influence through their design choices (material costs, manufacturing equipment). This analysis reveals that firms rated as having “good” design were stronger on all measures except growth rate measures. These results provide strong evidence that good industrial design is related to corporate financial performance and stock market performance even after considering expenditures on industrial design. Further, the patterns of financial performance over the seven‐year horizon suggest that these effects are persistent.     

Exploring Portfolio Decision‐Making Processes*

Portfolio management is the set of activities that allows a firm to select, develop, and commercialize a pipeline of new products aligned with the firm's strategy that will enable it to continue to grow profitably over the long term. To appropriately manage the firm's new product portfolio, decisions must be made about which projects to fund, to what levels, at what point in time. Previous research has investigated portfolio management decisions as individually discrete decisions. Significant streams of research have investigated both project selection and project termination decisions. This research project shows, however, that portfolio decision making may be better understood if it is considered as an integrated system of processes that considers these decisions simultaneously, along with other decisions such as those to continue a project with reduced funding. Using in‐depth data from four diverse case studies, we use a grounded theory approach to develop a general model of how firms make new product portfolio decisions. According to the findings from these cases, effective portfolio decision‐making processes produce a portfolio mindset, focus effort on the right projects, and allow agile decision making across the portfolio's set of projects. Effective portfolio decision making is the result of the interaction between three types of decision‐making processes that managers use in making decisions: evidence‐, power‐, and opinion‐based. Being able to use each of these types of processes to make decisions depends upon having the data inputs that they require. Three domain‐based decision input‐generating processes (i.e., cross‐functional collaboration, practices of critical thinking, and practices of market immersion) are associated with making evidence‐based portfolio decisions. In addition, organizational politics produces the inputs that are associated with power‐based portfolio decision making, while managerial intuition is associated with opinion‐based portfolio decision making. Firm cultural factors, including trust, collective ambition, and leadership style, are associated with how these evidence‐, power‐ and opinion‐based processes are combined into an overall portfolio decision making process, and whether the firm's processes are more rational and objectively made, or more politically and intuitively made. The article presents propositions for how the decision‐making processes interact in their associations with decision‐making effectiveness.     

New Product Development Practices and Early‐Stage Firms: Two In‐Depth Case Studies

New product development practices (NPD) have been well studied for decades in large, established companies. Implementation of best practices such as predevelopment market planning and cross‐functional teams have been positively correlated with product and project success over a variety of measures. However, for small new ventures, field research into ground‐level adoption of NPD practices is lacking. Because of the risks associated with missteps in new product development and the potential for firm failure, understanding NPD within the new venture context is critical. Through in‐depth case research, this paper investigates two successful physical product‐based early‐stage firms' development processes versus large established firm norms. The research focuses on the start‐up adoption of commonly prescribed management processes to improve NPD, such as cross‐functional teams, use of market planning during innovation development, and the use of structured processes to guide the development team. This research has several theoretical implications. The first finding is that in comparing the innovation processes of these firms to large, established firms, the study found several key differences from the large firm paradigm. These differences in development approach from what is prescribed for large, established firms are driven by necessity from a scarcity of resources. These new firms simply did not have the resources (financial or human) to create multi‐ or cross‐functional teams or organizations in the traditional sense for their first product. Use of virtual resources was pervasive. Founders also played multiple roles concurrently in the organization, as opposed to relying on functional departments so common in large firms. The NPD process used by both firms was informal—much more skeletal than commonly recommended structured processes. The data indicated that these firms put less focus on managing the process and more emphasis on managing their goals (the main driver being getting the first product to market). In addition to little or no written procedures being used, development meetings did not run to specific paper‐based deliverables or defined steps. In terms of market and user insight, these activities were primarily performed inside the core team—using methods that again were distinctive in their approach. What drove a project to completion was relying on team experience or a “learn as you go approach.” Again, the driver for this type of truncated market research approach was a lack of resources and need to increase the project's speed‐to‐market. Both firms in our study were highly successful, from not only an NPD efficiency standpoint but also effectiveness. The second broad finding we draw from this work is that there are lessons to be learned from start‐ups for large, established firms seeking ever‐increasing efficiency. We have found that small empowered teams leading projects substantial in scope can be extremely effective when roles are expanded, decision power is ground‐level, and there is little emphasis on defined processes. This exploratory research highlights the unique aspects of NPD within small early‐stage firms, and highlights areas of further research and management implications for both small new ventures and large established firms seeking to increase NPD efficiency and effectiveness.     

Content validation of a measure of R&D effectiveness

The overall purpose of this paper is to analyse the content validity of a tool for measuring research and development (R&D) effectiveness in industry using an approach known as scale or construct validation.
Since a large number of indicators is needed in order to measure this concept, and it is often difficult to find qualitative measures that would provide more information than quantitative measures or purely numerical magnitudes, we have constructed a scale that enables us to create a multiindicator to measure R&D inputs, processes, outputs and results. This multiindicator also enables us to group together all the relevant data obtained from the R&D management literature, which we then validate by consulting the opinion of experts from two firms that are very active in R&D and we have consulted two more nationally recognized Spanish researchers on R&D.