Preference to Local Food vs. Preference to “National” and Regional Food

In the environment of globalisation and progressive liberalisation of the market, many small local producers were excluded from the market as uncompetitive to the producers realising scale economy due to their presence in large global market and being able to meet requirements of large retailers’ chains. As there is growing consumers’ interest to recover their identity, those of the local cultures and traditional values, there is a new chance for those small local producers. The problems of locally produced food recently awakened interest and aroused many discussions of practitioners and scholars as well. The aim of the presented study has been to test the parameters that influenced preferences among food product branded as national, regional, or local product. Presented models identified several consumers’ attitudes and feelings that are the main predictors of the relation between consumers’ preferences for local food and the preferences for national or regional food. Food made by local producers is perceived by consumers as being of higher quality and better complying with their habits and requirements than “regional” or “national” food products.     

Consumers’ Perceived Value and Willingness to Purchase Organic Food

ABSTRACT

The demand for organic products has rapidly expanded worldwide in recent years. However, the organic market remains a niche market in most countries, and research in this area remains limited. Further investigation is necessary to better understand consumer perceptions about organic food and the circumstances in which they are willing to purchase organic food. Accordingly, the authors seek to understand the perceived value that consumers associate with organic food and the factors that impact their willingness to purchase organic food. This study is exploratory in nature and uses a qualitative approach through the use of in-depth interviews. Findings from the study suggest that consumers who perceive a positive value with regard to organic food are more willing to purchase organic food, in which health was the primary perceived benefit. For consumers who perceive a negative value with regard to organic food, they are less willing to purchase organic food. Many did not see any difference between organic food and nonorganic food. Instead, they viewed the prices of organic food as being expensive and argued that more efforts are needed on their part to source for organic food. Implications and recommendations from research findings are also presented.     

U.S. Small Business’s Philanthropic Contribution to Local Community: Stakeholder Salience and Social Identity Perspectives

This study investigates relational attributes that explain small-business owners’/managers’ philanthropic contribution to their local community. Drawing on the theory of stakeholder salience and the social identity theory, we consider two facets of small-business–local-community relationship: a relationship with the local community as a stakeholder and a relationship with the local community as a social category that they belong. Data from 202 small-business owners/managers in the United States yielded support for the stakeholder salience and social identity perspectives. The results showed that the owners’/managers’ perception of legitimacy and urgency of local community’s claim and their social identity as a community member were important determinants of the small businesses’ philanthropic contribution. The findings provide strategic implications for local governments, civic organizations, and community authorities about managing the relationship with Small Business, Stakeholder salience, social identity, CSR, local community.     

Exploring Urban Consumers’ Attitudes and Intentions to Purchase Local Food in Chile

Although local food consumption is growing in importance, there remains a lack of research addressing local food consumption preferences in less developed countries. This article aims to examine the drivers of local food purchase intentions for Chilean consumers. A model of local food behavioral intention was developed from consumer behavior theory. The model was tested using structural equation modeling with data from Chilean shoppers located in Santiago (n = 283). The analysis revealed that Chilean consumers are willing to purchase local food based on their positive attitude toward buying local food and their feelings of connectedness with the environment, but not because they have a desire to support local businesses. These findings have implications for retailers, marketers, and food producers.     

What Initiatives Are British Food Retailers Taking to Improve Children’s Health and Nutrition?

Along with food manufacturers, retailers contribute directly to the national diet. While efforts to reformulate private-label products have been assessed, little research considers other voluntary initiatives to impact public health. We explore efforts targeting children’s health and nutrition. Making use of the corporate social responsibility reports of the seven leading retailers from 2006 to 2011, we examine the types of actions, by which retail chains and when. Before 2008, most retailers reported on initiatives promoting children’s nutrition education and physical activity in schools. Since 2009, references to such programs have decreased, with a shift toward child wellness. We find that retailers differ in approaches and commitment. Those with larger market shares mention initiatives more frequently. Most activities are related to nutrition education, developing cooking skills, and promotion of physical activity and not product reformulation. Our research suggests these efforts are not coordinated, might be misplaced, and do not persist over time.     

Butterfly Effect:From U.S.Wall Street to China's A-Share Market

Right after Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy a series of bad news came one after another.Merrill Lynch was bought out.American International Group(AIG)was handed over to the U.S.government. Washington Mutual,the largest savings bank in the U.S.,was said to be looking for a buyer.In Rus- sia,stock exchange was forced to a suspension due to a record slump in 10 years in its stock market. It seems that the end of the Moon Festival this year marked the beginning of a global financial crisis,which     

United Airlines Connects China and U.S. Capitals—— United now offers five daily nonstop flights from China to the U.S.

Following months of intense competition. United Airlines [NASDAQ: UAUA], the largest transpacific passenger carrier, connected for the first time ever the capitals of Washington, D.C., and Beijing when its flight touched down at Beijing Capital     

Assessment of the Economic Benefits From U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF)’s Marketing Investment in South Korea

In 2007, the United States and South Korea agreed for partial access of U.S. beef to South Korea under the Korea–U.S. (KORUS) FTA concession, and started to import sizable U.S. beef to South Korea in 2008 despite some negative sentiments of Korean consumers for U.S. beef due to the safety concerns. From 2011 to 2015, the USMEF is scheduled to invest approximately US$10 million on promotion of U.S. beef in South Korea. Thus, it is important to access effectiveness of USMEF promotional strategies and to justify accountability of its marketing investment in the Korean beef market. The objective of this study is to estimate the economic impact of USMEF marketing investment for beef on U.S. beef performance in South Korea. The study determines the effectiveness of USMEF’s generic beef market development and promotion program in South Korea, by developing an econometric import demand model for U.S. beef and eliciting benefit–cost ratio (BCR) of USMEF’s promotion investment. From this analysis, (1) the relationships between selected uncontrollable and controllable economic variables and the U.S. beef demand in South Korea are assessed; and (2) with BCR simulation analysis, the return on promotion investment (ROI) of USMEF is derived.     

Two Worlds of Venture Capital: What Happened to U.S. and Dutch Early Stage Investment?

European attempts at imitation of U.S. venture capital have been less successful in stimulating high tech start-ups. Our analysis of the differences between Dutch and U.S. developments points at institutional and organizational differences as explanatory factors. Disappointing longer term performances of Dutch IPOs have caused the closure of the Dutch Parallelmarket. Indeterminate length of life of Dutch vc funds contributed to a loss of trust in early stage IPOs. The U.S. – in contrast – benefitted from contractually fixed length of life of venture capital funds. The U.S. share of early stage investment displayed a wave-like pattern, which is positively related to the number of IPOs and of vc firms. Interconnectedness and follow-on funds depress early stage investment.     

Brief Introduction of U.S. Foreign Capital M&A Laws——Case Studies and Suggestions to China’s Construction of Foreign Capital M&A Legal Framework

Ⅰ.Case Studies 1.CNOOC-Unocal transaction On June 23,2005,the China National Offshore Petroleum Company,Ltd.(CNOOC),announced its intention to acquire Unocal,a California-based American oil company.Unocal owned oil reserves around the world and represented 0.8 percent of US oil production.1 Before CNOOC's involvement,Unocal was already in the midst of negotiation with Chevron,another California-based American oil company.     

An Examination of the U.S. Public Accounting Profession’s Public Interest Discourse and Actions in Federal Policy Making

Participation in the political process by the United States public accounting profession often blurs the role of the profession as advocates for the public interest with its role as advocates for its own private interests. In this study, we draw from prior theoretical and empirical work to investigate recent federal political activities of the public accounting profession to shed light on these sometimes contradictory roles. In particular, we investigate ten contemporary regulatory issues of interest to the AICPA. We analyze 36 AICPA legislative advocacy letters related to these issues that were provided to federal policy makers. In addition, we analyze the public accounting profession’s federal lobbying reports that were submitted during this same time period. The analysis allows us to assess the public interest discourse present in the AICPA legislative letters as well as the extent of political action taken by the profession related to these issues based on the profession’s lobbying efforts. Our analyses (1) demonstrate that the profession’s discourse and actions often reflect both public and private interest motivations, (2) allow us to categorize the profession’s advocacy efforts as arising from specific motivations, and (3) show that the profession’s public interest arguments used to advocate for their policy positions change depending upon the specific legislative issue being considered.     

Discussion of “An Examination of the U.S. Public Accounting Profession’s Public Interest Discourse and Actions in Federal Policy Making”

The history of the public accounting profession is filled with perceived crises in professionalism. Baudot et al. (An examination of the U.S. public accounting profession’s public interest discourse and actions in federal policy making, 2015) focus on the post Sarbanes–Oxley period, highlighting how the advocacy efforts of the public accounting profession directed toward financial regulation represent the most recent of crises. This study makes an important contribution to the literature because it illustrates the inherent challenges faced by a regulatory structure that requires private interests to act in the public good. The purpose of this commentary is to provide a historical and institutional context for the study’s findings, to assess the current state of research, and to offer suggestions for future research.