Family firms’ identity communication and consumers’ product involvement impact on consumer response

The purpose of this study is to determine whether the image transfer theory and the elaboration likelihood model can provide a theoretical framework capable of assessing the influence of consumers’ product involvement and family firms’ identity communication through websites on consumer responses. This research conducted an experiment using an eye‐tracking technique measuring attention to family and nonfamily corporate websites. The procedure involved 120 participants. Consistent with the image transfer theory, family firms’ identity through websites positively impacts attitude toward the website and intention to buy. Additionally, the attitude toward the website affects the relationship between family firms’ identity through websites and the intention to buy. In line with the elaboration likelihood model, consumers’ product involvement negatively impacts the relationship between family firms’ identity through websites and intention to buy.     

The effectiveness of advertising alcohol products in sports sponsorship

Studies have shown that exposure to sponsorship can influence behavior. However, evidence of the effectiveness of sports advertising and its influence on alcohol consumption is inconclusive. The goal of this research is to examine whether sponsorship by alcohol products receives the same attention as sponsorship by nonalcohol products depending on their congruence and the way they influence the intention to consume. Using sports posters, an experiment was performed to measure attention through eye-tracking. The results show that attention paid to alcohol brands is no greater than the attention paid to incongruent brands and is no different from the attention paid to congruent brands, regardless of gender and sporting discipline. Attention paid to sponsors has no influence on the intention to consume. These results show the need for further research on the effectiveness of sponsorship and its relationship with alcohol consumption.     

The land cost of agrarian sustainability. An assessment

Improving the sustainability of farms often incurs additional costs for farmers. These costs come from allocating land to the maintenance of the ecological processes (energy and material flows, natural population regulation) required for the agroecosystem to function. Since these costs are not recovered on the markets, farmers see a fall in profits, the financial viability of their farms is compromised, and they suffer the consequences of the environmental services they are providing. All this makes it essential to implement government policies designed to compensate farmers for their efforts. The issue of how to assess sustainability has generated widespread debate within ecological economics, specifically as to whether it is possible to place a monetary value on it and if so, how this should be done. In a previous article we showed that agrarian sustainability involves a land cost, therefore this cost can be translated into monetary values. The purpose of this study is to develop this concept in practical terms by applying it to organic farming. We calculated the land cost of agrarian sustainability (LACAS) in order to compare organic versus conventional management in olive farming, as this crop is grown extensively in Spain and other Mediterranean countries. The results show that the agro-environmental subsidy is not enough to encourage olive growers to make the conversion from conventional to organic methods, because the land cost of sustainability is not adequately offset. They also show that improving agroecosystems can allow the land to take on more functions without increasing the land cost. In our case, encouraging the multifunctionality of the land has permitted a reduction in this cost. The LACAS could be a useful tool, not only for drawing up government policies designed to support organic farming, but also for improving the sustainability of the agrarian sector.     

The Economic Impact of Marena’s Investments on Sustainable Agricultural Systems in Honduras

This study examines the economic impact of sustainable agricultural production systems in Central America. In particular, we investigate the impact of investments promoted by the MARENA Programme in Honduras on the total value of agricultural production (TVAP) of its beneficiaries. Propensity Score Matching techniques along with the Difference‐in‐Differences framework are used to mitigate biases stemming from differences in observed as well as unobserved (time‐invariant) characteristics between beneficiaries and a control group. The econometric estimates suggest that MARENA has had a positive and significant effect on the TVAP of beneficiaries. In addition, the analysis shows that, under alternative scenarios, MARENA yielded higher than expected internal rates of return. The results of this study shed light on the response of small‐scale hillside farmers to economic incentives and lend support to the role of natural resource management projects in Central America as a tool to increase household income while also promoting the conservation of natural resources.     

Mapping fragmentation: Electronics and automobiles in East Asia and Latin America

"Fragmentation", the relocation of processes or functions across countries in response to cost and other differences, has important implications for development. We discuss the drivers of fragmentation and map it for electronics and automotives in East Asia (EA) and Latin America. For technical reasons, electronics is fragmenting faster world-wide than the auto industry. Electronics networks are more advanced, widespread and integrated in EA than Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), and are largely responsible for EA's rapid export growth. The auto network is more advanced in LAC but is slower growing and is not integrated into a regional system. Apart from Mexico, LAC lacks an electronics network, partly accounting for the region's weak export performance. We offer insights into the following: Why do industries fragment differently? How can fragmentation be measured? Why does fragmentation in developing countries concentrate on EA and LAC? Why has fragmentation evolved differently in these two regions? Can other developing regions attract and benefit from fragmentation?     

Multi-stakeholder platforms for linking small farmers to value chains: evidence from the Andes

Value chains linked to urban markets and agro-industry present new opportunities for adding value and raising rural incomes. Small farmers, who produce small volumes, struggle to enter these markets. A lack of trust among value chain actors increases transaction costs and short-circuits innovation. This paper explores how multi-stakeholder platforms have been used to address these problems in potato-based value chains in Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador. It uses the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework to understand how platforms work. Differences in characteristics of the value chains, the participating actors and institutional arrangements have led to the emergence of two types of platforms. The first type brings traders, processors, supermarkets and others together with farmer associations and research and development (R&D) organizations to foster the development of new market opportunities through commercial, institutional and technological innovation. The second type is structured around geographically delimited supply areas, meshing farmers and service providers to address market governance issues in assuring volumes, meeting quality and timeliness constraints and empowering farmers. Evidence from these cases indicates that platforms that bring stakeholders together around value chains can result in new products, processes, norms and behaviours that benefit poor farmers, which could not have been achieved otherwise.     

Approaching virtuousness through organizational ethical quality: toward a moral corporate social responsibility

Today, in both theory and practice, the concepts of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and ethics are not necessarily related. Organizations can demonstrate high levels of social proactivity in their CSR policies with or without having laudable levels of ethical quality or virtuousness. This article introduces the concepts of organizational ethical quality (OEQ) to evaluate the moral excellence of CSR actions and policies, identifying and categorizing varying levels ranging from the absence of ethical virtuousness, termed immoral CSR (ICSR), to high levels of moral CSR (MCSR), or ethical virtuousness. High MCSR is the product of both high levels of OEQ in conjunction with more proactive CSR policies based on social action.     

The Moderating Effects of Involvement on the Relationships Between Satisfaction,Trust and Commitment in e-Banking

Most prior research into customer loyalty emphasizes the effects of the dimensions of online satisfaction and trust. However, research into how customer involvement moderates this relationship model – in the online environment – has been less than conclusive. On the basis of a satisfaction–trust–commitment model, and given that involvement is a significant precondition to customer loyalty, this paper explores the interaction effects of customer involvement on the evaluation of e-banking services.Empirical results were collected from an online survey in electronic financial forums, Usenet and mailing lists. Partial Least Squares (PLS) was used to estimate the parameters of the interaction effects model.The results support most of the hypotheses and, in particular, confirm the moderating role of customer involvement. The influence of online satisfaction on commitment was significantly stronger for highly involved users; conversely, the effect of satisfaction on trust was weaker. However, customer trust had a stronger effect on commitment for customers with high purchase involvement, and a weaker effect for highly ego-involved customers. The interaction role of customer involvement thus offers a more complete view of the satisfaction–trust–commitment model, providing an initial test of the efficacy of using involvement to understand online decisions. Implications for online marketing management and future research in this area are discussed.     

Analysis of individual private forestry in northern Spain according to economic factors related to management

In addition to being motivated by profit, the management decisions taken by non-industrial private forest (NIPF) owners involve other considerations beyond timber, such as non-timber goods and services, as well as factors that affect the level of timber output from the land. Ensuring and improving forest profitability to make NIPF management viable is one of the main challenges faced by this type of landowner. This study empirically explores and assesses management by NIPF owners, through analysing attributes of forest economics (investment in holdings, expenditure on planting and silviculture, public subsidies, along with timber and non-timber incomes). With the aim of predicting outcomes, a multiple regression model was also constructed to investigate and quantify the relationship between socioeconomic and holding factors, and the planting activities carried out by NIPF owners. For this, 103 resident forest landowners in a forest region in northern Spain were interviewed in person, during March 2004, about their commitment to and involvement in land management during the period 1999–2003. The results mainly revealed that attractive forest returns and favourable market conditions for timber production are significant factors for investment in and development of forestry, with personal and family conditions also being important factors in explaining the type of land management carried out. In particular, the multiple linear regression model for forest planting activity correctly explained 84.5% of the variability observed in the study population, indicating that both the investments in and the incomes from forestry play an important role in the activity, as does the size of the holding. The findings may be of interest in promoting public measures related to timber markets and economic incentives for forest management, which will allow landowners to develop economically viable practices, as well as enabling fulfilment of social and environmental demands for sustainable forestry and rural development.