The private provision of public environment: Consumer preferences for organic production systems

This paper analyses individual preferences regarding environmental and health improvement technologies in organic food production systems. The impure public model is applied to explore the implications of organic food preferences for environmental market provision. Empirical results from a survey reveal that consumers are willing to pay for both health gains and environmental friendly technologies in organic milk production, although the valuation of the health aspects is higher. Prior information about organic production systems and shopping convenience are key variables in interpersonal comparisons of willingness to pay. The perceived overall value of organic production systems was higher among individuals with stronger environmental preferences than among those who prioritise health concerns. The conclusions of this study may have implications for the analysis of efficiency in the organic produce market.     

Brexit: How Will UK Agriculture Fare?

There is little doubt that Brexit would have significant implications for UK agriculture, a sector with strong trade links to the EU and strong reliance on CAP income support. This article reports preliminary results from employing a Computable General Equilibrium Model, a Partial Equilibrium Model and Farm Level Models to explore selected trade and domestic policy scenarios post‐Brexit. These allow for the estimation of changes in producer prices, production and farm incomes against a baseline scenario of continued EU membership. Under a Free Trade Agreement with the EU, agricultural impacts are relatively modest. By contrast, unilateral removal of import tariffs has significant negative impacts on prices, production and incomes. Adoption of the EU's WTO tariff schedule for all imports favours net importers (e.g. dairy) and harms net exporters (e.g. sheep). Given the strong dependence of most UK farms on direct payments, their removal worsens negative impacts of new trade arrangements and offsets positive impacts. Impacts vary across different types and sizes of farm, but also regionally. However, the period of adjustment to new trade and domestic policy conditions may prove very challenging for a large number of farm businesses.     

Entrepreneurs and the context of cooperative organizations: A definition of cooperative entrepreneur

We focus on the role of entrepreneurs in organizations that are structured as cooperatives. In considering the similarities and differences among various forms of entrepreneurship, a comprehensive definition of the cooperative entrepreneur is formulated. A model illustrating four variations in the manner in which cooperative entrepreneurship contributes to the creation of cooperatives is also presented. These contributions help to more clearly frame future research and lend visibility to the challenges faced by entrepreneurs in the cooperative context. Copyright © 2013 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

HR managers in five countries: what do they do and why does it matter?

The 1980s saw the need for change in the organizational role of human resource (HR) professionals, from the traditional employee champion and administrative expert to strategic business partner and change agent. The argument posited was that a more challenging environment compels organizations to turn to managing their HRs as a source of competitive advantage and that means an increasing business partnership for HR professionals. However, very few studies examine the execution of these multiple, sometimes contradictory roles, despite the risk that neglecting traditional roles endanger organizational performance in the long term. This five-country comparative study finds that multiple roles are at least moderately executed, and that these HR roles have different impact depending on the aspect of organizational performance. As well, a more challenging environment, defined here as legal constraints and industry challenges, generally does not have a significant moderating effect on the impact of the different HR roles on organizational performance.     

Counterfactual analysis of bank mergers

We introduce a counterfactual analysis of banks mergers, combining the pre-merger equilibrium setting with post-merger environmental characteristics, while accounting for endogenously propagated changes in market structure. Using this procedure we are able to estimate the effects on loan flows and interest rates that would have been observed if the pre-merger equilibrium was not altered. Results are obtained for firms, households, and banks inside and outside the merging circles separately. We find that mergers increased firms’ access to credit, but had an opposite effect on households and led to a widespread decrease in interest rates.     

Does involvement matter in online shopping satisfaction and trust?

Consumer involvement in online shopping can play a moderating role when explaining Web site effect on satisfaction and trust. This study proposes a set of hypotheses based on the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) of persuasion, a conceptual model that explains the formation of individual attitudes that are prompted by central and peripheral cues. The model proposes the use of central signals when the buyer is highly involved and peripheral signals when the buyer is less involved. Nevertheless, the results of this study would suggest that these relationships are not so clearly defined in the case of online buying, which implies that certain assumptions associated with the ELM need to be revised to take the particularities of the online context into account. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.