The Size of Terroir: A Theoretical Note on Economics and Politics of Geographical Indications

Geographical indications (GI) certify the geographical origins of a product and delineate the specific area in which the certified product must be produced. Despite a large literature on the economics of GIs, few papers have explored the question of the optimal size of GI regions. This note presents a flexible conceptual framework to explore the economics and politics of the delimitation of a GI. The general framework describes the efficiency and distributional effects of the size of a GI and shows how this affects interest groups’ incentives to influence government decision‐making.     

A multivariate Poisson mixture model for marketing applications

This paper describes a multivariate Poisson mixture model for clustering supermarket shoppers based on their purchase frequency in a set of product categories. The multivariate nature of the model accounts for cross-selling effects between the purchases made in different product categories. However, for computational reasons, most multivariate approaches limit the covariance structure by including just one common interaction term, or by not including any covariance at all. Although this reduces the number of parameters significantly, it is often too simplistic as typically multiple interactions exist on different levels. This paper proposes a theoretically more complete variance/covariance structure of the multivariate Poisson model, based on domain knowledge or preliminary statistical analysis of significant purchase interaction effects in the data. Consequently, the model does not contain more parameters than necessary, whilst still accounting for the existing covariance in the data. Practically, retail category managers can use the model to devise customized merchandising strategies.     

Collaborative cost-cutting: productive efficiency as an interdependency between public organizations

Collaboration between public sector organizations is typically understood as a response to complexity. Agencies collaborate in order to address complex, cross-cutting policy needs that cannot be met individually. However, when organizational size is a constraining factor in public service efficiency, collaboration can also reduce costs by capturing scale economies unavailable to organizations of sub-optimal size. Using organization theory, the article conceptualizes these two different triggers for public sector collaboration, and builds a framework for tracing their wider impact upon the formation, operation, and outcome of inter-agency partnerships. The framework is illustrated, and its implications for future research are explored.     

How beer created Belgium (and the Netherlands): the contribution of beer taxes to war finance during the Dutch Revolt

ABSTRACT

The present-day border between Belgium and the Netherlands can be traced back to the separation of the Low Countries after the Dutch Revolt (1566–1648) against Spanish rule. The capacity to finance the escalating cost of war determined the outcome of this conflict. As Spain struggled to provide regular pay to its troops, its war efforts were often plagued by mutiny. In contrast, the Dutch Republic managed to raise large sums for its war budgets. As we show in this article, excise taxes on beer consumption were one of the largest income sources in Holland, the leading province of the Dutch Republic. Over the course of the Revolt, Dutch beer taxes brought in the equivalent of 29% of Spanish tax revenues on silver from America. Beer taxes thus played a crucial role in financing the Dutch Revolt which led to the separation of the Low Countries and, eventually, the creation of Belgium.     

A dyadic approach to the impact of differences in organizational culture on relationship performance

The authors extend previous research on relationship management by investigating the potential effect of differences in organizational culture on relationship performance among 124 dyads. Theory suggests that partner similarity may improve the feeling of we-ness thereby contributing to the perceived success of inter-firm cooperation. The findings reveal that differences in organizational culture are larger in less successful inter-firm relationships, but do not influence the perceived relationship success significantly. Our results suggest that relationship managers should not confuse compatibility with similarity; personal chemistry is important for relationship atmosphere but does not solely depend on similarities. Future research in this area may wish to concentrate on a more complete measure of organizational (sub)culture(s), the different levels of analysis (personal, organizational, dyad), relationship life cycles (stage models) and the role of organizational identity.     

Transitioning and co-evolving to upgrade value offerings: A competence-based marketing view

This article shows how subcontractors in the steel and metalworking industry can effectively upgrade their customer value offerings. The study intends to identify internal and external drivers for successful transitions. It builds on the IMP's (Industrial Marketing and Purchasing Group) research tradition by looking into value creation and competence-based marketing within business networks. Using qualitative methods, the research identifies ‘ideal’ value-added market positions and relates these to specific competence configurations. It also reveals the need to manage co-evolution with other network partners in order to make a successful transition from basic to value-added offerings. The paper contributes to business marketing science by looking explicitly into the mechanisms of internal alignment when upgrading value offerings (a pre-condition often overlooked in extant literature) and by extending the concept of co-evolution.     

How to brand your private labels

Private labels have become ever-more important and are slowly turning into brands of their own. Retailers increasingly offer three-level ‘good, better, best’ private-label programs that include economy, standard, and premium private-label tier goods. For each of these tiers, retailers must decide under what name to brand their private label. They can either assign their store banner name to a private-label tier or go for a unique brand name that is separate from the retailer banner. The purpose of this article is to outline the advantages and limitations of these two branding strategies: store-banner branding versus stand-alone branding. Herein, we also provide a series of recommendations regarding when to use each brand strategy, based on characteristics of the retailer and the environment in which it operates.     

Linking Belgian employee performance management system characteristics with performance management system effectiveness: exploring the mediating role of fairness

Based on expectancy theory, goal-setting theory and control theory, we propose a model in which perceived fairness mediates the relationship between characteristics of employee performance management (PM) systems and their perceived effectiveness by employees. PM system characteristics we propose are the frequency and length of formal reviews, the frequency of informal reviews and feedback, whether the formal conversation focused on evaluation or development and finally the degree of participation. The model was tested on a cross-industry sample of 3192 employees in Belgium. The measurement and structural models were simultaneously tested using structural equation modeling, and we used a bootstrapping approach to test the mediation hypothesis. Our findings indicate that performance review focus and employee participation strongly relate to perceptions of appraisal fairness and PM system effectiveness and that the frequency of informal performance reviews is stronger related to PM system effectiveness than the frequency of formal performance reviews. This suggests that the manifest expressions of PM have more impact on PM system effectiveness rather than the more latent characteristics of PM systems. The findings advance research to the role and functionality of PM systems by showing that (a) the manner in which PM systems are shaped and executed is of fundamental importance for their effectiveness, (b) fairness partially mediates the relationship between PM system characteristics and their effectiveness and (c) the three motivational theories appear useful for understanding the consequences of PM practices on individual employees.     

Moving from basic offerings to value-added solutions: Strategies, barriers and alignment

Commoditization erodes the competitive differentiation of companies and often leads to a profit squeeze. Existing literature recommends the transition from basic product offerings to service-based value concepts in order to regain competitiveness in such a context. This paper explores the concrete efforts of suppliers in the commoditized electro-technical industry to create new non-price-based customer value. In this paper, a taxonomy of efforts is developed which builds on the competitive strategy and strategic marketing literature. Our research identifies barriers to the market introduction of these new value concepts. Observations in this industry lead to a framework that (1) proposes alternative step-by-step strategies for making the transition from basic products to service-based solutions, and (2) offers alignment suggestions for overcoming identified barriers. Migration paths to introducing new service-based value concepts are incremental rather than radical, and managers should complement their market approach with (a) value chain actions to create multilevel industry support and (b) an organizational alignment approach.     

Development time and new product sales: A contingency analysis of product innovativeness and price

Opposing theories and conflicting empirical results with regard to the effect of development time on new product sales suggest the need for a contingency analysis into factors affecting this relationship. This study uses a unique combination of accounting and perceptual data from 129 product development projects to test the combined contingency effect of product innovativeness and new product price on the relationship between development time and new product sales. The results show that for radically new products with short development times, price has no effect on new product sales. When the development time is long, price has a negative effect on the sales of radical new products. The findings additionally show that price has no effect on sales for incremental new products with short development times and a negative effect for incremental new products with long development times. Together, these findings shed new light on the relationship between development time and new product sales.