Organization,technology and management innovations through acquisition in China’s pork value chains: The case of the Smithfield acquisition by Shuanghui

This paper reviews the changes in Shuanghui’s operations after the Smithfield acquisition as well as transformations in China’s pork industries. As income grows and diets change, there has been an increasing demand for high-quality pork and more processed pork products. However, China’s swine and pork industries are still at an early stage of development as evidenced by the low market concentration, intensive use of labour, a proliferation of intermediaries, and low levels of technology. Bounded by the established consumer preferences for freshness and the status quo in the midstream and upstream segments, Shuanghui is in a slow process of upgrading its domestic operations with Smithfield’s leading brands, import of chilled and frozen pork, advanced technologies, and the vertically integrated business model after this acquisition. In particular, it remains unclear whether Shuanghui can follow Smithfield’s experience to establish stable and safe hog supplies by multiplying self-owned hog farms, maintain and expand its current contracts with large-scale commercial hog farms, or rely more on global sourcing of pork primarily from the U.S.     

The impacts of value chain upgrading on the export of processed food

Upgrading in global value chains (GVCs) is an important path for developing countries to move along to capture higher benefits. Several qualitative studies of GVCs have identified two main upgrading types: economic (product, process, functional, and inter-sectoral) and social upgrading. The upgrading concept is widespread in productive sectors such as processed food, which has become a key export for developing countries. However, they have confronted multiple product standards required by global buyers. This study uses a case study of Thailand’s processed food exports (TPFEs). Although Thailand is a leading exporter of processed food, the country needs to upgrade in many areas related to production to meet global product standards and requirements. If Thailand fails to comply with global product standards, it will lose its export competitiveness. This study uses a gravity model to evaluate the impact of economic and social upgrading (EUP and SUP) on TPFEs. Our results show that upgrading types are significant in TPFEs, particularly for exports to developed countries. Process upgrading has a negative impact on TPFEs because of increased production costs to comply with product standards. However, process upgrading can lead to increased producers’ and exporters’ knowledge about how to comply with international standards. Consequently, process upgrading exhibits a lagged positive effect on TPFEs.     

Coffee value chains on the move: Evidence in Ethiopia

Important changes have happened to the upstream segment of the coffee sector in Ethiopia - Africa’s biggest - in the last decade, as illustrated by the increasing adoption of improved production, harvest, and post-harvest practices. Upstream marketing has also improved and there have been large investments in processing capacity, shown by the extended coverage of wet mills. These improved practices are shown to be associated with positive impacts on coffee productivity and prices. Changes appear to be linked with multiple factors including local market reform, greater presence of public extension agents, high international prices, and a push for certification by international buyers. On the other hand, a combination of production (lack of improved seedlings, weather and disease shocks) as well as institutional issues (saving constraints and lack of vertical integration and traceability) have seemingly impeded more widespread uptake of improved practices and therefore better farm performance. The study illustrates the significant complexity in obtaining transformation at the farm level in these settings.     

基于AHP的模糊综合评价法在连锁经营伙伴选择中的应用

本文提出了加盟盟主对盟员选择的指标体系,并在此基础上应用基于AHP的模糊综合评价法对盟员进行评价。该方法不仅可以确定“准加盟者”的排序,而且可以确定各自的等级。     

特许经营在我国旅行社业中的发展

作为一种新兴的商业模式和营销体系，应用在旅行社业中的特许经营是旅游批发(经营)商控制销售渠道的一种手段。目前，我国旅行社业中引入特许经营还不是非常普遍。在对特许经营内涵进行界定的基础上，从我国旅行社业现状出发，通过对特许经营优势的阐述，表明我国旅行社业引入特许经营进行扩张的必要性。同时阐述了中外旅行社业应用特许经营的现状、存在问题以及特许经营在我国旅行社业中的未来发展趋势，希望能对正处于扩张思变期的中国旅行社业有所借鉴。     

发展特许连锁经营,促进城乡居民就业

本依据我国近年来特许连锁经营发展的形势，阐述了特许连锁经营在民间投资和就业发展上的特有功效，提出了利用特许连锁经营促进我国城乡就业的观点，并指出了需要进一步完善的政策和措施。     

Stakeholder management in sustainable supply chains: A case study of the bioenergy industry

Engaging with stakeholders and managing their issues when striving for a sustainable supply chain (SC) is a significant challenge. Although most studies on sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) consider stakeholder management necessary, little is known about related stakeholder management practices in SSCM. Thus, this paper seeks to enrich the theoretical debate on stakeholder management practices in SSCM through a case study approach to bioenergy SCs in Chile. Based on 28 interviews with SC actors and representatives from the surrounding stakeholder environment, the deductive–inductive analysis reveals that stakeholder management combines different practices to discuss stakeholder concerns, address them, and evaluate the process at the SC's external and internal levels. We propose structuring these practices based on two dimensions: “practices to address stakeholder requirements” and “practices whereby stakeholders are integrated.” The analysis' results indicate that although two-way communication with stakeholders can be seen as the core of stakeholder management, a certain willingness to learn and transform SC design is a prerequisite for true orientation toward stakeholder management in SSCM. Additionally, linkage development and local anchoring are practices used to obtain further legitimacy at the external level. Building on these findings, this study can guide practitioners in engaging with stakeholders and managing their issues across the SC.     

建立应急防控物资供应链模式设想

伴随紧急事件发生常会出现物资短缺、供应渠道不畅等问题,尤其对于一些像医疗用品等特殊物资的供给,因其规格标准具有严格要求,加之生产企业和供应商数量有限,短时间获得大量供应尤其存在困难。文章运用供应链管理模式结合医用物资的生产供应特点,提出了由政府层面组建应急防控物资供应链并发挥指挥协调作用的设想,通过集中整合政府各职能部门和社会分散资源,保障各类应急防控物资顺利获得并及时发送到位。     

Competition and Regulation in Franchise Bidding

In this work we show that the separation property identified in the franchise bidding literature depends strictly on the hypothesis of coincidence of the regulator's beliefs with those of the competing firms. Nevertheless, in many contexts it is more truthful to hypothesize that the regulator's information is vaguer than that of the producers, so we introduce the possibility that the regulator is dealing with a double informational asymmetry as compared to the firms. In this case, the separation property is no longer valid, and the optimal tariff becomes a decreasing function of the degree of competition exercised during the auction.     

动态比较优势与中国目标产业选择实证分析

通过动态比较优势的理论模型，可揭示后进国家政策介入的必要性和有效性；采用独立随机增量过程马尔可夫链方法，可对中国制造业动态比较优势进行经验验证和预测。结果显示，弱比较劣势产业是目标产业。该些产业的优势状态保持不变或上移的概率高达80％以上，表明它们具有较大的潜在比较优势。