Dimitris Skuras

Consumers’ willingness to pay for origin labelled wine

Quality agricultural products are assuming an increasingly important role in European Union (EU) agricultural and food policies. The potential for differentiating quality products and services on a regional basis has been recognised and legislation has been introduced for protecting the geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and quality foodstuffs. Today, marketing strategies for quality products attempt to explore these new opportunities, trying to build on the products’ reputation and the image of their region of origin. This study employs a dichotomous choice model to identify the socio‐economic characteristics that influence Greek consumers’ willingness to pay for an origin labelled wine. The results indicate that wine consumers’ willingness to pay varies only according to social and demographic characteristics. Furthermore, the mean willingness to pay was estimated using two alternative econometric specifications of the dichotomous choice model. We have found that non‐quality wine consumers are willing to pay double the price of a bottle of normal table wine if the alternative provides for a guarantee of the place of origin of the wine. Their decision is found to be dependent only upon education and affiliation with the place of origin. The model specifications are compared and useful conclusions referring to price policy for origin labelled wines and their marketing are drawn.

Rural entrepreneurship in Europe: A research framework and agenda

The present work provides an integrated view of rural entrepreneurship and sets the agenda for future research in the area. Rurality defines a territorially specific entrepreneurial milieu with distinct physical, social and economic characteristics. Location, natural resources and the landscape, social capital, rural governance, business and social networks, as well as information and communication technologies, exert dynamic and complex influences on entrepreneurial activity in rural areas. Rurality is viewed as a dynamic entrepreneurial resource that shapes both opportunities and constraints. Rural entrepreneurship is depicted as a three‐stage sequential process highly influenced by specific territorial characteristics. The proposed research agenda addresses issues related to theoretical studies concerning entrepreneurial processes in rural areas and more applied issues concerning the formulation of integrated and competent policies supporting entrepreneurship in such areas.

Consumer demand for informative labeling of quality food and drink products: a European Union case study

Purpose – The purpose of this work is to examine the range of information consumers seek on labels of quality products and construct an indicative check‐list of various types of informational labeling as well as to examine whether quality of information demanded segregates the market‐creating segments to be targeted by firms.Design/methodology/approach – An extensive interdisciplinary literature review based on findings in marketing, economics, geography and sociology reveals the often neglected range of factors forcing consumers to place importance on regionally denominated food and drink. The European Union (EU) has responded to growing consumer trends towards regional and traditional food and established special schemes regulating the production of such food and drink. A survey of 640 consumers of quality wine carried out within the framework of an EU‐funded program provides the empirical material of this work.Findings – The study records the range of informational labeling sought by consumers as well ...

Adoption of a quality assurance scheme and its effect on firm performance: A study of Greek firms implementing ISO 9000

An analysis of 143 firms in the Greek manufacturing and service sectors reveals that adopters of ISO 9000 quality assurance schemes are larger companies producing intermediate goods, but less profitable and with higher leverage than their non-adopter counterparts. The effects of adopting an ISO 9000 scheme on firm performance and especially on certain dimensions of profitability are not significant in a period of 5-6 years after adoption. Evidence suggests that the adoption of an ISO 9000 quality assurance scheme, being a continuous process of improvement, is beneficial in the long term and does not necessarily improve financial ratios in the short term. Active support policies for the promotion and dissemination of quality standards in the manufacturing and service sectors of Greece can be reconsidered and a more targeted policy should be implemented. Future research may be designed and implemented so that long-term and strategic effects of the adoption of the new ISO 9000:2000 standards are revealed.

Consumer evaluations of product certification, geographic association and traceability in Greece

Certification, geographic association and traceability of food and drink products are quality cues that have not been extensively researched by the current academic literature. These quality cues are highly valued by consumers possessing certain socio‐economic and demographic characteristics that form distinct and clearly‐defined market segments. A sample of 744 Greek wine consumers is used to assess the factors influencing consumer evaluations towards quality cues. An ordered probit model with sample selectivity reveals that these attributes are valued as highly important by consumers possessing certain socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. The type and source of information received by consumers, their place of origin, income, age, sex, education and marital status all exert an independent effect on the evaluation process. The use of such quality cues may be potentially useful in creating niche markets and advancing rural localities through the support of small producers utilizing local raw materials and production techniques.

Strategic orientation and financial performance of firms implementing ISO 9000

The ISO 9000 scheme has been reproved for being a paper driven process with little if no impact on firm performance. As international scientific literature indicates a wide range of factors leading to the adoption of the ISO 9000 schemes, the impact of this adoption should be viewed and examined in a framework of the firms’ strategic orientation. A sample of Greek businesses that adopted the ISO 9000 scheme in the early 1990s is classified into three categories of strategic orientation, namely cost leadership, market differentiation and focus strategy. If all the firms are pooled together, there is no significant difference in their financial performance indicators after a period of six years following the adoption of ISO 9000. However, if the firms are examined separately and according to their strategic orientation, those firms pursuing a cost leadership strategy present statistically significant growth of financial profitability indicators, while those firms pursuing a market differentiation strategy present statistically significant growth of their turnover and market share. Thus, strategic orientation is a moderating factor influencing the relationship between registration to a quality scheme such as the ISO 9000 scheme, and the firms financial performance.

The effects of ISO 9001 on firms' productive efficiency

Purpose – This work sets out to explore the effects of ISO 9001 on productive efficiency of firms.Design/methodology/approach – A sample of 1,572 firms from three Greek manufacturing industries is used for empirical work. The firms are from the food and beverages industries, the machineries industries as well as from the electrical and electronics appliances manufacturing industries and include both adopters and non‐adopters of ISO 9001. A stochastic frontier methodological approach is adopted and the effects of ISO 9001 can be modeled in four ways: as a managerial input alongside the conventional inputs of capital and labor, as a factor affecting technical inefficiency, as an input and a factor affecting technical inefficiency and as having no effect at all.Findings – ISO 9001 operates as a factor affecting technical inefficiency with non‐neutral effects on capital and labor. The combined effect of ISO 9001 with capital increases the level of technical inefficiency reflecting adjustment costs incurred wh...

Regional Image and the Consumption of Regionally Denominated Products

A number of quality products and services, often catering for niche markets, have become associated with certain regions. This geographical association has proved important in influencing the mentality of urban consumers, their behaviour and, consequently, the demand for such products. This work identifies three sets of elements of the regional resource base that contribute towards consumer-constructed regional images-namely, factors related to nature and the environment; factors related to history, tradition and heritage; and amenity experiential factors. The relation between consumer-constructed regional images and a variety of consumer needs is discussed. Data from a wide survey of Greek wine consumers are utilised and a microeconometric approach is employed to test the effects of consumer-constructed regional images on consumer expenditure on regional wines.

The effects of regional capital subsidies on firm performance: an empirical study

Capital subsidization is a widespread instrument of regional and industrial policy in Europe. A number of recent works have examined the influence of capital subsidization on the total factor productivity of recipient sectors and firms, and have provided strong evidence of neutral or even negative effects. The present study examines the effect of capital subsidization on four dimensions of the financial performance of firms, that is efficiency, profitability, capital structure, and growth, and provides evidence that capital subsidization affects solely firm growth.

A cost-effectiveness analysis of water security and water quality: impacts of climate and land-use change on the River Thames system

The catchment of the River Thames, the principal river system in southern England, provides the main water supply for London but is highly vulnerable to changes in climate, land use and population. The river is eutrophic with significant algal blooms with phosphorus assumed to be the primary chemical indicator of ecosystem health. In the Thames Basin, phosphorus is available from point sources such as wastewater treatment plants and from diffuse sources such as agriculture. In order to predict vulnerability to future change, the integrated catchments model for phosphorus (INCA-P) has been applied to the river basin and used to assess the cost-effectiveness of a range of mitigation and adaptation strategies. It is shown that scenarios of future climate and land-use change will exacerbate the water quality problems, but a range of mitigation measures can improve the situation. A cost-effectiveness study has been undertaken to compare the economic benefits of each mitigation measure and to assess the phosphorus reductions achieved. The most effective strategy is to reduce fertilizer use by 20% together with the treatment of effluent to a high standard. Such measures will reduce the instream phosphorus concentrations to close to the EU Water Framework Directive target for the Thames.