Gaetano Martino

Income Inequality within European Regions: Determinants and Effects on Growth

Economic inequality across Europe has been largely investigated by analysing the determinants and dynamics of the disparities between countries and regions. Similarly, many studies have focused on inequality within European countries. So far, less attention has been devoted to economic inequality within European regions, mainly due to data shortages. The aim of this paper is to shed some light on this level of analysis. After the introductory section, the first part of the paper poses the conceptual bases of the study, examining relevant theoretical and empirical arguments about (i) the determinants of economic inequality, (ii) the relationship between economic inequality and growth, and (iii) the desirability and specificity of regional analysis. The second part of the paper, by means of various econometric approaches, provides evidence of the centrality, for regional inequality levels, of labour market qualitative and quantitative aspects and of some country-level institutional settings. As regards the effects of inequality on growth, outcomes suggest that a positive relationship may exist.

Networks and Organisational Learning: Evidence from Broiler Production

Purpose – The aim of this study is to the test the hypothesis that a network involved in the division of labour can contribute to individual skills creation.Design/methodology/approach – This paper is divided into two parts. First, it proposes and examines the fundamental of the hypothesis. In the second part, it reports the results of the investigation designed to test the hypothesis.Findings – The hypothesis that task specification in organisational learning influences skills creation cannot be rejected. The evidence indicates that information on network integration of task specifications engages agents in problem solving and promotes skills creation according to opportunities of interaction in a structured context.Originality/value – This study tests the hypothesis that a network involved in the division of labour can contribute to individual skills creation.

Contractual Choice and Food Safety Strategy: Some Empirical Findings in Italian Poultry Sector

Abstract Analysis of contract choice is related here to the contracting nature of hybrid governance structures. First, recent research results on the organization of food safety supply are summarized and some remarks about contracting are proposed, providing the theoretical premises of the study. The approach of empirical analysis is concerned with transactions between farmers and processors in Italian poultry supply chains. The contract arrangement is classified as a hybrid structure, and growers’ preferences regarding contract terms are analysed by a choice experiment. Final remarks take into account the role of contract attributes in ensuring the degree of food safety, and give a tentative organizational explanation of the degree of safety supplied. Potential lines of future research are mentioned.

Social network analysis in encouraging role-players in the beef market to take breeding decisions: a methodological study

The aim of the research is to apply the social network analysis (SNA) to the Italian Romagnola beef meat market in order to better understand the interrelationships of the supply chain. Knowledge of the market exchange system is very important in order to be able to choose the most suitable breeding approach. The analysis was carried out using data concerning the heifers exchanged during the year 2008 within the framework of the activities of the Italian consortium of white bullock producers of the central Apennine region of Italy (Vitellone Bianco dell’Appennino Centrale). The social network analysis shows that very few of the possible links between the agents are used and that this leads to a lack of competitiveness. At the same time, the agents have shown to be able to place themselves at the most important points along the supply chain. Furthermore, the results of the analysis show the need for a stronger farming phase with a greater emphasis on the farmers, given that, from an economic point of view, they are the most important role-players.

Food Safety and Governance Choices.

The paper aims at analyzing organizational issues in the supply of safe food. The relationship between organizational form and level of safety does not seem, satisfactorily or systematically, to have attracted researchers’ attention. The study of the influence of the characteristics of safe food is here developed within the theoretical framework provided by Transaction Costs Economics. Behavioural uncertainty and asset specificity are taken into account in order to analyze the influence of the characteristics of food on the choice of the structure of governance. The paper proposes the idea the hybrid forms are efficiently chosen by agents and preliminary empirical evidence is provided. The study thus provides necessary premises to develop the analysis both of liability and competition within complex relationships along supply chain.

Process innovation in milling stage in olive oil sector: Evidence from an empirical analysis in Umbria (Italy)

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of the modes of organizing the technological knowledge (make, buy and hybrid organization) in the decision to innovate the production process. Design/methodology/approach The study first develops a conceptual framework drawing the concept of mode of organization from the Transaction Cost Economics. The three research questions are coherently formulated which concern: the influence of the modes of organization on the decision to innovate and to invest in supporting instruments; the variability of this influence and the complementarity degree between the decision to innovate and to invest. The empirical analysis is carried out with respect to the olive oil sector considering a representative sample of olive millers (Umbria, Central Italy) and a complementary accidental sample drawn from an existing database. Findings The main results of the study provide evidence for the role of modes of organization in the knowledge acquisition finalized to the process innovation. The role of the “buy” option is important, while the collaboration – the “hybrid” organization – seems to influence strongly the innovation and the related investment decision. The important role of the information sources appears effective and articulated. Finally, despite the great economic importance of the quality requirements, the millers appear to be more sensitive to the difficulties to build up a clear process vision in terms of technology. Research limitations/implications The main limitation of the study is that it refers to a specific supply system including small enterprises and does not account for the pattern of innovation in other olive oil production systems. Moreover, one of the samples that was observed and analyzed is accidental in nature and does not allow a clear and robust comparison for the representative sample. Practical implications The findings of this study can contribute to the identification of organizational constraints to the rate on process innovation. Originality/value The originality of the study is based on the main focus, i.e. the attention to the role of the modes of organization in the decision to innovate, which provides complementary information to the extant literature on the choice of modes of organizing the technological knowledge acquisition. Moreover, the conceptual framework and findings are connected to the current research on the variety of the agribusiness organizations which is still a partially explored field of inquiry.

Natura economica delle organizzazioni dei produttori agricoli: un’interpretazione alla luce della teoria neoistituzionale

The paper addresses the problem of economic nature of producers organization. It takes into account recent enhancements of the institutional environment, crucially influencing the agri-Food sector, and aims at examining their consequences at microeconomic level. Several issues are related to the economic nature of the producers’ organization: the choice of type of relationship between a farmer and the organization; the approach in managing the organization, including the specification of a marketing strategy and conflicts solving. The general contractual agreement between farmers and their organization is thought of as a institutional innovation contributing to the organizational variety of the Agri-Food sector. The attributes of the farmers organization as governance structure are examined and the economics of the organization is drawn from of Transaction Cost Economics. The main results of the study is that the producers organization can be identified in terms of hybrid structure of governance. The study also propose an operational approach to the design of agricultural organization.

Fiducia e contratto nelle relazioni tra imprese agro-alimentari: elementi teorici ed evidenza empirica

The paper aims at examining the hypothesis that the trust-oriented rules in the institutional environment and the specific internal antecedents of trust enlarge the range of stability of hybrid governance structures. Expanding on a previous analytical framework (Martino, 2007; Fritz et al., 2008), the study focuses on the contracting basis of hybrids and the centrality of trust to the existence of hybrids structures (Hofstede, 2006). Menard and Valceschini (2005) show that the emergence hybrids characterizes the change of Agri-Food sector. Trust is a complex concept addressed under different analytical views. Scholars seem to often interpret trust in terms of rules for social interaction. Thus, under a transaction cost perspective, the trust issue can also be conceived in terms of the relationship between the institutional environment and governance structures, emphasizing the fact that trust-oriented rules tend to modify the parameters of the basic economic calculus (Williamson, 1993). Deakin et al. (2001) have pointed out that compliance with terms of contracts is central to trust, but also that contract adherence is tempered by flexibility beyond and outside the contract. On the other hand, the institutional forces constraints and channel contractual behaviour opening options for cooperative behaviour. Our analysis recognizes that trust-oriented rules can be identified in the institutional environment and that trust could emerge as a consequence of the influences of specific factors acting within given governance structures as antecedents of trust. We namely identify as sources of trust three basic factors acting as antecedents to trust within a hybrid structure: information exchange; control; risk aversion. These antecedents are thought of as exogenous variables determining the emergence of trust, which in turn is conceived here as an endogenous variable (Fritz et al., 2008). The analytical extent of our conjecture is intended to contribute to the understanding of the variety of the organizational forms in the AgriFood System (Saccomandi, 1998). The study also includes a case study designed to provide an example of the analytical framework proposed. The paper is organized as follows. In the paragraph 2 the objective of the study is presented with a brief discussion of the method adopted. In the paragraph 3 are illustrated the conceptual premises of the study: the diffusion of the hybrid structure in the Agri-Food chains and the concept of trust. Then the roles of the institutional environment and of the trust conditional to governance structure (Fritz et al., 2008) are examined. The thesis of the study is then proposed and it is introduced a tentative classification of the outcomes of the interaction between the institutional environment and the factors of the conditional trust. In the paragraph 4 it is presented the brief case study which concern a retailer involved in a system of relationship both at national and local level, entailing long term supply contracts. In the last paragraph are presented the final remarks of the study and the limits. Potential future research could address research questions related to the influence of the institutional environment rules, while a more extensive data collection is requested in order to test the prediction proposed.

An economic analysis of the efficiency and sustainability of fertilization programmes at the level of operational systems, with case studies on table tomato, carrot and potato in Central Italy

The objective of the study is to address an economic problematic area in the field of fertilization management: how the characteristics of the production system for a given vegetable crop influence the fertilization strateg y effect of farm efficiency. The analysis is conducted at the farm level and framed into a conceptualization of the relationship between the decisional and operational systems. The conceptual framework emphasizes the importance of the response function approach, of sustainability principles and of organizational dimensions. Data on Table tomato, carrot and potato were collected from the European Union Farm Accounting Data Network system. Data Envelopment Analysis indicates the importance of operational systems organizational factors in determining crop efficiency. The evidence suggests considering the objectives of the fertilization programme in the context of the organizational dimensions of the operational system.

An empirical analysis of beliefs about climate change challenges

In the last decades, one of the main efforts of the Common Agricultural Policy was to promote a better use of natural resources in agricultural and food production. The adoption of environment-friendly technology depends in turn on farmers beliefs in the different solutions offered by the knowledge-based systems. In this context, farmers beliefs are recognized to be the critical drivers of the possibilities of adopting new technologies in the field of climate change mitigation. This study considers the beliefs as drivers of the farmers evaluation of the possibility to contribute to climate change mitigation and frame them in wider conceptual framework of institutional change. The objective of the study is to address the question on whether or not the farmer beliefs about technology influence the potential farming activities contributions to mitigation. The results of the empirical analysis confirms the role of the beliefs and of their institutional dimensions.