H. Christopher Peterson

The Direct and Indirect Effects of 'Locally Grown' on Consumers' Attitudes towards Agri-Food Products

Recent agricultural economics literature has largely analyzed consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for many credence attributes, including place of origin, organic, locally grown, environment-friendly, fair trade, and animal welfare. In this study, we instead attempt to analyze why consumers value “locally grown,” which is a credence attribute receiving increasing attention in the market. Specifically, we propose a distinction between the direct effect and the indirect effect of “locally grown” on consumers’ attitudes towards agri-food products to explain consumers’ preferences for locally grown products. We collect data from an experiment with university students and analyze the data with a structural equation modeling methodology.

Perspectives on evaluating competitiveness in agribusiness industries

This article discusses strategies to improve the competitiveness of agribusiness firms through enhanced customer value. Relationships between customer value and factors that influence the cost structure of the firm are discussed. The relationships between customer value and product differentiation, vertical coordination, niche marketing, total quality management, and related strategies are explored. Finally, implications for managerial decisions in the food and agribusiness sector are presented.

Cooperative strategy: Theory and practice

The theoretical literature suggests 12 strategies through which cooperatives could produce differential benefits for members. Six of these strategies would primarily generate additional returns, and six would primarily operate to reduce the risk inherent in returns. Through in-depth interviews with CEOs from 21 northeastern US cooperatives, it was determined that: the taxonomy of theoretical strategies matched will with actual strategies, cooperatives use a mix of returns and risk-management strategies, actual strategic motivations are sometimes at odds with those suggested by theory, and cooperative information systems appear inadequate to support strategic decision making.

The Food System as an Economic Driver: Strategies and Applications for Michigan

ABSTRACT Transition to a more local, sustainable food system has the potential to help address many chronic problems facing communities across the country. We present results of an input-output analysis for Michigan measuring income and job impacts of a scenario in which residents meet USDA fruit and vegetable consumption guidelines by eating more seasonally available Michigan grown fresh produce. Our study finds that almost 2000 jobs and 

Quantifying Strategic Choice Along the Vertical Coordination Continuum

200 million in new income would be created. We relate this to initiatives on the state, regional, and community level engaging broad stakeholder groups and creating opportunity for increased access to locally grown foods.

Prospects for More Healthful, Local, and Sustainably Produced Food in School Meals

Given the increasing emergence of highly integrated agri-food supply chains, a key question arises as to how to measure the performance of these chains. This chapter postulates that agri-food supply-chain performance can be best understood with the help of three separate, but related phenomena: the individual firm’s desire to participate in the supply chain; the governance structure of the whole chain; and the application of industrial organization and institutional economic theory. The Peterson, Wysocki and Harsh (PWH) model of vertical coordination strategy selection is provided. A brief overview of the various forms that agri-food chains may take on and a multi-disciplinary approach to understanding agrifood chain performance are offered, including channel master, chain web and chain organism. The chapter ends with research challenges still needing to be addressed including the limited access to information and measurement issues. We conclude that the PWH model, learning supply-chain governance structures, and application of additional economic theories model can be useful in understanding and measuring performance in agri-food chains.

From motivating assumptions to a practical innovation model

The problem of serving more healthful, local, and sustainably grown foods in school meals has many elements of a “wicked problem” and therefore an engaged, participatory approach is essential. This article discusses efforts by a national farm-to-school project, School Food FOCUS, and its efforts to engage school districts in participatory supply chain research. It describes the methods, activities, and findings of the project and its initial impacts on changes in procurement practices and food availability. It concludes with overarching observations on the efficacy of this approach, key lessons learned, and future plans for the project.

Disentangling direct and indirect effects of credence labels

In trying to formulate a practical innovation model, a meta-analysis has been carried out testing the effectiveness of the five motivating assumptions described in Chapter 1. Experiment performance of 30 action experiments is assessed across 14 attributes related to impact and process outcomes. The experiments are grouped into quartiles of performance, and 76 explanatory attributes are examined to determine their influence on performance. The results strongly support the effectiveness of the motivating assumptions in the formation, guidance and process monitoring of the experiments. In addition to the five assumptions, two core strategies are found to be critical to experiment performance. When these findings are combined with the findings from monitoring in action, a practical innovation model emerges. Although the findings are subject to limitations, the model appears to have good prospects for general application to other sustainable development settings.

Factor Demand Analysis for Ethanol in the U.S. Refinery Industry

– The purpose of this paper is to disentangle the direct and indirect effects of three credence labels (Australian, animal welfare and grass-fed) on US consumer attitudes toward buying beef steaks. Furthermore, it explores the impact of consumer attribute knowledge, usage frequency, education and opinion strength on the magnitude of direct and indirect effects. , – Data are collected through an online experiment with 460 US consumers and analyzed with path modeling. , – The Australian label generates a 86 percent negative direct effect vs a 14 percent negative indirect effect on consumer attitudes, which means that US consumers do not make strong inferences to form their attitudes toward buying Australian beef. The animal welfare label generates 50 percent direct and 50 percent indirect effects. The grass-fed label generates only indirect effects (100 percent). The higher consumer education, attribute knowledge, usage frequency, education and opinion strength, the weaker are the indirect effects of credence labels. , – The study focusses on consumers in one country (USA), one product (beef steak) and one label across three attributes, therefore generalization of results is limited. , – The study offers a tool to agribusiness managers as well as to policy makers, NGOs and consumer groups to design and assess the effectiveness of communication campaigns attempting to strengthen (or weaken) consumer inferences and attitudes relative to credence labels. , – Despite the wide literature on consumer inferences based on credence labels, this is the first study that quantitatively disentangles the complex set of inferential effects generated by credence labels and explores common relationships across multiple credence attributes.

Historical analysis of institutions and organizations: the case of the Brazilian electricity sector

Abstract Ethanol is increasingly being used as a gasoline oxygenate and a volume extender in the refinery and blender industry in the U.S. This paper estimates refinery and blender factor demand and evaluates price responsiveness of inputs. The study also tests hypotheses regarding existence of structural change in the industry’s demand for inputs. It determines the common shift point and adjustment rate characterizing the transition path of structural change for the set of inputs using gradual switching multivariate regression techniques and maximum likelihood methods. Results suggest structural change in factor demand for inputs in the refinery and blender industry has been initiated in January 2001 at slow adjustment rates. Results also suggest that with the exception of labor and capital, demand responsiveness for inputs to own price changes has decreased over time. The Hicks-Allen cross price elasticity estimates also suggests role-reversal for usage of ethanol in the refinery industry across regimes, with the latter being increasingly used as a substitute than as a complement with time.