Matthew Gorton

Agricultural adjustment and the diversification of farm households and corporate farms in Central Europe

Abstract Survey evidence from three Central European Countries (Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland) is analysed to identify the degree of non-agricultural farm diversification and the factors facilitating or impeding it in individual and corporate farms. The effect of diversification on rural job creation and household incomes is investigated. The results indicate that the level of diversification is relatively small and enterprise diversification by farmers is unlikely to generate sufficient new jobs to solve the problem of high rural unemployment. The attempt to transpose the West European model of agricultural diversification to the associated countries via the SAPARD programme is questionable, as non-farm centric rural policies appear to be more appropriate.

Understanding the motives for food choice in Western Balkan Countries

Substantial empirical evidence exists regarding the importance of different factors underlying food choice in Western Europe. However, research results on eating habits and food choice in the Western Balkan Countries (WBCs) remain scarce. A Food Choice Questionnaire (FCQ), an instrument that measures the reported importance of nine factors underlying food choice, was administered to a representative sample of 3085 adult respondents in six WBCs. The most important factors reported are sensory appeal, purchase convenience, and health and natural content; the least important are ethical concern and familiarity. The ranking of food choice motives across WBCs was strikingly similar. Factor analysis revealed eight factors compared to nine in the original FCQ model: health and natural content scales loaded onto one factor as did familiarity and ethical concern; the convenience scale items generated two factors, one related to purchase convenience and the other to preparation convenience. Groups of consumers with similar motivational profiles were identified using cluster analysis. Each cluster has distinct food purchasing behavior and socio-economic characteristics, for which appropriate public health communication messages can be drawn.

Overcoming the structure – agency divide in small business research

Explanations aimed at understanding the causes of variations in small business performance have tended towards either behavioural factors or structural explanations. However, this behavioural‐structural dichotomy replicates the traditional structure‐agency divide in social theory and consequently sets up artificial and unhelpful oppositions between agent‐centred (behaviouralist) models that ignore social formations and structuralist theories negate the role of human agency in dealing with social exigencies. This paper endeavours to transcend this limiting dichotomy by drawing on the social theory of Pierre Bourdieu, to offer a more convincing framework for research on the small business sector.

The International Competitiveness of CEEC Agriculture

The paper surveys the price competitiveness of agricultural production in Central and East European Countries (CEECs). It draws together empirical work conducted by tje authors and other studies that have estimated domestic resource cost (DRC) ratios for agriculture in various CEECs. The paper identifies that in general CEEC crop production is more internationally competitive than livestock farming. During the mid-1990s, wheat production in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia was internationally competitive. In contrast, during the same period, milk production was not internationally competitive. However, there is also a considerable degree of variation from country to country; very little of Slovenias agricultural production is internationally competitive. In the livestock sector the greatest problems lie where large herds have been broken up resulting in fragmented production. This has particularly affected beef and milk production. Considering variations in DRCs by farm type, larger private farms in Hungary and the Czech Republic are more internationally competitive than smaller private farms in crop production. If CEEC producers faced average EU prices for their traded inputs and output, most could be price competitive. However, conclusions should be treated with caution due to sensitivity of DRC ratios to changes in international prices and the choice of the shadow prices for non-tradeable inputs Copyright Blackwell Publishers Ltd 2001.

Evaluating responses to celebrity endorsements using projective techniques

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to utilise projective techniques as a method to capture and understand consumer reactions to celebrity‐endorsed perfumes. The paper illustrates how projective techniques can aid practitioners in their selection of celebrity endorsers.Design/methodology/approach – The paper is part of a wider tradition of returning to qualitative methods when research based on existing theories offers only partial or little support for them. In total, 16 females participated in the study, which utilised a range of projective techniques, including picture association. For the latter, participants were exposed first to advertisements for two leading perfumes alone and then these advertisements incorporating four contrasting celebrity endorsers. Associations and reactions to the advertisements with and without celebrity endorsers were compared.Findings – The analysis identifies that celebrity endorsers may have a significant impact on the perceived target market for a product, highlighti...

The student food shopper

Although students have several characteristics in common with the 18‐24 year old youth group, they have many distinguishing features and merit consideration as a separate segment. Yet very little academic research has looked at the student market although over recent years commercial marketers have begun to take more interest in this group. The paper reports the results of a study of student food shopping behaviour. It is concerned especially with establishing the dimensions underlying the importance that students attach to supermarket store attributes, exploring the existence of student segments and subsequently, to profile the segments in terms of shopping behaviour and attitudes to store features. The empirical results indicate that there are four dimensions that underlie the importance of store features. These are defined respectively as economy, finance, products, personnel and access. Subsequently, two clusters are identified. The cluster profiles indicate that the clusters are distinguished by their financial situation.

The facilitation and formalisation of small business networks: evidence from the North East of England

Business cooperation and networking have been posited as crucial elements within successful approaches to local economic development. With the aid of a case study from the North East of England, the authors explore issues surrounding network formation and facilitation. They raise questions concerning the nature of local business communities and the potential of local business networks to represent these communities legitimately and to reflect patterns of social and economic differentiation. They also demonstrate how attempts to promote or utilise local cooperation must include awareness of the implications of policy intervention. This is of particular importance in a political context where there are efforts to promote ‘local’ initiatives below the existing level of local authorities.

Placing agriculture within rural development: evidence from EU case studies

In the light of four competing models for rural development (agrarian, exogenous, endogenous, and neo-endogenous) we evaluate the relationship between agriculture, agricultural policy, and rural development in five regions in established EU member states: Borders, Midlands, and Western Region (Ireland), Navarra (Spain), Tyrol (Austria), Skåne (Sweden), and Altmark (Germany). Evidence suggests that both the agrarian and exogenous models are anachronistic. However, the Common Agricultural Policy remains closest to the agrarian model of rural development, and in its current form fails to promote a wider rural and territorial development. The LEADER programme, which is often perceived as a viable alternative approach to rural development, fits most closely with the neo-endogenous rather than with the endogenous model. Nevertheless, for EU policy to fully embody the neo-endogenous model a far more fundamental reform of the CAP would be required than that agreed in the wake of the Health Check.

The International Competitiveness of Polish Agriculture

This article considers the international competitiveness of agricultural production in Poland. Competitiveness was measured in terms of domestic resource cost (DRC) ratios for three farm sizes and eight commodities. The results highlight that for the period 1996 to 1998 Polish crop production was more internationally competitive than livestock farming. The most internationally competitive crops of those analysed were rapeseed and potatoes. During the period, however, international competitiveness worsened as international commodity prices fell. There is an inverse relationship between DRCs and farm size. This is an important result as Polish production is relatively fragmented and the degree of structural change has been slow.

Spatial variations in markets served by UK-based small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)

This paper considers the existence of spatial variations in the geographical markets served by UK-based SMEs. This topic has largely been ignored within the existing literature and there is little evidence on how the dependence of SMEs on local, national and international markets varies spatially. In dealing with this weakness a standardized postal questionnaire was distributed to SMEs in two study areas: one economically peripheral and, the other, an economic core area. The results show that peripheral firms supply a significantly higher percentage of goods and services to local markets (when controlling for life-cycle and sectoral differences). In contrast, core firms are more oriented to the whole region to which they belong and to national markets, but rather surprisingly there are no significant statistical differences with regard to exporting.