Behaviour of consumers of conventional and organic flowers and ornamental plants in Italy

The paper analyses preferences and motivations of Italian consumers of flowers and ornamental plants, both conventional and organic. The results helped to outline their profile. Purchases are still done in the traditional places (flower shops for cut flowers and plant nurseries for potted plants), however positive trend is found for potted plants purchases at large distribution chains. Some differences came out as to purchase motivations: cut flowers are mainly bought in special occasions whereas potted plants purchases are linked to personal use. The results confirm a positive relationship between the purchase of flowers and plants and the age of the interviewees, besides showing that women are interested on purchases. The information we obtained is relevant not only for the sector’s operators in order to define effective managerial strategies, but also for the policy maker to address new market and consumption policies

Organizational models in the Sicilian ornamental plant industry: An empirical analysis based on transaction cost theory

The process of market globalization has led to a redefinition of business models in order to compete in domestic and international markets. In the current competitive scenario, the survival of companies is linked to their ability to reduce or contain the sum of both production and transaction costs. The aim of this paper is to identify the existence of similar organizational models of a sample of Sicilian firms active in the Ornamental Plants sector based on those transaction costs that they support in relation to the sales channel and the other human and firm characteristics. Using a clustering procedure, we identified four well-distinct organizational models whose formation is influenced not only by the physical and economic size of firms but also by the transaction costs experimented. A reconsideration of these models, both in cooperatives and in small firms managed by young entrepreneurs, is needed

Gli acquisti di prodotti florovivaistici in Italia

This paper examines the consumers’ behaviours in buying flowers and ornamental plants in Italy, through the analysis of attitudes, motivations, preferences and, in particular, of the tendency to purchase organic flowers and ornamental plants. The results if, on the one hand, show a modest spread in purchasing organic flowers and ornamental plants, on the other hand, show a good tendency to purchase and the willingness to pay for organic products, revealing concrete opportunities of growth for this area of the market

A fact-finding investigation on Sicilian wine firms attitude towards third party voluntary certifications: motivations and alternative impact assessment approaches

In the last few decades an increasing emphasis of public and private organization on quality and safety control, on traceability of food products and on environmental issues, has been registered. Mandatory public standards and private voluntary today drive this process in order to assure food safety and traceability standards. The aim of this work is to analyze the main reasons that drives some Sicilian wineries in the adoption of quality voluntary standards, and comparing their economic attitudes and performance with those firms not certified. Results show a very similar performance patterns among the two groups of firms, highlighting a series of differences that are not directly attributable to the possession, or not, of certifications, but on the opening level together with structured net of sale agents. This findings suggests that it should be necessary to segment the overall firm turnover in order to find any possible effect. This results are justified by the specificities of the wine sector

WEB-SITES QUALITY AND BUSINESS PERFORMANCE: AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION IN THE SICILIAN WINERIES

In recent years, several enterprises in different sectors have adopted e- business models exploiting the potential offered by ICT and particularly by the internet. As many authors have highlighted, web presence offers enterprises important opportunities which are linked to overcoming spatiotemporal and cost limits which characterize traditional means of communication. This study aimed to analyze how the web marketing is used in Sicilian wineries, and the relationship between the quality of content and features of websites to their business revenue. results show a different approach to web marketing by wineries which use the net as a mere tool to promote their image, to increase their visibility on this virtual space, bringing down communication costs but neglecting other possibilities that the web may offer. Simple modifications that contribute to the improvement of browsing and usability of the site are frequently neglected, as well as tools for interaction with web users. Most of the sites consulted have limited web features regarding search modes and interactivity with consumers. Knowing how wineries use websites, which features are given more consideration, and what relationship there is between website quality and business performance, can provide useful indications both to enterprises which are appearing for the first time in the virtual world, and to those already existing which, by replanning web marketing strategies, could improve their economic performance

The quality perception of fresh berries: an empirical survey in the German market

The present work aimed to investigate the main quality attributes that influence the purchase decisions of fresh berries. To this regard, an empirical survey has been conducted by interviewing 200 consumers of fresh berries at the exit of the main centers of the large scale retail trade in the city of Munich (Germany). An econometric model has been adopted to examine the relationship that single attributes has on the purchase frequency of fresh berries. Results showed that nutraceutical properties and health benefits of berries have a strong appeal to the consumers and confirmed that intrinsic attributes are determinants of consumer purchase decisio

The integration of quality and safety concerns in the wine industry: the role of third-party voluntary certifications

Over the past few years, public attention has focused on the quality and safety control, traceability, and environmental issues surrounding food products. Several mandatory public standards and private voluntary schemes worldwide have been developed to address these concerns. Using survey data, this paper analyses the key factors affecting the adoption of voluntary quality standards in the wine industry and the existence of a relationship between the adoption of voluntary quality standards and economic performance, measured in terms of labour productivity and marketing behaviour. The survey involved 89 cellars, of which 68 were non-certified and 21 had one or more food quality certifications. Using the data collected, an index based on Euclidean distances was constructed to compare economic performance between certified and non-certified firms. The findings provide evidence that internal motivations drive entrepreneurs to adopt voluntary standards and that wineries adopting voluntary standards exhibit better economic performance than non-certified wine firms. From a managerial viewpoint, these results suggest that although the adoption of voluntary quality certifications does not have a direct effect in terms of a labour productivity increase, it entails a business management improvement. For policymakers, the results suggest a need to develop policies and establish more stable financial assistance for the internationalisation of wine firms, thereby supporting them through this transition

Le imprese florovivaistiche siciliane e le relazioni con il mercato

Lo studio si propone di analizzare la relazione tra i costi di transazione e le strategie adottate dalla imprese che operano nel comparto florovivaistico, con particolare riferimento alle diverse tipologie di canale di commercializzazione adottato.I risultati mostrano che la costituzione di consorzi di tutela o di associazioni di produttori florovivaistici potrebbe conferire agli imprenditori maggiore potere contrattuale e sostegno durante le diverse fasi del processo produttivo

HOW TRANSACTION COSTS AFFECT THE SALES CHANNEL CHOICE: AN EMPIRICAL RESEARCH IN THE SICILIAN ORNAMENTAL PLANT SECTOR

This paper, based on transaction costs theory, represents a contribution to the existing literature, and a first step towards a more in depth study, aimed to identify the more important transaction costs able to influence the strategic choices of firms. In particular, this approach has been used to evaluate, through a telephone survey, the influence of transaction costs on the sale channels choice made by a small sample of Sicilian firms active in the Ornamental Plants economic sub-sector. Results show that transaction costs increase moving from direct sale to the sale to wholesalers and large scale retail (LSR) channels, confirming our starting hypothesis. In particular, information and negotiation costs are higher for those firms that sell to intermediaries and/or LSR. For this last channel results show the relevance of monitoring costs too. Our results have implications on the organizational model of firms and on the opportunity that a cooperative model is able to offer also in this economic sub-sector