An Exploration of Rural Small Business Owners Experience with Internet Marketing

This qualitative case study explored how rural small business owners make decisions about using internet marketing as a strategy. To understand the small business owner’s experiences, this study uncovered relevant factors influencing the business owner’s during the decision-making process. The general problem to be addressed is the lack of internet marketing used by small business owners. The project focused on rural small business owners in Sumter and Marengo counties in Alabama, to gain their perspective on internet marketing, the impact that a failure to use internet marketing have on their businesses, and the specific factors that influence them not to use or ineffectively use internet marketing. The owners were the primary decision-makers for their business, and the interviews provided the qualitative data used to develop a list of key factors that influence the decision making process in terms of internet marketing. The research methodology permitted a deeper understanding of the factors contributing to the problem and helped identify potential solutions to the problem. The study concludes with recommendations for future research and application to professional practice

The Potential of an Enhanced Cooperation Measure in the EAFRD (2014-2020): the case of Ireland

This report was funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) through the National Rural Network (February-May, 2012).The current Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on support for Rural Development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) includes Article (36) Cooperation that is potentially instrumental for realising the objectives of FOOD HARVEST 20204. The purpose of this report is to assess the scope and potential of Article 36 in the context of Irish agriculture and its findings have four key aspects. First, the main areas of confluence between Article 36 and primary policy objectives as set out in Food Harvest 2020 are identified. Second, a range of cooperation categories and types relevant to Article 36, many of which are operational in Ireland, are profiled. Third, drawing from case-studies of these co-operation types5, the operational characteristics of each type are presented, focusing on compatibility with Article 36. Possible supports that would encourage and assist the formation and operation of the cooperation types on a broad scale into the future, and also any possible constraints that would prevent success, are indicated. Fourth, a brief discussion of some key implementation considerations arising from the analysis overall is presented.Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marin

DIGITALIZATION OF LOCAL OWNER OPERATED RETAIL OUTLETS: THE ROLE OF THE PERCEPTION OF COMPETITION AND CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS

On the one hand, the increasing digitalization of commerce has put local owner operated retail outlets (LOOROs) under pressure to adapt their business models to the new technological and competitive environment as well as to the changing shopping habits of their customers. On the other hand, it also offers potential competitive advantages for them. This paper investigates the retailers’ perception of the competition and their perception of customer expectations, combined with a survey of the current use of digitalized services and the LOOROs readiness to increase the usage of digitalized services. Our results confirm that the perception of competitive pressure and customer expectations has a positive influence on LOOROs’ readiness to adopt new technologies and business models. But a significant number of the surveyed retailers underestimate the expectations of their customers and are reluctant to add digital services to their business portfolio. While our key findings are relevant insights for all LOOROs on their journey towards digitalization, our findings provide even more significant insights for all digital service providers aiming to take a slice of the still substantial market shares of LOOROs in rural areas

Red meat from pasture : sustainable livelihoods for small mixed farmers in China's Yunnan Province : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master in Applied Science in Agribusiness Management at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

China's pattern of food consumption is changing. The demand for high quality red meat is rapidly increasing, especially in the more affluent coastal regions. The pastoral livestock farmers in Southwest China have low and declining incomes, and operate in a highly uncertain environment. This environmental uncertainty is derived from the seasonal climate, land tenure policies, and a dealer-dominated supply chain in which information is scarce, ambiguous, and untimely. The researcher spent two years in China's Yunnan Province working on a pastoral development project. During this assignment, the researcher undertook a case study of the small, mixed livestock and cropping farmers involved in the project, together with an evaluation of alternative strategies for pastoral development and enhancing livestock production. The case study also involved an overview of agricultural extension and the red meat supply chain in the study area. The current farm production systems are environmentally, financially and socially unsustainable. Farm output is low and achieved inefficiently at considerable cost to future productive potential. Farmers are not investing in farm improvements because they lack confidence in their ability to generate a return from such investments. Confidence is low because farmers do not trust other supply chain participants, and they perceive a low level of control over the operating environment. This is resulting in a vicious cycle of unsustainability. There are numerous market opportunities emerging due to changes food consumption. Farmers have three broad strategic options for taking advantage of these opportunities: invest in technologies to raise output and quality, further process to add value and increase consumer acceptance of red meat and co-operate within the supply chain. The technologies extended as part of the development project were demonstrated to yield significant benefits in terms of production and profit. However, adoption has been low because many of the technologies did not consider local constraints, extension has not widely occurred and uncertainty in the operating environment did not encourage investment. For farmers to be able to successfully implement these strategies farmers need to be empowered and a more enabling environment created. This empowerment involves changing farmers' perception of locus of control, sharing control and supply chain participants learning about each other. Co-operation between farmers and the rest of the supply chain should provide benefits along the whole chain. A model for co-operative and sustainable development is proposed and limitations of this model are discussed. Title: Red Meat from Pasture: Sustainable Livelihoods for Small Mixed Farmers in China's Yunnan Province. Degree: Master of Applied Science in Agribusiness Management Author: Alan Kent McDermott Year: 2001 Keywords: Southwest China; pastoral livestock systems; supply chain management; sustainable livelihoods; trust; perceptions of control; extension of technology

CONVENIENCE STORE PRACTICES AND PROGRESS WITH EFFICIENT CONSUMER RESPONSE: THE MINNESOTA CASE

The adoption of Efficient Consumer Response (ECR) practices by Minnesota convenience store (C- store) is explained in this study. Data were collected through a mail survey distributed to more than 250 Minnesota C-stores ranging in size from single, independently owned stores to over 100 store chains. The survey instrument was developed to collect data on the following components important to C-store operations and the implementation of ECR: information systems, ordering, receiving, inventory management, and pricing practices. Findings are presented from three distinct perspectives: 1. Location: Rural C-stores, which often meet customer needs that were once met by small supermarkets, carried a wider range of products and offered more services than C-stores in urban and suburban locations. However, rural stores had the lowest adoption rate for practices related to the ECR initiative. Urban chains coordinated business practices with suppliers to a greater degree than suburban and rural chains. 2. Chain size: Larger chains were more likely to have implemented the more costly technological practices than were small chains. This was expected since large chains can spread the fixed costs of ECR adoption over a larger number of stores. Larger chains also cooperated and communicated more with their suppliers than small chains. Again, this was expected, since larger chains can economize on transaction costs involved in maintaining these business relationships. 3. ECR practices: ECR adoption and superior performance were positively related. Having adopted six to nine practices was positively correlated with higher inside and outside sales per square foot of selling area and higher annual inventory turns. However, it was not clear whether there was a causal relationship in either direction between ECR practices and store performance. The C-store industry is changing, as new information technologies, new business practices, and new retail strategies are developed. The results from this survey can serve as a baseline for future research monitoring the adoption of these innovations and assessing their impact on productivity and profitability. Minnesota C-Stores appear to be smaller but more productive than the national average. Overall, it appears ECR is just beginning to impact the Minnesota C-store industry. Nonetheless, regression analyses confirmed ECR practices are positively related to store sales performance and those stores adopting the most practices had higher productivity measures.Industrial Organization, Marketing,

Factors influencing the adoption of knowledge protection strategies by Australian SMEs in the Construction sector

Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are major contributors to economies. The construction industry sector is one of the largest contributors towards Australian GDP. This is a sector that has many small businesses who are required to share knowledge as part of their collaboration with business partners and suppliers. In some instances, this necessitates the protection of organizational knowledge to help construction SMEs to sustain competitive advantage and/or inhibit the leakage and spillover of critical knowledge outside the business. However, SMEs in ‘low-tech sectors (such as the construction sector) do not typically pay much attention to the implementation of knowledge protection (KP) strategies. Thus, this study has identified factors that potentially influence KP adoption in construction SMEs, and the types of KP strategies they adopt. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with four SMEs in a metropolitan area of Australia. An important result of the study is the identification of the extent of KP strategies and their enablers and barriers. Various organizational factors (sector [in this case, construction], location, age, organisational structure) and SMEs characteristics (size, owner/manager characteristics, flexibility, relationships) are identified that can potentially influence the adoption of KP strategies in construction SMEs. The results suggest that size, age, flexibility, relationships and organisation structure impact KP adoption, as well as owner/manager characteristics which moderately impacts KP adoption. SMEs in general are inclined towards the implementation of informal and semi-formal protection methods, mostly due to the scarcity of the resources available to them

A Qualitative Evaluation of the Factors Influencing the Adoption of Electronic Payment Systems (SMEs) by SMEs in Nigeria

No nation can compete in a global market without developing a versatile and veritable platform for competition especially in trade and commerce through electronic business (e-business) and electronic commerce (e-commerce). Not too long ago, the Nigerian government enacted a visionary policy code-named PSV20:2020 targeted at adopting information and communication technology (ICT) for proper management of the Nigerian economy as part of its effort to become a member of the twenty most economically developed countries in the world by the year 2020. To achieve this, the Nigerian government created the policy of a cashless economy in which all payments for goods and services especially in government businesses have to be done electronically. To make this policy work particularly among the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria, this study examines those factors that influence the adoption and use of electronic payment systems (EPS). A qualitative analytical approach has been adopted in this study. 4 Small and Medium Enterprise owners/managers and 2 officials of two different Banks – the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and United Bank for Africa (UBA) – were interviewed. Data collected from the interview were processed and analysed. Few recommendations were made

Examining ICT application adoption in Australian home-based businesses: An innovation-decision process approach

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on a study that examines an under-researched area, the use of information and communications technologies (ICT) in Australian home-based businesses (HBB). Design/methodology/approach – HBB constitute a large part of the economy, yet little is known of how they use ICT to improve their business operations. The study involved a case study comprising interviews with 30 business operators in the Western region of Melbourne, a major Australian city. The findings were analysed using a unique approach to Rogers’ (2003) Diffusion of Innovations, employing the innovation-decision process as a lens for the analysis. Findings – The study findings suggest that ICT application adoption in HBB participants is not uniform, with adoption of applications such as e-mail differing from adoption of newer applications, such as social networking. ICT use needs to be considered according to individual ICT applications and explained in the context of particular HBB. The study contributes to studies of innovation adoption, particularly in relation to the use of ICT applications in HBB. Research limitations/implications – It should be remembered that this study involved interviews with a broad selection of 30 HBB in the Western region of Melbourne, Australia. The results should be considered in the context of hypothesis generation in regards to HBB rather than hypothesis testing that can occur with larger samples. The authors feel that this study would be representative of the practices of ICT adoption in many such groupings of HBB in cities of major Western countries, but hesitate to claim that similar, specific uses of ICT applications would be matched elsewhere. Practical implications – This study has a number of practical implications. The results suggest that researchers should consider adoption of individual ICT applications in HBB. Further, policy makers looking to support the use of ICT by HBB should consider that the HBB in this study had adopted different ICT applications and were at different stages of ICT adoption. This is worth considering when deciding upon policies relating to how to suppzort the HBB sector (such as provision of training support and so forth). Originality/value – The paper introduces a unique means to assess the adoption of ICT applications by examining their level of penetration, level of maturity and usefulness to HBB. </jats:sec