Intra and Inter organisational determinants of electronic-based traceability adoption: evidences from the French agri-food industry

Traceability, the ability to trace the origin of products throughout the supply chain, has become an instrument to assure food quality and safety in agri-food chains. This process is organized within both institutional and market constraints, yet it integrates also a technological sphere marked by the unprecedented development of information and communication technologies. This paper analyses the factors influencing firms’ behaviour, with regards to adopting electronic-based traceability, in the French agri-food industry. These factors (microeconomic determinants) related to firms’ internal characteristics and the factors related to their environment. We use data from the ICT and Electronic Commerce survey from 2002, carried out by the French National Institute of Statistics (INSEE). A Probit type model is used, which allow us to take into account the firm’s determinants for its organisational choice, differentiating from those adopting (or not) an electronic-based traceability tool. Our main results show that the choices of electronic-based traceability depend on and interact with their own organizational characteristics and those of their competitive, industrial and local environment. Traceability technologies evidence the complementarities between organisational and technological practices. Large industrial firms known for their established identity and a brand image seem distant from standard traceability practices, contrarily to agribusinesses, which are subjected to regulations and look forward to use traceability for both complying with their downstream contracts and add value to their regional specificities.Traceability, Technology adoption, Agri-food industry, Agribusiness, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Les déterminants organisationnels et spatiaux de la firme multi-établissements: une étude des firmes industrielles françaises

International audienceThis article aims to analyse the factors (internal characteristics, spatial and industrial environments) that determine the existence of multi-unit firms and the intensity of their organisational fragmentation at a national scale. The empirical models are based on individual data on all French industrial firms, collected by the French National Institute of Statistics. The results show the importance of internal (scale economies, specific assets as R&D and advertising, skill level...) in organisational choice. They also highlight the major role played by multi-location and by the spatial profile of the firms on the intensity of their fragmentation.Cet article a pour objectif d'analyser les facteurs (caractéristiques internes, environnements spatial et industriel) qui déterminent l'existence des firmes multi-établissements et l'intensité de leur fragmentation organisationnelle à l'échelle nationale. Les modélisations empiriques sont basées sur l'exploitation de données individuelles fournies par l'Institut National de la Statistique et des Études Économiques (INSEE). Les résultats montrent l'importance des caractéristiques internes (économies d'échelle, actifs incorporels tels la R&D ou la publicité, qualification des salariés, etc.) dans les choix organisationnels. Ils soulignent également le rôle majeur joué par la multi-localisation et le profil spatial des firmes sur l'intensité de leur fragmentation

Les déterminants de l’adoption de l’éco-innovation selon le profil stratégique de la firme : le cas des firmes industrielles françaises

International audienceL’objectif de cet article est d’analyser les facteurs qui influencent le comportement d’adoption d’une innovation environnementale par les firmes industrielles françaises et de décliner, à partir d’un modèle général, trois modèles d’adoption des innovations environnementales selon l’objectif de l’adoption, c’est-à-dire si elle renvoie à une stratégie liée à la demande, aux coûts ou à la réglementation. Un modèle économétrique permettant d’analyser les caractéristiques favorables à un comportement innovateur est testé sur une base de données individuelles sur l’innovation représentative de l’industrie française (CIS8). Les résultats mettent en évidence le rôle structurant des caractéristiques internes de la firme, la coévolution avec ses autres formes d’innovation et l’influence de son environnement externe sur son comportement en matière d’adoption d’éco-innovations. Ils montrent que ces facteurs jouent de manière différente selon le profil stratégique de la firme

New Technologies and Firm Organization: The Case of Electronic Traceability Systems in French Agribusiness

This paper considers the relationship between the adoption of electronic traceability systems (ETSs) and the organization of firms. More precisely, it analyzes the respective roles of a firm's organizational structure, and organizational changes, in the process of ETS adoption in agribusiness. We use data from the French “Organizational Changes and Computerization” survey from 2006. We test a probit model to demonstrate the organizational structure and organizational changes underlying the firm's ETS adoption choice. Results show that ETS adoption is strongly favored by organizations with heavy hierarchical structures, standardized managerial practices and contractual mechanisms with external partners. This adoption process seems to coevolve with the organization: firms that implemented an ETS during the observed period (2003–2006) have experienced the most important organizational changes in terms of managerial practices, information systems and contractual relations, as well as the strengthening of the intermediate levels in the hierarchy

Echanges intra-firme et intégration européenne : le cas des firmes multinationales de l'agro-alimentaire

La firme multinationale (FMN), par définition, contrôle un ensemble de filiales localisées dans différents pays. Elle dispose ainsi de la capacité d'internaliser une partie de ses échanges internationaux au sein d'un marché interne à son organisation (échanges intra-firme). De ce fait, ces échanges intra-firme (EIF) deviennent-ils la norme des échanges internationaux dans le contexte de globalisation croissante des firmes et de régionalisation des économies ? Ils se sont en tout cas très fortement développés dans le secteur agro-alimentaire. Un tiers des échanges internationaux de la France en produits agricoles et alimentaires était réalisé à l'intérieur des firmes multinationales en 1999. Ainsi, loin de générer une substitution entre production et échanges, la constitution des FMN conduit à une transformation dans la nature des échanges, dont les déterminants peuvent différer de ceux réalisés directement sur le marché.

The evolution of the spatial digital divide: From internet adoption to internet use by french industrial firms

In this paper, we concentrate on different aspects of the « spatial digital divide » and seek to answer three questions : Are there still spatial inequalities in the adoption of these technologies ? Is there a so-called “second level” geographical divide characterized by important differences in the intensity of Internet use between firms that have adopted these tools? Do the appropriation processes and logic of diffusion of ICT adopters vary according to the type of area in which they are located (urban vs. rural areas)? To answer these questions we have constructed an original model of technological diffusion (of the type developed by Battisti and Stoneman, 2005) that merges two types of models: those that concentrate on epidemic effects, and the so-called equilibrium models that model the decision to adopt new technologies as the result of an economic calculation by firms, which depends on their internal characteristics and those of their competitive, industrial and local environment. This model uses data drawn from a recent national survey (“ICT and e-commerce” 2002). One of the main results is that, for a given size and sector, although there no longer are spatial inequalities in terms of ICT adoption in France, there are still important inequalities in firms’ processes of ICT appropriation and use.Internet, inter-firm and intra-firm diffusion, rank and epidemic effects, agglomeration effects, spatial inequalities

Dynamiques d’adoption des tic et densité des espaces. Quelles spécificités pour les firmes rurales françaises ?

Cet article est dédié à l’analyse des déterminants de l’intensité d’utilisation des TIC par les firmes industrielles françaises. Il vise en particulier à étudier l’influence de la faible densité des espaces ruraux sur l’intensité d’usage des TIC par les firmes. L’approche empirique développée prend appui sur deux enquêtes : l’enquête COI réalisée en 1997 sur un échantillon représentatif de firmes industrielles françaises et une enquête récente menée en 2002 auprès de l’ensemble des firmes rurales de la région Midi-Pyrénées. Les résultats montrent, tout d’abord, qu’entre ces deux enquêtes les TIC se sont diffusées très rapidement au sein des firmes rurales. Ce processus reste en outre souvent lié à la mise en place de nouveaux dispositifs organisationnels. Les résultats confortent ensuite l’idée d’une dualité des forces à l’œuvre dans les zones à faible densité : une localisation dans une zone à faible densité constitue tout à la fois un frein, du fait des problèmes d’accès à l’information et aux compétences, et un facteur incitatif à leur usage.In this paper, we explore the intensity of ICT use in rural vs. urban industrial firms. The empirical approach developed here rests on two surveys: the COI survey conducted in 1997 on a representative sample of French industrial firms, and a recent study carried out in 2002 on all rural firms of the Midi-Pyrénées Region. The results of both studies show, first of all, that the ICT diffusion process among rural firms has been fast. What’s more, this process often coincides with the implementation of new organisational mechanisms. Secondly, the results confirm that there is a duality at play in low density areas: being located in a low density area represents both an obstacle to ICT diffusion – because of problems related to access to information and skills – and a factor encouraging the use of ICT

Massive Clusters in the Inner Regions of NGC 1365: Cluster Formation and Gas Dynamics in Galactic Bars

Cluster formation and gas dynamics in the central regions of barred galaxies are not well understood. This paper reviews the environment of three 10^7 Msun clusters near the inner Lindblad resonance of the barred spiral NGC 1365. The morphology, mass, and flow of HI and CO gas in the spiral and barred regions are examined for evidence of the location and mechanism of cluster formation. The accretion rate is compared with the star formation rate to infer the lifetime of the starburst. The gas appears to move from inside corotation in the spiral region to looping filaments in the interbar region at a rate of ~6 Msun/yr before impacting the bar dustlane somewhere along its length. The gas in this dustlane moves inward, growing in flux as a result of the accretion to ~40 Msun/yr near the ILR. This inner rate exceeds the current nuclear star formation rate by a factor of 4, suggesting continued buildup of nuclear mass for another ~0.5 Gyr. The bar may be only 1-2 Gyr old. Extrapolating the bar flow back in time, we infer that the clusters formed in the bar dustlane outside the central dust ring at a position where an interbar filament currently impacts the lane. The ram pressure from this impact is comparable to the pressure in the bar dustlane, and both are comparable to the pressure in the massive clusters. Impact triggering is suggested. The isothermal assumption in numerical simulations seems inappropriate for the rare fraction parts of spiral and bar gas flows. The clusters have enough lower-mass counterparts to suggest they are part of a normal power law mass distribution. Gas trapping in the most massive clusters could explain their [NeII] emission, which is not evident from the lower-mass clusters nearby.Comment: 21 pages, 4 figures, accepted by ApJ, 702, September 2009, revision adds reference

Hubble Space Telescope Ultraviolet Spectroscopy of Fourteen Low-Redshift Quasars

We present low-resolution ultraviolet spectra of 14 low redshift (z<0.8) quasars observed with HST/STIS as part of a Snap project to understand the relationship between quasar outflows and luminosity. By design, all observations cover the CIV emission line. Nine of the quasars are from the Hamburg-ESO catalog, three are from the Palomar-Green catalog, and one is from the Parkes catalog. The sample contains a few interesting quasars including two broad absorption line (BAL) quasars (HE0143-3535, HE0436-2614), one quasar with a mini-BAL (HE1105-0746), and one quasar with associated narrow absorption (HE0409-5004). These BAL quasars are among the brightest known (though not the most luminous) since they lie at z<0.8. We compare the properties of these BAL quasars to the z1.4 Large Bright Quasar samples. By design, our objects sample luminosities in between these two surveys, and our four absorbed objects are consistent with the v ~ L^0.62 relation derived by Laor & Brandt (2002). Another quasar, HE0441-2826, contains extremely weak emission lines and our spectrum is consistent with a simple power-law continuum. The quasar is radio-loud, but has a steep spectral index and a lobe-dominated morphology, which argues against it being a blazar. The unusual spectrum of this quasar resembles the spectra of the quasars PG1407+265, SDSSJ1136+0242, and PKS1004+13 for which several possible explanations have been entertained.Comment: Uses aastex.cls, 21 pages in preprint mode, including 6 figures and 2 tables; accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal (projected vol 133

New technologies and firm organization : the case of electronic traceability systems in French agribusiness

This paper considers the relationship between the adoption of electronic traceability systems (ETSs) and the organization of firms. More precisely, it analyzes the respective roles of a firm's organizational structure, and organizational changes, in the process of ETS adoption in agribusiness. We use data from the French "Organizational Changes and Computerization" survey from 2006. We test a probit model to demonstrate the organizational structure and organizational changes underlying the firm's ETS adoption choice. Results show that ETS adoption is strongly favored by organizations with heavy hierarchical structures, standardized managerial practices and contractual mechanisms with external partners. This adoption process seems to coevolve with the organization: firms that implemented an ETS during the observed period (2003-2006) have experienced the most important organizational changes in terms of managerial practices, information systems and contractual relations, as well as the strengthening of the intermediate levels in the hierarchy