Marketing management, strategic management and strategic groups in agriculture

Agricultural marketing is frequently distinguished from marketing as it is described in the business literature because agricultural marketing theory focuses on policy, distribution channel, and efficiency issues, and has not evolved with a marketing management orientation. Business marketers have developed an interdisciplinary and strategic approach to research while agricultural marketing researchers continue to rely on economic principles. In this thesis the extent of the apparent gap between the disciplines is reviewed. The role that marketing management and strategic management have in agriculture is investigated, first within a general theoretical context, than more specifically at the farm business level. It is suggested that the marketing strategies of farmers are not adequately described within either the business or agricultural marketing literature. Business marketing researchers focus attention on large businesses, and even in the small business marketing literature few studies investigate or describe the marketing management activities of farmers. In the agricultural marketing literature the farm business marketing process is not described as part of an integrated strategic operation with interfunctional relationships between many business activities. It is often implicitly assumed that farmers follow relatively homogenous patterns of strategic behaviour. In a similar way the farm management discipline tends not to include the marketing behaviour of farmers within it domain. This contrasts with the business management literature which suggests that marketing and strategic management are complex processes and that a business may utilise a variety of strategic approaches in its attempt to gain competitive advantage. Strategic group studies empirically identify groups of firms within an industry which follow similar strategies. Although the investigation of strategic groups within the agribusiness sector has been identified as an important area for future research, there appears to have been little research which has examined strategic groups at the farm business level. In the empirical component of this thesis farm business marketing and strategic management processes are investigated. The results show that strategic groups of Canterbury crop fanners exist, and describe the marketing, business and management characteristics associated with each strategic focus. The range and complexity of marketing activity identified in this study suggest that traditional agricultural marketing and farm management approaches to analysing fanners' management and marketing behaviour can benefit from insights gained from the business marketing and strategic management literature. Marketing behaviour may involve more than sales decisions, and an undue focus on this behaviour leads to the exclusion of other activities such as production planning and product differentiation. Similarly, a view of farm management which excludes marketing management and integrated strategic behaviour is restrictive. The disciplines of agricultural marketing and farm management will be enriched by viewing farm management with this strategic perspective

Perfect weddings abroad

Approximately 16% of UK couples are currently married abroad. However, academic or practitioner focused research that explores the complex nature of a couple’s buying preferences or the development of innovative marketing strategies by businesses operating within the weddings abroad niche sector, is almost non-existent. This exploratory paper examines the role and relevance of marketing within the weddings abroad sector. The complex nature of customer needs in this high emotional and involvement experience, are identified and explored. A case study of Perfect Weddings Abroad Ltd highlights distinctive features and characteristics. Social networking and the use of home-workers, with a focus on reassurance and handholding are important tools used to develop relationships with customers. These tools and techniques help increase the tangibility of a weddings abroad package. Clusters of complementary services that are synergistic and provide sources of competitive advantage are identified and an agenda for future research is developed

The Core Value Compass: visually evaluating the goodness of brands that do good

yesBrands that do good for the society as well as for themselves are motivated by the core values they espouse, which necessitates a better understanding of what qualities a true core value must possess. The inherent tension within brands that do good, between commercial interests to increase competitiveness, and societal interests that are closely linked to the brand’s authenticity, has largely been overlooked. Hence, we develop and demonstrate a relatively easy-to-apply visual tool for evaluating core values based on a set of ‘goodness’ criteria derived from extant theory. The Core Value Compass adopts a paradox-based, evolutionary perspective by incorporating the inherent tensions within true core values, and classifying them according to their temporal orientation. Thus, we contribute towards a better understanding of underlying tensions of core values and provide a practical tool that paves the way for improved, and indeed ethical, corporate branding strategies. Furthermore, we demonstrate the Compass’ application using the case of a public sector brand, which is a quintessential brand that does good. Therefore, we also contribute to the nascent theoretical discourse on public sector branding. This paper therefore adds to the notable attempts to bridge the gap between theory and practice in core values-based corporate branding

Factors that influence export marketing margins of New Zealand lamb by grade : A preliminary analysis : A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Agricultural Science with honours

Lamb producers are usually in business to try and maximise profits, and want to know what grades of lamb to produce in order to do this. They want to know what type of lamb will be in most demand in the foreseeable future, what the target market is in terms of carcass composition and weight, and which company is likely to offer the highest prices for each grade of lamb. Producers normally have to rely on price differentials in grading schedules as a stimulant to change, but the extent to which schedule price differentials indicate differences in market demand for different lamb grades is not clear. Price differentials are often confused and weakened by many factors in the marketing chain. Consequently, they may fall short in getting a clear message about consumer requirements to the producer in order to stimulate change. Recently there have been numerous articles printed in New Zealand farming magazines stating that farmers don't know what grade of lamb the exporter wants, including those by Shadbolt et al. (1985), Butler (1986), and Cross (1986). Lamb schedule prices may change during the season and farmers may try and keep stock on the property in order to finish them at a heavier weight or better grade, and therefore obtain a higher price, only to find that the schedule price has dropped by the time the lambs are slaughtered. Many farmers are calling for meat exporters to make their schedules available earlier in the season, however in most cases this is not occurring. Inefficiencies in the pricing mechanism inhibit the rapid and accurate transmission of changes in supply and demand from one market level to another. The failure of exporters to set schedule prices that accurately depict the demand for lamb, leads to production decisions being made by producers that result in misallocation of resources, and a subsequent loss of economic efficiency. There have been few attempts to study the nature of price transmissions, and no previous research has examined if the schedule price paid to farmers, are indicative of the prices received by exporters for a specified grade of lamb. The purpose of this paper is to study the marketing margins for different export grades of lamb in order to determine if schedule prices paid to producers give an adequate representation of the export prices received by exporters. This will be achieved by reviewing the recent history of the New Zealand lamb industry and the lamb grading system in order to gain a better understanding of the current New Zealand situation. Marketing margins will then be discussed and relevant previous research examined. An attempt will be made to develop an econometric model for various lamb grade margins, in order to examine hypotheses proposed about their behaviour. Results will be reported and interpreted, and their implications discussed

Agricultural marketing channels : determinants of contract choice

Although the use of various of forms of marketing contracts is increasing within agricultural marketing channels, there has been only a limited number of research efforts which investigate the factors influencing the structure of agricultural marketing channels and individual firms selection decisions. In this paper, issues relating to why a number of standardised marketing channels may exist within an industry, why alternative marketing channels may predominate in different industries, and how the marketing competencies of individual firms influence the channel selected by a business are examined. The theoretical model illustrates why it is possible for multiple marketing channels to exist in an industry by measuring how the expected returns and variations in returns change for different marketing channels. The optimal choice for a farmer will depend on the risk aversion parameters of individual firm, the information balance between producers and agents, and the degree to which an agent’s marketing margin varies over channels. The results of a more encompassing empirical model indicate that for an individual farmer, marketing channel choice is influenced by marketing competencies and strategy, farm and farm manager characteristics and the structural characteristics of the industry in which the transaction is taking place

Seeking sustainable futures in marketing and consumer research

Purpose Seeking ways towards a sustainable future is the most dominant socio-political challenge of our time. Marketing should have a crucial role to play in leading research and impact in sustainability, yet it is limited by relying on cognitive behavioural theories rooted in the 1970s, which have proved to have little bearing on actual behaviour. This paper interrogates why marketing is failing to address the challenge of sustainability, and identifies alternative approaches. Design/methodology The constraint in theoretical development contextualises the problem, followed by a focus on four key themes to promote theory development: developing sustainable people; models of alternative consumption; building towards sustainable marketplaces; and theoretical domains for the future. These themes were developed and refined during the 2018 Academy of Marketing workshop on seeking sustainable futures. MacInniss (2011) framework for conceptual contributions in marketing provides the narrative thread and structure. Findings The current state of play is explicated, combining the four themes and MacInniss framework to identify the failures and gaps in extant approaches to the field. Research Implications This paper sets a new research agenda for the marketing discipline in our quest for sustainable futures in marketing and consumer research. Practical Implications Approaches are proposed which will allow the transformation of the dominant socio-economic systems towards a model capable of promoting a sustainable future. Originality/value The paper provides thought leadership in marketing and sustainability as befits the special issue, by moving beyond description of the problem to making a conceptual contribution and setting a research agenda for the futur