Women’s Cooperatives in Greece: An On-going Story of Battles, Successes and Problems

Women’s cooperatives are the most original type of cooperatives in Greece in terms of planning, organization and management, aimed at increasing their family income and upgrading their social status. In most cases, national or European Union projects financed the cooperatives. The aim of this article is to examine the women’s cooperatives and identify the factors that exhorted farm-women to join them, the effects of such a decision on their lives, as well as the problems they faced during their operation. Forty out of seventy-one cooperatives were examined by means of a structured questionnaire in February 2000. The results indicate that the participation of farm-women in these cooperatives provided them a source of income and gave them independence, power of control and self-esteem. However, efforts must be made in order that their members consider them as enterprises that can operate, survive and develop in a competitive environment.Women’s cooperatives, Women’s agrotourist cooperatives, Farmwomen, Greece., Agribusiness,

Women's Agrotourist Cooperatives in Greece: Key Elements for Their Successful Operation

Women's' agrotourist cooperatives constitute the most original type of rural tourism in Greece because of its planning, organization and management. This article aims to analyze the women's agrotourist cooperatives, to point out the bottom-up approach that is determinant for their successful operation, identify the factors that motivate Greek farm-women to join such cooperatives and the effects of such a decision on their life. The results indicate that the most successful cooperatives are those that meet one or more of the following conditions : I) the cooperatives are made up of a core of women with leadership skills; 2) there is an authority that encourages and supports women's venture; and 3) their establishment is based on a bottom-up approach. The women's cooperatives managed to professionalize their part-time work. They created a source of income for rural women and gave them independence, power of control and self-esteem. Furthermore, the cooperatives resulted in placing the localities, in which they were established, on the Greek map of "alternative tourism"

Women's Agrotourist Cooperatives in Greece: Key Elements for Their Successful Operation

Women's' agrotourist cooperatives constitute the most original type of rural tourism in Greece because of its planning, organization and management. This article aims to analyze the women's agrotourist cooperatives, to point out the bottom-up approach that is determinant for their successful operation, identify the factors that motivate Greek farm-women to join such cooperatives and the effects of such a decision on their life. The results indicate that the most successful cooperatives are those that meet one or more of the following conditions: I) the cooperatives are made up of a core of women with leadership skills; 2) there is an authority that encourages and supports women's venture; and 3) their establishment is based on a bottom-up approach. The women's cooperatives managed to professionalize their part-time work. They created a source of income for rural women and gave them independence, power of control and self-esteem. Furthermore, the cooperatives resulted in placing the localities, in which they were established, on the Greek map of "alternative tourism".Rural tourism, agrotourism, women in rural areas, women's agrotourist cooperatives, bottom-up approach, Zagora, Greece, Agribusiness,

TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IMPACTS ON THE RURAL SOCIETY OF CHALKIDIKI (GREECE)

BY THE USE OF AIRPHOTOGRAPHS AND TWO QUESTIONNAIRES ONE OF WHICH APPLIED TO A SAMPLE OF SOS INHABITANTS OF 38 VILLAGES AND THE OTHER TO 36 HOTEL MANAGERS. THETOURISM DEVELOPMENT IMPACTS ON THE RURAL AREA AND ON THE WHOLE SOCIETY OF HALKIDIKI REGION (GREECE) WERE EXAMINED. THE RESULTS OF THIS STUDY LED TO THE CONCLUSIONS THAT TOURISM DEVELOPMENT HAS EXERCISED PRESSURES ON THE SPACE AND ON THEHUMAN FACTOR OF THE REGION. IT HAS ALSO BROUGHT ABOUT DIFFERENTIATIONS EITHER IN THE LAND USE AND THE PRODUCTIONS SYSTEMS OR IN THE OCCUPATIONAL STATUS OF RURAL POPULATION. TOURISM DEVELOPMENT HAS ALSO CONTRIBUTED TO THE OVERTHROW OR TOTHE MODERNIZATION OF TRADITIONAL VALUES IN GREEK RURAL SOCIETY.ΜΕ ΤΗ ΧΡΗΣΙΜΟΠΟΙΗΣΗ ΑΕΡΟΦΩΤΟΓΡΑΦΙΩΝ ΚΑΙ ΔΥΟ ΕΡΩΤΗΜΑΤΟΛΟΓΙΩΝ, ΤΟ ΕΝΑ ΑΠΟ ΤΑ ΟΠΟΙΑ ΣΥΜΠΛΗΡΩΘΗΚΕ ΑΠΟ ΔΕΙΓΜΑ SOS ΚΑΤΟΙΚΩΝ 38 ΠΑΡΑΘΑΛΑΣΣΙΩΝ ΧΩΡΙΩΝ ΤΗΣ ΧΑΛΚΙΔΙΚΗΣ ΚΑΙ ΤΟ ΑΛΛΟ ΑΠΟ ΤΟΥΣ ΥΠΕΥΘΥΝΟΥΣ 36 ΞΕΝΟΔΟΧΕΙΑΚΩΝ ΜΟΝΑΔΩΝ ΤΗΣ ΠΕΡΙΟΧΗΣ. ΔΙΕΡΕΥΝΗΘΗΚΑΝ ΟΙ ΕΠΙΠΤΩΣΕΙΣ ΠΟΥ ΕΧΕΙ ΕΠΙΦΕΡΕΙ Η ΑΝΑΠΤΥΞΗ ΤΟΥ ΤΟΥΡΙΣΜΟΥ ΤΟΣΟ ΣΤΟΝ ΑΓΡΟΤΙΚΟ ΧΩΡΟ ΟΣΟ ΚΑΙ ΣΤΗΝ ΚΟΙΝΩΝΙΑ ΥΠΟΔΟΧΗΣ ΤΗΣ ΧΑΛΚΙΔΙΚΗΣ. Η ΑΝΑΛΥΣΗ ΤΩΝ ΔΕΔΟΜΕΝΩΝ ΟΔΗΓΗΣΕ ΣΤΗ ΔΙΑΠΙΣΤΩΣΗ ΟΤΙ Η ΑΝΑΠΤΥΞΗ ΤΟΥ ΤΟΥΡΙΣΜΟΥ ΕΧΕΙ ΑΣΚΗΣΕΙ ΠΙΕΣΗ ΣΤΟ ΧΩΡΟ ΚΑΙ ΣΤΟ ΑΝΘΡΩΠΙΝΟ ΔΥΝΑΜΙΚΟ ΤΗΣ ΠΕΡΙΟΧΗΣ ΜΕ ΣΥΝΕΠΕΙΑ ΤΗ ΔΙΑΦΟΡΟΠΟΙΗΣΗ ΤΟΣΟ ΣΤΗ ΧΡΗΣΗ ΓΗΣ ΚΑΙ ΣΤΑ ΣΥΣΤΗΜΑΤΑ ΠΑΡΑΓΩΓΗΣ ΟΣΟ ΚΑΙ ΣΤΗΝ ΑΠΑΣΧΟΛΗΣΗ ΤΟΥ ΑΓΡΟΤΙΚΟΥ ΠΛΗΘΥΣΜΟΥ. ΠΑΡΑΛΛΗΛΑ ΕΧΕΙ ΣΥΜΒΑΛΕΙ ΣΤΗΝ ΑΝΑΤΡΟΠΗ 'Η ΣΤΟΝ ΕΚΣΥΓΧΡΟΝΙΣΜΟ ΠΑΡΑΔΟΣΙΑΚΩΝΑΞΙΩΝ ΤΗΣ ΑΓΡΟΤΙΚΗΣ ΚΟΙΝΩΝΙΑΣ ΠΟΥ ΑΝΑΦΕΡΟΝΤΑΙ ΣΕ ΚΟΙΝΩΝΙΚΕΣ ΚΑΙ ΑΝΘΡΩΠΙΝΕΣ ΣΧΕΣΕΙΣ ΤΩΝ ΚΑΤΟΙΚΩΝ ΤΗΣ ΚΟΙΝΩΝΙΑΣ ΥΠΟΔΟΧΗΣ. ΜΕ ΒΑΣΗ ΤΗΝ ΟΛΗ ΔΙΕΡΕΥΝΗΣΗ ΤΟΥ ΘΕΜΑΤΟΣ ΠΡΟΤΕΙΝΟΝΤΑΙ ΜΕΤΡΑ ΤΟΣΟ ΓΙΑ ΤΗΝ ΠΑΡΑΠΕΡΑ ΑΝΑΠΤΥΞΗ ΤΗΣ ΗΔΗ ΥΠΑΡΧΟΥΣΑΣ ΜΟΡΦΗΣ ΤΟΥΡΙΣΜΟΥ ΟΣΟ ΚΑΙ ΓΙΑ ΤΟΝ ΣΧΕΔΙΑΣΜΟ ΤΟΥ ΑΓΡΟΤΟΤΟΥΡΙΣΜΟΥ

WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS IN THE GREEK COUNTRYSIDE: A TYPOLOGY ACCORDING TO MOTIVES AND BUSINESS CHARACTERISTICS

Differences between male and female entrepreneurs provide compelling reasons to study the latter separately. Especially in rural areas, research shows that women are a remarkable and unexplored source of the labor force. Nevertheless, few researchers have examined rural women and the issues pertaining to their entrepreneurship separately. The contribution of this study to the debate of women entrepreneurship is the closer examination of women in Greek rural areas. This research aims to examine factors that must be considered independently with recognition to the variances of rural areas with different geomorphologic and economic profiles. The characteristics of women entrepreneurship in Greek rural areas and the women's motives for the undertaking of the entrepreneurial activity are used to identify a typology of women entrepreneurs in the Greek countryside.Women entrepreneurs, rural areas, typology, motives

Adapting New Technologies of Exposure and Promotion for Agro-Tourism Enterprises with Comparative Evaluations

As we are well aware that today the positive use of internet and shared websites comprise of various strong and prolific tools for business for the promotion of their products and services through world-wide advertisement, especially for small businesses in the rural areas. The paper at hand comprises of initial comparative study of the websites of the agro-tourism enterprises, which are located in Central Macedonia in Greece, with the very specific aim of investigating their adaptability plan and criteria towards the new technologies of exposure and promotion, since Central Macedonia is a larger and more developed region. Initially in 2010, 158 websites of agro-tourism enterprises were assessed, which were again surveyed in 2018. Through a census process, the data collecting method was adopted in this research, whereas the websites’ assessment was conducted with the assistance of five criteria process, viz. content, interactivity, site attractiveness, promotional value and security, which were selected through literature review on the relevant subject. The evaluation confirmed our assumptions that the adaptability of new technologies for the agro-tourism enterprises in Central Macedonia, Greece had improved, but the results of all evaluation criteria tend to show very low improvement, as seen in this century

Women’s Cooperatives in Greece: An On-going Story of Battles, Successes and Problems

Women’s cooperatives are the most original type of cooperatives in Greece in terms of planning, organization and management, aimed at increasing their family income and upgrading their social status. In most cases, national or European Union projects financed the cooperatives. The aim of this article is to examine the women’s cooperatives and identify the factors that exhorted farm-women to join them, the effects of such a decision on their lives, as well as the problems they faced during their operation. Forty out of seventy-one cooperatives were examined by means of a structured questionnaire in February 2000. The results indicate that the participation of farm-women in these cooperatives provided them a source of income and gave them independence, power of control and self-esteem. However, efforts must be made in order that their members consider them as enterprises that can operate, survive and develop in a competitive environment

Adapting New Technologies of Exposure and Promotion for Agro-Tourism Enterprises with Comparative Evaluations

As we are well aware that today the positive use of internet and shared websites comprise of various strong and prolific tools for business for the promotion of their products and services through world-wide advertisement, especially for small businesses in the rural areas. The paper at hand comprises of initial comparative study of the websites of the agro-tourism enterprises, which are located in Central Macedonia in Greece, with the very specific aim of investigating their adaptability plan and criteria towards the new technologies of exposure and promotion, since Central Macedonia is a larger and more developed region. Initially in 2010, 158 websites of agro-tourism enterprises were assessed, which were again surveyed in 2018. Through a census process, the data collecting method was adopted in this research, whereas the websites’ assessment was conducted with the assistance of five criteria process, viz. content, interactivity, site attractiveness, promotional value and security, which were selected through literature review on the relevant subject. The evaluation confirmed our assumptions that the adaptability of new technologies for the agro-tourism enterprises in Central Macedonia, Greece had improved, but the results of all evaluation criteria tend to show very low improvement, as seen in this century

The Efficiency Score of Small Accommodation Businesses in Non-Coastal Rural Areas in Greece

Small accommodation businesses dominate the rural hospitality industry, producing simple or complex tourist products and services in order to be sustainable and competitive. In this paper, a two-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA) model was applied in a representative sample of 151 small accommodation businesses in non-coastal areas in the region of Central Macedonia in Greece. In the first stage, DEA-bootstrapping is applied to estimate point and interval efficiency ratios of accommodation businesses and identify the benchmark accommodations. The double bootstrapping truncated procedure of Simar and Wilson is implemented in the second stage to investigate the role of five business factors in terms of efficiency. The findings suggest that small accommodation businesses, although they are based in areas where tourist resources abound, are inefficient. Moreover, the results of the truncated regression method showed that the business’s size, the operating days, and the variety of activities (simple/complex) affect business’s inefficiency. On the contrary, the business’s age and their engagement in agriculture or not do not affect business’s efficiency. The results are important for rural entrepreneurs and policy makers, and they will also be useful for the adaptation of businesses to increase their efficiency