TECHNICAL EFFICIENCY IN THE RETAIL FOOD INDUSTRY: THE INFLUENCE OF INVENTORY INVESTMENT, WAGE LEVELS, AND AGE OF THE FIRM

The objective of this paper is to estimate technical efficiency in retailing; and the influence of inventory investment, wage levels, and firm age on this efficiency. We use the output supermarket chains¿ sales volume, calculated isolating the retailer price effect on its sales revenue. This output allows us to estimate a strictly technical concept of efficiency. The methodology is based on the estimation of a stochastic parametric function. The empirical analyses applied to panel data on a sample of 42 supermarket chains between 2000 and 2002 show that inventory investment and wage level have an impact on technical efficiency. In comparison, the effect of these factors on efficiency calculated through a monetary output (sales revenue) shows some differences that could be due to aspects related to product prices. El objetivo de este trabajo se centra en la estimación de la eficiencia técnica en distribución comercial minorista, así como en analizar la influencia que la inversión en existencias, el nivel de salarios y la edad de la empresa tienen sobre dicha eficiencia. A tal efecto, se utiliza un output que pretende aislar el efecto de los precios de cada cadena de supermercados analizada, lo que permite estimar un concepto de eficiencia estrictamente técnico. La metodología se basa en la estimación de una frontera paramétrica de naturaleza estocástica. Los resultados de la aplicación empírica sobre una muestra de 42 cadenas de supermercados que operan en España entre 2000 y 2002 muestran que la inversión en existencias y el nivel de salarios ejercen una influencia positiva sobre la eficiencia. Por comparación, el efecto de estos factores sobre la eficiencia económica muestra algunas diferencias que podrían ser atribuidas al efecto de los precios aplicados por los distribuidores.Eficiencia, distribución comercial minorista, supermercados efficiency, retailing, supermarkets.

Would you Pay a Price Premium for a Sustainable Wine? The Voice of the Spanish Consumer

Sustainability has become one of the most important challenges for wineries over the last decade. From a marketing point of view sustainability can be considered as a way to differentiate wines to meet some market segment demands. Furthermore, this strategy can be also considered necessary to guarantee the future development of the wine sector. Given that some wineries have stated that production costs are higher for sustainable wines than for conventional wines, the goal of this paper is to analyze the premium price that consumers are willing to pay for a sustainable wine with respect to the price of a conventional wine with similar characteristics. Contingent valuation has been used to test the differences in the willingness to pay for sustainable wines among the main Spanish wine market segments. Results reveal that most Spanish consumers are willing to pay a higher price for sustainable wines, and that there are differences among the main market segments

THIRD-PARTY COMPLAINTS AND FIRM PERFORMANCE: AN APPLICATION IN SPANISH BANKING

This article focuses on the impact of third-party complaints on firm performance. We propose two research hypotheses, which are developed from the literature of dissatisfaction, emotions, and economics. The methodology is based on an event study to estimate variation in firm share returns in the stock market due to the publication of the Annual Complaints Service Report by the Bank of Spain; as well as a regression analysis to examine the impact of the number of complaints per branch on the variation obtained. The empirical focus is on a sample of eleven banks to which complaints were made and which were quoted on the Spanish Stock Exchange between 1992 and 2001. The results show a negative impact of the publication of these annual complaint reports on the share returns of the banks concerned. Additionally, these returns have a negative relationship with the number of complaints per branch. El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar el impacto de las quejas a terceras partes sobre losresultados empresariales. Para ello, se proponen dos hipótesis de investigación, argumentadassiguiendo la literatura de insatisfacción, emociones, y economía. La metodología se apoya en elevent study para estimar la variación de la rentabilidad de las acciones de las empresas generadaen la Bolsa por la publicación de la Memoria Anual del Servicio de Reclamaciones del Bancode España; así como en el análisis de regresión para examinar el impacto del número de quejaspor oficina en dicha variación. La aplicación empírica se lleva a cabo para una muestra de oncebancos sobre los que se efectúan las quejas y que cotizan en la Bolsa de Madrid entre 1992 y2001. Los resultados obtenidos ponen de manifiesto un impacto negativo de la publicación dedichas memorias anuales de quejas sobre la rentabilidad de las acciones de los bancosimplicados, y que dicha rentabilidad mantiene una relación negativa con el volumen de quejaspor oficina.Quejas a terceras partes; Resultados empresariales; Banca Third-party complaints; Firm performance; Banking industry

The influence of size on winery performance: Evidence from Italy

The aim of this paper is to analyse the influence of firm size on the economic performance of wineries. To achieve this, the paper employs both different traditional profitability and productivity measures and a non-parametric technique to estimate efficiency as indicators of performance. Further, several parametric and non-parametric tests are used to analyse the influence of firm size on these performance indicators. Overall, the results obtained with a sample of 723 Italian wineries (limited companies and cooperatives) in 2013 show that size has a positive influence on the economic performance of wineries. Managers should be aware of the importance of monitoring their own performance in order to guarantee the competitiveness of their wineries

Testing the decoy effect in the presence of store brands

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to test decoy effect in the framework of sales promotion, by conducting several experiments to figure out how this decoy effect is influenced by the presence or absence of a store brand. Design/methodology/approach – Several experiments have been conducted to test the validity of the decoy effect and rule out some explanations for the changes in demand that take place. The experiments consider three brands (two national brands and one store brand). All the brand names and prices employed in the experiment are real. Findings – The results indicate that, as expected, the inclusion of a decoy in the choice set significantly increases the consumer’s relative preference for the promoted product; however, more importantly, the results also show that store brand consumers are more influenced by a decoy than national brand consumers. Originality/value – This paper presents the first evidence of the decoy effect in the presence of store brands

Economic efficiency of members of protected designations of origin: sharing reputation indicators in the experience goods of wine and cheese

The aim of this paper is to analyse the economic efficiency of members of protected designations of origin (PDO). For the first time we analyse the value of PDO labels from the point of view of economic efficiency. The central hypothesis is that a PDO has a positive impact on the economic efficiency of its member companies and that this is because a PDO label is a collective reputation indicator that foments efficient investment in quality in terms of member returns. The methodology applied to test this hypothesis is based on data envelopment analysis to estimate economic efficiency, and econometric models to explain company efficiency through both the PDO label, as an indicator of collective reputation, and the characteristics of the company. The results obtained in the experience goods of wine and cheese in Spain show that PDO labels have a positive impact on economic efficiency. Additionally, the age and size of the company have a positive effect while the wage level of the company has a different influence on efficiency depending on the sector considered. Overall, the results reveal the importance of PDOs in industries in which the signal of reputation is not only reliant on the individual brands

Sustainability in the Beverage Industry: A Research Agenda from the Demand Side

Sustainability has become one of the most important challenges for the beverage industry over the last few decades. In fact, many producers have implemented environmental, social, or economic aspects of sustainability at several stages of their production process. One of the reasons that might explain this interest in sustainability is that consumers are changing their behavior to integrate sustainable and environmental considerations into their purchase behavior. Accordingly, some consumers’ purchasing decisions are based not only on how well products satisfy their needs but also on how these products affect the environment or society at large. Within this context, designing appropriate interventions to fostering sustainable consumption requires deeper knowledge about its underlying determinants. In this paper, we focus on some of the most important challenges that might drive future research within this area

The Bundling Strategy: The One-Click Effect on Loss Aversion

This research aims to determine different levels of loss aversion in the context of price responsiveness and service bundling. Considering that nonlinearities in price responses may exist in a bundling strategy, this research tests the existence of different degrees of loss aversion, depending on whether an individual books one service independently of another (e.g., an airline ticket independently of accommodation) or as part of a bundle (e.g., a package that includes an airline ticket plus accommodation). We estimate a random parameter logit model. Empirical application shows that people who book a flight independently of accommodation are more loss averse than those who book a package that includes flight and accommodation. To explain this result, we propose the one-click effect so that people who find a price higher than expected (loss aversion) are more willing to accept it if the product is included in a bundle

Brand strategy scope and advertising spending: The more the better?

Given the need to justify business management expenses, firms are very interested in measuring marketing performance. The objective of this article is to analyze mass media advertising investment from an efficient point of view in hotel chains. To accomplish the objective, this article applies a two-stage double bootstrap data envelopment analysis to the monetary resources allocated to the different advertising media by the main companies in the Spanish hotel sector. The authors further investigate the determinants of hotel advertising efficiency in terms of the number of brands in the hotel portfolio and the combination of advertising media used (i.e. Internet advertising). The results show a certain level of waste of advertising spending by hotel chains and that both brand portfolio scope and Internet advertising positively affect efficiency.This work was partially supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities under research project INTETUR (RTI2018-099467-B-I00)

LA CALIDAD Y SU IMPACTO SOBRE LA RENTABILIDAD Y LA VOLATILIDAD

The purpose of this paper consists in analyzing the impact of obtaining a quality certification (ISO 9000) on firms¿ market value, and to examine its influence on volatility. The sample used contains all the firms that, while trading in the Spanish stock market, have ever obtained a quality certification based on ISO 9000 norms between 1993 and 1999. To estimate the stock market reaction, we have estimated the mean ¿abnormal¿ change in the stock prices of the firms obtaining this certification. To estimate the variation in volatility, we have used four tests, two parametric, one non-parametric and a proposal of a semi-parametric one. The results show that the stock market reacts positively to the obtaining of a quality certification, increasing also volatility. El objetivo del presente estudio consiste en analizar el impacto que la publicación de la noticia de obtención de un certificado de calidad (ISO 9000) tiene sobre el valor de mercado de la empresa y sobre la volatilidad del precio de cotización de las acciones. La muestra utilizada incluye todas las empresas que, habiendo obtenido un certificado de calidad, han cotizado en el mercado secundario de valores español entre los años 1993 y 1999. Para medir el impacto de la obtención un certificado de calidad sobre los resultados se ha analizado los excesos de rentabilidad, mientras para medir la variación en la volatilidad se han realizado cuatro test, dos paramétricos, uno no paramétrico y una propuesta de test semiparamétrico. Los resultados indican que el mercado de capitales reacciona positivamente a la obtención de este certificado, provocando además un incremento en la volatilidad de los precios de cotización.Calidad, Certificado ISO 9000, rentabilidad, volatilidad. Quality, ISO 9000 certification, returns, volatility.