Retail Internationalization and Its Consequences on the Food Chain

In order to meet with the obstacles of market saturation and the resulting cut-throat competition in the home countries of most of the top food retailers, they use the chance to participate in the increasing standard of living in Asia, South America and Central- and Eastern Europe. Thus, retail internationalization can be regarded as a growth strategy for top food retailers. However, opposite to manufacturers internationalization is for retailers still a new strategy so that globalization continues to accelerate. AT Kearney (2006) shows that since 2001 more than 50 different retailers have entered 90 new markets. In this context our the aim of our paper is threefold. First, using different theories of internationalization we want to work out the courses why the retailers internationalize. Furthermore, by analyzing secondary data we will show the actual degree of internationalization. Second, using theories of the new institutional economics as well as strategic management we will elaborate on its consequences for the participants of the agri-food business. Building on the more general parts of our aim the third part contributes to the developments in Central and Eastern Europe. This includes a detailed analysis of the current situation and an outlook to future developments.CEEC, consequences, retail internationalization, Agribusiness, International Relations/Trade,

Bio-fuel Chains – An Overview on the Structure and the Value Chain Organization

Structural change in the agricultural sector as well as in the whole agricultural value chain is an ongoing dynamic process and creates a number of diverse phenomena. The EU Strategy for Biofuels (2006) and the Biomass action plan (2005) set a clear signal that the EU wishes to establish and to support the bio energy-industry. The perceivable aim of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) consists in reducing food production and in enlarging the non-food production. Another driver for the attractiveness of bio-energy and bio-fuel production is the recent development of prices of crude oil and natural gas. Furthermore bio-energy is seen as one of the key options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and substitute fossil fuels.Agribusiness, Industrial Organization,

Agriculture in the face of changing markets, institutions and policies: Challenges and strategies

Since the late 1980s, agriculture in Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) has been under considerable adjustment pressure due to changing political, economic and institutional environments. These changes have been linked to the transition process, as well as the ongoing integration into the European Union and the world market. Reduced subsidies, increased environmental and food quality demands, as well as structural changes in the supply, processing and food retailing sector call for major structural adjustments and the improvement of farmers' managerial abilities. Though such changes always carry significant threats to farms, they also offer new opportunities for the farms' entrepreneurial engagement. Upcoming changes in the agricultural environment and their possible consequences for farm structures across Europe are thus still timely subjects. The objective of the IAMO Forum 2006 is to contribute to the success of agriculture in the CEECs, as well as their neighboring countries, in today's increasingly competitive environment. Concrete questions the conference focuses on are: What are the most suitable farm organizations, cooperative arrangements and contractual forms? How to improve efficiency and productivity? Where do market niches lie and what are the new product demands? CONTENT: Preface; Jarmila Curtiss, Alfons Balmann, Kirsti Dautzenberg, Kathrin Happe. The success of gradualism: Empirical evidence from China's agricultural reform; Jikun Huang, Johan F. M. Swinnen, Scott Rozelle. Land reform and farm restructuring in Moldova, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan: A stocktaking; David Sedik. Land market developments, imperfections, and effects in transition countries; Johan F. M. Swinnen, Pavel Ciaian, Liesbet Vranken. Farmland markets, boom/bust cycles, and farm size; Charles B. Moss, Andrew Schmitz. Duality of farm structure in transition agriculture: The case of Moldova; Zvi Lerman, Dragos Cimpoies. Organizational restructuring of the agrarian sector in Bulgaria during the pre-accession period; Julia M. Doitchinova, Ivan St. Kanchev, Albena Miteva. Governance of Bulgarian farming - Modes, efficiency, impact of EU accession; Hrabrin Bachev. Leadership may have a decisive influence on the successful transition of production cooperatives - A social capital approach; Csaba Forgács. Contractual arrangement and enforcement in transition agriculture: Theory and evidence from China; Hongdong Guo. Contractrual relationships in the Hungarian horticultural sector; Imre Ferto. Contract farming in China: Perspectives of smallholders; Hongdong Guo, Robert W. Jolly, Jianhua Zhu. Are macro policies adjusted to institutional arrangements at the micro level? Some evidence from Polish Agriculture during transition; Jan Falkowski, Dominika Milczarek. The Austrian private foundation as a legal form in farm management, with special emphasis on tax issues; Hermann Peyerl, Günter Breuer. Credit as a tool of integration between the Polish farms and buyers of their products; Alina Danilowska. Who, why and how: Problems of farmers' interest representation in Poland; Aldona Zawojska. How competitive is milk production in the Central and Eastern European countries in comparison to Western Europe? Mikhail Ramanovich, Torsten Hemme. Production and trade of animal products in selected ECO countries; Farhad Mirzaei, Olaf Heidelbach. European agriculture without direct payments - A partial equilibrium analysis; Oliver Balkhausen, Martin Banse. Measuring the degree of market power in the Ukrainian milk processing; Oleksandr Perekhozhuk, Michael Grings. Determinants of foreign direct investments in the food processing industry: An empirical analysis for Ukraine; Oksana Luka. Allocative efficiency of corporate farms in the Leningrad region; David Epstein. Pathways towards efficient levels of machinery investments needed for the sustainable development of arable farms in Bulgaria; Nikolay Naydenov. Small-scale farming in Romania - Shadow prices and efficiency; Johannes Sauer, Borbala Balint. How large is the marginal product of land in the Moscow region? Natalia Il'ina, Nikolay Svetlov. Spatial price transmission on the Turkish wheat market - An initial application; Enno-Burghard Weitzel, Ahmet Bayaner. Farm to retail price transmission on the pork market: A German-Hungarian comparison; Lajos Zoltán Bakucs, Imre Ferto, Heinrich Hockmann, Oleksandr Perekhozhuk. The nature of selected price transmissions in the agri-food chain and their consequences; Lukáš Čechura. Labor mobility in transition countries and the impact of institutions; Thomas Herzfeld, Thomas Glauben. Choosing to migrate or migrating to choose: Migration and labor choice in Albania; Carlo Azzarri, Gero Carletto, Benjamin Davis, Alberto Zezza. Rural non-farm employment in Ukraine; Oleg Nivyevskiy, Stephan von Cramon-Taubadel. Opportunities and challenges for farm household livelihood strategies: Pluriactivity in Finland and the UK; Claire Newton. Territorial aspects of enterprise development in remote rural areas of Europe; Zuzana Bednarikova, Tomas Doucha, Zdenek Travnicek. New policy approaches for rural development: The experience of two case regions in Eastern Germany; Theodor Fock --

Frauen gründen Technologieunternehmen - eine Untersuchung im Land Brandenburg

Die Verfasserin legt Ergebnisse einer empirischen Untersuchung vor, die sich auf eine Befragung von 107 zwischen 1986 und 2007 gegründeten innovativen, forschungsintensiven kleinen und mittelständischen Unternehmen aus Brandenburg stützt. Aus geschlechtsspezifischer Sicht lassen sich die Untersuchungsergebnisse wie folgt zusammenfassen: (1) Gründerinnen gründen bevorzugt in den technologieorientierten Dienstleistungssektoren. (2) Gründerinnen sind überwiegend Natur- und Wirtschaftswissenschaftlerinnen. Sie verfügen sowohl zeitlich als auch in Bezug auf den Markt, die Führung und den Beruf über geringere Erfahrungen vor ihrer Unternehmensgründung als Männer. (3) Die von Frauen gegründeten Unternehmen sind Klein- und Kleinstunternehmen mit langsamem Wachstum. Sie sind in Bezug auf die Kosteneffizienz, die Vermögensstruktur, die Finanzkraft und die Rentabilität ebenso erfolgreich wie die Unternehmen ihrer männlichen Kollegen. Der Anteil der erfolgreichen Gründungen ist bei Frauen höher als bei Männern. (ICE2

Agriculture in the Face of Changing Markets, Institutions and Policies: Challenges and Strategies

Since the late 1980s, agriculture in Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) has been under considerable adjustment pressure due to changing political, economic and institutional environments. These changes have been linked to the transition process, as well as the ongoing integration into the European Union and the world market. Reduced subsidies, increased environmental and food quality demands, as well as structural changes in the supply, processing and food retailing sector call for major structural adjustments and the improvement of farmersâ managerial abilities. Though such changes always carry significant threats to farms, they also offer new opportunities for the farms' entrepreneurial engagement. Upcoming changes in the agricultural environment and their possible consequences for farm structures across Europe are thus still timely subjects. The objective of the IAMO Forum 2006 is to contribute to the success of agriculture in the CEECs, as well as their neighboring countries, in todayâs increasingly competitive environment. Concrete questions the conference focuses on are: What are the most suitable farm organizations, cooperative arrangements and contractual forms? How to improve efficiency and productivity? Where do market niches lie and what are the new product demands? This book contains 33 invited and selected contributions. These papers will be presented at the IAMO Forum 2006 in order to offer a platform for scientists, practitioners and policy-makers to discuss challenges and potential strategies at the farm, value chain, rural society and policy levels in order to cope with the upcoming challenges. IAMO Forum 2006, as well as this book, would not have been possible without the engagement of many people and institutions. We thank the authors of the submitted abstracts and papers, as well as the referees, for their evaluation of the abstracts from which the papers were selected. In particular, we would like to express our thanks to OLIVER JUNGKLAUS, GABRIELE MEWES, KLAUS REINSBERG and ANGELA SCHOLZ, who significantly contributed to the organization of the Forum. Furthermore, our thanks goes to SILKE SCHARF for her work on the layout and editing support of this book, and to JIM CURTISS, JAMIE BULLOCH, and DÃNALL Ã MEARÃIN for their English proof-reading. As experience from previous years documents, the course of the IAMO Forum continues to profit from the support and engagement of the IAMO administration, which we gratefully acknowledge. Last but not least, we are very grateful to the Robert Bosch Foundation, the Federal Ministry of Nutrition, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMELV), the German Research Foundation (DFG), the Haniel Foundation and the Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Central and Eastern Europe (IAMO) for their respective financial support.Agribusiness, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Farm Management, Industrial Organization, International Development, Labor and Human Capital, Land Economics/Use, Productivity Analysis,

Erfolgsfaktoren von landwirtschaftlichen Unternehmen mit Marktfruchtanbau in Sachsen-Anhalt. Eine empirische Analyse

The present work attempts based on the analysis of linear structure equation models, to compile regulation factors of the success of agricultural enterprises at the management level. For generation and evaluation reasons, the findings from the factor research are the focus of the study. After introducing the topic of success factor research, current empirical methods are compared based on their explanatory potential. As a result of the comparison, it was decided to apply a confirmatory approach. Linear structure equation models with latent variables are applied to the database. The explanation of the method occurs in chapter 3. They are applied on the factor analysis as well as the path analysis because linear structural equation models concern both. In the following, the database, which is based on the results of annual financial statements of agricultural enterprises from southern Saxony-Anhalt, is introduced. Following, there occurs the characterisation and discussion of the data. The next chapter contains the results of the partial analytical investigation of possible variables which may influence the success of agricultural enterprises. Embedded in a theoretical framework, the basic theoretical hypotheses were formulated. The theoretical basis of research hypotheses is based on the management model for enterprises, which makes a distinction between management level and other dimensions of business administration. Based on these results, and on the results of the descriptive evaluation, concrete research hypotheses are formulated. The hypotheses imply a positive effect of the single dimensions of business administration, such as market orientation, technology orientation, cost orientation and resource orientation, on enterprise success. The hypotheses are tested in factor-analytic models, and structured equation models of the first and second order are discussed regarding content. As a result, production and costs orientation and market orientation most affect enterprise success. Therefore, the influence of management and business administration were found to be factors of success in different performance data. However, the results are to be interpreted in the scope of the formulated models

Market watchdog digital world: beautiful new shopping world?

"Seit dem Jahr 2009 kann ein stetiger Anstieg des Gesamtumsatzes im deutschen Online-Handel beobachtet werden; nahezu drei Viertel aller Deutschen kaufen im Internet ein. Die Marktwächter beobachten und analysieren Verbraucherprobleme in der digitalen Welt. Anhand zweier vertiefender Untersuchungen werden exemplarisch Chancen und Risiken für Verbraucherinnen und Verbraucher im Online-Handel dargestellt und diskutiert. (DIPF/Orig.)Since 2009, there has been a steady increase in total turnover in the German online trade; almost three quarters of all Germans shop on the Internet. Market watchdogs observe and analyse consumer problems in the digital world. Using two in-depth studies, opportunities and risks for consumers in online retailing are presented and discussed as examples. (DIPF/Orig.

Erfolgsfaktoren in landwirtschaftlichen Unternehmen

Which factors impact on the success of agricultural enterprises? The objective of this paper is to identify some of the key factors in this regard. Linear structural equation models with latent variables are used to examine strategic management phenomena. The analysis is based on the results of annual financial statements of agricultural enterprises from southern Saxony-Anhalt for 1995/96 to 1999/00. The enterprises' success is measured by the gross margin in crop production. The identified success factors are from different functional areas of the corporate management. Four dimensions of corporate management have been analysed: market, production, technology, and production factor structure. The results indicate two main conclusions. Firstly, the background variables had a significant influence on indicator variables assigned to them. Secondly, they had significant affects on the enterprise success. Success factors with significant impacts turned out to be market orientation and technology