THE SUPERMARKET - FRIEND OR FOE OF THE COMMUNITY

Creates awareness of the "total supermarket" and its effect on the environment. Also suggests future changes to make the supermarket a better neighbor.Community/Rural/Urban Development, Marketing,

Future prospects in OA in Europe and the world, with respect to product diversification and markets

The presentation illustrates the status of organic agriculture and markets in Europe, indicating the growing role of supermarket chains, the motivations of consumers, the prospects for small and large producers, also within the framework of rural development (employement and added value

Supermarkets, New-Generation Wholesalers, Tomato Farmers, and NGOs in Nicaragua

Based on a survey of 145 tomato farmers and interviews with supermarket chains, NGOs, wholesalers, and farmer organizations in 2004, this paper examines the determinants and effects of farmers' participation in supermarket channels, with and without assistance from NGOs in "business linkage" programs. It finds that absent that assistance, the farmers that work with supermarket chains tend to be the "upper tier" of small farmers, better capitalized with various assets. The smaller and less-capitalized farmers that work with supermarkets tend to do so in association with NGO assistance. Despite higher input expenditures and entry requirements, farmers in the supermarket chain earn more. The paper discusses the issue of whether this development program approach is sustainable and can be upscaled, and wrestles with the tradeoff of helping poor farmers gain access to dynamic markets, of making it affordable at a larger scale by national governments with tight budgets, and at the same time field programs that are market-sustainable and market-responsive.Marketing,

Organic chains in the United Kingdom and Germany: lessons for Dutch organic agribusiness

This report was presented at the UK Organic Research 2002 Conference. This paper presents lessons for Dutch organic agribusiness based on a study of the UK and Germany. The following lessons are drawn: public-private cooperation is desirable for the sake of further development; the supermarket chain is necessary in order to achieve a large market share; consumers and supermarket chains subject organic products to at least the same demands that they have for regular products; communication: [1] a task for the government and market parties, [2] striving for one mark of quality [3] health is the driving motivation, although not communicated as such; organic agriculture has more chains and more segments

Knowledge work in successful supermarkets: Shop assistants as innovators

Managers constantly seek for innovative ideas to improve their organisations. Their staff, sometimes supported by external consultants should then develop these ideas further and implement the results in the organisation. This does not always work out the way intended. In this paper we examined this process of change in the case of a supermarket chain in the Netherlands. The aim was to learn from successful supermarkets how the employees in these shops contribute to the change of their work environment. We also looked for interventions that stimulate the knowledge worker’s contribution to this process. Our research in 17 supermarkets revealed that it is necessary to allow for diversity; that ownership and entrepreneurship contribute more to change than discipline and obedience; and that the specific role and capability of the manager seems to be crucial. Staff needs to develop competencies that match their own ability and interests in order to successfully innovate in the supermarket. In order to become innovative shop employees should be granted the authority to engage in knowledge work. In the supermarkets that we visited during the research, we found various interventions that could support the development of ownership and entrepreneurship of the supermarket staff

Farmer Participation in Supermarket Channels, Production Technology and Technical Efficiency: The Case of Vegetables in Kenya

Supermarkets are currently gaining ground in the agri-food systems of many developing countries. While recent research has analyzed income effects in the small farm sector, impacts on farming efficiency have hardly been studied. Productivity effects in previous studies are also estimated with respect to different frontiers. Using a survey of Kenyan vegetable growers and a meta-frontier approach, we control for self-selection using propensity score matching and show that participation in supermarket channels increases farm productivity by 35-38%. Effects on technical efficiency are, however, insignificant. Supermarket expansion therefore presents opportunities for realizing agricultural growth, thus enhancing poverty alleviation and rural development.supermarkets, meta-frontier, productivity, meta-technology ratio, sample selection, Kenya, Agribusiness, Community/Rural/Urban Development, International Development, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis,

A Financial Contracting Approach to the Role of Supermarkets in Farmers' Credit Access

Replaced with revised version of paper 10/17/08.Financial Contracting, Development, Financial Intermediation, Food Standards, Organization of Production, Supermarket, Agribusiness, Agricultural Finance, O17, O33, O50, Q12, Q13,

SUPERMARKET CUSTOMER OBSERVATION AND ELECTRONIC DATA ANALYSIS WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR THE MARKETING PLAN

This report is based on research initiated to determine the potential role of observation methodology in market plan development. This report is based on 100 observations conduced in a supermarket dairy department. The findings have implications for market planning, merchandising and communication strategies. As a pilot project, the results are not based entirely on randomly selected customers. This reports represents efforts to apply and refine the observation technique and not necessarily to convey results that can be projected to all shoppers in a supermarket. Further work is being done to accomplish random observations.Consumer/Household Economics, Marketing,

RESEARCH UP-DATES

Human Resource Impacts on Food Store Selection and Shopping Loyalty, by Harry F. Krueckberg; The Use of the Multi-Dimensional Database Spreadsheet (VP Planner) to Analyze Supermarket Revenue Data, by Angelo E. DiAntonio, Ulrich C. Toensmeyer; Qualitative Choice Models for Determining Factors Influencing Consumer's Preferences For Package Sizes of Selected Produce Items, by Jean Domanico, Conrado Gempesaw, Richard Bacon, U. Toensmeyer; Consumer Reaction Toward Promotional Tools Used to Induce Soft Drink Purchases in a Supermarket, by James J. Corbett, Wayne Texeira; Demand of Finfish and Shellfish Products Using Scanner Data, by Dr. Oral Capps Jr., Daniel Moen; Assessing Value-Added Agricultural Industries, by Ralph D. Christy, Roger A. Hinson; Size, Profitablility and Growth of Wholesale Food Firms, by Walter B. EppsResearch and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

The role of farmer organisations supplying supermarkets with quality food in vietnam

The development of supermarkets in Vietnam, as in other emerging countries, goes along with an increasing concern on the part of purchasers for food quality. The paper investigates whether farmer organisations are able to help small-scale farmers get access to supermarkets, and the role that supermarkets and public support play in their emergence and development. It is based on case studies involving a number of stakeholders marketing vegetables, flavoured rice and litchi fruit in Vietnam. Eight farmer associations that work in the form of private commercial organisations are regular supermarket suppliers for the selected products. Their ability to supply supermarkets is related to the combination of functions they make available to their members, especially as regards quality promotion and control, for which they receive public support, as well as their participation in flexible contracts with supermarkets, shops and schools. Supermarket supply through farmer associations increases farmer profits per kilo when compared with traditional chains, yet the quantities supplied to supermarkets are still limited. The paper argues that changes in farmer organisation are not only due to supplying supermarkets, but also to public and international support to food quality improvement, which have been of benefit to supermarkets. (Résumé d'auteur