Juan Carlos Hallak and Andrés Tacsir
The goal of this paper is to develop a classification of traceability systems that will help academics and policymakers think of them as a tool for differentiation in agri-food…
Abstract
Purpose
The goal of this paper is to develop a classification of traceability systems that will help academics and policymakers think of them as a tool for differentiation in agri-food value chains.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the analysis of case studies and a literature review, the authors develop a conceptual framework to classify traceability systems based on two dimensions: their scope in the value chain (individual vs integrated) and the type of information they contain (basic vs advanced).
Findings
Integrated traceability systems provide a variety of benefits vis-à-vis individual systems as a tool to achieve greater product differentiation by meeting current and latent requirements from foreign countries' governments and consumers. Also they serve as a platform for including advanced (vis-à-vis basic) information into the system.
Research limitations/implications
A series of studies would be required to quantify the relative costs of different traceability systems and compare them on a cost-benefit basis. Nevertheless, since integrated traceability systems are subject to coordination failures, significant public focus and efforts should be placed on the potential promotion of those systems.
Originality/value
This paper provides a novel classification of traceability systems that distinguishes them according to scope and information content.
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Andrea Lorena González, Juan Carlos Hallak, Gabriel Scattolo and Andrés Tacsir
The purpose of this research is to analyze the ability of agrifood systems to construct “customized competitiveness” strategies that can allow firms to meet the specific and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to analyze the ability of agrifood systems to construct “customized competitiveness” strategies that can allow firms to meet the specific and constantly changing demands of foreign markets.
Design/methodology/approach
The research performs a comparative analysis of three case studies of agrifood systems in Argentina: lemon, pork, and dairy products. The authors obtained primary data from 79 semi-structured interviews with key persons in each agrifood system carried out online between March 2020 and February 2021. Secondary data was obtained from databases, academic studies, and reports from business associations and public agencies.
Findings
The authors find wide disparities in the development of customized competitiveness strategies between the studied agrifood systems (higher in lemon, lower in dairy products, and incipient in pork). The authors attribute the disparity to the varying degrees in which these systems are capable of coordinating their own actions and their interactions with State agencies.
Originality/value
The paper provides comparative evidence about the role of private coordination in the ability of agrifood systems to construct customized competitiveness strategies.
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Lin Sun, Li Tao Ye and Michael R. Reed
Against the background of the rapid increase of total imported food in China, China's imported high-quality food has increased more than low-quality ones, and China's imported…
Abstract
Purpose
Against the background of the rapid increase of total imported food in China, China's imported high-quality food has increased more than low-quality ones, and China's imported food quality structure has continuously improved. It is a new issue that needs further examination.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the assumption of non-homothetic preference, this paper apply the method provided by Eaton and Kortum (2002) in a new theoretical model and empirically analyzes the impact of per capita income on the quality structure of imported food by using SYS-GMM with firm import data from Chinese customs.
Findings
The study finds that income is a significant factor which affects the imported food quality structure in China. The higher the per capita income, the higher the imported food quality structure. Furthermore, per capita income has a significant positive impact on the imported food quality structure in different quality groups. The research confirms that China import more food with the highest quality as its per capita income increases.
Research limitations/implications
Chinese policymaker needs to reconsider the role of food imports in improving food quality structure. The aim of the Chinese food industry's supply-side reform should be not only to remove excess capacity but also to produce high-quality products that meet the demand of discriminating consumers.
Originality/value
This paper constructs a new theme for imported food quality structure and investigates import food quality structure improvement from the perspective of demand by incorporating non-homothetic preferences. Another feature of this paper is that it conducts an empirical analysis with unique and highly disaggregated firm import data from Chinese customs to measure imported food quality, which is more refined than the national-product dimension data.
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Juan Gabriel Martínez-Navalón, Vera Gelashvili, Nelson DeMatos and Giovanni Herrera-Enríquez
This paper aims to assess how digital knowledge management affects technostress in workers and how that influences the organization’s sustainability. The study applied an in-depth…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to assess how digital knowledge management affects technostress in workers and how that influences the organization’s sustainability. The study applied an in-depth literature review of the following concepts and dimensions, digital knowledge management (acquisition, sharing and application), technostress (techno overload, invasion, complexity, insecurity and uncertainty) and sustainability (economic, social and environmental).
Design/methodology/approach
After completing the literature review, an online questionnaire was developed and disseminated through social networks. The questionnaire had four sections: classification of the respondent, questions related to knowledge management, technostress and sustainability. The final sample comprises 454 responses. First, a descriptive analysis of the sample was carried out, and second, a structural equation model by the partial least squares–structural equation modeling method was conducted.
Findings
The results show that there is a direct and positive relationship between knowledge management and technostress. This finding means that a higher level of knowledge management of firms causes a greater level of technostress among employees. The close relationship between knowledge management and the firms’ sustainability has also been confirmed. The study results have shown that gender does not have a moderating effect on the relationships reported, as there are no significant differences.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to look at digital knowledge management, assessing both the levels of employee technostress and the sustainability achieved by their organizations. Thus, this study could serve as a basis for future research. In addition, it contributes to the scarce academic literature on technostress and digital knowledge management levels.
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Vera Gelashvili, Juan Gabriel Martínez-Navalón and Giovanni Herrera Enríquez
The main aim of this study is to analyze if the users’ stress and anxiety when using mobile Apps for restaurant reservations influence their trust and satisfaction toward the…
Abstract
Purpose
The main aim of this study is to analyze if the users’ stress and anxiety when using mobile Apps for restaurant reservations influence their trust and satisfaction toward the restaurants. In addition to this, the relationship between satisfaction and trust is studied. The study sample is the Indian population in Spain.
Design/methodology/approach
To achieve the objectives set, the questionnaire measuring each of the variables used in the study was carried out. A variance-based structural equation model, partial least squares (PLS), was used for statistical analysis of the data.
Findings
The results obtained have shown that the relations stress–satisfaction, anxiety–satisfaction and satisfaction–trust are accepted to be significant, whereas the relations stress–trust and anxiety–trust are rejected because they do not fulfill the minimum standards of significance.
Originality/value
This study is an important contribution in the academic literature because there are not many studies that analyze the variables of stress and anxiety in the context of marketing. In addition to this, the study sample is the Indian population resident in Spain, the population that is not studied in depth.
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Alicia Blanco-González, Cristina Del-Castillo-Feito and Giorgia Miotto
The aim of this paper is to measure the effects of universities' ethical management and positive impact on society affect the faculty engagement through the mediating effect of…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to measure the effects of universities' ethical management and positive impact on society affect the faculty engagement through the mediating effect of organizational legitimacy.
Design/methodology/approach
Engaged employees are characterized by better performance, increased productivity and by generating higher customer loyalty as well greater economic profit. The commitment to the organization they work for is affected by internal and external inputs. Among these, business ethics and corporate community outreach are key factors for improving employee engagement. The authors developed a survey that was distributed to professors of Spanish universities. To treat the data and test the proposed hypotheses, the authors applied structural equations through PLS-SEM.
Findings
This research contributes to the organizational management field literature and advises university administrators to adopt an ethical management style based on information transparency, accountability and faculty member involvement in the decision-making process in order to improve their engagement and, therefore, increasing student satisfaction, academic results and positive impact on the common good.
Originality/value
The novelty of the authors’ research stands in the inclusion of legitimacy as a mediation effect between business ethics and community outreach that affect employees' engagement and, specifically, faculty engagement.
研究目的
本文旨在量度大學的倫理管理和大學對社會產生的積極影響、如何透過組織合法性的仲介效果影響全體教學人員的敬業忠誠度。
研究設計/方法/理念
敬業的僱員的特徵是他們有較好的表現、有較高的生產率、及帶來更高的客戶忠誠度和更大的經濟利潤。僱員對其服務組織的忠誠度、是受內部和外部輸入所影響的。在這些輸入中,企業倫理和公司的社區外聯是改善僱員敬業程度的關鍵因素。我們設計了一個調查,並分發給西班牙各大學的教授。我們透過偏最小平方法-結構方程模型 (PLS-SEM) 、運用結構方程式來處理數據及測試提出的假設。
研究結果
本研究在組織管理文獻方面作出了貢獻,並建議大學行政人員、應採用基於資訊透明、問責制和教學人員在決策過程中能夠參與的合乎道德的管理風格。這是為了改善大學教學人員的敬業忠誠度,並因此也能提昇學生的滿意程度、學業成績及為公眾利益發揮更大的積極影響。
原創性/價值
本研究嶄新之處在於納入了合法性、以作為影響僱員敬業程度、特別是大學教學人員敬業程度的企業倫理及社區外聯之間的仲介效果。
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Anahi Briozzo and Hernán Vigier
The purpose of this paper is to study the determinants of the use of personal loans in small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs).
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study the determinants of the use of personal loans in small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs).
Design/methodology/approach
Personal loans are addressed as a function of the borrower and collateral. To empirically test the hypothesis of this study, a probit model was applied to a group of companies in Bahia Blanca, Argentina, with a previous analysis of the possible effects of sample selection.
Findings
Older companies, firms with lower expected growth rates, younger owners, those who seek to create value or growth, and owners who perceive low emotional costs associated with bankruptcy, are less likely to use personal loans to finance their operations.
Research limitations/implications
This study is limited by the availability of data on SMEs in Argentina.
Social implications
The results highlight the importance of financial aid programmes that focus on SME scarce availability of collateral.
Originality/value
This study makes three principal contributions: first, it investigates the phenomenon of personal loan utilisation in SMEs; second, it analyses financing decisions from both the supply and demand perspectives; and third, it presents a database that includes variables that have not been previously studied in Argentina or other emerging economies.
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Drusilla K. Brown, Kozo Kiyota and Robert M. Stern
We have used the Michigan computable general equilibrium (CGE) model of World Production and Trade to calculate the aggregate welfare and sectoral employment effects of the menu…
Abstract
We have used the Michigan computable general equilibrium (CGE) model of World Production and Trade to calculate the aggregate welfare and sectoral employment effects of the menu of U.S.–Japan trade policies. The menu of policies encompasses the various preferential U.S. and Japan bilateral and regional free trade agreements (FTAs) negotiated and in process, unilateral removal of existing trade barriers by the two countries, and global (multilateral) free trade. The U.S. preferential agreements include the FTAs approved by the U.S. Congress with Chile and Singapore in 2003, those signed with Central America, Australia, and Morocco and awaiting Congressional approval in 2004, and prospective FTAs with the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), Thailand, and the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). The Japanese preferential agreements include the bilateral FTA with Singapore signed in 2002 and prospective FTAs with Chile, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Philippines, and Thailand. The welfare impacts of the FTAs on the United States and Japan are shown to be rather small in absolute and relative terms. The sectoral employment effects are also generally small in the United States and Japan, but vary across the individual sectors depending on the patterns of the bilateral liberalization. The welfare effects on the FTA partner countries are mostly positive though generally small, but there are some indications of potentially disruptive employment shifts in some partner countries. There are indications of trade diversion and detrimental welfare effects on nonmember countries for some of the FTAs analyzed. Data limitations precluded analysis of the welfare effects of the different FTA rules of origin and other discriminatory arrangements.
In comparison with the welfare gains from the U.S. and Japan bilateral FTAs, the gains from both unilateral trade liberalization by the United States, Japan, and the FTA partners and global (multilateral) free trade are shown to be rather substantial and more uniformly positive for all countries in the global trading system. The U.S. and Japan FTAs are based on “hub” and “spoke” arrangements. We show that the spokes emanate out in different and often overlapping directions, suggesting that the complex of bilateral FTAs may create distortions of the global trading system.
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Esteban López-Zapata, Yésica Torres-Vargas and Marco Aurelio Ortiz-Puentes
This research analyzes the impact of transformational leadership on task performance in sales team members, considering the mediating role of leader–member exchange (LMX)…
Abstract
Purpose
This research analyzes the impact of transformational leadership on task performance in sales team members, considering the mediating role of leader–member exchange (LMX), perceived organizational support and work engagement.
Design/methodology/approach
A structural equations model was analyzed utilizing the partial least squares (PLS-SEM) method based on data collected from a survey of 142 members and 19 leaders of sales teams in Colombian companies.
Findings
The present study establishes that social exchange variables, including perceived organizational support and LMX, mediate the relationship between transformational leadership and task performance. Nevertheless, work engagement does not demonstrate a statistically significant mediating effect.
Originality/value
The outcomes of this study contribute significant insights into how transformational leadership, directly and indirectly, affects task performance in an emerging economy. It specifically addresses the cultural context of Colombia, marked by a high distance to power and a perceived low aversion to uncertainty – contrary to a desired higher uncertainty avoidance.
Objetivo
Esta investigación analiza el impacto del liderazgo transformacional en el desempeño de tareas de los miembros de equipos de ventas, considerando el rol mediador de factores como el intercambio líder-miembro (LMX), el apoyo organizacional percibido y el engagement laboral.
Diseño/metodologenfoqueía
A partir de una encuesta realizada a 142 miembros y 19 líderes de equipos de ventas en empresas colombianas, se analizó un Modelo de Ecuaciones Estructurales utilizando la metodología de Mínimos Cuadrados Parciales (PLS-SEM).
Resultados
Se identifica el rol mediador de variables de intercambio social como el LMX y el apoyo organizacional percibido en la relación existente entre el liderazgo transformacional y el desempeño de tareas; sin embargo, no se encuentra un efecto mediador significativo del engagement laboral.
Originalidad/valor
Los resultados de este estudio aportan importantes perspectivas sobre cómo el liderazgo transformacional afecta, directa e indirectamente, el desempeño en las tareas en una economía emergente. Aborda específicamente el contexto cultural de Colombia, caracterizado por una alta distancia al poder y una baja aversión a la incertidumbre percibida, en contraste con una mayor aversión a la incertidumbre deseada.
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María García de Blanes Sebastián, Alberto Azuara Grande and José Ramón Sarmiento Guede
Reservation of travel and leisure services through the digital environment has gained a growing role in society, influencing the revolution of the sector. It needs to be noted…
Abstract
Purpose
Reservation of travel and leisure services through the digital environment has gained a growing role in society, influencing the revolution of the sector. It needs to be noted that there is a considerable lack of formal approaches to the identification of factors for the positive reception and use of these digital tools. For this reason, it is necessary to establish the main factors influencing the adoption and use of digital travel and restaurant platforms (TRPs), adding to the theoretical model two new factors: trust and word-of-mouth (WOM). This paper aims to discuss the aforementioned ideas.
Design/methodology/approach
A theoretical model has been proposed, based on the extended unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT2). Data collection was conducted through an online survey, in which 331 responses were compiled. Data obtained were analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM) with AMOS v27 software.
Findings
The results show that performance expectancy and WOM have a significant impact on the adoption of TRPs. However, it was found that effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, trust and price/value are not significant variables.
Social implications
This research confirms that WOM communication positively influences the use of TRPs, facilitating various aspects for restaurant customers, including reducing wait times, streamlining the ordering process for allergic and intolerant customers, enhancing loyalty programs, order management and the opportunity to provide a personalised experience.
Originality/value
This study is the first to incorporate WOM variable into the extended UTAUT2 model applied to TRPs. Through a literature review, it has paved the way for significant future research directions that have not been adequately addressed by the scientific community, including the adoption and usage of food delivery platforms and online review platforms, as well as the behaviour of disabled customers towards these platforms.