Hui Chen, Qiao-zhuan Liang and Yue Zhang
The current research studies are inconclusive about the positive or negative effects of group faultlines, especially in the Chinese context. To address this issue, this study aims…
Abstract
Purpose
The current research studies are inconclusive about the positive or negative effects of group faultlines, especially in the Chinese context. To address this issue, this study aims to adopt an interactive perspective to explore the group interaction process. Specifically, this study proposes a new construct “interactive faultlines” to integrate overall faultlines and separate faultlines, and based on categorization-elaboration model (CEM), develops an integrated moderated mediation model to examine when and how interactive faultlines facilitate or inhibit group creativity.
Design/methodology/approach
This study tests the model with the samples of 405 employees from 95 groups in China, carrying out confirmatory factor analysis, regression analysis and process.
Findings
This study finds that the indirect effect of informational faultlines on group creativity through information elaboration is positive when social faultlines are low, but negative when social faultlines are high.
Practical implications
This research provides some practical implications on how to manage group compositions and coordinate group interaction process to make full use of the potential benefits of diverse information and avoid the possible detriment from social categorization.
Originality/value
This study adopts an interactive perspective to consider informational faultlines and social faultlines simultaneously, and constructs a focal concept “interactive faultlines.” Based on CEM, it also offers a fine-grained picture of the double-edged relationship between informational faultlines and group creativity by identifying social faultlines as a moderator and information elaboration as a mediator, which advances knowledge about the linkages between interactive faultlines and group creativity. Particularly, this study is rooted in the Chinese context and brings in indigenous attributes derived from an analysis of Eastern cultures to elucidate the particular effect of informal social connections.
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Qiao Liang, Yining Xu, Xinxin Wang and Songqing Jin
This paper explores the effect of financial support on farmer cooperative development in the Chinese context, aiming to evaluate the effectiveness of public inputs and draw…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper explores the effect of financial support on farmer cooperative development in the Chinese context, aiming to evaluate the effectiveness of public inputs and draw implications for the sustainable development of cooperatives. The variance of the effect in different sectors, i.e. crop, forestry, husbandry, fishery and services, is investigated.
Design/methodology/approach
Provincial-level panel data from 2007 to 2017 are used for this study. A linear dynamic panel regression model is estimated using multiple estimation methods, i.e. the generalized method of moments (GMMs), fixed-effect model and ordinary least squares (OLS) are applied.
Findings
The empirical analyses indicate that the role of the government is important for the development of farmer cooperatives but limited in some specific aspects. First, the coverage of financial support is positively associated with the growth of cooperative population and membership size, but the strength of financial support, measured by the total amount of financial support divided by local agricultural gross domestic product (GDP), has no statistically significant effects on the development of cooperatives. Second, financial support does not exhibit significant influence on the revenue of cooperatives. Third, the magnitude of the effect of government support on cooperative development is heterogeneous across different sectors.
Originality/value
The research study adds to the institutional economics literature on the association between institutional environment and organization development by focusing on a particular and an important type of organization, i.e. farmer cooperatives. It is one of the attempts and a most extensive study to empirically investigate the role of financial support in the development of farmer cooperatives.
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Qiao Liang, Lin Li and Rongrong Bai
The purpose of this paper is to estimate the effect of vegetable producers' inclusiveness in supply chain coordination on vegetable production performance and potential spillover…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to estimate the effect of vegetable producers' inclusiveness in supply chain coordination on vegetable production performance and potential spillover effect on farm and non-farm income.
Design/methodology/approach
A comprehensive dataset comprised of 410 paired vegetable producers in China is applied. Propensity score matching (PSM) estimation method is used to control for the selection bias problem.
Findings
The empirical results indicate that contracting farming does not have significant effect on yield or profit of vegetable production, but promote producers to obtain quality certification. In comparison, cooperative membership has positive effects on the yield, profit and quality certification of producers. Additionally, cooperatives generate positive spillover effects on members' farm and non-farm income, though the results are sensitive to unobserved factors. The inclusion of spillover effects helps to find out the potential unobserved effects which are neglected by most studies and design better policies to promote the development of agricultural companies and farmer cooperatives.
Originality/value
First, empirical evidence is provided for theories regarding the roles of different supply chain coordination modes on producers. Second, the analysis on evaluating the effects of supply chain coordination also considers the spillover effect on the farming of other products and even non-farm work of involved producers. Third, a unique dataset comprised of 420 paired vegetable producers, based on an extensive survey is built.
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During the past four decades, agriculture and rural development in China has scored a great progress. Organization institution in agriculture is one of the domains with drastic…
Abstract
Purpose
During the past four decades, agriculture and rural development in China has scored a great progress. Organization institution in agriculture is one of the domains with drastic innovations. The purpose of this paper is to map the emergence and evolution of various agricultural organizations in China since 1978. Development status and the trend of agricultural organization system are analyzed. Further, the role of farmer cooperatives is discussed.
Design/methodology/approach
Data used in the paper are mainly from statistical yearbooks and documents published by the government including Ministry of Agriculture and Bureau of Industry and Commercial. Both descriptive and deductive analyses are adopted to achieve different analytical purposes.
Findings
The vast small-farm sector, co-existence of various types of organizations, and innovation of other organizations will continue and sustain for a long-time period in China. Despite the fast development of modern farmers and various organizations, it is important that traditional farmers participate effectively in modern agriculture. Farmers act collectively via a cooperative in a desirable way, which determines the central position of farmer cooperatives in the agricultural organization system.
Research limitations/implications
This paper is a qualitative analysis on agricultural organizations in China, yet no quantitative estimation regarding the comparison of various organizations is conducted due to insufficient data.
Originality/value
This paper fills the gap of a comprehensive review of the emergence, development status, and trend of agricultural organizations in China.
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Jiehong Zhou, Yu Jin, Yu Wang and Qiao Liang
Food markets are characterized by asymmetric information between suppliers and consumers, which causes inefficiency of market and food safety risks. This paper studies how the…
Abstract
Purpose
Food markets are characterized by asymmetric information between suppliers and consumers, which causes inefficiency of market and food safety risks. This paper studies how the food quality and safety information disclosed by the government affects the hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) certification decision of meat producers. The heterogeneity of the effects across different regions, provinces with different meat output scales and provinces with different intensities of food safety regulation is evaluated.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper applies a unique database comprising information from multiple sources. Food quality and safety information disclosure is indicated by the number of failure records of food sampling inspections by the government in 2015–2018. Fixed-effect model is used in the analyses.
Findings
The results demonstrate that food quality and safety information disclosure has a significant effect on the HACCP certification adoption by meat producers. The effect is heterogeneous across geographic regions, i.e. this effect is larger in the east and the middle of China than that in the west and the northeast. The heterogeneity across regions may be caused by the variance in meat output scales and fiscal expenditures on food safety among provinces.
Originality/value
This research is one of the preliminary attempts to understand how producers respond in terms of HACCP certification to the amount of food quality and safety information disclosed by the government, based on the case of meat industry in China.
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Nan Zhang, Qiao-zhuan Liang, Haimin Lei and Xiao Wang
Despite most studies on political ties focusing on the interpersonal relationships between firms and government officials, this study suggests that local party committees (LPCs…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite most studies on political ties focusing on the interpersonal relationships between firms and government officials, this study suggests that local party committees (LPCs) create special forms of political ties in China – i.e. organizational political ties. The purpose of this paper is to examine the influences that these organizational political ties have on Chinese firms’ innovative activities.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing upon data based on a nationwide survey of Chinese firms in 2013, this study uses a structural equations model to examine the relationship between LPCs and firms’ innovations.
Findings
This study found that LPCs do affect firms’ innovations positively, including both radical innovations and incremental innovations.
Research limitations/implications
By suggesting that LPCs are a form of political tie particular to China – i.e. an organizational political tie – this study’s findings may shed fresh light on the research into political ties in other emerging economies.
Originality/value
Compared to traditional political ties, maintaining the organizational political ties fostered by LPCs benefits firms’ innovations significantly in China, making them less costly and more stable.