Consumer willingness to pay for cheese with a social sustainability attribute

ABSTRACT: The social dimension of sustainability is becoming very relevant on the consumer purchasing decision, especially in the food sector. This research analyzed the willingness to pay (WTP) of Chilean consumers for cheese with a social sustainability attribute using a double-bounded dichotomous choice format. Results showed that the WTP for a price premium depends on three variables: age, income and previous knowledge regarding social sustainability. The mean WTP is 7.5% over the average price of cheese; although, combining relevant variables and changing values over their range shows that firms can obtain up to a 12.9% price premium if they focus on younger and high income consumers that have a previous good knowledge about social sustainability practices. Additionally, this study presented a novel market oriented methodological approach for identifying and quantifying specific niche markets based on the WTP.

Optimized High Precision Stacking of Fuel Cell Components for Medium to Large Production Volumes

PEM fuel cells are well established in a number of niche markets. However, due to low production volume and manufacturer-specific designs, the assembly has been carried out manually most of the time. With new fields of application being exploited there is a rising demand for production systems. As there is no standardized design or material, production systems are often custom-made, thus being inflexible to design changes or different products. In combination with a volatile demand the need for flexible and scalable systems arises. In this paper special attention is paid onto pick and place operations of the catalyst coated membrane (CCM). Design criteria of a vacuum gripper are derived from the material properties. To meet the further requirements for a high position accuracy in an automated assembly the impact of process parameters onto the repeatability is investigated to identify optimization trends. The requirements and investigations lead to a conceptual assembly system that is able to cover several steps in fuel cell production.

Corn Starch: Quality and Quantity Improvement for Industrial Uses

Corn starch serves as food, feed, and a raw material for industrial use. Starch makes up most of the biomass of the corn hybrid and is the most important and main yield component in corn breeding programs. Starch is composed of two polymers, branched amylopectin and linear amylose, which normally constitute about 75% and 25% of the corn starch, respectively. Breeding for corn starch quality has become economically beneficial because of the development of niche markets for specialty grains. In addition, due to the increased demands of biofuel production, corn ethanol production is receiving more attention. Consequently, improving starch quantity has become one of the most important breeding objectives. This review will summarize the use of corn starch, and the genetics and breeding of grain quality and quantity for industrial applications.

Creating Ethical Markets or Marketing Ethics? A Critical Exploration of Ethical Value Networks in Chilean and Peruvian Viticulture and Oenology

<p>The global integration of agriculture has increasingly exposed rural groups in Latin America, and other regions of the Global South, to external economic forces. This integration, encouraged by neoliberal ideology, has in many ways exacerbated underdevelopment and peripherality of these regions. Small-scale farmers tend to disproportionately suffer from trade inequality and a range of negative social, economic, and environmental outcomes associated with the integration of agriculture. In response, consumers in the Global North have become more concerned about how food is being produced and to what standards, particularly when production takes place in the South. In part, this has driven the rise of what this research theorises as ethical value networks and linked product labels. Diverse networks and product labels based in social justice, sustainability, quality and origin have been promoted as alternative models to globalised agriculture. It is claimed that these alternative networks assist rural groups otherwise disadvantaged by neoliberal globalisation by facilitating access to higher-value ethical niche markets, while encouraging localised ethical forms of development. This research critically explores two examples of ethical value networks in South American viticulture. It examines the use of fair trade certifications in Chilean wine and the protected designation of origin mark on pisco from Peru. This research emphasises the importance of local social, economic, and political contexts in the formation and outcomes of ethical value networks. It argues that despite the potential of the two studied networks to encourage local social and community development, entrenched socio-economic inequalities in Chile and Peru have hindered the expected positive outcomes of these ethical value networks. Moreover, this thesis argues that the studied networks have in many ways worsened local rural inequalities by supporting industrial and newer producers while excluding the most vulnerable actors in the wine and pisco sectors. Therefore, although this thesis illustrates the potential capacities of ethical value networks in fostering local development outcomes through product labelling, it also reveals the main limitations of these networks as currently implemented.</p>

Creating Ethical Markets or Marketing Ethics? A Critical Exploration of Ethical Value Networks in Chilean and Peruvian Viticulture and Oenology

<p>The global integration of agriculture has increasingly exposed rural groups in Latin America, and other regions of the Global South, to external economic forces. This integration, encouraged by neoliberal ideology, has in many ways exacerbated underdevelopment and peripherality of these regions. Small-scale farmers tend to disproportionately suffer from trade inequality and a range of negative social, economic, and environmental outcomes associated with the integration of agriculture. In response, consumers in the Global North have become more concerned about how food is being produced and to what standards, particularly when production takes place in the South. In part, this has driven the rise of what this research theorises as ethical value networks and linked product labels. Diverse networks and product labels based in social justice, sustainability, quality and origin have been promoted as alternative models to globalised agriculture. It is claimed that these alternative networks assist rural groups otherwise disadvantaged by neoliberal globalisation by facilitating access to higher-value ethical niche markets, while encouraging localised ethical forms of development. This research critically explores two examples of ethical value networks in South American viticulture. It examines the use of fair trade certifications in Chilean wine and the protected designation of origin mark on pisco from Peru. This research emphasises the importance of local social, economic, and political contexts in the formation and outcomes of ethical value networks. It argues that despite the potential of the two studied networks to encourage local social and community development, entrenched socio-economic inequalities in Chile and Peru have hindered the expected positive outcomes of these ethical value networks. Moreover, this thesis argues that the studied networks have in many ways worsened local rural inequalities by supporting industrial and newer producers while excluding the most vulnerable actors in the wine and pisco sectors. Therefore, although this thesis illustrates the potential capacities of ethical value networks in fostering local development outcomes through product labelling, it also reveals the main limitations of these networks as currently implemented.</p>

Development of Turkish mediterranean coastal tourism

Tourism can have a benefic effect on the environment by contributing to the protection and preservation of the environment. It is a way to raise awareness of environmental values and can serve as a tool to finance conservation of natural areas and increase their economic value. The article provides in-depth analysis of the development of Mediterranean coastal tourism in Turkey. The rapid growth of outbound tourism from new markets, especially from China, the Russian Federation and India, entails a change in the structure of tourist flows and demand in the Mediterranean region. In the opinion of the authors, this requires new marketing and service skills and appropriate product development, which is often best achieved locally and regionally. At the same time, changing social values, lifestyles and demographics in developed countries are increasingly reflected in changes in tourism demand, leading to growing fragmentation of tourism markets and the emergence of new niche markets.

Entrepreneurship in superdiverse societies and the end of one-size-fits-all policy prescriptions

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the entrepreneurial and policy consequences of the structural changes associated with postindustrialization.Design/methodology/approachThe approach uses Schumpeterian and institutional theories to predict the consequences of postindustrialization on four types of innovative markets: global mass markets; global niche markets; local mass markets and local niche markets.FindingsThe paper makes two key predictions. First, global mass markets will account for most cost-cutting process innovations. Second, niche markets, whether global or local, will provide the bulk of product innovations. Opportunities for product innovations in niche markets multiply both as the result of a more complex economy and as the result of heterogeneous preferences of consumers with divergent learning trajectories.Social implicationsThe key implication of the theoretical pattern prediction of this paper is that there are increasing opportunities for entrepreneurs to introduce novelties that cater to niche demands, and this includes new lifestyle communities. The increasing diversity of values and preferences implies that one-size-fit-all policies are becoming increasingly inimical to the entrepreneurial discovery of higher-valued resource uses.Originality/valueThis paper takes a standard prediction of entrepreneurial theories – that innovations become more common with an increase in economy-wide product complexity – and extends this to increasing complexity on the consumption side. With increases in opportunities for learning, consumers diverge and develop disparate lifestyles. The resultant super-diversity, which multiplies consumption niches to a much greater extent than what ethnicity-based diversity indices would imply, makes it more difficult to achieve consensus about the desirability of public policies.

Financial performance of hidden champions: Evidence from German manufacturing firms

Hidden champions are market leaders in niche markets and are an important part of the German Mittelstand. Although the hidden champion phenomenon has received considerable interest in practice, few academic studies on this issue exist. We especially lack evidence on the financial performance of hidden champions. Our study addresses this gap and investigates the profitability of hidden champions. In analyzing a panel dataset of 4677 German manufacturing firms, of which 617 are hidden champions, we find that hidden champions have significantly higher profitability with regard to return on assets but less so regarding return on equity. The hidden champion performance effect on return on assets is valued at 1.7 percentage points. Furthermore, the hidden champion performance effect decreases with firm size. Our paper contributes to the literature on the effect of firm strategy on firm profitability and adds to a better understanding of the hidden champion phenomenon.

Niche Applications and Flexible Devices for Wave Energy Conversion: A Review

We review wave energy conversion technologies for niche applications, i.e., kilowatt-scale systems that allow for more agile design, faster deployment and easier operation than utility scale systems. The wave energy converters for niche markets analysed in this paper are classified into breakwater-integrated, hybrid, devices for special applications. We show that niche markets are emerging as a very vibrant landscape, with several such technologies having now achieved operational stage, and others undergoing full-scale sea trials. This review also includes flexible devices, which started as niche applications in the 1980s and are now close to commercial maturity. We discuss the strong potential of flexible devices in reducing costs and improving survivability and reliability of wave energy systems. Finally, we show that the use of WECs in niche applications is supporting the development of utility-scale projects by accumulating field experience, demonstrating success stories of grid integration and building confidence for stakeholders.

Hidden Champions as a Determinant of Regional Development: An Analysis of German Districts

Hidden Champions (HCs) are defined as market leaders in niche markets. They represent the success of the German Mittelstand like no other group of firms. However, little is known on how HCs contribute to regional development. Given their export strength, regional embeddedness, and strong vertical integration we expect HCs to have a profound effect on regional development. Using a German dataset of 1,645 HCs located in 401 German districts, we analyze the effect of HCs on a variety of regional development dimensions. Our results show that HCs are not equally distributed across regions and influence regional development. Regions with a higher number of HCs show strong regional economic performance in terms of median income. Moreover, HC intensity affects regional unemployment and trainee rates as well as regional innovation in terms of patents. Surprisingly, we did not find an effect of regional HC intensity on regional R&D levels and GDP. We can further conclude that the effect of HCs is not limited to the particular region in which they are located but that sizable spillover effects exist. Besides its contribution to the regional development literature, our study adds to a better understanding of the HC-phenomenon. Implications for regional policy makers are discussed.