SABIIA - Sistema Aberto e Integrado de Informação em Agricultura (Sabiia)

INNOVATION IN THE FOOD AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRIES: ACOMPLEX ADAPTIVE SYSTEM

Rakhmanbaeva, Roza.

Necessity for innovative production development sets the new requirements for content, organization, forms and methods of management activity. Non-traditional tasks faced by the present system of human resources management require the similar type of non-traditional methodological approaches and tools for social diagnosis, training and management of people in new situations. Therefore special attention should be also given to development of new type training centers that act as concentration of continuous training through forming the networks of comparative analysis and detecting the best practice.

Tipo: Journal Article

Palavras-chave: Innovating education; Human resource; Development of management; Education centers.; Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession; D80; I21; I23; O31.

Ano: 2010

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/94730

Boehlje, Michael; Broring, Stefanie; Roucan-Kane, Maud.

Innovation is critical to the long-term success of a firm as well as the economic health of an industry and the overall economy. This manuscript presents an overview of the management literature regarding technology and innovation management. It also describes the unique characteristics of the food and agricultural sector and offers a research agenda to extend the management literature to the agribusiness sector.

THE DETERMINANTS OF INNOVATION IN THE ITALIAN FOOD INDUSTRY: THE ROLE OF R&D NETWORKING

Palavras-chave: Innovation; Agribusiness; Portfolio of options; Risk; Agribusiness; International Development; Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies; L24; D81; O31; O32.

Ano: 2009

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/56389

D'Alessio, Massimiliano; Maietta, Ornella Wanda.

Objective of the paper is to verify which are the determinants of innovations in the Italian food industry and which role R&D networking, through the cooperative nature of firm, plays among these determinants. The data used are the 9th (2001-2003) wave of Capitalia surveys based on a representative sample of manufacturing firms with information on firm characteristics, employee education levels, innovation and R&D investments. The approach is a bivariate probit analysis where the two dependent variables are the presence of firm R&D and of innovations and the independent variables are firm characteristics. The results of the analysis show that, among the determinants of firm R&D intra moenia and of firm innovations in the Italian food...

Supply chain differentiation, contract agriculture, and farmers’ marketing preferences: the case of sweet pepper in Thailand

Palavras-chave: Innovations; R&D networking; Firm property rights.; Consumer/Household Economics; Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies; O31; O32; D21.

Ano: 2008

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/44856

Schipmann, Christin; Qaim, Matin.

There is an emerging body of literature analyzing how smallholder farmers in developing countries can be linked to modern supply chains. However, most of the available studies concentrate on farm and farmer characteristics, failing to capture details of institutional arrangements between farmers and traders. Moreover, farmers’ preferences have rarely been considered. Here, we address these gaps by analyzing different market channels for sweet pepper in Thailand. Using data from a survey and choice experiment with farmers, we find that there is a general preference for marketing options that do not involve a contract. Additional provision of inputs and credit can increase the attractiveness of contracts. Yet, the most important factor for farmers is to...

Poverty status and the impact of social networks on smallholder technology adoption in rural Ethiopia

Palavras-chave: Choice experiment; Contract design; Farmers’ stated preferences; Modern agricultural supply chains; Thailand; Community/Rural/Urban Development; Institutional and Behavioral Economics; International Development; L14; O31; Q12; Q13.

Ano: 2011

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/108349

Liverpool-Tasie, Lenis Saweda O.; Winter-Nelson, Alex.

Despite recent traces of economic growth, Ethiopia remains one of the poorest countries in the world. Though about 80% of its population is engaged in agriculture, agricultural productivity remains low and extremely vulnerable to climatic conditions. The adoption and use of modern technologies is generally accepted as a potential vehicle out of poverty for many but adoption rates in the country remain low with the nature of the adoption process largely unstudied (Spielman et al, 2007). This paper studies the impact of social networks in the technology adoption process in rural Ethiopia. In particular it tests for the presence of social learning effects. In addition to geographic networks, it considers the role played by other networks with more...

On Endogenous Growth: The Implications of Environmental Externalities

Palavras-chave: Social learning; Persistent poverty; Technology adoption; Ethiopia; Food Security and Poverty; International Development; Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies; O31; O33; Q12; Q13.

Ano: 2009

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/49357

Elbasha, Elamin H.; Roe, Terry L..

This paper uses an endogenous growth model to examine the interaction between trade, economic growth, and the environment. We find that whether trade enhances or retards growth depends on the relation between factor intensities of exportable, importable, and R&D and the relative abundance of the factor R&D uses more intensively. Depending on the intertemporal elasticity of substitution, the long-run rate of economic growth changes with environmental externalities. Concerns about the environment can explain a significant part of cross-country difference in growth rates. For the empirically reported range of the elasticity of intertemporal substitution, countries which care more about the environment grow faster. The effects of trade on the...

Innovation Under the Tradable Sulfur Dioxide Emission Permits Program in the U.S. Electricity Sector

Palavras-chave: Environmental Economics and Policy; F11; O31; O41; Q20.

Ano: 1995

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/7493

Burtraw, Dallas.

The 1990 U.S. Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) instituted a national program in tradable sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission permits, referred to as "emission allowances," in the U.S. electricity sector. This paper provides a survey and assessment of the SO2 allowance trading program with a focus on the role of innovation. Over the last decade the cost of compliance has fallen dramatically compared with most expectations, and today the total cost of the program is 40-140% lower than projections (depending on the timing of those projections and the counter-factual baseline considered). Marginal costs of reductions are less than one-half the cost considered in most analyses at the time the program was introduced. Innovation accounts for a large portion of these...

Technology Adoption and Aggregate Energy Efficiency

Palavras-chave: Innovation; Incentive-based regulation; SO2 trading; Clean Air Act Amendments; Environmental Economics and Policy; O31; Q25.

Ano: 2000

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10599

Pizer, William A.; Harrington, Winston; Kopp, Raymond J.; Morgenstern, Richard D.; Shih, Jhih-Shyang.

Improved technology is often cited as a means to alter the otherwise difficult trade-off between the economic burden of regulation and environmental damage. Focusing on energy-saving technologies that mitigate the threat of climate change, we find that both energy prices and financial health influence technology adoption among a sample of industrial plants in four heavily polluting sectors. Based on a model linking technology adoption to growth in aggregate efficiency, we estimate that a doubling of energy prices, after raising the growth rate to 2.1%, would require slightly more than 50 years to generate a 50% improvement in aggregate efficiency relative to the baseline forecast.

The Environment and Directed Technical Change

Palavras-chave: Energy efficiency; Endogenous technological change; Technology adoption; Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies; O31; O38; Q43; Q48.

Ano: 2002

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10616

Acemoglu, Daron; Aghion, Philippe; Bursztyn, Leonardo; Hemous, David.

This paper introduces endogenous and directed technical change in a growth model with environmental constraints. A unique final good is produced by combining inputs from two sectors. One of these sectors uses "dirty" machines and thus creates environmental degradation. Research can be directed to improving the technology of machines in either sector. We characterize dynamic tax policies that achieve sustainable growth or maximize intertemporal welfare. We show that: (i) in the case where the inputs are sufficiently substitutable, sustainable long-run growth can be achieved with temporary taxation of dirty innovation and production; (ii) optimal policy involves both “carbon taxes” and research subsidies, so that excessive use of carbon taxes is avoided;...

National Agricultural Biotechnology Research Capacity in Developing Countries

Palavras-chave: Environment; Exhaustible Resources; Directed Technological Change; Innovation; Environmental Economics and Policy; O30; O31; O33; C65.

Ano: 2010

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/92839

Cohen, Joel I.; Komen, John; Zepeda, Jose Falck.

Adequate public research capacity is key to the appropriate development of biotechnology, including genetically modified (GM) crops. While commercial crops can be introduced without intensive local research (i.e. insect resistant GM cotton), introducing products of public research depend on indigenous capacity. This paper defines capacity for agricultural biotechnology research and then provides national funding levels for such work in six developing countries. As one indicator of capacity and outputs, GM crops developed from public research in developing countries are documented, and attention given to issues remaining for capacity, research and development. Knowledge of investments in public biotechnology improves policy decisions, clarifies roles of the...

Policy-Induced Technology Adoption: Evidence from the U.S. Lead Phasedown

Palavras-chave: Biotechnology; Research Capacity; GMO; Biosafety; Investments; Funding.; Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies; O31; O38; Q16.

Ano: 2004

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/23790

Kerr, Suzi; Newell, Richard G..

The theory of environmental regulation suggests that economic instruments, such as taxes and tradable permits, create more effective technology adoption incentives than conventional regulatory standards. We explore this issue for an important industry undergoing technological responses to a dramatic decrease in allowed pollution levels - the petroleum industry's phasedown of lead in gasoline. Using a panel of refineries from 1971 to 1995, we provide some of the first direct evidence that alternative policies affect the pattern of adoption in expected ways. Importantly, we find that the tradable permit system used during the lead phasedown provided incentives for more efficient technology adoption decisions. Where environmentally appropriate, this suggests...

Capital and financing innovation processes in enterprises in Poland: selected aspects

Palavras-chave: Technology; Adoption; Diffusion; Environment; Regulation; Lead; Gasoline; Tradable permit; Incentive-based policy; Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies; C41; L71; O31; O33; Q28; Q48.

Ano: 2001

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10834

TRANSLATING LATENT TRENDS IN FOOD CONSUMER BEHAVIOR INTO NEW PRODUCTS

Janasz, Krzysztof.

Every economic entity undertakes various complex activities that aim at achieving strategic goals. This complex plane of strategic activities certainly includes pro-innovative activity consisting in creating and implementing innovations that help to gain competitive advantage. Undoubtedly, enterprises need capital. Without capital they are not able to positively influence the economic growth of any country. The aim of this article is to present the relationship between capital and financing innovation projects in Poland.

Tipo: Journal Article

Palavras-chave: Capital; Innovation; Capital gap; Financial engineering.; Financial Economics; Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies; O31.

Ano: 2010

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/94632

Gellynck, Xavier; Kuhne, Bianka; Van Wezemael, Lynn; Verbeke, Wim.

For successful product development it is important to explore the latent changes in consumer behavior prior to the product development process. The identification of a latent trend before the manifestation moment can be achieved by trend analysis. Trend analysis delivers insights that explore the future in order to identify prospective consumers and new product ideas, but also includes a feeling for the currents in market and technology. Hence, the aim is to identify emerging weak signals in consumer behavior that have potential as large revenue opportunities when implemented into new products. Therefore, the objective of our paper is to provide a novel tool for this identification and how the identified trends can be translated into new products. Until...

Knowledge and Adoption of Organic Agriculture: Diffusion Over Time Among Andalusian Olive Farmers

Palavras-chave: New Product development; Trend analysis; Novel trend implementation tool; Agricultural and Food Policy; Consumer/Household Economics; Demand and Price Analysis; Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety; Food Security and Poverty; Health Economics and Policy; M31; O31; O32.

Ano: 2010

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/116422

Lopez, Carlos Parra; Calatrava-Requena, Javier; Gimenez, Tomas De Haro.

The objective is to analyse the diffusion over time process of the knowledge and adoption of a sustainable technological innovation -organic agriculture- in the South of Spain -Andalusia region- and for a crop of paramount importance there -olive- within the framework of the Diffusion of Innovations Theory. Results show that diffusion is essentially due to an autonomous "contagion" among olive growers with a little external intervention. In many regions, particularly in low yield conditions, adoption of organic farming has come to an standstill, demonstrating the need to strengthen or modify the mechanisms of diffusion commonly used up to this time.

R&D, Innovation and Growth: Evidence from Four Manufacturing Sectors in OECD Countries

Palavras-chave: Diffusion of innovations; Diffusion over time; Organic farming; Olea Eruopaea L.; Crop Production/Industries; O31; Q01; Q16.

Ano: 2005

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/24460

Ulku, Hulya.

This paper provides an empirical analysis of the relationship between R&D intensity, rate of innovation and the growth rate of output in four manufacturing sectors from 17 OECD countries. The findings suggest that the knowledge stock is the main determinant of innovation in all four manufacturing sectors and that R&D intensity increases innovation in the chemicals and the electrical and electronics sector. In addition, the rate of innovation has a positive effect on the growth rate of output in all sectors except for the drugs and medical sector. These results lend strong support for the non-scale endogenous growth models. *I am grateful to Adam Jaffe for his invaluable suggestions and comments.

Production Outsourcing, Organizational Governance and Firm's Technological Performance: Evidence from Italy

Palavras-chave: Non-scale endogenous growth; R&D; Patent; Innovation; Output growth; System GMM; Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies; O14; O30; O31; O33; O41.

Ano: 2005

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/30542

Antonietti, Roberto; Cainelli, Giulio.

Aim of this paper is to study whether and how the firms decision to outsource production activities affects its technological performance. In particular, we look at how the alignment between the firms governance strategy and the underlying attributes of the transactions affects the capacity of the firm to introduce new products and processes. Using microeconomic data on a repeated cross-section of Italian manufacturing firms for the period 1998-2003, we develop a two-stage approach: first, we estimate the determinants of the firms organizational governance (production outsourcing); second, we incorporate a measure of governance misalignment into a technological performance relation. We find (i) that firms not aligned with the optimal organizational...

Determinants of Food Industry Performance – Empirical Evidence Based on a Survey

Palavras-chave: Production Outsourcing; Organizational Governance; Misalignment; Technological Performance; Non-Linearity; Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies; L23; L24; L25; O31.

Ano: 2007

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/9553

Furtan, William Hartley; Sauer, Johannes.

This paper empirically investigates the determinants of firms’ performance in the agri-food sector by using recent survey data for Denmark. Treating sales per employee as a proxy for value addition we estimate several bootstrapped regression models to draw conclusions on the marginal effects of potential performance determinants such as the form and nature of ownership, stage of the food chain and commodity sector, new product development, staff quality, firms’ competitive stance, and elements of firms’ strategy. To draw robust inferences we apply, besides the ordinary heteroscedasticity corrected Tobit ML-estimator, a nonparametric least absolute deviations estimator (LAD/CLAD) based on a quantile regression procedure. The results indicate that we cannot...

Improving the Energy-Efficiency of Buildings: The Impact of Environmental Policy on Technological Innovation

Palavras-chave: Value added; Innovation; Organizational type; Agribusiness; Q13; O31; O33.

Ano: 2008

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/6422

Noailly, Joelle.

This paper investigates the impact of alternative environmental policy instruments on technological innovations aiming to improve energy-efficiency in buildings. The empirical analysis focuses on three main types of policy instruments, namely regulatory energy standards in buildings codes, energy taxes as captured by energy prices and specific governmental energy R&D expenditures. Technological innovation is measured using patent counts for specific technologies related to energy-efficiency in buildings (e.g. insulation, high-efficiency boilers, energy-saving lightings). The estimates for seven European countries over the 1989-2004 period imply that a strengthening of 10% of the minimum insulation standards for walls would increase the likelihood to...

R&D Appropriability and Planned Obsolescence: Empirical Evidence from Wheat Breeding in the UK (1960-1995)

Palavras-chave: Innovation; Technological Change; Patents; Energy-Efficiency; Buildings; Environmental Policy; Resource /Energy Economics and Policy; O31; O34; Q55.

Ano: 2010

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/94777

Rangnekar, Dwijen.

Plant breeders face a unique appropriation problem - plants are reproducible, genetic information is heritable and seeds can be multiplied. The paper uses indicators of varietal age as a proxy for durability to examine strategies of planned obsolescence. Using wheat breeding in the UK, evidence of strategies of planned obsolescence is confirmed. This is then corroborated with evidence of tendencies towards increased proliferation of varieties on the market and breeding strategies that focus on incremental productivity improvements (i.e. increased efficiency) and narrow and limited disease resistance (i.e. reduced durability).

Innovation and Institutional Ownership

Palavras-chave: Planned Obsolescence; R&D appropriability; Innovation; Plant Breeding; Crop Production/Industries; L13; O31; Q10.

Ano: 2002

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/24904

Aghion, Philippe; Van Reenen, John; Zingales, Luigi.

We find that institutional ownership in publicly traded companies is associated with more innovation (measured by cite-weighted patents). To explore the mechanism through which this link arises, we build a model that nests the lazy-manager hypothesis with career-concerns, where institutional owners increase managerial incentives to innovate by reducing the career risk of risky projects. The data supports the career concerns model. First, whereas the lazy manager hypothesis predicts a substitution effect between institutional ownership and product market competition (and managerial entrenchment generally), the career-concern model allows for complementarity. Empirically, we reject substitution effects. Second, CEOs are less likely to be fired in the face of...