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Examines the likely effect of the changes in GATT on the British beef industry and the implications of these changes for the marketing strategies of British beef producers. The result of GATT changes is that there is unlikely to be any incentive for producers to increase production. Instead, marketing strategies will have to centre on increasing profitability by increasing quality and quality awareness with the objective of increasing margins. Examines the production and marketing of quality beef in the UK and proposes a number of strategies for the future.

The Chinese government has increasingly turned to industry policy as a means of promoting rural development. These industry policies have not necessarily led to an improvement in rural incomes nor to the achievement of other social and environmental goals. This paper examines ways of designing these policies to achieve better rural development outcomes.

The approach adopts a detailed micro‐level analysis of industry policy through the window of the cattle and beef industries. Intensive fieldwork and interviews are conducted with all segments of and participants in the industry in all major beef production and consumption regions. A series of normative analyses examines issues of integration, scale of development, regionalism and specialisation.

Industry policy is a powerful mechanism by which to influence regional and rural development. Improving development outcomes requires that central and local government goals converge and that regions in inland China are well integrated with other regions and sectors of the economy. Large‐scale development projects must be carefully designed to avoid displacing individual households from industry development.

By crossing institutional, geographic and industry segment lines in a comprehensive manner, the research will aid Chinese decision makers concerned with rural development in the design of their industry development policies.

Quality traits desired by consumers may not be adequately captured by beef industry standards associated with grid or value‐based pricing alone. Aims to demonstrate this shortcoming by examining strategies of selected companies in North America at the four supply chain levels of cow‐calf genetics, feedlot feeding, processing, and retailing that have been proactive in producing desirable beef attributes efficiently to better meet consumer beef demand.

The vertical alliance between Ralphs retailing, Sunland Beef processing, and a handful of feedlots using narrowly defined beef genetics are examined to illustrate how consumer market research and coordination throughout the supply chain may address many shortcomings associated with current value‐based pricing of beef criteria.

Better information sharing and coordination between seedstock and retail industries could help assure that consumer preferences of beef palatability and consistency are met while meeting high production efficiency standards.

Cow‐calf, feedlot, and packing industries need to better track and manage information flows of genetic‐management paths from consumer to seedstock producer in order for the beef industry to be more competitive.

Experiences of our case companies suggest that the beef industry will need to look beyond the North American grid or value‐based pricing of beef in order to maintain or improve market share with competing pork and poultry sectors.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the forms of coordinating transactions used by a large beef slaughterhouse and processing companies and their suppliers of beef cattle, and to identify the reasons for the adoption of plural forms of governance for their transactions with cattle suppliers.

A case study format was selected for this investigation. The focal company selected offers a large number of products derived from beef for different commercialisation channels in the domestic and foreign market. A non-probability sample of 30 suppliers (cattle farmers) of the focal company provided data on finished steers sold in 2010, according to the three types of governance used in the transactions (spot market, forward contracts and long-term contracts).

The simultaneous use of more than one type of governance structure to coordinate similar transactions has been termed plural forms of governance in the literature. In Brazil, new forms of governance, such as formal and informal contracts, have been adopted for transactions between beef processing companies and cattle farmers, in addition to the use of spot market and vertical integration. It has been shown that the adoption of plural forms reduces the risk of complex transactions; and is a strategy to deal with unpredictable institutional environments and high heterogeneity of both suppliers and distribution channels.

The research provides empirical evidence of plural forms of governance, as well as the reasons for the adoption of this strategy by firms, which contributes to the ongoing theoretical discussion on this subject.

The paper has implications for company supply chain management.

This paper presents theoretical review on plural forms of governance, new empirical evidence and determinant factors for their adoption.

US Premium Beef Ltd is a cooperative partnership between all segments of the beef industry value chain, affording each segment an interest in the key stages of beef production and processing, as well as an equal share of the financial risks and rewards. This “value‐added” strategy is accomplished through vertical integration and adding a quality‐based pricing structure to more closely link beef producers and consumers. The case study is an example of supply chain management as a strategic response to a mature industry. It also exemplifies how ownership structure of the firm, particularly the emergence of new‐generation cooperatives, is employed as a strategic factor in developing a new competitive approach in an industry characterized by sales decline and aggressive competition from substitute products such as poultry and pork.

US Premium Beef Ltd is a cooperative partnership between all segments of the beef industry value chain, affording each segment an interest in the key stages of beef production and processing, as well as an equal share of the financial risks and rewards. This “value‐added” strategy is accomplished through vertical integration and adding a quality‐based pricing structure to more closely link beef producers and consumers. The case study is an example of supply chain management as a strategic response to a mature industry. It also exemplifies how ownership structure of the firm, particularly the emergence of new‐generation cooperatives, is employed as a strategic factor in developing a new competitive approach in an industry characterized by sales decline and aggressive competition from substitute products such as poultry and pork.

Information on scales for measuring dimensions related to consumer concerns over production processes is scarce in the literature. The purpose of this study was to develop a more comprehensive scale for measuring concern over the production process (CPP).

The authors derive the concept based on the results of a bibliographic review, existing certification criteria, an interview with five experts and two consumer focus groups. The authors interviewed 725 frequent beef meat consumers to test the scale.

Statistical tests and purification yielded a final scale with 18 items and six latent variables: animal welfare, traceability, social responsibility, environmental responsibility, legality and sanitation in slaughterhouses. The authors confirmed the nomological validity of the instrument using product involvement as an antecedent construct and attitude related to sustainable consumption as a consequent of CPP.

The research results may lack generalisability. New research avenues are suggested for testing the scale in other cultural contexts and with different groups of consumers and food types.

This study provides insights for cattle ranchers, the industry and the retail sector in formulating communication strategies and product/brand positioning in response to consumer concerns about the production process.

There is no study at present that fully addresses the use of a scale to measure dimensions of production processes. The creation of the CPP scale is a relevant academic contribution that aids in assessing the influence of the environmental dimension in conjunction with other essential constructs.

Presents a study of the procurement of beef by UK supermarkets. Investigates the hypothesis that a retailer’s choice of beef supplier is influenced by the transaction costs incurred in different supply relationships. Measures the relative importance of the transaction costs incurred by retailers as a result of concerns over quality consistency, traceability and farm animal welfare using conjoint analysis. Data for the conjoint analysis were collected through a postal survey of UK supermarket retailers. From the results, suggests that the information and monitoring costs arising from the need to ensure that beef supplies are of a consistent quality are relatively important influences on the choice of supplier, followed by the traceability of cattle, whether the beef originates from a farm assurance scheme and the price paid by the retailer. Also analyses procurement preferences of individual respondents, revealing some interesting differences between the retailers. Concludes that strategic alliance partnerships between retailers, processors and marketing groups composed of farmers may emerge as the method of vertical co‐ordination which minimizes transaction costs.

Increasing emphasis on the fat content of foods has focused particular attention on red meat and poultry because most of the fat is highly visible. At least some of the trend towards a decreased proportion of beef and lamb in total meat and poultry consumption in many countries can probably be attributed to consumer concern about the fat content of retail cuts of meat. Discusses the reasons for and implications of these trends; describes production and processing practices to facilitate the supply of leaner red meat. While there are formidable problems in reducing the fat content of beef and lamb in retail markets, in the long term these barriers need to be addressed to prevent further erosion of market share.

Canada, together with other developed countries, faces an increasingly sophisticated consumer in an increasingly differentiated and competitive marketplace. Over the last two decades, the Canadian beef industry has suffered from a decline in per capita beef consumption. One of the contributing factors to this is inadequate coordination of the beef supply chain to meet consumers’ changing tastes and preferences. This study focuses on the perspective of cow‐calf producers on the need for greater coordination and their attitudes towards industry coordination. The study found this group of participants to be broadly aware of the need to develop both a more coordinated beef industry and mechanisms that encourage them to be more consumer‐responsive.