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1 – 10 of 734Although we have achieved a greater understanding of cryptomarket specifics, evidence on the consumer side of cryptomarkets is still needed – not only regarding the role of…
Abstract
Although we have achieved a greater understanding of cryptomarket specifics, evidence on the consumer side of cryptomarkets is still needed – not only regarding the role of cryptomarkets on individual drug-using careers but also on the motives for buying illicit drugs from cryptomarkets. Moreover, research has indicated that national differences exist regarding different variables relating to cryptomarket use and prevalence, as well as to why users are drawn to these markets. In this chapter, the author presents the results of a Belgian case study focusing on drug cryptomarket buyers. Using an online quantitative survey (N = 99) and semi-structured interviews (N = 10), we gain exploratory insight into the motives of Belgian buyers sourcing illicit drugs from cryptomarkets and how they believe these cryptomarkets affect their drug-using careers. Results indicate that most of the respondents had bought drugs offline before buying them from cryptomarkets and that the frequency of their drug use did not change once cryptomarkets were accessed. Almost 60% of our respondents, however, consumed different drugs or a wider range of drugs following their cryptomarket use. Furthermore, most of the respondents purchased from cryptomarkets for their personal consumption, and some of them also shared their supply with friends, that is, social supply. The alternative drug offer was the principal reason why they were using cryptomarkets, followed by curiosity and the price and the quality of the drugs. Although the respondents in this study were well aware of different risks related to market vendors, market administrators, and law enforcement, these risks were considered to be minimal and part of the cryptomarket environment. The results of this case study are informative and highlight areas requiring further research.
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Koen Mondelaers and Guido Van Huylenbroeck
The purpose of this paper is to exemplify, by means of a Belgian case study, the transition of multiple certification schemes currently employed in the food sector towards a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to exemplify, by means of a Belgian case study, the transition of multiple certification schemes currently employed in the food sector towards a single retail driven higher end spot market.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were obtained by means of focus group sessions, a survey, in depth interviews and a literature review. The theoretical framework builds upon institutional economics, the competitive forces as identified by Porter, and the theory of system innovations. The article illustrates the current institutional setting of certification, the drive towards a premium spot market and the consequences for the participants in the schemes.
Findings
This paper illustrates that a shift towards a premium spot market is indeed apparent. The paper furthermore argues that the dynamics of certification schemes are characterized by processes of contraction (mergers) followed by relaxation (diversification). The paper concludes that the retail sector is the primary beneficiary of the shift towards a single premium spot market. For the remainder of the food chain members, it is less clear whether the overall effect is positive.
Originality/value
The question of multiple certification schemes merging into a single retail driven scheme is approached from different stakeholders' point of views. Furthermore, the different factors steering this transition are elucidated and empirically confirmed. Both elements make this paper a valuable contribution to the existing literature on certification and coordination mechanisms in the food chain.
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Meropi Tzanetakis and Nigel South
This chapter explores the disruptive potential of the Internet to transform illicit drug markets while also challenging stereotypical depictions and superficial understandings of…
Abstract
This chapter explores the disruptive potential of the Internet to transform illicit drug markets while also challenging stereotypical depictions and superficial understandings of supply and demand. It argues that the digital transformation of illicit drug markets combines, on one hand, a reconfiguration of the scope and impact of how sellers, buyers, and other actors interact within and upon digitally mediated retail drug markets and, on the other hand, continuing trends in the embeddedness of market structures in cultural, economic, political, and legal realms. We develop conceptual ideas for studying the architecture of digital drug markets by drawing on interdisciplinary approaches to digitalisation, markets, and drugs. To understand the functioning of online drug markets, we first need to understand digitalisation. Thus, we draw on scholarship on the digital transformation of society and, second, put forward an understanding of markets that considers how personal relations and social structures enhance and restrict market exchange. Thus, we draw on economic sociology. Third, we build on and extend social science research on illicit drug markets which points out that drug markets exhibit significant variations over time and across jurisdictions. The introduction aims to provide a research agenda that can help us to explore ongoing digital transformations of illicit drug markets. It expands and deepens scholarship on the technological, structural, economic, and cultural factors underlying the resilience and growth of digital drug markets. It also goes beyond a concern with just one type of digital drug market into wider forms of digital environments.
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The following report has been received from the Gauge and Tool Makers' Association:
Bank — Documentary credit — Irrevocable credit — Effect of voluntary liquidation of bankers
This from a poet whose identity we have long since forgotten suggests the paramountcy of the present; to live to the full today's day and exact from it all the vitality and value…
Abstract
This from a poet whose identity we have long since forgotten suggests the paramountcy of the present; to live to the full today's day and exact from it all the vitality and value its few fleeting hours contain. There is profit to be had, however, at given times, such as events that are landmarks, at the ends of periods as now, the end of a year, from looking back and noting what has passed.
Marguerite Higuet and Hervé Remaud
To measure the extent to which wine buyers behave differently when purchasing wine online vs in two brick and mortar stores. The article aims to extend the use of the Double…
Abstract
Purpose
To measure the extent to which wine buyers behave differently when purchasing wine online vs in two brick and mortar stores. The article aims to extend the use of the Double Jeopardy principle and empirical-based methodology to the wine category in a European retailing context.
Design/methodology/approach
Customer loyalty data of two brick and mortar stores and the website orders of a Belgian retailer have been gathered for a one-year period. Data have been analysed based on three specific wine attributes: country of origin, grape variety and brand. Double Jeopardy measurements have been calculated for each of these attributes.
Findings
This study enlarges the scope of use of the Dirichlet principles. All three hypotheses derived from the Double Jeopardy patterns across all attributes are confirmed. From the perspective of these principles, we demonstrated that wine buyers do not behave differently in brick and mortar vs online stores.
Originality/value
Very few studies have analysed and understood wine buyers' behaviour using actual purchasing data from retail stores, and none have been released comparing online and brick and mortar stores owned by the same retail brand. From that perspective, our study demystifies the way people really buy, and confirms what has been found in other product categories.
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