Search results

The purpose of this paper is to empirically research marketing and financial export barriers by perceptions of agri-food firms from small developing country with preferential trade position in Europe. Using resource-based and contingency theories as framework, differences in barriers perceptions between exporters classified by five organizational factors were tested.

Secondary data collection for literature review, conceptualization and hypotheses setting, and primary data collection for hypotheses testing were employed. Survey’s variables and their measurement were derived from previous studies, so exploratory factor analysis was utilized to test dimensionality. A total of 224 agri-food exporters were surveyed and 86 usable responses were collected. The single export venture was used as unit of analysis. ANOVA and t test were utilized for hypotheses testing.

Results indicate that the biggest barriers are price competitiveness and insufficient government support. Larger firms and foreign-owned ones perceive researched export barriers as lower than smaller firms and domestic-owned ones.

The primary limitation of the paper is its one country scope, limiting generalizability. Despite this, research derives several implications especially for management and policy-makers.

This research confirmed propositions of resource-based and contingency theory in export barriers researching in a case of agri-food sector of small, developing economy with preferential position in European trade, but challenges treating export experience, intensity, and product type as firm’s valuable resources and internal contingencies.

The current era is characterized by hyperturbulence, population growth, attention to food security, the need to identify sustainable strategies to reduce pollution and poverty, and the disparity between developed and undeveloped economies. These circumstances force a global paradigm shift based on sustainable practices and processes that put people and the environment at the core of each activity, contributing to sustainable, social, and economic development and promoting well-being in the community.

In this spirit, a strong impulse can derive from the practices of Green Technology, considered here as that set of processes aimed at eco-sustainability that acquire undisputed relevance, especially for emerging economies.

This chapter focuses on the role that Green technology practices exert in generating local well-being in the world's fifth-largest country: Brazil. Dynamic growth and effective social policies lifted millions of people out of poverty in the 2000s, even if socio-economic development varies widely across the country. Brazil is a leading global agricultural, minerals, and oil producer. The natural environment represents the primary source of Brazil's development that deserves to be protected and push firms and citizens to find new sustainable solutions based on green policies. Drawing inspiration from a Brazilian case study, this chapter proposes a set of building blocks that foster sustainable business practices in emerging countries.

The chapter is organized as follows: the first part introduces the concept of green technology practices; the second highlights the opportunities of green technologies; the third focuses on a single case study.