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Food labels are increasingly used to provide information to consumers. As a common design strategy used for food package labels globally, label frame is often used to expand the perceived breadth of a brand and create a broader brand image. We evaluated the effect of the presence or absence of a non-genetically modified organism (non-GMO) label frame on consumers' preferences for non-GMO foods.

This study collected data from 120 MBA students at a university in Sichuan, China, and 126 foreign volunteers in a shopping mall in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. The study investigates the effect of the presence or absence of non-GMO label frame (i.e. label with or without an outline) on non-GMO food preferences through a field survey and two controlled experiments. To empirically analyse the psychological mechanisms by which non-GMO label frames affect consumers' preferences for non-GMO food, we set up the mediating variable of food association of safety.

For ordinary consumers, a framed non-GMO label is more likely to evoke food association of safety and further enhance consumer preference for non-GMO foods. It facilitates consumers' choice of healthier foods. This finding did not otherwise vary across demographic characteristics.

This study is the first to examine the influence of non-GMO label frames on consumers' non-GMO food preferences, which is an innovative research question. The findings of this study are instructive for food manufacturers and policymakers to better design and use non-GMO label frames to attract more consumers to choose non-GMO foods.

The surge of artificial intelligence (AI) applications and subsequent adoption by consumers and marketers has ignited substantial research exploring the benefits and opportunities of AI. Despite this, little attention has been given to its unintended negative consequences. In this paper, the authors examine both the practitioner and academic sides of ethical AI. In doing so, the authors conduct an extensive review of the AI literature to identify potential issues pertaining to three areas: individual consumers, societal and legal. The authors identify gaps and offer questions to drive future research.

The authors review recent academic literature on AI in marketing journals, and top ethical principles from three top technology developers (Google, IBM and Meta) in conjunction with media reports of negative AI incents. They also identify gaps and opportunities for future research based on this review.

The bibliographic review reveals a small number of academic papers in marketing that focus on ethical considerations for AI adoption. The authors highlight concerns for academic researchers, marketing practitioners and AI developers across three main areas and highlight important issues relating to interactive marketing.

This paper highlights the under-researched negative outcomes of AI adoption. Through an extensive literature review, coupled with current responsible AI principles adopted by major technology companies, this research provides a framework for examining the dark side of AI.

The goal of this study is to predict the farmers’ concerns about agricultural index-insurance (AII) for weather risk mitigation of horticultural crops in hilly regions. The key impetus of analysis is to prioritize the AII requirements based on the farmers’ perspectives using the requirements prioritization approach.

The integrated approach has been applied in this paper. Initially, the MoSCoW prioritization technique has been employed to prioritize the AII attributes utilizing a four-dimensional agriculture insurance scale. Later, the rank sum weighting method was deployed to assign the ultimate rank to AII attributes based on the farmers’ responses.

Findings specified that out of 15 AII attributes, majority of 11 attributes were placed in “must have” and “should have” categories that related to claim, design, premium and grievance management dimensions. However, three AII attributes are placed in the “could have” category. Additionally, findings of rank-sum weighting method-based ranking can help insurers in redesigning farmers-oriented AII services for risk mitigation of horticulture crops by incorporating these ranks as per their priority level.

The prioritized AII attributes are helpful for insurers and managers in order to solve the problems associated with design, premium, claim and grievance management of AII.

Findings deliver significant insights to insurers to incorporate the prioritized AII attributes ranked by farmers.

This is the initial known analysis that integrated the MoSCoW and rank sum weighting method to prioritize the AII requirements prioritization among Indian farmers.

This study’s purpose is to analyze the effects of trade interventions and non-tariff impediments between the exporters (the United States and Brazil) and China for soybean trade.

A spatial model is developed and solved using an optimized Monte Carlo simulation (OMCS) and is used to minimize the costs of supplying soybeans to China. The costs included the origin basis; transportation to ports, including trucks, railways and barges; demurrage; and ocean freight. The sum of these charges determines the delivered costs to China from each origin. Most variables are random and correlated. Time-series distributions are based on historical data. Production and exports are highly seasonal and important.

Base-case flows are highly seasonal, are risky and reflect actual trade. Sensitivities illustrate the effects of mitigating the quality differentials and interpreting a term of the Phase One agreement that purchases would be made so long as the prices are competitive. The results are also used to illustrate the influence of diversifying from the United States as a supplier. Finally, the policy implications are discussed.

Removing the quality discounts for US soybeans raises the US market share by 9%. These results also illustrate that diversification of supply sources is important for the importing country. Indeed, if China were to pursue less diversification import costs and/or risks would escalate. Hence, these results suggest that diversification is an appealing element of an import strategy. The results suggest a large distribution of prices and costs, particularly in Brazil. On average, the United States is most likely to be competitive for only a few months of the year, and the results are highly seasonal.

Competition in supplying soybean to China is extremely competitive and the underlying factors impacting spatial competition are risk, correlated and spatially dependent. In addition to these, there are quality differences, and there are trade policies and strategies that affect competition. The empirical model and results illustrate the intensity of competition in this market as well the impacts of these non-tariff barriers and trade strategies in this market.

Important policies have been taken and continue to be under review regarding competition and trade among these countries. These results illustrate the impacts of these policies on market shares and competition.

This problem is important to the world soybean trading sector, and the methodology captures important seasonal and random variables that affect trade flows. The OMCS model is appropriate for this problem and has only been used minimally in the recent literature about commodity trade.

Global climate change threatens world food security. This research raises the issues of priority agricultural development, increasing agricultural production, and expanding the insurance coverage of the industry. The authors propose to implement insurance activities further to prevent the effects of climate change and economic support in the emphasizеd advancеment of food production in agriculture. The research relies on direct comparative analysis, statistical and economic analysis, and monographic observational data. To conduct deep research, the authors apply analysis and synthesis. The authors also use the questionnaire methods across the country and organization, monographic research, and other methods. Furthermore, the authors used international normative documents, research of scientists in scientific periodicals, and data from official websites. The authors conclude that to protect agricultural insurance and ensure the continuous development of agriculture, it is advisable to transition from administrative methods to the following recommendations for insurance against various financial and natural losses that may arise in agriculture due to the vagaries of nature. It is also recommended to introduce a mechanism of state subsidies to compensate for the costs and improve the efficiency of insurance agents in the insurance activities of agricultural enterprises.

Even though trust is known for improving supply chain performance (SCP), previous studies have overlooked the investigation of its dimensions. Limited studies exist on the variations of the influence of trust dimensions in agribusiness supply chain relationships. This study examined the influence of trust dimensions on SCP in a developing country's context.

A cross-sectional study design was used to collect from 204 farmers and 192 traders (396 respondents) using a multistage sampling approach. Structural equation modeling was employed to analyze the hypothesized relationships.

Pooled sample results show that integrity and competence were the trust dimensions with significant effects on SCP, whereas competence was significant across different supply chains and markets, integrity and benevolence were only significant along fresh chains and in the contract market.

The extent of application of this study's findings is limited to situations similar to those of tomato and soybeans value chains in developing countries.

The paper contributes to a better understanding of the influence of trust dimensions on SCP across supply chains in different market typologies in agribusiness relationships in a developing country's context.

Female smallholder farmers in low-income countries face barriers to accessing capital and commodity markets. While agricultural cooperatives provide services that contribute to the income and productivity of small-scale producers, evidence of cooperatives' social and economic empowerment of female smallholders remains limited. We apply Sen's capability approach to female entrepreneurs' socioeconomic empowerment to examine whether women's participation in a coffee and microfinance cooperative from rural western Uganda benefits their social and economic position within their household. First, we study the relationship between women's cooperative participation and their household coffee sales and savings. Second, we investigate the link between women's cooperative participation and their intra-household decision-making and whether the inclusion of the husband in his wife's cooperative strengthens or lowers women's decision-making power.

We carry out a case study of a hybrid coffee and microfinance cooperative that promotes social innovation through the integration and empowerment of female smallholders in rural Uganda. Using a cross-sectional survey of 411 married female cooperative members from 26 randomly selected self-help groups of Bukonzo Joint Cooperative and 196 female non-members from the identical area, employing propensity score matching, this paper investigates the benefits of women's participation in a coffee and microfinance cooperative in the Rwenzori Mountains of western Uganda. We present and discuss the results of our case study within an extensive literature on the role of institutions in collective action for women's empowerment.

Our findings provide new empirical evidence on female smallholders' participation in mixed cooperatives. Our results indicate that women's participation in microfinance-producer cooperatives appears to be a conditional blessing: even though membership is linked to increased women's intra-household decision-making and raised household savings and income from coffee sales, a wife with a husband in the same cooperative self-help group is associated with diminished women's household decision-making power.

The focus of this study is on female coffee smallholders in an agricultural cooperative in rural western Uganda. In particular, we focus on a case study of one major coffee cooperative. Our cross-sectional survey does not allow us to infer causal interpretations. Also, the survey does not include variables that allow us to measure other dimensions of women's empowerment beyond decision-making over household expenditures and women's financial performance related to savings and income from coffee cultivation.

Our empirical results indicate that female smallholders' cooperative membership is associated with higher incomes and coffee sales. However, husband co-participation in their wives' cooperative group diminishes wives' decision-making, which suggests that including husbands and other family members in the same cooperative group may not be perceived as an attractive route to empowerment for female smallholders. For these reasons, an intervention that encourages the cooperation of both spouses and that is sensitive to context-specific gender inequalities, may be more successful at stimulating social change toward household gender equality than interventions that focus on women's autonomous spheres only.

While the literature thus far has focused on microfinance's potential for women's empowerment, evidence on agricultural cooperatives' affecting women's social and economic position is limited. First, our findings provide novel empirical evidence on the empowering effects of women's participation in a self-help group-based coffee cooperative in rural Uganda. Second, our data allows us to explore the role of husbands' participation in their wives' cooperative and SGH. We embed our hypotheses and empirical results in a rich discussion of female entrepreneurship, microfinance and cooperative literature.

To critically examine the holistic implementation of green supply chain management (GSCM) practices in entrepreneurial ventures in Thailand.

The study observed 121 organizations (or respondents) covering 13 industries from both the public and private sectors. The research process started with a semi-structured interview and observation, followed by focus group interviews. The data collected were then analyzed using content and thematic analysis methods.

Respondents (chiefly entrepreneurial ventures) have good eco-knowledge. Most have more than 3–10 years of experience implementing eco practices that have significantly reduced their eco-impacts and costs. The study also revealed that firms’ directors developed environmental management systems (EMS) and cultures of their firms. This study rejected previously held beliefs that factors including country, firm size, industry type, years of activity and certification, impact both positively and negatively on green performance. However, the influence of top management, green entrepreneurial orientation (GEO), respondents’ different perceptions of the GSCM boundary and the COVID-19 pandemic have impacted the success of GSCM’s implementation.

The COVID-19 pandemic obstructed observing GSCM implementation at the respondents’ workplaces. This could reduce the validity of the research, as all evidence obtained was selectively provided by the respondents, not the researchers.

New practitioners are encouraged to focus on green logistics (GL) at a firm level as opposed to the broader supply chain. Effective GL practices recommended utilities usage reduction, reuse/recycle waste and green procurement.

GSCM researchers should focus on patterns of over-consumption, over-trading and relevant institutions that cause environmental unsustainability, rather than specific units in supply chains. The Buddhist sustainable sufficiency concept should be considered as a viable lens to analyze GSCM as it complements existing theories.

This review paper delves into the comprehensive understanding of Ashwagandha, spanning its botanic occurrence, conventional applications, extraction techniques and pivotal role in addressing various disorders.

Introduction Ashwagandha, also known as Withania somnifera, is a remarkable botanical resource with a rich history of use in traditional medicine.

In botany, Withania somnifera thrives in diverse ecosystems, particularly in tropical and subtropical regions. Its extensive distribution across regions, the Canary Islands, South Africa, the Middle East, Sri Lanka, India and China underscores its adaptability and resilience. The traditional uses of Ashwagandha in Ayurvedic and indigenous medicine systems have persisted for over 3,000 years. With over 6,000 plant species utilized historically, India, often regarded as the “botanical garden of the world,” has firmly established Ashwagandha as a cornerstone in traditional healing practices.

Extraction methods play a pivotal role in harnessing the therapeutic potential of Ashwagandha. Ultrasonic-assisted extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography are among the techniques employed to obtain the key bioactive compounds. Ashwagandha’s significance in modern medicine is underscored by its potential to address a spectrum of health issues. The multifaceted bioactivity of Ashwagandha is attributed to its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, heart conditions, metabolic disorders, renal ailments, hepatic diseases and adaptogenic properties, making it a subject of increasing interest in contemporary medical research. This review synthesizes the assorted perspectives of Ashwagandha, from its botanical roots and conventional employments to its advanced extraction strategies and its intention to basic well-being challenges, advertising important bits of knowledge for analysts, specialists and healthcare experts alike.

This study intends to investigate drivers and consequences of supply chain coordination (SCC) towards green to highlight some convincing evidence for an emerging country's exporters to promote sustainable coffee development.

Data were gathered from surveying 189 managers of coffee exporters in Vietnam and then applied PLS-SEM for analysis.

This study demonstrates that top management sensitivity, along with institutional forces of regulation, market and competition, strongly stimulate exporters' supply chain coordination towards green. Additionally, that coordination boosts the export financial and market performance.

The findings may not be generalizable because the current study only included data from Vietnamese coffee exporters.

This study contributes to the current literature by looking from the perspective of coffee exporters – leading players in supply chains for export. The research findings represent the first solid argument for Vietnam coffee exporters to encourage SCC towards green and reveal several implications for managers and policymakers to support sustainable development in an emerging country.