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1 – 10 of over 4000The purpose of this paper is to describe how the Livestock Library at the Australian Department of Agriculture and Food developed from being a dream to a reality into a virtual…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe how the Livestock Library at the Australian Department of Agriculture and Food developed from being a dream to a reality into a virtual library that provides a single entry point to high quality research and extension information. It is a study of how information seekers with no library resources decided what information they valued and how they would like to access it; then went about developing a service to fulfil these criteria.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is a narrative, describing the rationale for creating the Livestock Library and the methodology adopted to develop the service. The issues confronting the Livestock Library's owners now that the original three year funding period is over are also discussed.
Findings
The Livestock Library project demonstrates that with a relatively low level of funding it is possible to provide a substantial and valued online information service to support all participants in an industry. The Livestock Library is a “low maintenance” service that provides free access to the full text of three major Australian livestock industry conferences, access to articles published in five leading agricultural journals and facilitates access to information on selected high quality industry sites.
Originality/value
The project is original in its scope and success, providing a free service to suit all participants in Australia's livestock industry, in which all information accessed should be available in a single session. The Livestock Library demonstrates the merit of keeping a project simple – using “off the shelf” software and adopting library technology (federated searching) to target selected high quality web sites.
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Colin Brown, Scott Waldron, Liu Yuman and John Longworth
The purpose of this paper is to show how the promotion of integrated forage/ruminant‐livestock industries forms a key plank in efforts to improve rural household livelihoods in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to show how the promotion of integrated forage/ruminant‐livestock industries forms a key plank in efforts to improve rural household livelihoods in Western China.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper critiques how this industry development has proceeded in the case of Qingyang prefecture in Gansu. The way in which the industry policy has manifested from central to local levels of government is outlined along with how the industry policy relates to other measures intended to improve household livelihoods.
Findings
The outcomes of this forage‐livestock industry policy do not always match the intention, and the paper examines the various disconnects that arise between government agencies, government and households and households and the market. The foremost challenge for policy makers is in connecting households and markets.
Originality/value
Identifying the impacts of policy and institutional settings associated with forage‐livestock systems is crucial if improvements are to be made and as these systems become more widespread in Western China.
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Mohammad Alamgir Hossain, Craig Standing and Caroline Chan
Grounded on the technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework, the purpose of this paper is to develop a two-stage model of radio frequency identification (RFID) adoption in…
Abstract
Purpose
Grounded on the technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework, the purpose of this paper is to develop a two-stage model of radio frequency identification (RFID) adoption in livestock businesses. RFID adoption is divided into two stages, acceptance and extension. It is argued that RFID adoption in livestock businesses is influenced by technological (interoperability, technology readiness), organizational (readiness, market scope), and environmental (competitive market pressure, data inconsistency) factors.
Design/methodology/approach
From a qualitative field study, along with the support of existing literature, the authors developed a research model, which was then validated with survey data of 318 livestock businesses in Australia. Data analysis used partial least squares structural equation modeling.
Findings
Empirical results showed that interoperability, organizational readiness, and competitive market pressure, and data inconsistency significantly influence acceptance of RFID technology in livestock businesses. In addition, the extended use of RFID is determined mainly by interoperability, technology readiness, organizational market scope, and data inconsistency. The results suggested differential effect of data inconsistency– it had a negative influence on RFID acceptance but a positive impact on the extent of its use.
Originality/value
This is one of the first studies to examine RFID adoption as a two-stage process. The theoretical basis was based on TOE framework and the factors were developed from a field study. The results of this study will provide insights for different livestock industry including technologists, farm managers, and market players.
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In many Asian countries, women play a significant but varying role in the management of livestock and the use of common resources plays an important role in animal husbandry, and…
Abstract
In many Asian countries, women play a significant but varying role in the management of livestock and the use of common resources plays an important role in animal husbandry, and can affect the health of some types of livestock. This paper concentrates on village livestock in Thailand and makes use of survey data as well as national statistics. It first of all outlines the nature and development of livestock industries in Thailand. It then considers the role which women play in the village livestock economy in relation to cattle and buffalo, particularly dairying, and in the keeping of poultry and pigs. The extent to which women are involved in maintaining the health of livestock is considered. Both village bovines and poultry utilise common property resources to a considerable extent in Thailand. This has implications for the economics and productivity of keeping village livestock, the healthiness of such livestock and the spread of livestock diseases.
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Odai Falah Mohammad Al-Ghaswyneh
Although the livestock sector is considered to be an important segment of the Saudi Arabian economy, its contribution, including the multiple sources of commercial income it…
Abstract
Purpose
Although the livestock sector is considered to be an important segment of the Saudi Arabian economy, its contribution, including the multiple sources of commercial income it provides, is underestimated. This industry provides thousands of jobs in various related sectors and meets national demand for food. This study aims to examine the impact of breeding inputs such as animal production, marketing processes and operation and legislation on livestock sector efficiency and strategic food security.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopted an exploratory approach. The sample consisted of specialists in industrial production and livestock breeders in the northern region of Saudi Arabia. The relative importance index was used to analyze the data, which was evaluated using structural equation modeling in SPSS.
Findings
The results show the significant influence of breeding inputs, markets and legislation on increasing the efficiency of the livestock sector and the impact of livestock on strategic food security. They also highlight the need to motivate governments to focus on this sector, especially by reducing taxes on breeders’ income and lowering livestock costs accordingly. The Saudi Arabian Government should also facilitate innovative agreements to create global markets for the export of surplus livestock products. In addition, a marketing process is lacking in all areas of production and the local and international marketing of livestock products, which requires the support of different sources of fodder and establishment of markets for specific types of meat slaughter, packaging and sales.
Research limitations/implications
This research was limited to the northern region of Saudi Arabia.
Practical implications
This study highlights the importance of marketing processes and activities according to marketing operations as they used in study instrument to explore their impact on in the marketing livestock sector for national food security strategies and guides future studies in this field.
Social implications
This research recommends that decision-makers support marketing in the livestock sector and reduce production taxes.
Originality/value
To the best of the author’s knowledge, no previous related research has been conducted in the field of food security.
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Diana Bogueva, Dora Marinova and Talia Raphaely
The purpose of this paper is to explore reasons behind meat consumption. It aims to find out what motivates meat consumers and explore the opportunities of social marketing to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore reasons behind meat consumption. It aims to find out what motivates meat consumers and explore the opportunities of social marketing to counteract negative environmental and health trends.
Design/methodology/approach
An exploratory Australian survey of Sydney consumer red meat choices is used covering dietary preferences, meat eating patterns, reasons and levels of concern for economic and environmental issues. Analysis of dietary guidelines and marketing campaigns in relation to the survey findings is conducted.
Findings
The survey highlights: lack of awareness about the link between meat consumption and environmental well-being; widespread inaccuracy of health messages related to meat consumption; influence of the meat industry in promoting excessive meat consumption; pervasiveness of the link between red meat consumption and national identity, social status, prestige and masculinity; and urgent need for government-supported social marketing interventions and the demarketing of meat.
Originality/value
This is the first study to propose social marketing based on the health and environmental co-benefits of reduced red meat consumption.
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Songqing Li, Xuexi Huo, Ruishi Si, Xueqian Zhang, Yumeng Yao and Li Dong
Climatic changes caused by greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions are an urgent challenge for all regions around the globe while the livestock sector is an important source of GHGs…
Abstract
Purpose
Climatic changes caused by greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions are an urgent challenge for all regions around the globe while the livestock sector is an important source of GHGs emissions. The adoption of low-carbon manure treatment technology (LMTT) by farmers is emerging as an effective remedy to neutralize the carbon emissions of livestock. This paper aims to incorporate environmental literacy and social norms into the analysis framework, with the aim of exploring the impact of environmental literacy and social norms on farmers' adoption of LMTT and finally reduce GHGs emission and climate effects.
Design/methodology/approach
This research survey is conducted in Hebei, Henan and Hubei provinces of China. First, this research measures environmental literacy from environmental cognition, skill and responsibility and describes social norms from descriptive and imperative social norms. Second, this paper explores the influence of environmental literacy and social norms on the adoption of LMTT by farmers using the logit model. Third, Logit model's instrumental approach, i.e. IV-Logit, is applied to address the simultaneous biases between environmental skill and farmers’ LMTT adoption. Finally, the research used a moderating model to analyze feasible paths of environmental literacy and social norms that impact the adoption of LMTT by farmers.
Findings
The results showed that environmental literacy and social norms significantly and positively affect the adoption of LMTT by farmers. In particular, the effects of environmental literacy on the adoption of LMTT by farmers are mainly contributed by environmental skill and responsibility. The enhancement of social norms on the adoption of LMTT by farmers is mainly due to the leading role of imperative social norms. Meanwhile, if the endogeneity caused by the reverse effect between environmental skill and farmers’ LMTT adoption is dealt with, the role of environmental skill will be weakened. Additionally, LMTT technologies consist of energy and resource technologies. Compared to energy technology, social norms have a more substantial moderating effect on environmental literacy, affecting the adoption of farmer resource technology.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, a novel attempt is made to examine the effects of environmental literacy and social norms on the adoption of LMTT by farmers, with the objective of identifying more effective factors to increase the intensity of LMTT adoption by farmers.
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Yanhong Jin, Yahong Hu, Carl Pray and Ruifa Hu
The Chinese Government has used a number of policies to encourage commercial agribusiness firms to do more innovation. These include public sector agricultural research and…
Abstract
Purpose
The Chinese Government has used a number of policies to encourage commercial agribusiness firms to do more innovation. These include public sector agricultural research and development (R&D), public sector biotechnology research and innovation, subsidies for commercial research, encouraging foreign firms to invest in China as minority shareholders in joint ventures, and allowing commercial companies to raise money on the stock market. The purpose of this paper is to assess whether these policies were effective in stimulating innovations by commercial firms in China.
Design/methodology/approach
This study estimates the impact of public biotech research and other policies by employing an econometric model of patenting by commercial firms. It uses a unique data set collected from commercial agribusiness firms for the years 2001, 2004, 2005, and 2006. Addition data were collected from public research institutes and universities and patent data from the Derwent Innovations Index database. It employs four count data models for the empirical analysis.
Findings
This study finds a positive impact of public biotechnology (measured by the number of biotech patents of government research institutes and public universities) on commercial innovation measured by the number of patents granted to the commercial firms. As expected the firm’s research expenditure and having their own R&D center (as opposed to contracting R&D or no R&D investment at all) have a positive and statistically significant effect on the number of patents granted. The impacts of public R&D investment spending have no statistically significant effect on commercial innovation. Multi-national firms and publicly traded firms have fewer patents than their counterparts suggesting that policies to encourage multi-nationals and financing through stock markets had no impact on innovation.
Originality/value
This study is one of the first studies to untangle the relationship between government policies and innovation by commercial agricultural research output and public R&D investment and biotechnology. The main findings suggest that simply increasing research money to public research does not increase commercial innovations, but moving resources to the development patentable biotech does improve commercial research productivity. The results also suggest that policies to increase commercial research will also increase innovation. These could include strengthening the legal framework and institutional resources for public institutes to the protection and enforcement of intellectual properties.
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Murrah Dairy Company Limited (Murrah Dairy) is a strategy and management case related to entrepreneurship, with a focus on marketing, expansion, strategy and management of a…
Abstract
Subject area
Murrah Dairy Company Limited (Murrah Dairy) is a strategy and management case related to entrepreneurship, with a focus on marketing, expansion, strategy and management of a family-run small and medium enterprise (SME).
Study level/applicability
The case is suitable for senior undergraduate and/or graduate MBA strategic management, entrepreneurship and marketing courses.
Case overview
The case is about Murrah Dairy, Thailand's first and only buffalo dairy producer. The company combines the concepts of regular SMEs together with community enterprises to build a business that can be used to achieve community benefits as well as private gains. With 11 years of experience, Murrah Dairy remains the first and only extensive dairy buffalo farm in Thailand. The market is growing, the brand is catching on and the company keeps expanding. Beginning with Murrah Farm in 2003, now Murrah Dairy now operates Murrah Farm, Murrah House and Mini Murrah Farm. The question now is where to go from here and what will it take to grow?
Expected learning outcomes
The expected learning outcomes are the increases in understanding on environment assessment (such as SWOT analysis, Porter's Five Forces, success factors), marketing strategy (product portfolio analysis, market-product analysis) and SME management, as well as abilities to propose growth strategies and marketing strategies for the firm.
Supplementary materials
Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.
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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of the foreign investment on the exit and sales of the domestic firms. Furthermore, it studies whether domestic firms…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of the foreign investment on the exit and sales of the domestic firms. Furthermore, it studies whether domestic firms undergo different influences by foreign firms according to the size of domestic firms.
Design/methodology/approach
Korean firm-level data for the period of 2006 through 2013 provided by Statistics Korea are used to study the impact of the foreign investment on the exit and sales of the domestic firms.
Findings
The result shows that foreign firms crowd out small firms from the market and take their shares in the domestic market. On the other hand, larger firms rather enjoy positive spillover effect from foreign firms, reducing its exit probability and increasing sales. It may be that large firms have enough competitiveness and ability to learn and apply the advanced technology of the foreign firms.
Practical implications
Despite the strong belief on the positive impacts of the foreign firms such as knowledge spillovers or job creation, there might be crowding-out or market-stealing effect from the presence of foreign firms. If the latter effect is larger than positive effect, the incentives provided by host country government to the multinational firms cannot be justified. In this regard, the question addressed in this paper is very important.
Originality/value
While most of previous papers have focused on the impacts of the foreign firms on productivity of the domestic firms, this paper deals with their impacts on the exit and sales of the domestic firms in order to examine more direct crowding-out and market-stealing effect of foreign firms.
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