Managing Labor on Dairy Farms: A Resource-Based Perspective with Evidence from Case Studies

Labor management practices in agriculture are a marginally and fragmentally researched subject with limited theoretical background in agricultural economics. The resource-based theory is proposed as a framework to analyze labor management on farms and its application discussed with evidence of six case studies. In-depth interviews with farm managers, supervisors, and non-supervisory employees provide data to illustrate the provisions of the resource-based theory. The theory requires heterogeneity, immobility, value, rareness, inimitability, and non-substitutability for resources to contribute to sustained competitive advantage. The human resource system of the case farms satisfies these conditions and hence qualifies as a source of competitive advantage. * Funding for this project was provided in part by the North Central Risk Management Education Center. The authors wish to express their gratitude to the farmers and their employees who volunteered to participate in the study and openly shared their experiences.