This Case was used at the First Sustainability in Agribusiness Case Competition held by the College of Management and Economics, at the University of Guelph on March 16-17, 2012. Other than for the 2012 competition the case has remained confidential. Part 1 was used in the eliminatory round; Part...

The paper assesses the ability of French wineries to prevail over the crisis of French wine in the years 2000. Corporations are distinguished from co-operatives: Over the 2000-2006 period in spite of sales fluctuations, French wineries did not increase their financial debt level substantially....

This article focuses on the study of the comparative advantages and competitiveness in the global pear market. First, it will outline a clear distinction between these two concepts, followed by analysis. This paper provides a new index of competitiveness developed by our research based on the...

This paper is concerned with the role of network administrative organizations (NAOs) in the development of social capital in inter-organizational networks aiming at supporting their members to innovate in the food sector through interacting with one another. A multi-case study approach is used...

Market orientation (MO) – which is the propensity of a firm to collect and utilise information from the market – is an important leverage of competitive advantage. This paper helps to better understand why some owner-managers engage with market intelligence why others simply do not. The...

The present paper aims to give insight into critical issues contributing to the successful building of viable and sustainable regional netchains, focussing on chain governance mechanisms (coordination mechanisms, quality management systems, information systems) and social embedding. It uses...

The present paper aims at answering the question how cluster organization functions are implemented in a high-tech, a medium to high-tech and a low to medium-tech cluster. Data were collected by semi-structured interviews from three clusters in the Netherlands, an agri-food cluster (as an...

Firms in the agri-food industry are embedded in a system of institutions, regulations and policies that shape their economic environment and affect their conduct and performance. Changes in this system can propose new challenges for the firms that need to adequately and efficiently change and...

Evaluating the rural communities capacity to manage changes is of paramount importance for effective Social Sustainability strategies identification. The aim of the present study is to analyze if social resilience can be integrated into the social assessment of rural communities, with the aim of...

The sustainability of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is constantly challenged on today’s dynamic operating environment. Evolving regulatory trends, difficult economic conditions, and diminishing natural resources, pose serious questions for all players across the food system....