Open Access
Country of origin and ethnocentrism: a review from the perspective of food consumption
(Asociación de Economistas Agrarios de Chile, 2013) Schnettler, Berta; Sánchez García, Mercedes; Orellana, Ligia; Sepúlveda, José; Gestión de Empresas; Enpresen Kudeaketa
Como consecuencia del incremento del comercio internacional de alimentos, se han desarrollado numerosos estudios enfocados en estudiar las preferencias de los consumidores hacia los alimentos domésticos e importados. Estos estudios se han realizados desde la perspectiva del “efecto país de origen” y desde el punto de vista del etnocentrismo en el consumo. A pesar de la numerosa literatura existente, aun no existe consenso en la importancia que tiene el país de origen en las preferencias del consumidor, ni en las variables que inciden en un comportamiento etnocéntrico en el consumo. El presente trabajo tiene como objetivo presentar y analizar los resultados de los principales estudios realizados desde la perspectiva del “efecto país de origen” y del etnocentrismo relacionados con la compra de alimentos. En ambos enfoques se incluyen investigaciones realizadas en el ámbito internacional y se finaliza con una revisión de los principales estudios realizados en el ámbito chileno.
Open Access
The gender role on moderator effect of food safety label between perceived quality and risk on fresh vegetables
(Universidad Nacional de Cuyo (Argentina), 2019) Adasme Berríos, Cristian; Sánchez García, Mercedes; Mora, Marcos; Schnettler, Berta; Lobos, Germán; Díaz Osorio, José; Gestión de Empresas; Enpresen Kudeaketa
El rol de la etiqueta de inocuidad alimentaria en hortalizas frescas ha recibido poca atención en economías en desarrollo y menos atención desde la perspectiva del género. En este contexto, se desarrolló un modelo conceptual para explicar el efecto de la etiqueta de inocuidad alimentaria como una variable moderadora de la percepción de riesgo y la calidad percibida para hortalizas frescas desde la perspectiva del género. Se desarrolló un modelo de ecuaciones estructurales en el centro y sur de Chile central, utilizando una muestra por conveniencia (n = 1114) de compradores de hortalizas. El principal hallazgo del estudio fue que para las mujeres la etiqueta de inocuidad alimentaria moderó el efecto de la percepción de riesgo sobre la calidad percibida; mientras que para los hombres este efecto no fue significativo. Sin embargo, dado que las mujeres son las principales responsables de la compra de alimentos, las etiquetas de inocuidad alimentaria son una herramienta para que estos consumidores reconozcan las hortalizas riesgosas; al mismo tiempo, puede influir en la decisión de compra de aquellos consumidores preocupados por ciertos riesgos asociados con las hortalizas frescas.
Open Access
Drivers of winegrowers' decision on land use abandonment based on exploratory spatial data analysis and multilevel models
(Elsevier, 2023) Calafat-Marzal, Consuelo; Sánchez García, Mercedes; Gallego-Salguero, Aurea; Piñeiro, Verónica; Gestión de Empresas; Enpresen Kudeaketa; Universidad Pública de Navarra / Nafarroako Unibertsitate Publikoa, PRO-UPNA 11504
The frequency of producers opting to abandon agricultural land has become increasingly, highlighting the significance of this phenomenon due to its environmental, landscape, and socio-economic impacts. The decisions of producers to abandon or maintain/improve their farms depend on individual and contextual factors. The aims of this research are twofold. Firstly, to evaluate the influence of the neighbours on the winegrowers' decisions, using spatial analysis. Secondly, to clarify the specific importance of each of the individual and contextual drivers in farmers' decisions to improve their farms, to keep them unchanged or to abandon them, using multilevel models. The results obtained for the case study of vineyards in Spain, reveal a strong agglomeration phenomenon in farmers' decisions indicating that producers make land use decisions influenced by what their neighbours do. A multilevel analysis identifies that individual factors are determinant and that the influence of contextual factors is conditioned by the innovation process at farm level. Individual drivers, such as size, innovation, Protected Designations of Origin and irrigation influence vineyard area, with irrigation having the greatest overall influence, and is expected to be decisive in climate change projections. The Protected Designations of Origin are driving forces that dynamize the territory and achieve productive concentrations, encouraging winegrowers to replant, but they are not enough to halt abandonment. The elements that slow down the abandonment of plots are irrigation and the combination of innovation and context variables, mainly the combination of modernised plots in the municipalities with trading options.
Open Access
Growth-oriented new agricultural ventures: the role of entrepreneurial resources and capabilities under convergence forces
(Oxford University Press, 2019) Pindado Tapia, Emilio; Sánchez García, Mercedes; Enpresen Kudeaketa; Institute on Innovation and Sustainable Development in Food Chain - ISFOOD; Gestión de Empresas
Using a multilevel approach, this study examines how new entrants’ resources, capabilities and context influence growth-oriented new agricultural ventures. Results indicate that growth orientation is largely self-determined. The knowledge base of the new entrants, their social ties with entrepreneurs, together with the capabilities to identify and exploit opportunities, as well as those to effectively offer new products, trigger these growth-oriented ventures. Industry contexts also influence them, as those operating in less agriculturally competitive countries have a greater probability of becoming growth-oriented, suggesting convergence forces. Lastly, results reveal that competitiveness positively moderates the relationship between product innovation capabilities and growth orientation.
Embargo
Health crises, community health habits, and pandemic-driven food sentiments: a twitter-based study in the United States
(Wiley, 2025-01-26) Fakhreddine, Lara Bou; Sánchez García, Mercedes; Pindado Tapia, Emilio; Gestión de Empresas; Enpresen Kudeaketa
This study analyzes how Twitter users' characteristics (the number of followers and followings) and their context (crisis conditions, community healthy eating, and exercise habits) determine food attitudes during health crises. We analyzed 72,067 US tweets discussing food and COVID-19 from January 20, 2020 to March 20, 2021. The analysis examines tweets mentioning together the topics food and COVID-19 to grasp the sentiments of users regarding food amidst this health crisis. Using sentiment analysis and multilevel modeling, our results show that users with a high number of followings tend to express fewer positive sentiments, whereas the opposite is the case for users with a high number of followers. We found that a worsening of the epidemic conditions increased the propensity to express fewer positive sentiments and that the relationship of community healthy habits with pandemic-driven food sentiments is contingent on these conditions. At low levels of COVID-19 cases, users in healthy-eating communities tend to express positive sentiments, but at high levels, they express more negative sentiments. Regarding community exercise habits, people in these contexts often express fewer positive sentiments. However, as the pandemic worsened, individuals in these communities tended to express more positive sentiments. This study advises policymakers to counter misinformation and develop targeted communication strategies for different communities.
Open Access
What drives firm profitability? A multilevel approach to the Spanish agri-food sector
(Instituto Nacional de Investigacion y Tecnologia Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA), 2017) Zouaghi, Ferdaous; Sánchez García, Mercedes; Hirsch, Stefan; Enpresen Kudeaketa; Institute for Advanced Research in Business and Economics - INARBE; Gestión de Empresas
Strategic management research has demonstrated the importance of firm- and industry structure as drivers of firm profitability. However, less is known about how firms´ geographical locations affect profitability. Applying a multi-level approach of hierarchical linear modeling we estimated firm-, industry-, and region-specific effects on profitability of 3,273 agri-food firms operating in different Spanish districts over the time span 2006-2013. The results reveal the dominance of firm-specific effects which contribute up to 48.8% to variance in firm profitability while the contribution of industry effects (0.8-4.2%), geographical location (0.1-1.8%), and year effects (0.1-2.5%) is rather small. Moreover, firm size, risk, and innovative activity turn out as significant profit drivers at the firm level. Although firm-effects outweigh industry- and region-specific factors, the results indicate that industry concentration as well as regional education and unemployment influence profitability. In addition, proximity to technological institutes as well as the degree of urbanization of the region in which a firm operates can be drivers of profitability. Hence, despite the superiority of firm effects the results indicate that agri-food managers should also consider possible advantages from location-based resources in order to ensure competitiveness.
Open Access
Entrepreneurial innovativeness: when too little or too much agglomeration hurts
(Elsevier, 2023) Pindado Tapia, Emilio; Sánchez García, Mercedes; García Martínez, Marian; Enpresen Kudeaketa; Institute on Innovation and Sustainable Development in Food Chain - ISFOOD; Gestión de Empresas
This study sheds light on the relationship between agglomeration, entrepreneurs' internal resources and capabilities, and new ventures' innovativeness using a multilevel framework. We argue that the urban agglomeration of economic agents within a country has an inverted U-shaped relationship with new ventures' innovativeness, suggesting that both insufficient and excessive agglomeration might be detrimental to entrepreneurial innovativeness. Additionally, we perform interactions between individual level factors and urban agglomeration to examine the differential effects of entrepreneurs' internal resources and capabilities. Results confirm our hypothesising that the geographical concentration of economic agents within a country exerts an inverted Ushaped influence on new ventures' innovativeness. Furthermore, we find that entrepreneurs with higher levels of education or prior entrepreneurial experience are better equipped to benefit from agglomeration and to mitigate its negative effects; in contrast, at low levels of agglomeration, entrepreneurs with lower resources exhibit increasing marginal returns. Entrepreneurs in contact with other entrepreneurs are better positioned to deal with agglomeration externalities although their benefits and drawbacks are intensified. Our research contributes to the understanding of agglomeration externalities and entrepreneurial innovativeness, its non-linear dynamics and differential effects.
Open Access
Gestión de la innovación en la cadena alimentaria: relevancia de la colaboración
(Fondo para la Investigación Económica y Social de la Confederación Española de Cajas de Ahorros, 2024) Alarcón Lorenzo, Silverio; Barrena Figueroa, Ramo; García López de Meneses, Teresa; Pindado Tapia, Emilio; Sánchez García, Mercedes; Simón Elorz, Katrin; Gestión de Empresas; Enpresen Kudeaketa; Institute for Advanced Research in Business and Economics - INARBE; Institute on Innovation and Sustainable Development in Food Chain - ISFOOD
La innovación se ha convertido en decisiva para las empresas agroalimentarias en sus desafíos de sostenibilidad, demanda cambiante e incremento de la competencia. Los procesos productivos con superior riesgo, su carácter estratégico, la estructura empresarial y los condicionantes rurales inciden en dichos procesos de innovación. Así, las opciones de colaboración en la innovación, el esfuerzo público-privado, y la creación de instrumentos de financiación y apoyo, favorecen el éxito innovador. Los retos en digitalización, ecoinnovación y el emprendimiento innovador también necesitan del ecosistema colaborativo. a aceptación final del consumidor de dichas innovaciones será más compleja, especialmente en contextos de incertidumbre económica
Open Access
Geographical and cognitive proximity effects on innovation performance: which types of proximity for which types of innovation?
(Wiley, 2024) García Martínez, Marian; Zouaghi, Ferdaous; Sánchez García, Mercedes; Gestión de Empresas; Enpresen Kudeaketa; Universidad Pública de Navarra / Nafarroako Unibertsitate Publikoa
The purpose of the paper is to explore the multi-dimensional and intersecting nature of proximity to drive innovation performance. Applying a multidimensional proximity framework, the study provides a deeper understanding of the importance of substitution and overlap mechanisms in the relation between geographical and cognitive proximity dimensions in innovation performance. The paper further analyses the moderation effect of organisational innovation in this relationship. Multivariate analysis proves the interaction effects between geographical and cognitive proximity, where cognitive proximity both substitutes and complements geographical proximity. However, external knowledge search for innovation along proximity dimensions differs depending on the type of innovation. Our findings corroborate the proximity paradox caused by lock-in effects with the optimal level of proximity influenced by the interdependencies between proximity dimensions. This inverse U-shaped relationship is flatter for firms that have adopted organisational innovation. External knowledge linkages should be tailored to the favourable characteristic of proximity to enhance firm innovation performance.
Open Access
Frequency of consumption and changing determinants of purchase decision: from attributes to values in the organic food market
(Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA), 2010) Barrena Figueroa, Ramo; Sánchez García, Mercedes; Gestión de Empresas; Enpresen Kudeaketa
El creciente fenómeno de saturación, maduración y globalización de los mercados agroalimentarios, obliga a la oferta al diseño de innovadoras estrategias de actuación, con el fin de conseguir aceptables niveles de rentabilidad de sus negocios. Una de sus opciones potenciales es conocer en profundidad el comportamiento del actual y potencial comprador para adaptar las actuaciones comerciales a sus prioridades. Este trabajo, en este contexto, contribuye identificando el proceso de compra para compradores habituales y ocasionales de alimentos ecológicos. El análisis de dicho comportamiento del consumidor se realiza utilizando la metodología de Means-End Chain, que considera, además del interés por los atributos del producto, el conocimiento de sí mismos que tienen los compradores, y su implicación personal en el proceso de elección en alimentos ecológicos. Los resultados indican que las elecciones de compra difieren entre ambos grupos. Para los consumidores habituales los dos factores claves en la elección de compra son la salud y la buena valoración personal. Pueden, por lo tanto, estos aspectos de la persona ser utilizados tanto en el posicionamiento de mercado como en las actuaciones de diferenciación del producto, reduciendo las barreras del conocimiento que siguen limitando el desarrollo de este mercado.