Organizations no longer compete as independent entities, but as chains (Christopher 1998; Cox 1999; Lambert and Cooper 2000), and these organizations more and more realize the performance potential of chains (Pearson and Samali 2005; Gellynck, Vermeire and Viaene 2006). Being part of a well‐performing...

The concept of products having designated country of origin was investigated. It was established that a coherent approach can be developed by systematic organisation and structuring of the available information. A working definition was developed for identification of successful practices in...

This paper reports on food chain transparency. The research specifically aims to investigate best practices. Therefore, inductive research was conducted, starting with the identification of best practices. Further, underlying patterns were investigated to derive hypotheses and to develop a...

Since over the last twenty years the reduction of trade barriers, the increasing liberalisation, the advancement in ICT have determined a growth in the horizontal and vertical competition among firms in the chain. Therefore, today more than ever they are pressured to develop appropriate...

The purpose of the paper is to explore how the perceived relationship quality is related to the innovation capacity in chains of the traditional food sector. Based on suggestions from theory and previous studies, empirical evidence is drawn from a survey of 90 traditional food chains including...

The Italian Industrial Districts (IDs) are considered to be one of the main reasons for the rapid industrial development and success of Italy since the Second World War. The SME's have also played an important role in this. In this paper we outline the general characteristics of the ID approach...

The importance of networking as a way to enhance innovation has been pointed out in many scientific papers, in particular for SMEs. A great number of scientific studies clearly establish the significant role of SMEs in economic growth, promoting flexibility and innovation in an economy. The...

The paper presents results of the FP7 Econ-Welfare Project “Assessing the socio-economic consequences of measures promoting good animal welfare”. The paper illustrates the economic consequences at the farm level of indicative improvements in animal welfare conditions for pigs and cattle and...

This article provides several contributions to the general understanding of governance in networks and the achievement of private and common goals. A simple, integrated framework for understanding why firms collaborate and under which conditions they establish durable networks that succeed in...

Because of the growing influence of China, the rapid economic development and the transformation of Chinese society have attracted the attention of analysts, politicians and mass media. There are, however, many aspects of these changes that are less well known. This is not only because of the...