Buyer-seller information asymmetry causes problems in economic exchanges between farmers and the ... more Buyer-seller information asymmetry causes problems in economic exchanges between farmers and the agricultural inputs (agri-inputs) industry. This study examines farmers' information needs regarding four important agri-inputs: seeds, fertilizers, agrochemicals, and farm machinery. The study reveals that while purchasing agri-inputs, farmers in India consider the experience and credence attributes like germination percentage, yield, packaging, impact on health, and soil condition critical to product quality and more important than price. The agri-inputs industry can reduce the buyer-seller information asymmetry while marketing their products, ensure their competitive advantage, and make farming more productive.
Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 2016
ABSTRACT The objectives of this paper were to explore the existing status of agricultural higher ... more ABSTRACT The objectives of this paper were to explore the existing status of agricultural higher education in India, application of marketing concepts in similar institutions and to find the most appropriate marketing concept to make agricultural higher education more competitive. Extensive searches of relevant agricultural education, business management and higher educational data bases were made. It was found that agricultural higher education in India is stagnant and is facing an identity crisis among its stakeholders. Marketing theories and concepts which are now being applied in higher education across the globe have not been thought of in the context of agriculture education. A review of the literature suggested that considering the objectives, the multiplicity of stakeholders and the nature of public-funded agricultural education, marketing orientation would be most appropriate. Based on the experiences of similar institutions, the paper suggests a three-level strategy for the implementation of marketing orientation in institutions of agricultural higher education.
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the consumption patterns and attitudes towards so... more Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the consumption patterns and attitudes towards soft drinks among Indian youth. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire was used to investigate consumption patterns, attitudes, and socio-demographic profiles of college-attending respondents between the ages of 18 and 30. Cluster analysis and factor analysis were undertaken to obtain a better understanding of the attitudes among young consumers towards soft drinks. A logistic regression model was used as a predictor to distinguish between frequent and non-frequent soft drink consumers. Findings Indian youths preferred diet drinks and fruit juices more than regular soft drinks. Soft drinks were mostly consumed as distinct drinks (not as substitutes) and on specific occasions. Easy availability of soft drinks at the locations closure to consumers was a critical factor in determining consumers’ purchase and consumption level. Attitude towards the utility and nutritional dimensions of so...
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the usage and influence of food labels by the young... more Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the usage and influence of food labels by the young consumers of an emerging market where food labeling regulation is comparatively recent phenomenon. Design/methodology/approach A purposely developed questionnaire was administered to 300 randomly selected youths of age between 18 and 30 years. The first part of the questionnaire sought information on socio-demographic profile, whereas the second part of the questionnaire had questions related to consumers’ perception of importance, their reading behavior, and their responses on the information content of food labels. Appropriate statistical tools were used to analyze the data. Findings Results revealed that young Indian consumers attached considerable importance to the food labels and read it before making a final purchase decision. In addition to price, all the product attributes which had implications for the consumers’ health were considered as extremely important by the young consum...
Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies, 2017
Purpose Understanding of the farmers’ buying process is of great economic and strategic relevance... more Purpose Understanding of the farmers’ buying process is of great economic and strategic relevance for agri-business firms. The purpose of this paper is to explain the extensiveness of the buying process of Indian farmers in their purchase of agri-inputs and discusses its implications for agri-industries. Design/methodology/approach Four different dimensions of the buying process, namely, buying decision time, number of information sources used, number of evaluated suppliers, and number of conversations with suppliers were used to study the extensiveness of the buying process of the farmers. Responses of 278 farmers were analyzed with the help of mean and frequency distribution, analysis of variance, and Pearson correlation coefficient. Findings Overall, the extensiveness of the buying process for the frequently purchased inputs was less in comparison to that of the infrequently purchased inputs. However, there were differences in the extensiveness of the buying process for the input...
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify and compare the factors which affect the consu... more Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify and compare the factors which affect the consumers’ buying behavior of vegetarian and non-vegetarian food products in an emerging middle-size market. The paper also compares the preferences of the consumers for various food products and their respective market attributes. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 282 households of two middle-sized cities of India were personally surveyed with a structured questionnaire. Simple statistical analysis such as frequency distribution, factor analysis and analysis of variance, and logit regression were carried out to infer the required information. Findings – The results indicate that consumers consume more of vegetarian product than that of non-vegetarian products. Most of the consumers were interested in seeing and verifying the products of both of the categories before buying. Age and income of the consumers play important role in influencing their buying behavior for vegetarian food pro...
Journal of International Food & Agribusiness Marketing, 2015
The authors attempt to understand selected behaviors of fruit and vegetable consumers of mid-size... more The authors attempt to understand selected behaviors of fruit and vegetable consumers of mid-sized cities of a developing economy, which are important for any retailer to appreciate. The study was carried out in two mid-sized cities of the Orissa state of India with 100 respondents by using the specially developed questionnaire. Statistical tools were used to analyze the data. The study revealed that vegetables are consumed in greater quantity and purchased more frequently than fruits. Consumers attached more importance to credence attributes than to search and experience attributes while making their purchase decisions. Family income and consumers’ education were found to have significant influence on the consumers’ willingness to pay for graded and packaged products. Organized retailers can take cues from the findings of the study to decide about location, nature and quality of assortment, and their marketing strategies.
Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies, 2014
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand non-vegetarian food consumption behavior, an... more Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand non-vegetarian food consumption behavior, and factors affecting the same of the consumers of middle-sized market, where organized retailing is still at infancy. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 182 households of two middle-sized cities of India were personally surveyed with a structured questionnaire. Simple statistical analysis such as frequency distribution, factor analysis and analysis of variance, logit regression were carried out to infer the required information. Findings – Although an important constituent of the food, for most the consumers, purchase of non-vegetarian products were weekly, well planned, and family affairs. Assured good quality, followed by the meat preparation in front of the customers’ eye emerged important market attributes for selecting the store by the consumers. The study revealed that consumers were mainly dependent on search and credence attributes of the product for non-vegetarian food purc...
ABSTRACT The paper, an outcome of a study to deduce and reflect on the factors influencing commun... more ABSTRACT The paper, an outcome of a study to deduce and reflect on the factors influencing community forestry, deals with the emergence of a self initiated effort, its transition into joint forest management (JFM) and, then, the weakening of its ‘joints’. Community-run forestry continued but the spirit behind the self-initiation and collaboration had weakened. The study concluded that although the community was capable of managing the forest on their own, the initiation of protection work was in response to a particular situation. Religion facilitated the development of community forestry. Initial success added to the enthusiasm and expectations of the collaborating partners, but later failures to deliver other services threatened the continuation of community forestry. These lessons drawn from this case are important pointers for appreciating the complexity and dynamics of community forestry.
All is not green with JFM in India. N Kumar Forests, Trees and People Newsletter 42, 46-50, 6/200... more All is not green with JFM in India. N Kumar Forests, Trees and People Newsletter 42, 46-50, 6/2000. Having realised the economic, social, and environmental costs of excluding people from local management of forest, India's ...
Coconut crop forms an important constituent of food basket of the people of Orissa and meets the ... more Coconut crop forms an important constituent of food basket of the people of Orissa and meets the economic needs of people dependent on its marketing. The study conducted in five coastal districts of Orissa, namely, Puri, Cuttack, Khurda, Ganjam, and Jagatsinghpur has examined the market chains for coconut to find the flow of product from farmers through different intermediaries to the consumers. Prices and market margins have been computed at the different stages of the chain in order to reflect the value addition through various participants of the chain. Marketing channels have been found to be well established in the state, particularly in the coastal areas. No major value addition is done by the players at any level. The existence of functional channels explains that production and marketing system of coconut in the state can manage both increased supply and increased demand. The study has observed a high ratio of vendors v/s farmers and aggregators v/s vendors in the channel. I...
Buyer-seller information asymmetry causes problems in economic exchanges between farmers and the ... more Buyer-seller information asymmetry causes problems in economic exchanges between farmers and the agricultural inputs (agri-inputs) industry. This study examines farmers' information needs regarding four important agri-inputs: seeds, fertilizers, agrochemicals, and farm machinery. The study reveals that while purchasing agri-inputs, farmers in India consider the experience and credence attributes like germination percentage, yield, packaging, impact on health, and soil condition critical to product quality and more important than price. The agri-inputs industry can reduce the buyer-seller information asymmetry while marketing their products, ensure their competitive advantage, and make farming more productive.
Secondary agriculture which deals mainly with the functionality of agriculture contributes signif... more Secondary agriculture which deals mainly with the functionality of agriculture contributes significantly to the increased income and competitiveness of the farmers. With a focus on value addition, SRIJAN supported Sahariya tribes in Madhya Pradesh with appropriate advisory service, practical training and linkage with the market, helping them to get better returns.
There was a high prevalence of malnutrition among over a hundred children who suffered and succum... more There was a high prevalence of malnutrition among over a hundred children who suffered and succumbed to acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) in Muzaffarpur in 2019. Central and state governments were criticised for not doing enough to reduce the impact of the outbreak and the prevalence of malnutrition among low-income groups. Biofortified products offer a way out to achieve greater food security. Projects to include Biofortified foods as staple food can be implemented effectively by making changes in pre-existing food security schemes at the level of procurement, distribution, and delivery.
The introduction of directly elected mayors has the potential to completely change not only the l... more The introduction of directly elected mayors has the potential to completely change not only the landscape of urban local body governance, but also the nature of citizens’ participation in the management of their cities. The benefi ts of the directly elected mayoral system and its influence on the dynamics of the existing political system are explored.
Buyer-seller information asymmetry causes problems in economic exchanges between farmers and the ... more Buyer-seller information asymmetry causes problems in economic exchanges between farmers and the agricultural inputs (agri-inputs) industry. This study examines farmers' information needs regarding four important agri-inputs: seeds, fertilizers, agrochemicals, and farm machinery. The study reveals that while purchasing agri-inputs, farmers in India consider the experience and credence attributes like germination percentage, yield, packaging, impact on health, and soil condition critical to product quality and more important than price. The agri-inputs industry can reduce the buyer-seller information asymmetry while marketing their products, ensure their competitive advantage, and make farming more productive.
Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 2016
ABSTRACT The objectives of this paper were to explore the existing status of agricultural higher ... more ABSTRACT The objectives of this paper were to explore the existing status of agricultural higher education in India, application of marketing concepts in similar institutions and to find the most appropriate marketing concept to make agricultural higher education more competitive. Extensive searches of relevant agricultural education, business management and higher educational data bases were made. It was found that agricultural higher education in India is stagnant and is facing an identity crisis among its stakeholders. Marketing theories and concepts which are now being applied in higher education across the globe have not been thought of in the context of agriculture education. A review of the literature suggested that considering the objectives, the multiplicity of stakeholders and the nature of public-funded agricultural education, marketing orientation would be most appropriate. Based on the experiences of similar institutions, the paper suggests a three-level strategy for the implementation of marketing orientation in institutions of agricultural higher education.
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the consumption patterns and attitudes towards so... more Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the consumption patterns and attitudes towards soft drinks among Indian youth. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire was used to investigate consumption patterns, attitudes, and socio-demographic profiles of college-attending respondents between the ages of 18 and 30. Cluster analysis and factor analysis were undertaken to obtain a better understanding of the attitudes among young consumers towards soft drinks. A logistic regression model was used as a predictor to distinguish between frequent and non-frequent soft drink consumers. Findings Indian youths preferred diet drinks and fruit juices more than regular soft drinks. Soft drinks were mostly consumed as distinct drinks (not as substitutes) and on specific occasions. Easy availability of soft drinks at the locations closure to consumers was a critical factor in determining consumers’ purchase and consumption level. Attitude towards the utility and nutritional dimensions of so...
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the usage and influence of food labels by the young... more Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the usage and influence of food labels by the young consumers of an emerging market where food labeling regulation is comparatively recent phenomenon. Design/methodology/approach A purposely developed questionnaire was administered to 300 randomly selected youths of age between 18 and 30 years. The first part of the questionnaire sought information on socio-demographic profile, whereas the second part of the questionnaire had questions related to consumers’ perception of importance, their reading behavior, and their responses on the information content of food labels. Appropriate statistical tools were used to analyze the data. Findings Results revealed that young Indian consumers attached considerable importance to the food labels and read it before making a final purchase decision. In addition to price, all the product attributes which had implications for the consumers’ health were considered as extremely important by the young consum...
Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies, 2017
Purpose Understanding of the farmers’ buying process is of great economic and strategic relevance... more Purpose Understanding of the farmers’ buying process is of great economic and strategic relevance for agri-business firms. The purpose of this paper is to explain the extensiveness of the buying process of Indian farmers in their purchase of agri-inputs and discusses its implications for agri-industries. Design/methodology/approach Four different dimensions of the buying process, namely, buying decision time, number of information sources used, number of evaluated suppliers, and number of conversations with suppliers were used to study the extensiveness of the buying process of the farmers. Responses of 278 farmers were analyzed with the help of mean and frequency distribution, analysis of variance, and Pearson correlation coefficient. Findings Overall, the extensiveness of the buying process for the frequently purchased inputs was less in comparison to that of the infrequently purchased inputs. However, there were differences in the extensiveness of the buying process for the input...
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify and compare the factors which affect the consu... more Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify and compare the factors which affect the consumers’ buying behavior of vegetarian and non-vegetarian food products in an emerging middle-size market. The paper also compares the preferences of the consumers for various food products and their respective market attributes. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 282 households of two middle-sized cities of India were personally surveyed with a structured questionnaire. Simple statistical analysis such as frequency distribution, factor analysis and analysis of variance, and logit regression were carried out to infer the required information. Findings – The results indicate that consumers consume more of vegetarian product than that of non-vegetarian products. Most of the consumers were interested in seeing and verifying the products of both of the categories before buying. Age and income of the consumers play important role in influencing their buying behavior for vegetarian food pro...
Journal of International Food & Agribusiness Marketing, 2015
The authors attempt to understand selected behaviors of fruit and vegetable consumers of mid-size... more The authors attempt to understand selected behaviors of fruit and vegetable consumers of mid-sized cities of a developing economy, which are important for any retailer to appreciate. The study was carried out in two mid-sized cities of the Orissa state of India with 100 respondents by using the specially developed questionnaire. Statistical tools were used to analyze the data. The study revealed that vegetables are consumed in greater quantity and purchased more frequently than fruits. Consumers attached more importance to credence attributes than to search and experience attributes while making their purchase decisions. Family income and consumers’ education were found to have significant influence on the consumers’ willingness to pay for graded and packaged products. Organized retailers can take cues from the findings of the study to decide about location, nature and quality of assortment, and their marketing strategies.
Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies, 2014
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand non-vegetarian food consumption behavior, an... more Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand non-vegetarian food consumption behavior, and factors affecting the same of the consumers of middle-sized market, where organized retailing is still at infancy. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 182 households of two middle-sized cities of India were personally surveyed with a structured questionnaire. Simple statistical analysis such as frequency distribution, factor analysis and analysis of variance, logit regression were carried out to infer the required information. Findings – Although an important constituent of the food, for most the consumers, purchase of non-vegetarian products were weekly, well planned, and family affairs. Assured good quality, followed by the meat preparation in front of the customers’ eye emerged important market attributes for selecting the store by the consumers. The study revealed that consumers were mainly dependent on search and credence attributes of the product for non-vegetarian food purc...
ABSTRACT The paper, an outcome of a study to deduce and reflect on the factors influencing commun... more ABSTRACT The paper, an outcome of a study to deduce and reflect on the factors influencing community forestry, deals with the emergence of a self initiated effort, its transition into joint forest management (JFM) and, then, the weakening of its ‘joints’. Community-run forestry continued but the spirit behind the self-initiation and collaboration had weakened. The study concluded that although the community was capable of managing the forest on their own, the initiation of protection work was in response to a particular situation. Religion facilitated the development of community forestry. Initial success added to the enthusiasm and expectations of the collaborating partners, but later failures to deliver other services threatened the continuation of community forestry. These lessons drawn from this case are important pointers for appreciating the complexity and dynamics of community forestry.
All is not green with JFM in India. N Kumar Forests, Trees and People Newsletter 42, 46-50, 6/200... more All is not green with JFM in India. N Kumar Forests, Trees and People Newsletter 42, 46-50, 6/2000. Having realised the economic, social, and environmental costs of excluding people from local management of forest, India's ...
Coconut crop forms an important constituent of food basket of the people of Orissa and meets the ... more Coconut crop forms an important constituent of food basket of the people of Orissa and meets the economic needs of people dependent on its marketing. The study conducted in five coastal districts of Orissa, namely, Puri, Cuttack, Khurda, Ganjam, and Jagatsinghpur has examined the market chains for coconut to find the flow of product from farmers through different intermediaries to the consumers. Prices and market margins have been computed at the different stages of the chain in order to reflect the value addition through various participants of the chain. Marketing channels have been found to be well established in the state, particularly in the coastal areas. No major value addition is done by the players at any level. The existence of functional channels explains that production and marketing system of coconut in the state can manage both increased supply and increased demand. The study has observed a high ratio of vendors v/s farmers and aggregators v/s vendors in the channel. I...
Buyer-seller information asymmetry causes problems in economic exchanges between farmers and the ... more Buyer-seller information asymmetry causes problems in economic exchanges between farmers and the agricultural inputs (agri-inputs) industry. This study examines farmers' information needs regarding four important agri-inputs: seeds, fertilizers, agrochemicals, and farm machinery. The study reveals that while purchasing agri-inputs, farmers in India consider the experience and credence attributes like germination percentage, yield, packaging, impact on health, and soil condition critical to product quality and more important than price. The agri-inputs industry can reduce the buyer-seller information asymmetry while marketing their products, ensure their competitive advantage, and make farming more productive.
Secondary agriculture which deals mainly with the functionality of agriculture contributes signif... more Secondary agriculture which deals mainly with the functionality of agriculture contributes significantly to the increased income and competitiveness of the farmers. With a focus on value addition, SRIJAN supported Sahariya tribes in Madhya Pradesh with appropriate advisory service, practical training and linkage with the market, helping them to get better returns.
There was a high prevalence of malnutrition among over a hundred children who suffered and succum... more There was a high prevalence of malnutrition among over a hundred children who suffered and succumbed to acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) in Muzaffarpur in 2019. Central and state governments were criticised for not doing enough to reduce the impact of the outbreak and the prevalence of malnutrition among low-income groups. Biofortified products offer a way out to achieve greater food security. Projects to include Biofortified foods as staple food can be implemented effectively by making changes in pre-existing food security schemes at the level of procurement, distribution, and delivery.
The introduction of directly elected mayors has the potential to completely change not only the l... more The introduction of directly elected mayors has the potential to completely change not only the landscape of urban local body governance, but also the nature of citizens’ participation in the management of their cities. The benefi ts of the directly elected mayoral system and its influence on the dynamics of the existing political system are explored.
Influence of packaging on the purchase decisions of young consumers was studied by administering ... more Influence of packaging on the purchase decisions of young consumers was studied by administering a specially developed questionnaire to 300 young consumers. Consumers' perception about the importance and influence of packaging on purchase decision was studied on five points Likert's scale. To identify important attributes and delineate underlying dimensions Factor analysis was performed. It was found that the majority of young consumers attached importance to packaging and were willing to pay a premium price for packaged food products. Key functional attributes related to safety and convenience, utility, and economic and social costs were considered consequential while making purchase decisions. Results showed that non- vegetarian consumers are more concerned with environmental issues than vegetarian consumers. The study not only contributes to understanding the influence of packaging on the purchase of food products but also provides insight into consumers' preferences to the marketers of food products.
There was a high prevalence of malnutrition among over a hundred children who suffered and succum... more There was a high prevalence of malnutrition among over a hundred children who suffered and succumbed to acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) in Muzaffarpur in 2019. Central and state governments were criticised for not doing enough to reduce the impact of the outbreak and, more generally, the prevalence of malnutrition among low-income groups. Biofortified projects can offer a method to achieve greater food security. These projects can be implemented effectively by making changes to pre-existing food security schemes at the level of procurement, distribution, and delivery.
Biofortification, an agriculture-based approach of development and dissemination of micronutrient... more Biofortification, an agriculture-based approach of development and dissemination of micronutrient enhanced staple crop varieties could be one of the potent ways of tackling malnutrition.
Upendra Kumar Maurya, P Mishra, Sandip Anand and Niraj Kumar XIMB
This research is posited to ... more Upendra Kumar Maurya, P Mishra, Sandip Anand and Niraj Kumar XIMB
This research is posited to explore the nature of impact of corporate identity on market performance in organizations with varying degrees of customer orientation in the context of Indian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the food processing sector. More specifically the following questions have been addressed with four hypotheses proposed to address the questions: (1) What effect does corporate identity have on market performance in SMEs?(2) What is the impact of corporate identity on customer orientation? (3) Does customer orientation mediate the relationship between corporate identity and market performance? The research is embedded in the positivistic paradigm. One hundred and two usable data points from food processing sector SMEs were collected to test on applicability and importance of corporate identity and customer orientation construct in the SMEs. This research contributes to the marketing and entrepreneurship literature.
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Biofortified products offer a way out to achieve greater food security. Projects to include Biofortified foods as staple food can be implemented effectively by making changes in pre-existing food security schemes at the level of procurement, distribution, and delivery.
Biofortified products offer a way out to achieve greater food security. Projects to include Biofortified foods as staple food can be implemented effectively by making changes in pre-existing food security schemes at the level of procurement, distribution, and delivery.
This research is posited to explore the nature of impact of corporate identity on market performance in organizations with varying degrees of customer orientation in the context of Indian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the food processing sector. More specifically the following questions have been addressed with four hypotheses proposed to address the questions: (1) What effect does corporate identity have on market performance in SMEs?(2) What is the impact of corporate identity on customer orientation? (3) Does customer orientation mediate the relationship between corporate identity and market performance? The research is embedded in the positivistic paradigm. One hundred and two usable data points from food processing sector SMEs were collected to test on applicability and importance of corporate identity and customer orientation construct in the SMEs. This research contributes to the marketing and entrepreneurship literature.