Manufacture of food products and beverages excluding tobacco. Regarding to NACE Rev. 1.1 division DA15 2 Contributing 11 % of total value added the food industry occupies the second place within EU-27 manufacturing following the engine building industry in 2007. 3 According to the SME definition of the European Commission small firms are defined as having employed less than 50 persons and total assets of less than 10Mio €.

1 Industry, firm, year, and country effects on profitability in EU food processing This paper decomposes the variance in food industry return-on-assets into year, country, industry, and firm effects. Besides these main effects, we include several interactions and discuss their theoretical foundations. After determining effect significance in a nested ANOVA with a rotating pattern of effect introduction, we estimate effect magnitude using components of variance in a large sample of corporations. The results show that firm characteristics are more important than industry structure in determining food industry profitability in Europe. Main effects and interactions of year and country membership are weak, indicating that performance differentials can poorly be explained by macroeconomic and trade theory. Key words: ROA, decomposition, variance components, MBV, RBV.Running head: Industry, firm, year, and country effects on profitability JEL: L00, C22 Introduction 'There are many theories because each is based on different assumptions about the world; it is theirrelevance rather than their logic which is in dispute. ' (Cook, 1958: 16).In a perfectly competitive market, firm performance that deviates from the average should not exist in the long run. However, such deviations are not an exception to the rule but in fact the norm, especially in industries characterized by high sunk costs or other impediments to competition as the food sector seems to be. The ability of firms to 2 earn returns persistently above the norm has been widely analyzed.1 While the so-called 'market-based view', which draws heavily on Industrial Organization (IO) theory, mainly attributes such 'abnormal' profits to industry characteristics, proponents of the 'resource-based view' assume that performance differentials can be better explained by firm properties. 2 In order to resolve this debate, a series of contributions following Schmalensee's (1985) seminal paper has used components-of variance analysis (COV) and nested (i.e. hierarchical) analysis of variance (ANOVA) techniques to decompose the variation in firm profitability into firm and industry specific effects. Subsequent papers have also looked at the impact of year and, more recently, of country effects on firm profitability. While the influence of country and country-industry interactions on the variation in profitability can be explained by models developed in trade theory, the aforementioned body of literature has paid little attention to the theoretical foundations 1 (e.g. Barney 1991, Bowman and Helfat 2001, Brush, Bromiley and Hendrickx 1991, Geroski and Jaquemin 1988, Gschwandtner 2005, Goddard and Wilson 1999, Mahoney 1995, McGahan and Porter 1997, 1999, 2003, Mueller 1977, 1990, Odagiri and Maruyama 2002, Roquebert, Phillips and Westfall 1996, Rumelt 1991, Schmalensee 1985, Teece, Pesano and Shen 1997, Waring 1996, Werenfelt 1984.2 Examples for studies that support the 'market-based view' are: Caves and Porter (1977), McGahan and Porter (1999), Schmalensee (1985), Slat...

We present a systematic review of the extensive body of research on farmer risk preference measurement across Europe. We capture the methodological developments over time and discuss remaining challenges and potential areas for further research. Given the constantly evolving policy environment in Europe, and increasing climate-change related risks and uncertainties, there is large value to be gained from enhancing our understanding of this fundamental aspect of farmers' decision making processes and consequent actions.

Abstract. We study the profit persistence literature by applying meta-regression analysis (MRA) to a set of 36 empirical papers, which analyze the persistence of abnormal firm profits over time. The analyzed literature provides evidence for a mediocre degree of persistence in abnormal profits. An initial analysis of the distribution of reported profit persistence estimates reveals some degree of excess variation. This points toward publication bias that favors significant results independent of their algebraic sign. The MRA, however, reveals that publication bias is particularly favoring results that indicate profit persistence and thus contradict the neoclassical model of perfect competition. Moreover, the MRA enables to control for heterogeneity driven by the study design. We find that the analyzed country (developing vs. developed), the applied econometric approach, as well as the analyzed period of time are significant drivers of heterogeneity in reported persistence estimates.

We study the literature on willingness to pay (WTP) for local food by applying meta-regression analysis to a set of 35 eligible research papers that provide 86 estimates on consumers’ WTP for the attribute “local.” An analysis of the distribution of WTP measures suggests the presence of publication selection bias that favors larger and statistically significant results. The analyzed literature provides evidence for statistically significant differences among consumers’ WTP for various types of product. Moreover, we find that the methodological approach (choice experiments vs. other approaches) and the analyzed country can have a significant influence on the generated WTP for local.

Based on autoregressive (AR) models and Arellano-Bond dynamic panel estimation, this article analyses profit persistence in the European dairy processing industry. The sample comprises 590 dairy processors from the following five countries: Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom. The AR models indicate that cooperatives which account for around 20% of all firms in the dairy processing sector are not primarily profit oriented. In addition, the results point toward a high level of competition as profit persistence is rather low even if cooperatives are excluded. The panel model reveals that short-as well as long-run profit persistence is influenced by firm and industry characteristics. JEL classifications: L12, L66, M21

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.Additional keywords: agri-food profits; firm-, industry-, and location effects; hierarchical linear model.

Abstract:Since the majority of food waste in high-income countries occurs at the consumption stage and given the clear trend towards out-of-home food consumption, it is important to understand the factors that lead to food waste in the hospitality sector. The present study uses a behavioral structural equation model to test the drivers of consumers' leftover behavior in an out-of-home setting. Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior, we additionally consider "personal norms" and the situational "taste perception" of food as determinants. Our results in a company canteen demonstrate that personal norms and attitudes greatly determine consumers' intention to prevent leftovers, whereas subjective norms and perceived behavioral control appear less relevant. Stated leftover behavior depends on both behavioral intention and the situational taste perception of food. We show that in order to understand individual food leftover behavior in an out-of-home setting, determinants from behavioral theories should be complemented by situational variables.