Search Results (40)

This study examines Poland’s agricultural land market between 2009 and 2023 through fixed effects and spatial econometric models, highlighting economic and spatial determinants of land prices. Key results show that GDP per capita strongly increases land values (β = +0.699, p < 0.001), while agricultural gross value added (–2.698, p = 0.009), soil quality (–6.241, p < 0.001), and land turnover (–0.395, p < 0.001) are associated with lower prices. Spatial dependence is confirmed (λ = 0.74), revealing strong regional spillovers. The volume of state-owned WRSP land sales declined from 37.4 thousand hectares in 2015 to 3.1 thousand hectares in 2023, while non-market transfers, such as donations, exceeded 49,000 annually. Although these trends support farmland protection and family farms, they also reduce market mobility and hinder generational renewal. The findings call for more flexible, sustainability-oriented land governance that combines ecological performance, regional equity, and improved access for young farmers. Full article

In the context of global e-commerce platform supply chains dominated by Alibaba and Amazon, power reconfiguration among tripartite stakeholders (platforms, manufacturers, and retailers) remains a critical yet underexplored issue in supply chain contract design. To analyze the strategic interactions between platforms, manufacturers, and retailers, as well as how platforms select the contract format within a tripartite supply chain, this study proposes a Stackelberg game-theoretic framework incorporating participation constraints to compare fixed-fee and revenue-sharing contracts. The results demonstrate that revenue-sharing contracts significantly enhance supply chain efficiency by aligning incentives across members, leading to improved pricing and sales outcomes. However, this coordination benefit comes with reduced platform dominance, as revenue-sharing inherently redistributes power toward upstream and downstream partners. The analysis reveals a nuanced contract selection framework: given the revenue sharing rate, as the additional value increases, the optimal contract shifts from the mode RR to the mode RF, and ultimately to the mode FF. Notably, manufacturers and retailers exhibit a consistent preference for revenue-sharing contracts due to their favorable profit alignment properties, regardless of the platform’s value proposition. These findings may contribute to platform operations theory by (1) proposing a dynamic participation framework for contract analysis, (2) exploring value-based thresholds for contract transitions, and (3) examining the power-balancing effects of alternative contract formats. This study offers actionable insights for platform operators seeking to balance control and cooperation in their supply chain relationships, while providing manufacturers and retailers with strategic guidance for contract negotiations in platform-mediated markets. These findings are especially relevant for large e-commerce platforms and their partners managing the complexities of contemporary digital supply chains. Full article

This study examines the sustainability and economic viability of intensive common carp (Cyprinus carpio) production in recirculating aquaculture systems (RASs) in Hungary. Using a deterministic model, the research identifies production costs, profitability, and the critical factors influencing economic efficiency. It also evaluates the impact of key variables, such as the feed purchase price, the market-sized common carp sales price, the specific gross yield, the electricity price, and electricity consumption, on economic performance by using a sensitivity analysis. Primary data were collected from an experimental trial conducted under controlled conditions in Hungary, dividing the production process into three phases: pre-rearing, post-rearing, and market-sized fish production. The unit production cost of market-sized common carp in 2024 was 5.47 EUR/kg, with energy (47.01%) and feed (24.18%) as the main cost drivers. While the sales price covered variable costs, it failed to offset fixed costs, resulting in a loss of 0.41 EUR/kg. The results reveal that while RAS technology offers high productivity and efficient resource utilization, its economic viability is challenged by high initial investment and operational costs. Nevertheless, the study identifies optimization opportunities in feed management, water usage, and electricity efficiency to enhance sustainability and profitability. These findings emphasize the importance of integrating economic, environmental, and technological considerations to advance intensive aquaculture practices. Full article

The popularity of social media has provided great convenience for firms to conduct online referral marketing by using referral reward programs. We contribute to the existing works by examining the profitability of the two referral reward programs, namely reward in cash and reward in discount coupons, and measuring the instant product sales and the informative utility output from consumer referrals. We established two-period optimization models and found that referral reward programs are effective only if the unit referral cost of customers is low and if the repurchase rate of consumers is high enough. To redeem the reward instantly or not (in cash or discount coupon) interacts with the pricing strategy: the cash reward is fixed in combination with a high price followed by a low price strategy, and the coupon reward is fixed in combination with a low price followed by a high price strategy. With the increase in the unit referral cost, a firm will be more inclined to use the joint strategy of coupon reward and a low price followed by a high price strategy. Under the conditions that the referral reward program is ineffective, the pricing strategy with a high price followed by a low price is optimal. Full article

Acquired long-term tangible assets of water management companies generate depreciation costs during operation. The cost item naturally reduces the profit/loss and income tax deduction and, at the same time, creates financial space for the future restoration of this property, reinvestment by being able to include it in the unit price of water and/or sewerage charge rates if certain rules are met. On the basis of these legislative rules, it follows that property financed by subsidies cannot be depreciated in this way, i.e., cannot generate funds for future reinvestment. The contribution aims to present a methodical procedure for deciding on a strategy for the development of the profit/loss of enterprises when “predicted” (modeled) depreciation of fixed assets acquired from subsidies is included in the model, with a focus on the indicator of financial performance—profitability of sales. Basic methods and selected indicators from ratio indicator methods used in financial analysis were used in the methodical procedure. The methodological procedure, which was developed on the basis of a case study as part of a research report for a selected water management enterprise, was further implemented and verified on a sample of water management enterprises, which have almost a 50% share in the value of all assets in the form of infrastructure assets in the Czech Republic. The output of the article is the fact that when “predicted” (modeled) depreciation is included in the profit/loss, the profitability of sales decreases. The study shows that there is up to a 15% change in the profitability of sales. The contribution of the article is a proven methodological procedure that takes into account the generation of profit/loss with regard to the necessary reinvestment of assets acquired with subsidies. This strategy can generally be used by all companies that acquire assets from public subsidy sources. Full article

This paper investigates using blockchain technology to fight deceptive counterfeits in an electronic commerce environment. Thereby, a two-period pricing model is built under two competitive platforms: a blockchain-based platform which ensures product authentication and provides a higher value to customers but increases customers’ privacy concerns, and its rival (i.e., the traditional platform) in the absence of blockchain implementation which is perceived as having a lower value due to the existence of deceptive counterfeits and thus faces more government enforcement. Customers on both platforms are influenced by the electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) effect, and customers value a platform more if the platform has more online sales. The two platforms either adopt the fixed pricing scheme or the modifiable pricing scheme and so four possible cases may occur. By deriving the equilibrium of each possible case, we analytically find that the attenuation of consumer privacy concerns, increases in government enforcement efforts, and eWOM can benefit the platform’s adoption of blockchain technology to combat counterfeits, and a strong eWOM effect is conducive to consumers but deteriorates price competition and thus harms both platforms. Whether the pricing schemes enhance the competitiveness of the blockchain-based platform over its rivals depends on the eWOM effect and the advantage gained from adopting blockchain technology. Full article

This study explores a supply chain product-inventory problem with advance sales under the omni-channel strategies (physical and online sales channels) based on the brand owner’s business model and develops corresponding models that have not been proposed in previous studies. In addition, because the brand owner is a member of the supply chain, and has different handling methods for defective products or products returned by customers in various retail channels, defective products or returned products are included in the supply chain models to comply with actual operating conditions and fill the research gap in the handling of defective/returned products. Regarding the mathematical model’s development, we first clarify the definition of model parameters and relevant data collection, and then establish the production-inventory models with omni-channel strategies and advance sales. The primary objective is to determine the optimal production, delivery, and replenishment decisions of the manufacturer, physical agent, and online e-commerce company in order to maximize the joint total profits of the entire supply chain system. Further, this study takes the supply chain system of mobile game steering wheel products as an example, uses data consistent with the actual situation to demonstrate the optimal solutions of the models, and conducts sensitivity analysis for the proposed model. The findings reveal that increased demand shortens the replenishment cycle and raises order quantity and shipment frequency in the physical channel, similar to the online channel during normal sales. However, during the online pre-order period, higher demand reduces order quantity and cycle length but still increases shipment frequency. Rising ordering or fixed shipping costs lead to higher order quantity and cycle length in both channels, but variable shipping costs in the online channel reduce them. Market price increases boost order quantity and frequency in the online channel, while customer return rates significantly impact inventory decisions. Full article

China’s coal industry has long faced challenges due to imbalance between supply and demand divisions and the discrepancies between supply and demand prices. Research on optimizing coal transfer amid fluctuating coal prices is crucial for enhancing coal resource allocation, ensuring a balanced and stable supply of coal resources, and promoting the sustainable development of the coal industry. This paper focuses on optimizing coal transfer schemes within a comprehensive transportation system, considering fixed transportation routes and opening times of railroad transportation and waterway transportation, with road transportation serving as a supplementary network. A three-dimensional spatio-temporal network model is established to represent the spatial and temporal paths and transportation modes of coal logistics. The study uses the coal transportation network from Inner Mongolia and Shaanxi to East China as a case study, analyzing factors such as coal price fluctuation, transportation rates, and the ratio of self-produced to purchased coal at the production end via sensitivity analysis. The findings indicate that the proposed model can effectively guide transportation practices under the integrated production, transportation, and sales framework in the energy industry. Additionally, it shows that enterprises can achieve higher profits and maintain revenue and supply stability despite coal price fluctuations, aligning with the coal industry’s transformation and development in the current context. Full article

Motivated by the increasing interest in sustainable agriculture and the potential benefits associated with organic certification, this study employs a multidimensional fixed-effects model to analyze data derived from onsite surveys conducted among 681 apple farmers in the Loess Plateau region of China to explore the influence of organic certification on absolute and relative agricultural product prices given online market access. The findings indicated a significant increase in apple prices among farmers who held organic certifications and engaged in online market sales, with prices rising by CNY1.60 per half kilogram. Additionally, this study highlights that the amalgamation of organic certification with online market access significantly enhances agricultural product prices by facilitating better dissemination of market information among farmers. Furthermore, this research addresses a critical gap in the existing literature by clarifying the differential impact of organic certification across distinct farmer demographics and geographical regions. The more pronounced positive impact of organic certification on prices observed among cooperative members and farmers in the low-altitude areas is particularly noteworthy. These results underscore the crucial role of online market access in achieving premium effects and price stability for organically certified products. Full article

Price promotions are commonly employed to enhance supermarket performance and the sustainable development of the retail industry, yet their effectiveness may vary among similar supermarket chains. In contrast to Western countries, Chinese supermarkets are typically community-centered, allowing consumers to make frequent visits due to lower transaction costs. This multiple-visit pattern discourages substantial one-time purchases based on promotions. This study aims to investigate how pricing promotions can attract consumers more effectively and which product categories are most suitable for this purpose. Utilizing scanner data from Chinese chain supermarkets, we empirically assess the impact of promotion depth, breadth, and duration on consumer purchasing behavior using fixed effects models, IV, and GMM methods. Furthermore, we identify product category characteristics that are more appealing to consumers based on the relationships between different product category promotions and consumer behavior. Results demonstrate that each of the three price-promotion features has a positive effect on Chinese supermarket performance, with varying degrees of significance. Different promotion methods not only benefit promoted products but also stimulate sales of non-promotional items. At the product level, the impact of supermarket promotions on performance differs across categories. The most attractive category in terms of consumer purchases influenced by discounts is special paper, while small kitchen appliances have the least impact. Promoting categories with lower average prices, higher average sales volumes, fewer products, and better storage durability is conducive to attracting consumer shopping. These empirical findings have implications for academic research on price promotion theory and supermarket managers’ pricing strategy decisions, as well as the sustainable development of the offline retail industry. Full article

China’s large-scale hog farmers are playing an increasingly important role in promoting the stable development of the hog industry. Taking large-scale hog enterprises as samples, based on hog sales data from January 2019 to July 2022, this paper adopts a two-way fixed-effects model to test the impact, mechanism, and heterogeneity of hog futures on the production stability of large-scale hog farmers. The study found that hog futures help promote stable production of large-scale farmers. This finding still holds after a series of robustness tests. The mechanism analysis found that, first, hog futures help large-scale farmers expand their risk management factor inputs. Second, hog futures help reduce the impact of hog price risk on production. Finally, hog futures help stabilize farmers’ production expectations. The moderating effects analysis found that the stabilizing effect of hog futures will enhance as farmers’ share of hog farming operations increases. Heterogeneity analysis found that when hog prices fluctuate negatively, hog futures help promote the stable production of large-scale farmers. When hog prices fluctuate positively, the production stabilization effect of hog futures is not obvious. Therefore, hog enterprises should be encouraged to participate in hog futures hedging transactions to promote stable hog production. Full article

Online grocery shopping has grown rapidly in recent years. It has been promoted as a way to overcome the systemic inequalities in food access and increase sustainable food practices. A growing body of studies has highlighted the impact of income, food prices, and internet access/connection on shaping people’s behavior in buying groceries online. However, there is a dearth of prior studies that have examined the impact of these three factors at the macro/meso level. Therefore, this paper presents an analysis of these factors from a sample of 16 Russian regions with a combined population size of more than 44 million people. We used a fixed effects linear regression model to analyze panel data on median income, mobile internet connection, food price index, and online grocery sales. Our results show the significant impact of income and imply that while online grocery shopping holds huge promise for overcoming unequal access to food and achieving sustainability, entrenched challenges such as poverty and income inequality might be difficult to shake off. Full article

The objective of this study is to analyze the economic viability of municipal household solid waste (organic matter + paper) for the production of gas, coke and biofuel through the pyrolysis and distillation process. The waste was collected in the city of Belém do Pará-Brazil and pretreated at the Federal University of Pará. The analyzed fraction (organic matter + paper) was subjected to the pretreatment of drying, crushing, and sieving and was subsequently subjected to proximate characterization and, finally, pyrolysis of the organic fraction (organic matter + paper) in a fixed bed reactor. Initially, it was necessary to review the literature, and with the yields obtained by pyrolysis of the fraction, economic feasibility analyses were carried out. The economic indicators for evaluating the most viable pyrolysis process were basic payback, discounted payback, net present value, internal rate of return, and profitability index, which are all financial metrics commonly used in investment analysis and decision making. These metrics provide valuable insights into the financial viability and attractiveness of investment projects. They are essential tools for assessing the feasibility and profitability of various ventures, helping decision-makers make informed choices in allocating resources. The analysis of the indicators showed the economic viability considering an analysis horizon of 10 years of materials based on organic material and paper. The breakeven point obtained was USD 0.96/dm³ and the minimum biofuel sales price found in this project was USD 1.30/dm³. The sensitivity research found that material costs (organic matter + paper), bio-oil yield, total project investment and electricity, respectively, are the variables that most affect the minimum biofuel sales price. Full article

The Chinese government places significant importance on biomass energy due to its renewable and environmentally friendly attributes. However, the high cost of power generation poses a considerable hurdle to its development. This study aims to address the challenges facing the profitability and sustainable development of biomass power generation after the gradual withdrawal of the Chinese government by proposing a day-ahead real-time market-based trading strategy. It is prompted by the incentives offered by the Chinese government for the ongoing power market reform. This strategy is developed for a microgrid system that integrates biomass power generation with other renewable energy sources. The principles followed by the microgrid system include self-generation and consumption, electricity surplus sales, and electricity shortfall procurement. During the day-ahead stage, peak and valley tariffs are decided by the microgrid operator to exert influence on the incentives of capacity providers in accordance with the load trends, while in the intraday stage, the supply-demand imbalance is resolved by the stored electricity. In the trading process, marginal production and marginal pricing are specified to ensure the minimum trading volume and price for capacity traders, ensuring their profitability. It is demonstrated in this study that the trading strategy presented is more effective than conventional fixed-price trading in making biomass power generation profitable and sustainable, even after the Chinese government subsidy is phased out. Moreover, the other participant in the microgrid system can boost their earnings when compared to generating power individually for trading. Full article

The current study aims to identify some optimal base-stock inventory-management policies that maximize the expected long-run profitability of cement retailers under potential supply-side disruptions. Unlike existing articles, the proposed economic order-quantity model considers periodically varying random demand rates of deteriorating items together with partially back-ordered shortages in the face of those random disruptions. This study computes the global concavity to execute the exemplary aspect for the optimal base-stock level under a slew of cost components and a fixed cycle length. Regarding the optimal pricing-related policies, this study proposes that cement retailers should stock from nearby supplier points. Unlike existing articles, we find that changes to either the unit-holding cost or the unit-lost sales cost have hardly any determining effect on the long-run profitability of retailers. When supply-side disruptions are more likely to occur during peak seasons, this study advocates for a planned capacity addition and higher base-stock levels of cement bags. Full article