The U.S. hog industry expanded rapidly during the 1980s and 1990s. Along with this expansion, hog farms have become larger, partly due to economies of size and new business arrangements. Using markov chain analysis, this study analyzes the movement of hog farms among three different size...

Agricultural cooperatives have been restructuring, by way of mergers, acquisitions, joint-ventures, and strategic alliances, to increase efficiencies to remain competitive in a changing business environment. The research evaluating the reorganization of cooperatives has revealed that less than...

This article explores the issue of cooperative growth from both an empirical and theoretical perspective. Using total assets as the measure of cooperative size, we present long-term, time-series data from seven of the largest regional agricultural cooperatives in Canada and the United States. We...

This study examines possible factors which have lead to increased concentration in the cooperative grain marketing sector. The effect, on this industry, of changes in transportation and communication is described. Empirical analysis was performed with data from local grain marketing cooperatives...

Cooperatives today face the challenge of dealing with a segmented customer base where customers in different segments have different needs. In particular, they face the challenge of how to serve different customer groups at the same time. Hobby farmers represent one market segment or group that...

State cooperative councils serve a valuable role for local cooperatives by providing services including education, legislative monitoring and lobbying, and promotion of the cooperative form of business. This paper outlines the specific challenges that state councils are experiencing in today's...

Strategic alliance and joint venture agreements are analyzed using the prisoners' dilemma and assurance problem models of game theory. Hypotheses regarding the factors contributing to the success/failure of the agreements are formulated. These hypotheses are confirmed with data from interviews...

The explosion of e-business activity presents many challenges to manufacturers, distributors, and dealers as they select a distribution channel for the delivery of products, services, and information. The expected growth in Internet sales by agribusiness firms is analyzed to provide insight into...