Risk-averse farmers in the produce industry grow a product whose market price is often quite unpredictable. Shippers or other intermediaries shield the farmer from much of this price risk; however, actual contracts between growers and shippers vary considerably across commodities in the residual...

When the threat of entry by followers includes cooperative firms, the maximum fixed cost that a profit maximizing leader can endure is endogenous. The aggressive strategy required for entry deterrence curtails the leader's expected profit and can discourage its initial entry. In such...

When the threat of entry by followers includes cooperative firms, the maximum fixed cost that a profit maximizing leader can endure is endogenous. The aggressive strategy required for entry deterrence curtails the leader's expected profit and can discourage its initial entry. In such...

We study business organization and coordination of specialty-market hog production using a comparative analysis of two Iowa firms marketing niche pork. We analyze each firm's management of five key organizational challenges: planning and logistics, quality assurance, process verification and...

When the threat of entry by followers includes cooperative firms, the maximum fixed cost that a profit maximizing leader can endure is endogenous. The aggressive strategy required for entry-deterrence curtails the leader’s expected profit and can discourage its initial entry. In such...

We study business organization and coordination of specialty-market hog production using a comparative analysis of two Iowa pork niche-marketing firms. We describe and analyze each firm's management of five key organizational challenges: planning and logistics, quality assurance, process...

Relative performance schemes such as tournaments are commonly used in markets for a variety of livestock and processing commodities, while explicit versions of these schemes are rarely used in markets for fresh fruits and vegetables and specialty grains. We show how contracts for these latter...

Relative performance schemes such as tournaments are commonly used in markets for a variety of livestock and processing commodities, while explicit versions of these schemes are rarely used in markets for fresh fruits and vegetables and specialty grains. We show how contracts for these latter...