Die Wharton Business School ist die älteste Institution ihrer Art in Amerika und eine der bestangesehenen der Welt. Ein Expertenteam aus fünf verschiedenen Fachgebieten in Wharton diskutiert hier eine der wichtigsten Fragen für ein Unternehmen der Gegenwart - die Sicherung der Wettbewerbsfähigkeit. Neueste Konzepte kreativer Strategien werden vorgestellt.

As in many other sectors, in agribusiness major changes are taking place. On the demand side, consumers are changing lifestyles, eating and shopping habits, and increasingly are demanding more accommodation of these needs in the supermarket. With regard to the supply: the traditional distribution channel dominators - manufacturers of branded consumer products - are trying hard to defend their positions against retailers, who gather and use information about the consumer to streamline their enterprises and strengthen their ties with the consumer. The agricultural producers, meanwhile, face increased regulations with regard to food additives, pesticides, and herbicides. Pressures rise as their business becomes more specialized and capital-intensive than that of their predecessors. Finally, the larger political climate is not so favorable to agriculture, which now has to compete in the global market without significant government support. This title describes and interprets changes in the domain of agriculture and food. The contributors develop the theme of taking an interdisciplinary approach to coping with these changes, using concepts and methods developed in general marketing, which are adapted so as to apply to the particular characteristics of the food and agriculture sector. This book is published to honor the distinguished career of Professor Mathew T.G. Meulenberg from Wageningen Agricultural University, on the occasion of his retirement in September 1996. As a scientist, teacher, and advisor to the agribusiness and the government, Professor Meulenberg has made an important contribution to the development of marketing, inside and outside the domain of agriculture.

The book provides a comprehensive analysis of the techniques and mechanics of the research process, and the management implications of industrial marketing research. It reveals not only how to do marketing research, but also the full range of its profitable applications, and shows how to develop an internal department and how to buy industrial marketing research. When originally published, this was the first book to be published in the UK or USA devoted solely to the important modern management tool of industrial marketing research.

This book aims to offer a comprehensive overview of the issues facing organizations when deciding whether to accept e-commerce as a platform for business. It provides a detailed evaluation of how the implementation of e-commerce may affect all parties within the supply chain: suppliers, retailers and consumers. It also compares various opportunities and threats of accepting e-commerce in order to conclude whether it might offer access to a new digital era, or whether it is an uncertain option yielding potential pitfalls. This book helps to reveal existing and future consequences of e-commerce acceptance, which are crucial for business decisions and operations in the present and going forward. It therefore provides a unique insight into emerging e-commerce platform acceptance and is one of the first to provide a holistic perspective of how each party in the supply chain is affected by e-commerce acceptance. E-commerce is bringing into view more flexible, effective and efficient ways of conducting business activities among suppliers, retailers and consumers. It is not limited to time and space and therefore this digital platform has already established for itself a major role in today’s world economy. Despite promised benefits however, threats emerge which need to be faced when turning to the virtual marketplace - all of which have to be acknowledged before businesses will shift and adapt to the e-commerce platform. This book is intended for postgraduate students, executive MBA students and researchers interested in information management, marketing and operations management.