Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Luboslav SZABO Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Management, Faculty of Business Management, University of Economics in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovak Republic Author-Name: Anita ROMANOVA Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Information Management, Faculty of Business Management, University of Economics in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovak Republic Author-Name: Vladimir BOLEK Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Information Management, Faculty of Business Management, University of Economics in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovak Republic Author-Name: Michal ZELINA Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Information Management, Faculty of Business Management, University of Economics in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovak Republic Title: Intensity of ICT use by managers of agricultural enterprises Abstract: The growing importance and relevance of ICT in business increases the dependence of business entities on ICTs, to which the managers of agricultural enterprises need to pay the necessary attention. The penetration of ICTs also affects the companies that do business in the area of agriculture. High quality and accessible information today has a strategic economic and social importance for the management of this sector; therefore, the use of ICTs by the company managers is becoming an essential part of their daily lives. In their work, the managers of agricultural enterprises most often use a personal computer. The intensity of the laptop use is increasing and thanks to the mobility and connectivity, smartphones are also getting ahead. The use of these devices closely involves operating and application software. The most popular operating system is Windows. In terms of applications, the managers most often use the most popular package MS Office. The research involves an analysis of the intensity of the ICT use by managers with emphasis on agricultural enterprises in the Slovak Republic. The scientific article presents the results of an implemented survey focusing on the intensity of the ICT use by managers and the verification of the hypothesis of a significant influence of a manager's job position on the intensity of the ICT use in the company. Keywords: comunication, information, ICT indicators, hardware, software Journal: Agricultural Economics Pages: 485-492 Volume: 63 Issue: 11 Year: 2017 DOI: 10.17221/132/2016-AGRICECON File-URL: http://agricecon.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/132/2016-AGRICECON.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/age-201711-0001.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlage:v:63:y:2017:i:11:id:132-2016-AGRICECON Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Pei-An LIAO Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Economics, Shih Hsin University, Taipei, Taiwan Author-Name: Hung-Hao CHANG Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Agricultural Economics, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan Author-Name: HE Junlin Author-Workplace-Name: College of Economics, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China Author-Name: Kannika SAELIW Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Agricultural Economy and Development, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand Title: Diversification of marketing strategies among small farms: empirical evidence from family farms in Taiwan Abstract: Farm marketing has been recognized as an important factor for a successful farm business. Due to the increasing interest of consumers in food safety, direct marketing of farm products to consumers in the local farmers' markets has become very popular. Compared to traditional farm marketing channels, relatively little is known about the use of direct-to-consumer marketing strategies by farmers. This paper aims to provide a more comprehensive picture of farmers' choices among available farm marketing channels using the case study of Taiwan. Using a population-based survey of 5600 family farms in Taiwan in 2014, in this study we quantify the extent to which demographic characteristics of farm operators, farm production and family conditions may influence the decision of farms to sell farm products to the government, wholesale markets, and in direct-to-consumer sales. We develop a trivariate probit model, and our results indicate that education level and engagement in the off-farm labour market of farm operators, the number of household members, farm size, land ownership, and the type of farm are the key factors in determining farmers' choice of marketing channels. The findings of this study may have important implications for the design of more effective farm marketing programs by agricultural authorities. Keywords: direct-to-consumer sale, farm business, farm marketing strategies Journal: Agricultural Economics Pages: 493-501 Volume: 63 Issue: 11 Year: 2017 DOI: 10.17221/148/2016-AGRICECON File-URL: http://agricecon.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/148/2016-AGRICECON.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/age-201711-0002.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlage:v:63:y:2017:i:11:id:148-2016-AGRICECON Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Krzysztof FIRLEJ Author-Workplace-Name: Cracow University of Economics, Cracow, Poland Author-Name: Anna KOWALSKA Author-Workplace-Name: Wrocław University of Economics, Wrocław, Poland Author-Name: Arkadiusz PIWOWAR Author-Workplace-Name: Wrocław University of Economics, Wrocław, Poland Title: Competitiveness and innovation of the Polish food industry Abstract: Agribusiness is the biggest production sector in the European Union taking into account both the value of turnover and the creation of added value as well as employment size. In this context, the food industry deserves a special distinction. In the publication, the analyses of the food industry competitiveness in Poland are presented. For analysing and assessing competitiveness of the Polish food industry, the following factors were used: the orientation of export (OE), covering of import by export (TC), the import penetration (MP) and the revealed comparative advantages according to the Balassa (RCA) and Lafay (LFI). The study also presents the findings of empirical research on an innovative character of the food industry in Poland. Keywords: competitive edge, food products, foreign trade, food industry Journal: Agricultural Economics Pages: 502-509 Volume: 63 Issue: 11 Year: 2017 DOI: 10.17221/111/2016-AGRICECON File-URL: http://agricecon.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/111/2016-AGRICECON.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/age-201711-0003.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlage:v:63:y:2017:i:11:id:111-2016-AGRICECON Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Xiaolin TANG Author-Workplace-Name: China Agricultural University, Beijing, China Author-Name: Jieqiong WANG Author-Workplace-Name: China Agricultural University, Beijing, China Author-Name: Biao ZHANG Author-Workplace-Name: China Agricultural University, Beijing, China Author-Name: Lingxian ZHANG Title: Application of the DEA on the performance evaluation of the agricultural support policy in China Abstract: The paper utilizes the data envelopment analysis (DEA) method based on the OECD policy classification to evaluate the performance of the agricultural support policy at the provincial and agricultural commodity levels from the respective viewpoints of agricultural input and output. The analysis at the provincial level mainly focuses on the similarities and differences in the performance of the agricultural support policies between the primary grain-producing areas and the secondary grain-producing areas; at the agricultural commodity level, 17 representative Chinese agricultural commodities are selected and their performance compared. The results are then used to proffer suggestions for the future agricultural support policy optimization in China. The paper found that 50% of the provinces were DEA-efficient, in general, during the study period due to the low overall province-level scale efficiency. The performance values of the secondary grain-producing areas were significantly lower than those of the primary grain-producing areas due to the overall low scale and technical efficiency values. These results show that the support policies for agricultural commodities in China altogether require a further improvement, mainly due to the low technical efficiency of agricultural commodities. Keywords: allocative efficiency, data envelopment analysis, policy performance, technical efficiency Journal: Agricultural Economics Pages: 510-523 Volume: 63 Issue: 11 Year: 2017 DOI: 10.17221/120/2016-AGRICECON File-URL: http://agricecon.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/120/2016-AGRICECON.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/age-201711-0004.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlage:v:63:y:2017:i:11:id:120-2016-AGRICECON Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Michal JIRASEK Title: The influence of national culture on changes in R&D expenses among agrochemical firms Abstract: Research and development (R&D) represents a significant expenditure and investment into the future competitiveness of a given firm. The behavioural theory of the firm assumes that these expenditures are subject to changes caused by performance feedback. This paper builds upon these assumptions and extends them by considering the possible effect of national cultures on the nature of these responses to the performance feedback. The research follows 119 firms from nine countries over the period 2001-2015 and analyses their behaviour using generalized linear mixed models. The findings mostly support an effect of national cultures, measured by Hofstede's cultural dimensions, on changes in R&D expenditure and indicate that national culture is one of the factors which needs to be taken into account when utilizing the behavioural theory of the firm. Keywords: agricultural chemicals, behavioural theory of the firm, feedback-driven behaviour, Hofstede's cultural dimensions, research and development Journal: Agricultural Economics Pages: 524-530 Volume: 63 Issue: 11 Year: 2017 DOI: 10.17221/230/2016-AGRICECON File-URL: http://agricecon.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/230/2016-AGRICECON.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/age-201711-0005.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlage:v:63:y:2017:i:11:id:230-2016-AGRICECON