Motivations for developing direct trade relationships

Purpose – This study aims to understand buyer and supplier motives for developing direct relationships with their trade partners.

Design/methodology/approach – A total of 18 in-depth interviews were conducted across Victoria and Tasmania (Australia); eight with retail buyers and ten with fresh produce suppliers. Both parties were involved in a direct relationship with their trade partner.

Findings – The research reveals a large variety of motivations that influence buyers and suppliers when deciding whether to operate in a direct or non-direct relationship with their trade partner. Motivations for both parties are remarkably similar, with buyers and suppliers ultimately attempting to minimise the inherent risk associated with operating in a volatile environment.

Research limitations/implications – The study may be limited by the fact that buyers and suppliers of different commodities were included in the study. In addition, the varied nature of the respondents' role may have impacted their judgment. The inability to interview dyads in all cases also limits the research.

Practical implications – This research has implications for both researchers and practitioners already involved in, or considering becoming involved in, a direct trade relationship. Clarification of motivations for bypassing intermediaries shows how both trade partners can minimise external risk and strengthen competitive advantage by assuming a direct relationship.

Originality/value – Extant research within this literary field is largely quantitatively based with researchers focusing on distinct relationship constructs, the definition of relationship marketing and the process of relationship development. In response to these limitations, this research adopted a qualitative approach in examining the core motivations for developing a direct trade relationship within the fresh produce industry.

Multilevel model of trade union membership

Presents a new theory of why people join or leave trade unions. Shows that a major influence on this decision is the quality of social relationships in the workplace. In particular, workplaces with a workforce of diverse occupational groups are not conducive to trade unionism.

Aquatic plant shows flexible avoidance by escape from tuber predation by swans

Deeper burial of bulbs and tubers has been suggested as an escape against below-ground herbivory by vertebrates, but experimental evidence is lacking. As deep propagule burial can incur high costs of emergence after dormancy, burial depth may represent a trade-off between sprouting survival and herbivore avoidance. We tested whether burial depth of subterraneous tubers is a flexible trait in fennel pondweed (Potamogeton pectinatus), facing tuber predation by Bewick's swans (Cygnus columbianus bewickii) in shallow lakes in winter. In a four-year experiment involving eight exclosures, winter herbivory by swans and all vertebrate summer herbivory were excluded in a full-factorial design; we hence controlled for aboveground vertebrate herbivory in summer, possibly influencing tuber depth. Tuber depth was measured each September before swan arrival and each March before tuber sprouting. In accordance with our hypothesis, tuber depth in September decreased after excluding Bewick's swans in comparison to control plots. The summer exclosure showed an increase in tuber biomass and the number of shallow tubers, but not a significant effect on the mean burial depth of tuber mass. Our results suggest that a clonal plant like P. pectinatus can tune the tuber burial depth to predation pressure, either by phenotypic plasticity or genotype sorting, hence exhibiting flexible avoidance by escape. We suggest that a flexible propagule burial depth can be an effective herbivore avoidance strategy, which might be more widespread among tuber forming plant species than previously thought.

Introduction: IP and the Asia-Pacific ‘spaghetti bowl’ of free trade agreements

The contributions to this book show the strategies and policies of countries in the Asia-Pacific region that have to grapple with international standard setting in what has been called the ‘spaghetti bowl’ of criss-crossing free trade agreements. The chapters show how intellectual property is just one among many political and economic factors that are used in trade off discussions. It leads to an often considerable further raising of IP standards in those countries that agree to higher protection levels, often for reasons that have little to do with the provision of incentives for technological progress. A more nuanced picture of IP protection in Asia shows the different interests of high protection countries, ‘first’ and ‘second tier’ newly industrialized and industrializing countries and the rather peculiar position of Australia and New Zealand. The chapter introduces the contributions to this volume according to these various groups of countries and of international law and the political economy of the region.

GCC-Australian trade and investment trends and patterns

This chapter provides an overview of the recent trends and developments in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)–Australian trade and investment. GCC–Australian trade and investment has increased significantly over the last two decades. However, a closer look at the recent trends shows that so far Australian–GCC trade and investment remain highly concentrated in a few countries and in a narrow range of sectors. Opportunities therefore exist for Australian businesses to expand and diversify more broadly across all GCC states in more sectors of the economy.

Well-known trade marks, foreign investment and local industry : a comparison of China and Indonesia

Strengthened protection for well-known trade marks in accordance with the TRIPS Agreement is an important issue for developing countries, which has led to trade pressures from industrialised nations in the past. ‘Trade mark squatting’, referring to the registration in bad faith of foreign well-known marks in order to sell them back to their original owners, is a much discussed phenomenon in this context. This article outlines the history and development of well-known trade marks and the applicable law in China and Indonesia. It looks not just at foreign and international brands subjected to ‘trade mark squatting’, but also at how local enterprises are using the system. Rather remarkably in view of the countries’ turbulent histories, local well-known marks have a long history and are well respected for their range of products. They are not normally affected by the ‘trade mark squatting’ phenomenon and are rarely the subject of disputes. Enhanced protection under the TRIPS Agreement is especially relevant for international brands and the article shows the approaches in the two countries. In China, government incentives assist the proliferation of nationally well-known and locally ‘famous’ marks. In Indonesia, lack of implementing legislation has left the matter of recognition to the discretion of the courts.

Migration, unemployment and trade

Migration, Unemployment and Trade focuses on the issues of migration, welfare and unemployment in a trade and development framework. Several chapters of the book analyze the implications of internal labor mobility in a model designed to highlight its implications for regional welfare, urban unemployment, rural-urban dichotomy and structural adjustment. An important innovation in this work is the disaggregation of the economy and the use of separate utility functions to highlight non-homogeneity of preferences. The book also deals with international mobility of factors in different frameworks. In particular it concentrates on the highly emotive issue of legal and illegal migration. Thus this work incorporates interesting and important features of labor economics and factor mobility into trade and distortion theory.

Globalisation, the environment and recent trends in international trade

The process of globalization has had far-reaching social as well as economic effects. The term "globalization" is generally taken to mean an increase in international transactions in markets for goods, services and factors of production and a growth in institutions .that straddle international borders. This development has also meant that the corporate-governance mechanisms have to be reinforced to ensure fairness and transparency as well as social responsibility. Finally, international infrastructure and institutions have to evolve to facilitate and ameliorate the effects of the growth in this world trade on the environment, sustainable development and bio-diversity. This paper provides an overview of the current developments in all these areas.

Foreign Direct Investment and Regional Export Performance in China

This paper investigates the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) on the export performance of China at the provincial level. First, it presents a theoretical discussion of the impact of FDI on foreign trade, and then an empirical study of the impact of FDI on the export performance of regions in Chin. It has been found that the impact of FDI on exports differs across three macro-regions in China. The effect is stronger in the coastal region than in the inland regions. Although FDI shows a positive and significant impact on exports from the central region, its impact on the western region is found to be insignificant.

Settlement of Disputes Within the World Trade Organisation: A Guide to the Jurisprudence

The Urugauy Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations led to the development of a revised set of procedures on dispute settlement. These procedures dealt with a number of significant problems that had arisen under GATT dispute settlement experience. In spite of these important reforms, there are numerous, complex and contentious questions of legal adjudication that any formal dispute settlement system must face. The article outlines the aims and organs of dispute settlement under the WTO. It addresses some of the key questions as to standing, interpetation, evidence and adjudicatory practices and processes. While ongoing moitoring and reform is necessary, an important thesis is that the inherent nature of legal adjudication forces uncertain determinations that can too easily give rise to unwarranted criticism of the system as a whole.