Department of Agribusiness and Markets

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Recent Submissions

Now showing 1 - 5 of 176
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    The role of information in land-use decision-making : The perspective of farmers in New Zealand :
    (Lincoln University, 2023) Blake, Aimee
    Agri-food systems are facing increasing pressure to transition toward more sustainable alternatives, which are information-intensive and may require different forms of knowledge. Therefore, optimal and sustainable land-use decision-making requires effective information provision. However, digital technologies and the information age have changed the ways in which farmers interact with information. This necessitates different approaches and raises questions regarding how and why farmers gather information and whom they trust. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore the role of information in land-use decision-making from the perspective of farmers in New Zealand. Twenty-two semi-structured interviews with commercial pastoral farmers and a focus group with emerging young farmers were conducted. The results evidence that information is important for decision-making and that gathering processes are personal and contextual. The farmer participants sourced information from a variety of sources across digital and physical formats. Traditional institutions (i.e., industry groups) were recognised; however, digital and informal sources (i.e., the internet and interpersonal networks) were the most utilised. The farmer participants engaged as researchers and information curators online and within networks, to share learnings in communities of practice. The young farmer participants particularly interacted digitally, following farmer influencers and utilising artificial intelligence (AI). Audio formats were acknowledged as useful, and information about consumers was important, signalling market orientation. Combining formal and informal elements, the farmer participants valued how catchment groups are community-led and outcomes-focused. Additionally, knowledge brokering through intermediaries at the catchment level assisted with information exchanges. The most trusted sources of information were other high-achieving farmers and interpersonal networks; however, there were mixed experiences with peers. Validation of information occurred through a triangulation and cross-referencing process. Attempts to determine what is trustworthy were challenging due to misinformation and information overload, which hindered effective decision-making. Farmers largely felt that strategic land-use information was challenging to source, especially in relation to regional contexts. Overall, the results signal the need to combine the best of informal and formal sources and that farmers should be recognised as co-creators of information. This research contributes to the literature on information and farmer decision-making in the information age. Potential actions that emerge from the findings include improving digital literacy, hybrid approaches to information provision, adopting listening rather than telling approaches, and supporting intermediaries. These insights could be of interest to inform effective approaches to information provision. Future research into digital literacy, the perspectives of information providers, and the influence of evolving sources (i.e., AI) would be useful. Additionally, the implications of misinformation and information disorders on trust and decision-making should be considered. It is concluded that as technologies evolve, an ongoing conceptualisation of information and farmer habits will be required.
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    Impact of mobile payment adoption on household expenditures and subjective well-being : A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Commerce and Management at Lincoln University
    (Lincoln University, 2023) He, Quan
    In recent years, mobile payment has gradually become increasingly popular worldwide. Especially in China, mobile payments are ubiquitous and gradually replacing traditional cash payments. This thesis estimates the effects of mobile payment adoption on household expenditures and subjective well-being. It considersfour categories of household expenditures (clothes, durable goods, consumer goods, and cultural and leisure activities) and four indicators (life satisfaction, contentment, income satisfaction, and depression) of subjective well-being. This thesis uses the Augmented Inverse Probability Weighting estimator to analyse the 2017 Chinese General Social Survey data while accounting for the selection bias inherent in mobile payment adoption. The empirical results show that people’s decisions to adopt mobile payments are positively associated with their educational level, car ownership, social interaction, Internet penetration rate, and residential location. Mobile payment adoption significantly increases household expenditures on consumer goods and cultural and leisure activities but not on clothes and durable goods. Moreover, mobile payment adoption significantly decreases contentment while increasing depression. This thesis also finds that mobile payment adoption significantly decreases urban people’s contentment but significantly increases urban people’s depression. Disaggregated analyses show that mobile payment adoption increases spending on consumer goods but decreases contentment for urban households; increases spending on consumer goods and depression for rural households; increases spending on consumer goods; decreases contentment and income satisfaction for male respondents; and increases spending on clothing, cultural, and leisure activities, and depression for female respondents. Therefore, the government should create products and services to extend the benefits of mobile payments to all segments of Chinese society. At the same time, it should help consumers avoid the debt incurredthrough educational programs and advertising.
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    Updating Aaker’s model of brand equity to incorporate modern social media strategies and consumer interactions : A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Lincoln University
    (Lincoln University, 2023) Robertson, Lynne
    Brand equity provides businesses with a solid foundation for understanding the success of their strategic marketing, which contributes to their financial profitability and success. It is a critical factor in business and marketing strategies, as brands are assets that drive business performance over time. A brand's equity is a tactical aid to generate short-term sales and strategic support to create long-term value for an organisation. In 1991, David Aaker pioneered this space, constructing a brand equity model that is still used today. The model was constructed with five dimensions, brand loyalty, brand awareness, brand associations, perceived quality, and other proprietary brand assets. Although brand equity is an essential measure for companies, research has not reconsidered traditional methods, reexamining accounting for social media. Social media has been a massive shift in the global markets, offering consumers a new way to communicate and engage with people and brands online. Social media is one of the most popular online activities. Content published on social media platforms containing information created which is highly accessible and intended to facilitate communication, influence and interaction with others, even on a global scale. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, are among the largest in the world, with billions of users. The emergence of social media has changed how consumers interact and absorb content. As a result, companies must reconsider their marketing efforts and where marketing investments are made, ensuring they continue to reach their target consumers. This study determined how Aaker’s brand equity model could be updated by accounting for social media marketing. Four additional social media marketing-based dimensions were considered and used within the study; online brand information/usefulness, online brand interaction/ engagement, online brand detection and online brand affiliation. One model closely followed Aaker’s structure and integrated the social media concepts within its original structure; the second added the social media dimensions as separate drivers. A robust design method was developed to assess the alternative approaches to updating the model, testing the suitability of the two proposed expanded models. An online survey was developed, and the data was collected from 509 respondents through Qualtrics. Before this, pre-testing was undertaken with a small group of 20 individuals to check the validity and detail of the instrument. Exploratory Factor Analysis, Confirmatory Factor Analysis, and Structural Equation Modeling were used to analyse the data. Smart-PLS and AMOS were the selected software to test the models. The results clearly show that the separated updated model is superior, supporting the notion that social media drivers work alongside the original model drivers. Nevertheless, there is scope for further research to be carried out in this space, helping companies to build brand equity both through traditional marketing strategies and emerging social media strategies.
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    Māori cultural values and soil fertility management – An exploratory study
    (New Zealand Grassland Association, 2023) Lucock, Xiaomeng; Moir, James; Ruwhiu, D
    Highlights • There have been limited studies to date specifically relating Māori cultural values to soil fertility management practices on farms. • The deep-rooted connection between Māori people and the land is a critical feature of their land management decisions. • Farms are food baskets for whānau and the wider community, as well as sources of income to provide other services and desired outcomes (e.g., social, cultural, environmental). • Soil fertility maintenance is a high priority for Māori land managers, but there is a fine balance to strike between this, farm cashflow and other responsibilities (e.g., whānau, community, kaitiakitanga). • Current environmental regulations present many complex challenges to Māori farms. • Potential exists in unlocking Māori provenance through seeking business partners who share the same cultural values.
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    Factors influencing pastoral farmers' land-use change decisions in response to environmental regulations in the Selwyn District, Canterbury
    (New Zealand Grassland Association, 2023) van Uffelen, AT; Lucock, Xiaomeng; Bailey, Alison
    Highlights • Pastoral farmers in Selwyn often feel misunderstood by regulatory authorities regarding the effects of increasing environmental regulations on their farm systems, and subsequent land-use change decisions. • Financial factors and certainty around policy and practice were the most important factors to farmers when making land-use change decisions. • Farmers were hesitant to make a sustainable land-use change decision without the confidence that it will remain a financially and strategically viable choice for the longer term. • To encourage sustainable land-use change, regulatory authorities must give increased thought to understanding farmers’ response to regulations and how this affects creation and implementation of future regulation.