CFP: The Handbook of Research on Entrepreneurship in Agriculture and Rural Development

[entrepreneurship-phd at lists.uni-due.de]

From: Friederike Welter [mailto:Friederike.Welter at ihh.hj.se] 
Date: Wed 22 Apr 2009 17:06

Call for Chapter Contributions

“The Handbook of Research on Entrepreneurship in Agriculture and Rural
Development”

to be published by Edward Elgar Publishing

Editors:
Gry Alsos, Nordland Research Institute Norway gry.alsos at nforsk.no
Sara Carter, University of Strathclyde, UK sara.carter at strath.ac.uk
Elisabet Ljunggren, Nordland Research Institute, Norway elisabet.ljunggren at nforsk.no
Friederike Welter, Jonkoping International Business School, Sweden friederike.welter at jibs.hj.se

The agriculture sector has experienced profound changes in recent years.
Policy reforms, which have both reduced the scale of support in
agriculture and changed its focus, have impacted on farm incomes. At the
same time, demand side changes, in the form of increasing retailer
concentration and complex patterns of consumer preferences, have
required the development of sophisticated market driven strategies.
Farmers have demonstrated uneven abilities to adapt and adjust to these
ongoing changes. The ability and propensity of farmers to engage in
entrepreneurial behaviors is a key explanation of the different patterns
of responses within the sector. 

The ongoing changes that have occurred within the agriculture sector
have attracted research attention from a variety of different
disciplines. Agricultural economists and rural sociologists have
documented the impact of these changes on the farming sector and their
surrounding communities, while entrepreneurship scholars have focused on
the abilities of some farmers to recognize and evaluate new
opportunities and to use farm based resources in the exploitation of
new, often non-agricultural markets.

The aim of this edited collection is to draw together the work of
leading scholars working in the area of entrepreneurship in agriculture,
food production and rural development. There are three main themes
within the book. The first theme presents new research that has emanated
from the entrepreneurship domain. This theme largely focuses on the firm
and the individual entrepreneurs, exploring portfolio entrepreneurship
within the farm sector (farm-based pluriactivity), the antecedents and
consequences of multiple business ownership, its resource requirements,
and the influence and effects of the farm household.  The second theme
presents research that takes a sector and industry perspective,
exploring new developments in food production and distribution systems.
These include innovative initiatives in supply chain linkages, strategic
alliances and vertical alignment, as well as novel responses to changing
consumer preferences and growing awareness of the importance of regional
branding. The third theme explores the inter-relationship between
agricultural entrepreneurship and its spatial context. New farm based
ventures may make an important contribution to rural economic and social
development, but this contribution may vary substantially, dependent on
the facilitating or constraining capital within the locality.   
		
Abstracts presenting a summary of potential chapter contributions should
be emailed to the editors by 31th May 2009. Complete chapter
contributions are required by 31st December 2009