Salient environmental attributes and their value for small independent grocers

Purpose This paper aims to focus on the consumers’ decision process to clarify the salient attributes within the in-store environment of small independent grocers. Thus, the relative importance among environmental factors and their explicit monetary values is clarified. Design/methodology/approach The conjoint approach was applied to form a set of hypothetical environments virtualised through an interactive computer-aided simulation. Each of the 241 respondents was asked to evaluate their patronage intention on the basis of a given set of 18 virtual environments. Findings The results revealed the greater importance of the social environment in comparison to design and ambient cues, which consumers use in determining their patronage of stores. The final recommended environment offers some explicit value added to customers. Originality/value In contrast to most environmental studies, this study considered consumers’ decision processes, using conjoint analysis to clarify the relative importance and value of the environmental aspects affecting small independent grocers.

Considerations of Conjoint Couples Therapy in Cases of Intimate Partner Violence

This article reviews the current literature on the implementation of conjoint couples counseling in cases of intimate partner violence (IPV). As maintained by feminist theorists, due to the possibility of perpetuating or increasing violent behaviors within a couple, a conjoint treatment for IPV is generally contraindicated. However, multiple studies have shown that conjoint approaches do not increase the risk of harm to the victim. Following a thorough assessment of the dynamics of violence within a relationship, individual personality patterns, and adequate counselor training in IPV, a conjoint approach may be beneficial to reduce violent behaviors while increasing communication, problem-solving skills, and overall relationship satisfaction.

Structural production factors’ impact on the financial performance of agribusiness cooperatives in Brazil

Purpose Studies on the performance of agribusiness cooperatives in Brazil focus on economic and financial aspects. The purpose of this paper is to further delve into such studies by investigating which commonly measurable structural production factors (horizontal, vertical and lateral diversification; operating area; number of associates; and time in operation) have greater impacts on the financial performance of such cooperatives. Design/methodology/approach To achieve such a goal, a survey was conducted with a sampling pool divided by size (annual net revenues of US$ 50 million or higher), and the questionnaire was employed as a method of data collection. The sample was concentrated in the southern, south-eastern and mid-western regions of Brazil; classified by size; and deemed adequate after several adequacy tests. Findings The results were analysed using Spearman’s correlation, which showed that there were no significant correlations between the structural production factors considered in this study and the economic-financial performance of agricultural cooperatives, which leads to questions about the effectiveness of employing diversification strategies with a conjoint approach. Nonetheless, it was possible to identify several relationships not mentioned in the original hypotheses that might be addressed further in future studies. Research limitations/implications The data obtained should be interpreted with caution because heteroscedasticity was detected. Although the cause could not be clearly identified, the presence of heteroscedasticity could mean that smaller and similar cooperatives present similar variation in their diversification and production base strategies. Originality/value This work sought to generate knowledge regarding operations management, which was achieved by demonstrating that production diversification in a dynamic and relevant economic sector, that is, agricultural cooperatives, is limited in terms of financial return when performed in an isolated mode. Hence, cooperatives’ production managers should take into account the totality of structural production factors during their planning activities.