Research Interests

My research program fits in the field of agribusiness economics and management within the agricultural and applied economics profession, with emphasis on examining institutions and organizations in the global agrifood system.  My research focuses on the organization and boundaries of the agribusiness firm, with applications to finance, contracting, governance and inter-firm collaborative arrangements.  I am interested in organizational and institutional design and investigating the link between alternative organizational and governance mechanisms and economic performance of agribusiness firms and farms.

I am currently engaged in research projects (1) estimating industry and strategic determinants of profit persistence in agribusiness industries; (2) analyzing networks of producers, processors and farm input suppliers in the agricultural production sector; (3) investigating entrepreneurial activity in emerging wine regions and the development of grape-wine-hospitality clusters; and (4) evaluating the determinants of the separation of ownership and control, and corporate governance practices in farmer-owned cooperatives.

To date my research has resulted in 2 books, 17 papers in refereed academic journals, 11 refereed book chapters, 16 refereed proceedings contributions, 9 publications and research reports subject to editorial review, and 37 paper presentations in international, national and regional conferences.  My work has appeared in some of the top general disciplinary journals in agricultural economics, including the American Journal of Agricultural Economics, the Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural Economics, and the Review of Agricultural Economics.  I have also published in top specialized field journals such as the Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics and the Journal of Institutional Economics.

See a list of my publications.