PhD Defence: Xiao Peng
In her dissertation ‘Innovation, Member Sorting, and Evaluation of Agricultural Cooperatives’, Xiao Peng aims to extend the current understanding of the agricultural cooperatives.
Xiao Peng defended her dissertation in the Senate Hall at Erasmus University Rotterdam on Thursday, 26 January 2017 at 11:30. Her supervisor was <link people george-hendrikse>Prof. George Hendrikse. Other members of the Doctoral Committee were Prof. Ernst Verwaal (University of Leuven), Prof. Barbara Krug (Goethe Universitat), and Dr. Jos Bijman (Wageningen University).
About Xiao Peng
Xiao Peng was born on March 12, 1984 in Jiangsu, China. She obtained her Master of Science degree in Enterprise Management in 2011, at China University of Mining and Technology. In the same year, she joined the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, as a PhD candidate. Her research focuses on the internal and industrial organization of enterprises.
Xiao’s work has been presented at various international conferences including “SICSS” Shanghai International Conference on Social Science, “PREBEM” Business Economics and Management Phd Conference, “EAWOP” European Association of Work and Organizational Psychology, Conference Producers Organizations in Agricultural Markets, eRNAC Modern Cooperatives, ICA 2015 Paris "Future of the Cooperative model: creativity, innovation and research", and the 146th EAAE Seminar “Technology transfer as a driver of innovative entrepreneurship in agriculture and the agri-food industry”. Her research is currently under review in management and economics journals.
Thesis Abstract
This dissertation aims to extend the current understanding of the agricultural cooperatives, and it is done by executing three studies regarding various aspects of the cooperatives. First study investigates the relationship between communication, innovation, and (de)centralization in cooperatives. This study claims that the communication between members is related to process innovation, while the communication between mangers and members is related to product innovation. The adopted (de)centralization depends on the two types of communication costs. Second, a sorting model is developed to examine how members sort themselves across enterprises and which governance structures are adopted. A cooperative pays a uniform price to all farmers to maximize members’ revenue and retains no profits, whereas investor-owned firm differentiates payments based on quality. The model shows that the farmers tend to choose the neighbouring enterprise, and the farmers with high quality products tend to choose an investor-owned firm. Besides, higher the quality payment, more farmers are attracted by the investor-owned firm, and it has an impact on the market structure. Last, this dissertation provides evidence from China for a better understanding of the different evaluations between CEOs and members, therefore helps CEOs to best serve the membership of the cooperatives. The survey shows that members have higher scores than CEOs regarding member profitability and overall performance, while CEOs have a higher evaluation regarding social influence. Moreover, the associated factors that may influence the evaluations are explored.
Photos: Chris Gorzeman / Capital Images
