Food Processing: An Industrial Powerhouse in Transition [Paperback]

John M. Connor (Author), William A. Schiek (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0471155152 | ISBN-13: 978-0471155157 | Publication Date: May 1997 | Edition: 2

This book covers the growth, economic development, and business management of the US commercial food processing industry. Topics include the strategic options of food processors when facing the many distribution channels and sourcing options currently available; new processing and information technologies; the effect of biotechnological developments on the food processing industry, and an analysis of whether the food processing sector has participated in the overall improvement of the US economy.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

This book covers the growth, economic development, and business management of the US commercial food processing industry. Topics include the strategic options of food processors when facing the many distribution channels and sourcing options currently available; new processing and information technologies; the effect of biotechnological developments on the food processing industry, and an analysis of whether the food processing sector has participated in the overall improvement of the US economy.

From the Back Cover

Food Processing, Second Edition provides incisive coverage of the growth, economic development, and business management of the U.S. commercial food processing industry. This revised edition addresses the many important changes that have affected the industry in the last decade, from new technologies and international trade agreements to the influx of foreign investment and the development of emerging markets around the world. Providing a full-scale analysis of the forces that will shape competitive advantage into the next century, this book is essential reading for food processing managers, buyers, marketers, and their professional advisers. The new volume contains:
* A systematic examination of industrial structure, business organization, and geographic location.
* A discussion of the impact of new processing and information technologies, developments in biotechnology, and more.
* Expanded material on distribution channels and sourcing options, including new retail formats such as warehouse stores and supercenters.
* Information on key input utilization, procurement, product and promotion strategies.
* Predicted growth trends for domestic and foreign markets, the dynamics of industry globalization, and more.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 688 pages
• Publisher: Wiley-Interscience; 2 edition (May 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471155152
• ISBN-13: 978-0471155157
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,303,603 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

JOHN M. CONNOR


Professor Emeritus, Purdue University in Indiana, Senior Advisor to the American Antitrust Institute, and Fellow of the American Agricultural and Applied Economics Association. Dr. Connor actively pursues empirical research in industrial economics and antitrust policy, especially the competitive analysis of international price-fixing cartels. He is the author of 18 books and monographs and more than 200 other scholarly publications in economics and law. His book, Global Price Fixing, received two national writing awards; new editions of this book appeared in 2007 and 2008.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars "...an authoratative...guide to food industry statistic...", April 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Food Processing: An Industrial Powerhouse in Transition (Paperback)

Review by James M. MacDonald, Economic Research Service, USDA, appearing in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics, February 1999, page 252-253.

"Food Processing: An Industrial Powerhouse in Transition," by John M. Connor and W. A. Schiek, is not a textbook, and it doesn't contain much economic analysis: it is best thought of as a data handbook with commentaries.

Connor and Schiek (C&S hereinafter) provide a ready source of numbers on a wide variety of industry topics, and the industrious reader can use the table source citations as a ready research guide to the available industry data sources.

Given the authors' goals and the inevitable space constraints of the book. I don't believe that they could have included more analysis.

On topics that energize them, such as that on food demand and consumer choices in chapter 8, the book does a very nice job of interweaving basic theory, the results of formal demand analyzes, and the information that can be gleaned from item-level supermarket scanner data, while at the same time conveying the strengths and weaknesses of the several data sources for the issues at hand. This section provides a very nice overview on key issues on the demand side of food marketing, and I expect that I'll rely on it frequently. But on other topics, such as the very lengthy chapter on location, the presentation turns repetitive.

One of the book's real strengths lies in its demonstration of the variety of different data sources, aside from the well-known Census of Manufactures, that provide useful support for analyzes of food processing. Experienced researchers as well as managers, analysts, and grad students should be able to mine these pages for new and improved sources of information.

C&S show a keen appreciation of the construction of food demand and consumption measures, along with the strengths and weaknesses of the associated data sets. Similarly, they show a sophisticated understanding of market structure statistics in a short space, and accurately convey the difficulties inherent in attempting to measure rates of new product introductions. But I'd like to see some closer attention paid to the problems of developing useful price indexes.

In general, C&S provide an authoritative one-stop guide to food industry statistics and to the construction of those statistics--the footnotes can almost be lifted out as a separate commentary on data construction. While I wouldn't suggest that anyone should try to read the book through in a few sittings, it should continue to occupy a market niche as an indispensable quick source for anyone relying on food industry statistics.