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One of the major goals in strategic management research is to identify firm-related and ind- try-related sources and determinants of profitability differences among firms. Accordingly, essential theoretical views explaining superior economic performance of firms include (1) competitive advantages realized by firms compared to their rivals and (2) industry structural characteristics. Both became prominent in strategic management research by the seminal work of Michael Porter who originally distinguished two corresponding performance effects, the positioning effect and the industry effect. Many empirical studies have already been c- ducted on these issues. The majority considered market entry barriers and industry concent- tion (as external factors), competitive strategies and resources/ capabilities (as internal f- tors) and strategic group membership (as an intermediate factor). From a strategic and long-term perspective, the sustainability of superior economic perfo- ance is of particular interest. Considerably less empirical studies have been conducted with respect to this topic. And there is no empirical study to date existing that has quantified for different industries the time span over which firms had been able to attain superior economic performance. Thomas Fritz bridges this research gap with his PhD thesis by determining the competitive advantage period (CAP) and the industry advantage period (IAP). He gives - sights concerning the sustainability of performance differences at both the intra-industry and inter-industry level.
The WTO and the conflict over food reserves
The last WTO ministerial conference in Bali, Indonesia, in December 2013, was marked by a controversy over food security involving 33 developing countries (G33) and industrialized nations. The G33 aimed to amend the WTO’s Agreement on Agriculture to ease constraints on food reserves, a topic that gained urgency after the 2007-2008 food price crisis. However, industrialized countries, particularly the EU and the US, opposed these changes, fearing they would lead to significant trade-distorting subsidies. Ultimately, a compromise was reached, allowing the conference to conclude successfully, but the interim solution left much to be desired from a food security standpoint. This policy paper examines the Bali controversy's background, detailing the history of food reserves managed by marketing boards in developing countries, their decline after the 1980s debt crisis, and the renewed interest in these tools following recent food price spikes. It outlines WTO rules that may limit the establishment of grain reserves for food security and analyzes the G33 proposal discussed at the conference. The paper concludes with recommendations for reframing WTO rules to better align with the evolving agricultural economy and enhance food security.
After several rounds of reforms, the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is poised for another comprehensive overhaul as its current iteration ends in 2013. The debate surrounding the €57 billion allocated to the CAP—over 40 percent of the EU’s budget—occurs amid a worsening global food crisis marked by rising and volatile food prices. In 2010, an estimated 925 million people faced hunger, a significant increase from 833 million in 2000-2002. Despite its substantial influence on global poverty and food insecurity, the external dimension of the CAP is often overlooked in discussions about its future. This publication aims to address this gap by detailing the CAP's history, reforms, beneficiaries, and its impacts on agriculture, poverty, and food security in the Global South, as well as its connections to European trade policy. It examines the implications of the quest for cheap raw materials, exports of cereals, dairy, and poultry, and the rising demand for animal feed, the EU's most significant agricultural import. The final recommendations propose essential changes for the EU to ensure that the CAP effectively contributes to eradicating poverty and hunger, while promoting global food sovereignty.
