ÂÜÀòÉç¹ÙÍø

 : : : Posting

: : content

---

Date: Sat, 24 Mar 2007 13:19:38 +0100
From: "Lindgreen, A." <A.Lindgreen@tm.tue.nl>

THE BRITISH FOOD JOURNAL

Call for Papers

Special Issue on Chinese Food Marketing.

The British Food Journal announces the call for papers for a special issue on Chinese Food Marketing. The deadline for submission is January 31, 2008. The journal has recently been included in the ISI Citation Index.

Purpose of the special issue

With about 20 percent of the world’s population and an annual growth in GDP of up to 10 percent, China ranks high on business leaders’ and policymakers’ agenda. The largest item in Chinese households is food. Urban and rural households spend around 40 percent and 50 percent of their budget on food, respectively. With rising incomes and an expanding urban middle class, Chinese households have changed their eating habits drastically over the past decade. For example, Chinese households have cut back on rice and wheat and, instead, they have increased consumption of dairy products, meat (poultry and fish), soft drinks, and wine. The amount of processed foods is also increasing.

Although only 10 percent of the world’s cropland belongs to China, the value of Chinese agricultural imports has long been at $8-12 billion, but has now increased to $25 billion in 2005, making China one of the largest agricultural importers in the world. However, much of the imports are soybean and vegetable oils, natural fibers, rubber, and hides.

China is also experiencing changes in its food market. Traditionally, the food market was tightly controlled by the authorities and consisted of open-air markets, mom-and-pop shops, and antiquated wholesale and supply chain systems. Over the past years, however, China has seen convenience stores, supermarkets, hypermarkets, and warehouse clubs taking a greater part of its food market. The growth rate in ‘supermarketization’ has been up to 40 percent annually. At present time, there are tens of thousands of supermarkets in China, and sales were $71 billion in 2003.

This special issue seeks to examine developments in Chinese food marketing. Specific topics may include, but are not limited to:

• What are Chinese consumers spending their money on: higher quality foods or greater food quantity?
• Are trends in Europe, including branded products, processed foods, eating out, and organic food, experienced in China, too?
• On which parameters will imported food products have to compete on compared to Chinese food products?
• How do Chinese consumers view foreign food products as opposed to Chinese food products?
• Which developments do supermarket chains and food product distributors undertake to be able to meet food demands?
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of supermarketization in China?
• What are the strategies of Chinese businesses adapted in response to foreign competition?
• What kind of horizontal and vertical channel collaborative behavior is being adapted in China?
• What has been, and what will be, the impact of Chinese Government intervention and legislative control concerning investment and business operation in China? 

Preference will be given to empirical papers (both qualitative and quantitative), although theoretical papers that offer comprehensive frameworks of key issues are also welcomed. As the British Food Journal is widely read by an academic and business audience, all submissions should include implications for practitioners. 

Processes for the submission of papers

Papers submitted must not have been published, accepted for publication, or presently be under consideration for publication. Submissions should be between 4,000 and 6,000 words in length. Copies should be submitted via email Word attachment (in one file including all figures and tables) to both the special issue editors. The first page must contain the title, as well as the author(s) and their contact information. For additional guidelines including the requirements for a structured abstract, please see the "Notes for Contributors" from a recent issue of British Food Journal or visit . Suitable articles will be subjected to a double-blind review; hence authors should not identify themselves in the body of the paper.

Please address questions to the special issue editors:

Dr. Adam Lindgreen
Department of Marketing, Hull University Business School
Hull University, Hull, HU6 7RX, the UK
Email: a.lindgreen@hull.ac.uk

Dr. Martin Hingley
Department of Business Management and Marketing; Harper Adams University College
Newport, Shropshire, TF10 8NB, United Kingdom
Email: mhingley@harper-adams.ac.uk

---