Resume

• 2005

  Ph.D

  Fields: Agribusiness Management

  Marketing Strategy

  Finance \n\nAdvisor: Dr. Hamish R. Gow

  Agricultural Economics

• 2002

  M.S.

  Agricultural Finance

  Farm Management

  Gamma Sigma Delta - Illinois Chapter

  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• 1997

  B.S.

  Agricultural Business

  University of Wisconsin-River Falls

• Entrepreneurship

  Agriculture

  University Teaching

  Research

  Farms

  Agribusiness

  Teaching

  Data Analysis

  Economics

  Statistics

  Survey Design

  Valuation

  Marketing Strategy

  Experience and learning in beef production: Results from a cluster analysis

  Research in agriculture and other industries has shown that innovativeness is a key driver of improved performance measures of small and medium-sized enterprises. The willingness to change current practice may be a function of the level of experience of the manager as well as the manager's commitment to learning. Firms with more experience may suffer from confirmation bias and therefore may not see the performance benefits that stem from innovative activities. Using data from a survey of 285 beef producers in Illinois

  this study employs cluster analysis to segment firms along experience and learning variables. Using a non-hierarchical clustering procedure

  four clusters emerge. The study employs one-way ANOVA tests to examine differences in market orientation

  innovativeness and satisfaction with several performance measures across clusters. Results indicate firms with a commitment to learning have a greater propensity to seek out market information

  a greater willingness to accept innovations and are more satisfied with overall performance. The paper concludes with some implications for managers and policy makers.

  Experience and learning in beef production: Results from a cluster analysis

  This paper explores the importance of a producer’s market orientation on their subjective performance within agricultural commodity markets. Using a structural equation model of beef producers

  our findings suggest that market oriented firms are highly innovative and achieve superior performance. These findings are consistent with previous research on the market orientation-performance relationship in heterogeneous product markets. The cost focus of a firm was also found to have a significant influence on innovation

  but no direct effect on \nperformance. This suggests that beef producers should follow a balanced approach utilizing both an external market and an internal productivity focus to achieve superior returns as opposed to solely focusing on internal productivity as many producers currently do.

  Market Orientation

  Innovation and Entrepreneurship: An Empirical Examination of the Illinois Beef Industry

  Previous research studies have suggested market oriented firms achieve superior performance relative to their peers (Narver and Slater

  1990). Furthermore

  researchers have suggested that firms that can clearly define their value discipline will also benefit. Recent studies have shown that highly market oriented and innovative firms are able to define more clearly their chosen value discipline. This study extends that research by examining firm performance across value disciplines. Using a sample of Illinois beef producers

  we find that levels of market orientation and performance are not equal across value disciplines. Our results show the level of market orientation is lowest for firms with an operational excellence value discipline and highest for a customer intimacy/product leadership value discipline. Furthermore

  our findings show that firms with high market orientation scores outperform firms with low market orientation scores regardless of degree of value discipline clarity.

  Market orientation and firm performance across value disciplines in the Illinois beef sector

  Marketing and strategy scholars have established the importance of a market orientation and innovativeness as drivers of firm performance. This study examines how a market orientation

  innovativeness

  entrepreneurship

  organizational learning

  and a cost focus contribute to a positional advantage within the context of agricultural SMEs.\n\nUsing a sample of 307 Illinois beef farmers

  we empirically measure and test the construct of positional advantage and examine the relationship between positional advantage and firm performance. Our results indicate that market orientation

  entrepreneurship

  innovativeness

  organizational learning and a cost focus are first-order indicators of positional advantage and that organizational learning

  market orientation

  and experience are positively related to firm performance.\n\nMarketing and strategy scholars have established the importance of a market orientation and innovativeness as drivers of firm performance. This study examines how a market orientation

  innovativeness

  entrepreneurship

  organizational learning

  and a cost focus contribute to a positional advantage within the context of agricultural SMEs. Using a sample of 307 Illinois beef farmers

  we empirically measure and test the construct of positional advantage and examine the relationship between positional advantage and firm performance. Our results indicate that market orientation

  entrepreneurship

  innovativeness

  organizational learning and a cost focus are first-order indicators of positional advantage and that organizational learning

  market orientation

  and experience are positively related to firm performance.\n\n

  The value of a positional advantage for agricultural SMEs

  A market orientation has been shown to lead to improved firm performance in a variety of industries (Narver and Slater

  1990; Deshpande et al.

  1993). In previous research

  it has been \nargued that performance benefits are a result of a greater awareness of the sources of value the product provides to the consumer

  without specifically describing how value was created. \nTreacy and Wiersema (1993) developed the concept of value disciplines

  which are three distinctive means of value provision

  namely operational excellence

  customer intimacy and product leadership. More recently

  Narver et al. (1998) argued that market oriented firms have a clear understanding of how they provide value to customers

  but this assertion has yet to be empirically tested. A new scale was developed and tested to measure the choice and clarity of value discipline. Using a sample of 343 Illinois beef producers

  results show that organizational learning

  innovativeness

  and extreme levels of market orientation contribute to value discipline clarity while moderate levels of market orientation have the opposite effect.

  Do Market Oriented Firms Demonstrate Clarity on Their Value Discipline? Evidence from Illinois Beef Producers

  This paper examines the strategic value of a market orientation using concepts from the resource based view of the firm. We show that a market orientation can be a strategic resource as it is heterogeneous

  imperfectly mobile

  and is imperfectly substitutable. Using examples from both small-scale and large-scale production agriculture

  we show how a market orientation can contribute to the awareness and implementation of new processes to improve performance. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of market orientation and firm strategy

  along with a discussion of managerial implications and calls for future research.

  Market driven innovation and entrepreneurial behaviour: The strategic value of a market orientation in primary agriculture

  It has been suggested that market-oriented firms are able to clearly define how they provide value to consumers (Narver

  Slater

  & Tietje

  1998; Treacy & Wiersema

  1993). Utilizing a sample of Illinois beef producers

  the authors empirically examine the market orientation–clarity–performance link. Results indicate that trust and commitment positively influence market orientation and organizational learning within the firm. Value discipline clarity is shown to have little effect on firm performance

  whereas market orientation and organizational learning are shown to be significant contributors to firm performance. Trust and commitment are shown to moderate the linkage between learning and firm performance.

  The moderating effects of trust and commitment on market orientation

  value discipline clarity

  and firm performance

  Eric

  Micheels

  United States Department of Agriculture

  Farm Service Agency

  University of Saskatchewan

  Ridgeland-Chetek Cooperative

  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

  Advised customers on seed/chemical/fertilizer decisions for coming year.\nScouted fields for weed/insect damage.\nApplied crop chemicals and fertilizers.

  Ridgeland-Chetek Cooperative

  Farm Loan Officer-Trainee

  Checked loan applications for completeness.\nAdvised Farm Loan Manager on lending decisions.\nConducted collateral checks for FSA borrowers.

  United States Department of Agriculture

  Farm Service Agency

  University of Saskatchewan

  Saskatoon

  I teach graduate and undergraduate courses in agribusiness.\n\nI conduct research on marketing

  entrepreneurship

  and innovation in production agriculture and agri-food supply chains.

  Assistant Professor

  In this role

  I was responsible for teaching finance and management theory and application to students in the Department of Finance and the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics. \n\nI also served as a co-advisor for the Illinois student chapter of the National Agribusiness Marketing Association.

  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

  University of Saskatchewan

  Saskatoon

  Saskatchewan

  Associate Professor

  College of Agriculture and Bioresources

  Robert Ferber Dissertation Award

  Survey Research Laboratory

  University of Illinois