Font Size: a A A

Studies On Organizational Structure And Economic Performance Of Tea Industry

Posted on:2002-03-05Degree:DoctorType:Dissertation
Country:ChinaCandidate:Z C SuFull Text:PDF
GTID:1116360032950076Subject:Tea
Abstract/Summary:PDF Full Text Request
The relation ship between organizational structure of market and its performance isan essential concept in the industrial organizational theory Although there are manygeneral characters to all the industries, some specific entities exist to a definite one.Chinese tea industry has developed to such a scale that the market organization of itsdifferent links such as tea production, manufacture and distribution are very cIeaf, so itcan be treated as an individual industry. The Chinese tea industry has a long history of itsdevelopment, and still figures prominently in the economic development of mountainousarea in the southern part of its country. As economy is globally integrated, how totransfOrm and upgrade the Chinese traditional tea industry and raise its competitiveness isan issue which at present need immediate and urgent treatment. Since the competitivenessof an industry is embodied in its definite organization, the organizational system ofindustry is considered an important variable, which influences the industrial development.In this paper, we studied the organizational system of tea industry and its relation to itsperformance, drew a general conclusion, and presented some definite proposals on theindustrial policy. The main contents and results are as fOllows f(l) Tea has its distinct technology and market attributes that distinguish it from otherproducts, which lead to some essential features with which tea industry operate. Theseattributes include many aspects, i.e. the shoot freshly plucked from tea plant can not beconsumed directly until it is processed into made tea, the assets invested in tea plantationshows some features of assets-specificity, green tea leaves are liable to perish, whichbrings about a much higher transaction cost in market institution, different institutionalarrangement would produce its distinct performance. Unlike other agriculture product,there exits unsymmetrical information in tea transaction. At present, tea quality is mainlyappraised by organoleptic taSting, without any objeCtive and standardized procedure tofolloW and meanwhi1e, fOr ordinary consumers, they are short of organoleptic tastingabi1ity to identify the quality when they buy teot It brings a fact that the two sides of teatransaction possess unequal infOrmation, which lead to unprincipled competition in teamarket. The culture embodied in tea consumption is an important attribute of tea. As aunique phenomenon, this culture character determines that the Chinese tea industry run indifferent pattern from other industries.(2) As an external variable, institutional environment (including policies), affects theinstitutional arrangement and competitive conduct of tea industry, it further determines thepefformance of tea market. Although the history that tea was produced for commodityexchange in China was very long, till the Tong and Song Dynasties, the organizationaldivision appeared. This division was further specified and tea industry developed rapidIyin greater scale in Qing Dynasty. This development could be attributed to the rising teademand for export and the change of government monopoly to free trade. At the end ofQing Dynasty Times, the Chinese tea industry declined, while rose in India and Sri Lanka.This fluctuation was relation to the organizational institution in different countries.The Chinese tea industry sustained an amazing1y increasing development from themid-l950's to l980s, and entered a steady phase in l990s. During this time, there weresome changes in the policies and the organizational institution of tea industry, such as thehouse responsibility refOrm at the beginning of 1980s and relaxation of the domesticmarket and export trade in l984. BefOre l985, the government held a monopoly onbuying and selling, and the organizational institution was a governmental arrangement.This industrial organization had possibly influence on the perfOrmance in two differentways. First, it...
Keywords/Search Tags:tea industry, institutional environment, economic performance, organizational structure
PDF Full Text Request
Related items