Explaining productivity in a poor productivity region

Webber, Don J.; Webber, Gail A.; Berger, Sebastian; Bradley, Peter

Abstract

© 2017, © The Author(s) 2017. Productivity is the preferred measure of firm-level efficiency and perceived to reflect resource use rates. Semi-structured interviews with restaurant managers in a tourism-dominated low productivity rural area reveal that they are motivated to supply products that they believe in and to sustain a quality of life that meets their needs rather than striving to achieve higher productivity. Pricing strategies, managerial objectives and local market characteristics are found to radically influence the area’s productivity value. An area’s productivity value might not be an indicator of resource use rates or productive efficiency, and could instead reflect resident managers’ motivations towards money and the presence of opportunities to achieve scale economies.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 11, 2017
• Online Publication Date: Oct 16, 2017
• Publication Date: Feb 1, 2018
• Deposit Date: Sep 11, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 21, 2017
• Journal: Environment and Planning A
• Print ISSN: 0308-518X
• Electronic ISSN: 1472-3409
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 50
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 157-174
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0308518X17735103
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/904001
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.1177/0308518X17735103
• Contract Date: Sep 13, 2017