Recent Publications

Braun, C.L., Bitsch, V. & Häring, A.M. (2023). Creating spaces for change: Boundary work in emerging agri-food value chains. Journal of Cleaner Production 424, online. doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.138821

Sadeghi-Esfahlani, T.A. & Bitsch, V. (2023). Conventional food retailers’ communication on sustainability on LinkedIn: Analysis of selected German supermarkets and discounters. Proceedings in System Dynamics and Innovation in Food Networks 2023, 95-100. doi.org/10.18461/pfsd.2023.2308

Rombach, M., Dean, D.L. & Bitsch, V. (2023). "Got milk alternatives?" Understanding key factors determining U.S. consumers’ willingness to pay for plant-based milk alternatives. Foods 12 (6), 1277. doi.org/10.3390/foods12061277

Gabriel, A. & Bitsch, V. (2023). Everywhere the same? Competitiveness of two regional vegetable production clusters in Southern Germany. International Food and Agribusiness Management Review 26 (1) 139-157. doi.org/10.22434/IFAMR2021.0119

Braun, C.L., Bitsch, V. & Häring, A.M. (2023). Developing agri-food value chains: Learning systems between exploration and exploitation. Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension 29 (4), 417-438. doi.org/10.1080/1389224X.2022.2082499

Braun, C.L., Bitsch, V. & Häring, A.M. (2022). Behind the scenes of a learning agri-food value chain: lessons from action research. Agriculture and Human Values 39, 119-134. doi.org/10.1007/s10460-021-10229-7

Wagner, C., Mair, S. & Bitsch, V. (2022). Mindsets in intra-familial farm transfer: Successful successor and predecessor prototypes. International Journal on Food System Dynamics 13 (2), 143-164. doi.org/10.18461/ijfsd.v13i2.B3

Gabriel, A., Rombach, M., Wieser, H., & Bitsch, V. (2021). Got waste: knowledge, behavior and self-assessment on food waste of university students in Germany. International Food and Agribusiness Management Review 24 (6) 951-970. doi.org/10.22434/IFAMR2020.0145

Huhn, C. (2021). Plant knowledge in training - a thorn in their eye? Acta Horticulturae 1327, 763-770. doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2021.1327.102

Havardi-Burger, N., Mempel, H., & Bitsch, V. (2021). Framework for sustainability assessment of the value chain of flowering potted plants for the German market. Journal of Cleaner Production 329, 129684. doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.129684

Wagner, C. (2021). So ticken erfolgreiche Übergeber & Nachfolger. DEGA Gartenbau 75 (09), 28-30.

Huhn, C. (2021). Erkenntnisse für neue Strategien: Entwicklungspotential der Berufsausbildung. DEGA Galabau 75 (7), 24-29.

Gabriel, A., Rombach, M., & Schmiedbauer, J. (2019). Integration und Arbeitszufriedenheit ausländischer Saisonarbeitskräfte als Grundlage für zirkuläre Beschäftigungsverhältnisse. DGG-Proceedings 9 (5), 1-5. doi.org/10.5288/dgg-pr-ag-2019, (published March 2021)

Gabriel, A., Rombach, M., Wieser, H., & Bitsch, V. (2021). Got waste: knowledge, behavior and self-assessment on food waste of university students in Germany. International Food and Agribusiness Management Review 24 (6) 951-970. doi.org/10.22434/IFAMR2020.0145

Rombach, M., Dean, D.L., Widmer, N.J.O. & Bitsch, V. 2021. „Oh, you shouldn’t have!” Understanding key factors impacting cut flowers gifting preferences in Germany. Horticulturae 7 (10), 368. doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae7100368

Rombach, M., Dean, D.L., Widmer, N.J.O. & Bitsch, V. 2021. Connected consumerism: Understanding fair trade cut flower purchase behavior in Germany. Sustainability 13 (21), 12133 (November). doi.org/10.3390/su132112133

Havardi-Burger, N., Mempel, H., & Bitsch, V. (2020). Driving forces and characteristics of the value chain of flowering potted plants for the German market. European Journal of Horticultural Science 85 (4), 267-278. doi.org/10.17660/eJHS.2020/85.4.8

Pfeiffer, J., Gabriel, A. & Gandorfer, M. (2020). Understanding the public attitudinal acceptance of digital farming technologies: a nationwide survey in Germany. Agriculture and Human Values. doi.org/10.1007/s10460-020-10145-2

Mair, S. & Rombach, M. (2020). Taking the helm at the family operation under the watchful eye of the predecessor: Succession in European horticulture and agriculture. European Journal of Horticultural Science 85 (2), 123-132. doi.org/10.17660/eJHS.2020/85.2.7

Goisser, S., Mempel, H. & Bitsch, V. (2020). Food scanners as a radical innovation in German fresh produce supply chains. International Journal on Food System Dynamics 11 (2), 101-116. dx.doi.org/10.18461/ijfsd.v11i2.43

Rombach, M., Paul, S.E., Niedermann, L.F. & Bitsch, V. (2020). Peppers & More: A teaching case in organizational behavior. International Food and Agribusiness Management Review. doi.org/10.22434/IFAMR2020.0010

Havardi-Burger, N., Mempel, H., & Bitsch, V. (2020). Sustainability Challenges and Innovations in the Value Chain of Flowering Potted Plants for the German Market. Sustainability 12 (5), 1905. doi.org/10.3390/su12051905

Meyerding, G.H., Spiwoks, E., Rombach, M. & Lehberger, M. (2019). Not only speed matters – Crisis response in the hypothetical case of a transport accident involving genetically modified crops. Food Policy 85 (May), 55-63. doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2019.04.006

Sedlmeier, R., Rombach, M. & Bitsch, V. (2019). Making food rescue your business. Case studies in Germany. Sustainability 11 (18), 5101 doi.org/10.3390/su11185101

Rombach, M., Köhl, L. & Bitsch, V. (2019). Multi-layer Agency Problems in a Non-profit and For-profit Collaboration: A Case Study of a Delicatessen Product in Support of a Minority. International Food and Agribusiness Management Review 22 (5), 747-765. doi.org/10.22434/IFAMR2019.0014

King, R., Rombach, M., & Bitsch, V. (2019). Inclusion in German Horticulture. Acta Horticulturae 1242, 955-960 doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2019.1242.140

Goisser, S., Mempel, H. & Bitsch, V. (2019). Potential applications of food-scanners in fruit and vegetable supply chains and possible consequences for the German market. Proceedings in System Dynamics and Innovation in Food Networks 2019, 173-81. doi.org/10.18461/pfsd.2019.1917

Teklegiorgis Habtemariam, L., Gandorfer, M., Abate Kassa, G., & Sieber, S. (2019). Risk experience and smallholder farmers’ climate change adaptation decision. Climate and Development. doi.org/10.1080/17565529.2019.1630351

Villnow, V., Rombach, M., & Bitsch, V. (2019). Examining German media coverage of the re-evaluation of glyphosate. Sustainability 11 (7), 1910. doi.org/10.3390/su11071910

Carlson, L. A. & Bitsch, V. (2019). Applicability of Transaction Cost Economics to Understanding Organizational Structures in Solidarity-Based Food Systems in Germany. Sustainability 11 (4), 1095. doi.org/10.3390/su11041095

Braun, C.L., Rombach, M., Häring, A.M. & Bitsch, V. (2018). A local gap in sustainable food procurement: Organic vegetables in Berlin’s school meals. Sustainability 10 (11), 4245. doi.org/10.3390/su10114245

Carlson, L. & V. Bitsch (2018). Social sustainability in the ready-made garment sector in Bangladesh: An institutional approach to supply chains. International Food and Agribusiness Management Review 21 (2): 269-292. doi.org/10.22434/IFAMR2017.0114

Porsch, A., Gandorfer, M., and V. Bitsch (2018) Strategies to manage hail risk in apple production. Agricultural Finance Review 78 (5), 532-550. doi.org/10.1108/AFR-07-2017-0062

Rombach, M., Ricchieri, F. and Bitsch, V. (2018). Food recovery and food redistribution in Italy. Acta Horticulturae 1215, 301-306. doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2018.1215.55

Rombach, M., Bitsch, V., Kang, E., & Ricchieri, F. (2018). Comparing German and Italian Food Banks: Actors’ Knowledge on Food Insecurity and their Perception of the Interaction with Food Bank Users. British Food Journal. doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-11-2017-0626

Glebe, T., Bitsch, V., Kantelhardt, J., Oedl-Wieser, T., & Sauer, S. (2018). Agrar- und Ernährungswirtschaft zwischen Ressourceneffizienz und gesellschaftlichen Erwartungen. In: Berichte über Landwirtschaft. Zeitschrift für Agrarpolitik und Landwirtschaft, Band 96, Ausgabe 2. doi.org/10.12767/buel.v96i2.211

Balmann, A., Becker, T., Berg, E., Bitsch, V., Herrmann, R., Jungehülsing, J., Kantelhardt, J., Oedl-Wieser, T., & Weingarten, P. (2018). Leistungen von Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftlern: Art, Umfang und Bewertung – Ergebnisse einer Befragung der Mitglieder von GEWISOLA und ÖGA. In: Berichte über Landwirtschaft. Zeitschrift für Agrarpolitik und Landwirtschaft, Band 96, Ausgabe 2. doi.org/10.12767/buel.v96i2.213

Gabriel, A., & Bitsch, V. (2018). Impacts of Succession in Family Business - A Systemic Approach for Understanding Dynamic Effects in Horticultural Retail Companies in Germany. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development 26 (3), 304-324. doi.org/10.1108/JSBED-01-2018-0030

Rombach, M., Widmar, N. O., Byrd, E. S., & Bitsch, V. (2018). Understanding preferences of German flower consumers: the desire for sustained beauty. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 46 (6), 560-576. doi.org/10.1108/IJRDM-10-2017-0229

Mair, S. & Bitsch, V. (2018). Succession in horticultural family businesses: The role of socialization and communication. International Journal on Food System Dynamics 9 (3), 279-288. doi.org/10.18461/ijfsd.v9i3.936

Porsch, A., Gandorfer, M., & Bitsch V. (2018). Strategies to manage hail risk in apple production. Agricultural Finance Review. doi.org/10.1108/AFR-07-2017-0062

Braun, C. L., Rombach, M., Bitsch, V. & Häring A.M. (2018). Structures and actors of the organic vegetable value chain for school catering: a case study of the Berlin-Brandenburg metropolitan region. Proceedings in System Dynamics and Innovation in Food Networks 2018, 133-142. doi.org/10.18461/pfsd.2018.1810

Carlson, L. & Bitsch, V. (2018). Solidarity: a key element in alternative food networks. Proceedings in System Dynamics and Innovation in Food Networks 2018, 261-270. doi.org/10.18461/pfsd.2018.1819

Kizil, M., Rombach, M. & Bitsch, V. (2018). Innovationspotenziale der Bundesgartenschau: Entwicklung eines Evaluationsmodelles. DGG-Proceedings 7 (12), No 15. doi: 10.5288/dgg-pr-mk-2017 (published December 2018)

Havardi-Burger, N., Mempel, H., & Bitsch, V. (2017). Supply chain of bedding plants and pot plants in Germany. DGG-Proceedings 7 (12) Osnabrück, Germany. www.dgg-online.org/.../dgg-pr-nb-2017.pdf

Gabriel, A., & Bitsch, V. (2018). Innovative Agrarpolitik: Weiterentwicklung der zweiten Säule der Gemeinsamen Agrarpolitik nach 2020 zur Erleichterung des Generationenwechsels und der Betriebsnachfolge. In: Innovative Agrarpolitik nach 2020. Schriftenreihe der Rentenbank, Band 34, 75-100. Frankfurt (Germany), Edmund Rehwinkel-Stiftung der Landwirtschaftlichen Rentenbank. www.rentenbank.de/.../Band-34-Innovative-Agrarpolitik-nach-2020.pdf

Rombach, M., Kang, E., & Bitsch, V. (2018). Good deeds revisited: motivation and boundary spanning in formal volunteering. International Review of Public and Nonprofit Marketing 15 (1), 105-126. doi:10.1007/s12208-018-0193-7

Rombach, M., Widmar, N. O., Byrd, E., & Bitsch, V. (2018). Do all roses smell equally sweet? Willingness to pay for flower attributes in specialized retail settings by German consumers. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 40 (January), 91-99. doi:10.1016/j.jretconser.2017.09.007

Rombach, M., & Bitsch, V. (2017). Sector blending: evidence from the German Food Bank. International Food and Agribusiness Management Review 21 (2), 181-200. doi:10.22434/IFAMR2017.0064

Hermsdorf, D., Rombach, M., &  Bitsch, V. (2017). Food waste reduction practices in German food retail. British Food Journal 119 (12),  2532-2546. doi:10.1108/BFJ-06-2017-0338

Gandorfer, M., Porsch, A., & Bitsch, V. (2017). Producer price volatility in the German fruit and vegetable industry. European Journal of Horticultural Science 82 (3), 149-154. doi:10.17660/eJHS.2017/82.3.5

Bitsch, V., Mair, S., Borucinska, M., & Schettler, C. A. (2017). Introduction of a Nationwide Minimum Wage: Challenges to Agribusinesses in Germany. Economia Agro-alimentare/Food Economy 19 (1), 13-34. doi:10.3280/ECAG2017-001002, Abstract

Hauk, S., Gandorfer, M., Wittkopf, S., Müller, U. K., & Knoke, T. (2017). Ecological diversification is risk reducing and economically profitable - The case of biomass production with short rotation woody crops in south German land-use portfolios. Biomass and Bioenergy 98, 142-152. doi:10.1016/j.biombioe.2017.01.018

Teklegiorgis Habtemariam, L., Abate Kassa, G., & Gandorfer, M. (2017). Impact of climate change on farms in smallholder farming systems: Yield impacts, economic implications and distributional effects. Agricultural Systems 152, 58-66. doi:10.1016/j.agsy.2016.12.006

Alpmann, J., & Bitsch, V. (2017). Dynamics of Asymmetric Conflict: The Case of the German Milk Conflict. Food Policy 16, 62-72. doi:10.1016/j.foodpol.2016.12.002

Gabriel, A., Bitsch, V., & Menrad, K. (2017). Feasibility-Oriented Application of System Analysis in SMEs-The Cybernetic Approach of VSM Applied to Horticultural Retail Companies in Germany. Systemic Practice and Action Research 30 (2), 145-172. doi:10.1007/s11213-016-9388-1

Bitsch, V. (2016). Sustainability as Innovation: Challenges and Perspectives in Measurement and Implementation. In C. Huyghe, P. Bergeret, & U. Svedin (Eds.), Diffusion and transfer of knowledge in agriculture, Matière à débattre et décider (chap. 2). France: Quae. www.quae.com/fr/r5038-diffusion-and-transfer-of-knowledge-in-agriculture.html

Meyer-Aurich, A., Gandorfer, M., Trost, B., Ellmer, F., & Baumecker, M. (2016). Risk efficiency of irrigation to cereals in northeast Germany with respect to nitrogen fertilizer. Agricultural Systems 149, 132-138. doi:10.1016/j.agsy.2016.09.006

Gabriel, A., Bitsch, V., & Menrad, K. (2016). Conceptual framework for system analysis of family-run agricultural SMEs. Journal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship 28 (4), 325-344. doi:10.1080/08276331.2016.1205914

Gandorfer, M., Bitsch, V., Friedel, F., Kokovic, N., & Porsch, A. (2016). Erfolgsstrategien von Obst- und Gemüsegenossenschaften im Zuge der Internationalisierung des Hortibusiness. In: Die Positionierung Deutschlands in der Internationalisierung der Agrar- und Ernährungswirtschaft. Schriftenreihe der Rentenbank, Band 32, 111-135. Frankfurt (Germany), Edmund Rehwinkel-Stiftung der Landwirtschaftlichen Rentenbank. www.rentenbank.de/.../Die-Positionierung-Deutschlands-in-der-Internationalisierung-der-Agrar-und-Ernaehrungswirtschaft-2016.pdf

Teklegiorgis Habtemariam, L., Gandorfer, M., Abate Kassa, G., & Heissenhuber, A. (2016). Factors Influencing Smallholder Farmers’ Climate Change Perceptions: A Study from Farmers in Ethiopia. Environmental Management 58 (2) 343-358. doi:10.1007/s00267-016-0708-0

Przewozny, A., Bitsch, V., & Peters, K.J. (2016). Performance-based pay and other incentive schemes on dairy farms in Germany. Social Science Research Network (SSRN) February 11, 2016. www.ssrn.com/abstract=2851082

Alpmann, J., & Bitsch, V. (2015). Exit, Voice, and Loyalty in the Case of Farmer Associations: Decision-Making of Dairy Farmers during the German Milk Conflict. International Food and Agribusiness Management Review 18 (4), 61-84. www.ifama.org/.../Alpmann-Bitsch.pdf

Rombach, M., & Bitsch, V. (2015). Food movements in Germany: Slow food, food sharing, and dumpster diving. International Food and Agribusiness Management Review 18 (3), 1-24. www.ifama.org/resources/Documents/v18i3/Rombach-Bitsch.pdf

Bitsch, V. (2015). Herausforderungen nachhaltiger Wertschöpfungsketten im Gartenbau. In: Aktuelle Forschung in der Gartenbauökonomie, ed. by W. Dirksmeyer, L. Theuvsen und M. Kayser, Tagungsband zum 1. Symposium für Ökonomie im Gartenbau am 27. November 2013 in der Paulinerkirche Göttingen, Thünen Report 22, Braunschweig, Februar 2015, 1-21. go.tum.de/302591

Bitsch, V., Kokovic, N., & Rombach, M. (2014). Risk communication and market effects during foodborne illnesses: A comparative case study of bacterial outbreaks in the U.S. and in Germany. International Food and Agribusiness Management Review 17 (3), 97-114. www.ifama.org/.../V17Issue3BitschKokovicRombach.pdf

Alpmann, J. & Bitsch, V. (2013). Institutional Change in Germany’s Farmers Associations: Impacts of the Dairy Conflict. International Journal on Food System Dynamics, 4 (2) (November), 140-148. centmapress.ilb.uni-bonn.de/.../333

Zehetmeier, M., Gandorfer, M., Hoffmann, H., Müller, U. K., de Boer, I. J. M., & Heißenhuber, A. (2013). The impact of uncertainties on predicted GHG emissions of dairy cow production systems. Journal of Cleaner Production, 73, 116–124.

Gandorfer, M., Pannell, D. J., & Meyer-Aurich, A. (2011). Analyzing the effects of risk and uncertainty on optimal tillage and nitrogen fertilizer intensity for field crops in Germany. Agricultural Systems, Vol. 104 (8), 615-622.

Bitsch, V. & Yakura, E. (2007). Middle management in agriculture: Roles, functions, and practices. International Food and Agribusiness Management Review 10 (June, 2), 1-28.

Bitsch, V. (2005). Qualitative research: A grounded theory example and evaluation criteria. Journal of Agribusiness 23