Investigating the choice of transaction channels and national trade among U.S. nurseries.

Abstract

This thesis includes two projects: investigating the transaction channel choices by U.S. nurseries and national trade among U.S. nurseries. Alternative transaction channels including trade show, telephone, in-person, mail, and internet sales contribute to the growth of nursery crops in the United States. However, literature about the choice of transaction channels on nursery crops over time is sparse. In our study, we investigated the impacts of nurseries’ business characteristics, product characteristics, locations, and promotional activities on the sales through different transaction channels. Based on the national survey data of 2003 and 2008, we used Tobit models to investigate the main factors that affect the sales of plants through five transaction channels: trade show, telephone, in-person, mail and internet. We found that the firms’ choice of different channels changed over time; plant type affected the channel choice and different promotional activities also affected the choice of different channels. Based on national survey data of years 1998, 2003 and 2008, we used augmented gravity models to investigate the main factors affecting the trade value for both large and small nurseries. We found that the impact of distance on trade value was different between large nurseries and small nurseries; the impact of distance on nursery trade has been decreasing over time; and the impact of distance on nursery trade differs across regions. Additionally, nursery trade value was affected by plant types the nurseries carried and other business characteristics.