Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Recruitment problems and the shortage of junior corporate farm managers in Germany: the role of gender-specific assessments and life aspirations

  • Published:
Agriculture and Human Values Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Replacements for corporate farm managers are increasingly hard to find. At the same time, there is a large pool of potential managers that has been hardly tapped into: young female professionals. Focusing on the supply side of the labor market for farm managers, we investigate how gender-specific life aspirations impact occupational intention. To explain gender-specific occupational intention, we operationalize two conceptual frameworks: (1) a behavioral economic conceptualization that focuses on the material and non-material cost and benefits associated with occupational choice (e.g., income, social reputation, inner contentment), and (2) a psychological conceptualization based on the theory of planned behavior. Our analysis of survey data among agricultural students shows that participating women are less inclined to pursue a farm manager position than participating men for two main reasons: first, they expect less internal benefits (in terms of inner contentment and enjoyment of carrying out the day-to-day tasks) from such a position. Second, they believe to be less suited to meet the professional requirements (i.e., they have lower self-efficacy evaluations).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. A copy of the questionnaire can be obtained from the corresponding author upon request.

  2. When running an economic and psychological OLS regression for the pooled sample, we find that in both regressions a gender dummy variable (male = 0; female = 1) is highly significant. The beta coefficient of the gender dummy variable in both regressions has a negative sign, delivering further supportive evidence for our key hypothesis that qualified women are less inclined to pursue a corporate farm manager position.

  3. According to a Breusch-Pagan test, the null hypothesis of homoscedasticity is not to be rejected. The F-statistics show that both regressions as a whole are significant. With an adjusted R2 of 0.412 in the female subsample and 0.496 in the male subsample, the regressions explain nearly half of the variance of the endogenous variable.

  4. According to a Breusch–Pagan test, concerns about heteroscedasticity can be met. The F-statistics show that both regressions as a whole are significant. With an adjusted R2 of 0.545 in the female subsample and 0.637 in the male subsample, the models explain more than half of the variance of the endogenous variable.

Abbreviations

BMELV:

Bundesministerium für Ernährung, Landwirtschaft und Verbraucherschutz

References

  • Akerlof, G.A., and R.E. Kranton. 2000. Economics and identity. The Quarterly Journal of Economics 115(3): 715–753.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ball, J.A. 2014. She works hard for the money: Women in Kansas agriculture. Agriculture and Human Values 31(4): 593–605.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A. 1997. Self-efficacy. The exercise of control. New York: W.H. Freeman and Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brandth, B. 1994. Changing femininity: The social construction of women farmers in Norway. Sociologia Ruralis 34(2–3): 127–149.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brandth, B. 2002. Gender identity in European family farming: A literature review. Sociologia Ruralis 42(3): 181–200.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • BMELV (Bundesministerium für Ernährung, Landwirtschaft und Verbraucherschutz). 2008. Betriebsleiterqualifikation und Generationswechsel in der Landwirtschaft. Bonn: BMELV.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carifio, J., and R. Perla. 2008. Resolving the 50-year debate around using and misusing Likert scales. Medical Education 42(12): 1150–1152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crawford, S.E.S., and E. Ostrom. 2005. A grammar of institutions. In Understanding institutional diversity, ed. E. Ostrom, 137–174. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Deutscher Bauernverband. 2011. Fach- und Führungskräfte werden auch in der Landwirtschaft knapp. http://www.bauernverband.de/fach-fuehrungskraefte-landwirtschaft-knapp. Accessed 24 Jan 2015.

  • Finan, A. 2011. For the love of goats: The advantage of alterity. Agriculture and Human Values 28(1): 81–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fishbein, M., and I. Ajzen. 1975. Belief, attitude, intention, and behavior: An introduction to theory and research. Reading: Addison-Wesley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fishbein, M., and I. Ajzen. 2010. Predicting and changing behavior. The reasoned action approach. New York: Psychology Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fock, T., S. Winge, and B. Wiener. 2011. Landwirtschaftliche Arbeitskräfte in Ostdeutschland—Trends in Mecklenburg Vorpommern und Sachsen-Anhalt. Ländlicher Raum 03: 41–46.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frey, B.S. 1997. Not just for the money. An economic theory of personal motivation. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grubbström, A., and H. Sooväli-Sepping. 2012. Estonian family farms in transition: A study of intangible assets and gender issues. Journal of Historical Geography 38(3): 329–339.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grubbström, A., S. Stenbacka, and S. Joosse. 2014. Balancing family traditions and business: Gendered strategies for achieving future resilience among agricultural students. Journal of Rural Studies 35(July): 152–161.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jamieson, S. 2004. Likert scales: How to (ab)use them. Medical Education 38(12): 1217–1218.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kahneman, D. 2011. Thinking, fast and slow. London: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kazakopoulos, L., and I. Gidarakou. 2003. Young women farm heads in Greek agriculture: Entering farming through policy incentives. Journal of Rural Studies 19(4): 397–410.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leckie, G.J. 1996. “They Never Trusted Me to Drive:” Farm girls and the gender relations of agricultural information transfer. Gender, Place and Culture: A Journal of Feminist Geography 3(3): 309–326.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lehberger, M., and N. Hirschauer. 2014. What causes the low share of female farm managers? An explorative study from Eastern Germany. Jahrbuch der Österreichischen Gesellschaft für Agrarökonomie 23: 111–120.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mann, S. 2007. Tracing the process of becoming a farm successor on Swiss family farms. Agriculture and Human Values 24: 435–443.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mußhoff, O., A. Tegtmeier, and N. Hirschauer. 2013. Attraktivität einer landwirtschaftlichen Tätigkeit–Einflussfaktoren und Gestaltungsmöglichkeiten. Berichte über Landwirtschaft 91(2). doi:10.12767/buel.v91i2.24.g69.

    Google Scholar 

  • Norman, G. 2010. Likert scales, levels of measurement and the “laws” of statistics. Advances in Health Sciences Education 15(5): 625–632.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nunnally, J.C., and I.H. Bernstein. 1994. Psychometric theory, vol. 3/e. New York: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ostrom, E. 2005. Understanding institutional diversity. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Otomo, Y., and T. Oedl-Wieser. 2009. Comparative analysis of patterns in farm succession in Austria and Japan from a gender perspective. Jahrbuch der Österreichischen Gesellschaft für Agrarökonomie 18(2): 79–92.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pertl, M., D. Hecey, K. Thomas, A. Craig, S.N. Chuinneagáin, and L. Maher. 2010. Differential effects of self-efficacy and perceived control on intention to perform skin cancer-related health behaviours. Health Education Research 25(5): 769–779.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rossier, R., and B. Wyss. 2008. Gendered interest and motivation of the younger generation in agriculture and farm succession. In Gender Regimes, Citizen Participation and Rural Restructuring (Research in Rural Sociology and Development Volume 13), ed. I.A. Morell, and B.B. Bock, 193-216. Oxford: Elsevier.

  • Rotter, J.B. 1966. Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. Psychological Monographs: General and Applied 80(1): 1–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sachs, C.E. 1983. The invisible farmers. Totowa: Rowan and Ellanheld.

    Google Scholar 

  • Statistisches Bundesamt. 2013. Bildung und Kultur. Prüfungen an Hochschulen 2012. Fachserie 11, Reihe 4.2. Wiesbaden: Statistisches Bundesamt.

    Google Scholar 

  • Statistisches Bundesamt. 2014. Land‐ und Forstwirtschaft, Fischerei. Arbeitskräfte. Agrarstrukturerhebung 2013. Fachserie 3, Reihe 2.1.8. Wiesbaden: Statistisches Bundesamt.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trauger, A. 2004. “Because they can do the work:” Women farmers in sustainable agriculture in Pennsylvania, USA. Gender, Place and Culture 11(2): 289–307.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trauger, A., C. Sachs, M. Barbercheck, K. Brasier, and N.E. Kieran. 2010. “Our market is our community:” Women farmers and civic agriculture in Pennsylvania, USA. Agriculture and Human Values 27(1): 43–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Terry, D.J., and J.E. O’Leary. 1995. The theory of planned behaviour: The effect of perceived behavioural control and self-efficacy. British Journal of Social Psychology 34(2): 199–220.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Vianen, A.E.M., and W.A.J. Keizer. 1996. Gender differences in managerial intention. Gender, Work and Organization 3(2): 103–114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • VDL Berufsverband. 2014. Fach- und Führungskräftebedarf in der Agrarbranche. Berlin: VDL Berufsverband.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiener, B., T. Richter, and H. Teichert. 2004. Abschätzung des Bedarfs landwirtschaftlicher Fachkräfte unter Berücksichtigung der demografischen Entwicklung: Schwerpunkt neue Bundesländer. Forschungsberichte aus dem zsh 04-2. Halle: Zentrum für Sozialforschung Halle e.V.

    Google Scholar 

  • Winge, S., and B. Wiener. 2009. Fachkräftesicherung in der Landwirtschaft Sachsen-Anhalts. Eine große Herausforderung für die Zukunft. Forschungsberichte aus dem zsh 09-2. Halle: Zentrum für Sozialforschung Halle e. V.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank two anonymous reviewers as well as the editor-in-chief for their comments, ideas, and criticism.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Agribusiness Management, Institute of Nutritional and Agricultural Sciences, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Karl-Freiherr-von-Fritsch-Str. 4, 06120, Halle (Saale), Germany

    Mira Lehberger & Norbert Hirschauer

Authors
  1. Mira Lehberger
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Norbert Hirschauer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mira Lehberger.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Lehberger, M., Hirschauer, N. Recruitment problems and the shortage of junior corporate farm managers in Germany: the role of gender-specific assessments and life aspirations. Agric Hum Values 33, 611–624 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-015-9637-4

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-015-9637-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation