RESEARCH AREAS

Collective Action and Agricultural Cooperatives; Social Dilemmas; Community and Stakeholder Engagement; Rural Development; Climate Change Adaptation; Governance

 

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS

Systems Theory; Organizational Economics; Collective Action Theory; Institutional Economics; Institutional Analysis and Development Framework (IAD); Socio-Environmental Systems (SES) Framework.

 

ANALYTICAL METHODOLOGIES

 Systems Thinking and Theory, Conceptual Approaches, etc.

 

EMPIRICAL METHODOLOGIES

Living Labs, Communities of Practice, Participatory Action Research, Focus Groups, Peer-Coaching Clinics, Multivariate Analysis Techniques, Structural Equation Modeling, Case Studies, Qualitative Methods, Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA).

 

RESEARCH IN PROGRESS

• “Governing the Agri-Food Supply Chain: How to Improve Smallholders’ Competitiveness” (AGRICOMPET), PRIMA-HORIZON Project, 2021-2024.
• Maximising the Co-benefits of agricultural digitalization through conducive digital ECoSystems (CODECS). HORIZON-RIA Project; HORIZON-CL2-2021-GOVERNANCE-01 (Innovative governance, environmental observations and digital solutions in support of the Green Deal).
• “A Systems Theory Approach to Organizational Costs in Agricultural Cooperatives” (Research project).
• Understanding the Role of Social Capital in Cooperatives (with Irene Martinez).
• “A Systems Theory-Informed Conceptual Framework for Analyzing Governance in Agricultural Cooperatives with Highly Heterogeneous Member Preferences” (Research project with Vladislav Valentinov: One paper published, two papers under review).

 

EDITORIAL BOARDS/SERVICE

- Associate Editor, Agricultural and Food Economics (Springer).

- Co-Organizer, ICA-CCR 2020 Research Conference, Athens, Greece, July 8-10, 2020.

- Member, Scientific Committee, ICA-CCR 2019 Research Conference, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany, August 21-23, 2019.

- Co-Editor (with Dr Vladislav Valentinov), Sustainability, Special Issue on: Cooperative Longevity: Why Are So Many Cooperatives So Successful?  Available at: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability/special_issues/cooperative_longevity. 

- Member of the Executive Committee, ICA Committee on Co-operative Research (CCR), June 2017-December 2023.

- International Journal on Chain and Network Science, 2004-2016.

- Board of Directors & Scientific Board, Electronic Research Network on Agricultural Cooperatives (e-RNAC), 2007 to present.

- International Advisory Board, Electronic/European Research Network on Agricultural Cooperatives (e-RNAC),2005-2007.

 

OCCASIONAL REVIEWER FOR:

• Agribusiness: An International Journal
• Agricultural and Food Economics
• Agricultural and Food Science
• Agriculture and Human Values
• American Journal of Economics and Sociology
• Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics
• Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy
• Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics
• British Journal of Economics, Management and Trade
• Energy Policy
• European Review of Agricultural Economics
• Food Policy
• Forest Policy and Economics
• International Food and Agribusiness Management Review
• International Journal of the Commons
• International Journal of Wine Business Research
• Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies
• Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics
• Journal of Cooperative Organization and Management
• Journal of Entrepreneurial and Organizational Diversity
• Journal of Food System Dynamics
• Journal of Institutional Economics
• Journal of International Food & Agribusiness Marketing
• Journal of Organizational Change Management
• Journal of Rural Studies
• Journal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship Development
• Journal on Chain and Network Science
• Kybernetes
• Maastricht University
• Omega
• Operational Research: An International Journal
• Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

 

SELECTED AWARDS

1. Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO) Visiting Research Fellowship, 2019-2026.
2. The Nourse Award for best doctoral dissertation on agricultural cooperatives, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, USA, 1999.
3. Research fellowship by Land O’ Lakes, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA, 1
4. Travel grant, Robert Partridge Chair in Cooperative Leadership, University of Missouri-Columbia, USA,Summer 1997.
5. Graduate Research and Teaching Assistantship, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Missouri-Columbia, USA, 1995-1998.
6. Friends of Cooperation Society Award for best Master’s Thesis on Agricultural Cooperatives, Athens, Greece, 1992.

 

SELECTED GRANTS

1. Developing a transnational governance and holistic integrated services framework supporting the sustainability of European energy communities (COMANAGE). LIFE21-CET-ENERCOM-COMANAGE (EU) Project; Budget: €1.7M; November 2022-October 2025.
2. Maximising the Co-benefits of agricultural digitalization through conducive digital ECoSystems (CODECS). HORIZON-RIA Project; HORIZON-CL2-2021-GOVERNANCE-01 (Innovative governance, environmental observations and digital solutions in support of the Green Deal); Budget: €7.5M; June 2022-May 2026.
3. GOVERNING THE AGRI-FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN: HOW TO IMPROVE SMALLHOLDERS’ COMPETITIVENESS (AGRICOMPET). PRIMA-HORIZON 2020 (EU) Project, Budget: €1.5M; September 2021-August 2024.
4. Good Governance Practices in Agricultural Cooperatives (GGPAC), ERASMUS+ Project; 2021-1-RO01-K220-VWT-000025577; Budget: €222,425; 2022-2024.
5. VISITING RESEARCH FELLOW, Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO), Halle (Saale), Germany, July 2019-June 2022.
6. TOWARDS INNOVATION-DRIVEN AND SMART SOLUTIONS IN SHORT FOOD SUPPLY CHAINS (SMARTCHAIN) (Horizon2020 Project), Budget: €6M, Coordinator: University of Hohenheim, Germany, WP3 Leader: University of Crete, Greece. September 2018-August 2021.
7. ANDROS PARK, Budget: 2.5 M €, LIFE Project (EU), September 2017-December 2021.
8. AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVES AS ECONOMIC CRISIS-ABSORBERS: THE ROLE OF COOPERATIVE OWNERSHIP AND GOVERNANCE, Budget: 50,000 €, Volkswagen Foundation via Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies, Halle (Saale), Germany, April 2014-June 2016.
9. WATBIO--DEVELOPMENT OF IMPROVED PERENNIAL NON-FOOD BIOMASS AND BIOPRODUCT CROPS FOR WATER STRESSED ENVIRONMENTS. Budget: 9.000.000 €, Participants: University of Southampton, UK (Coordinator), University of Crete (Department of Sociology), and 20 other European universities and research centers. EU- FP7: KBBE.2012.2.1-01 Improved water stress tolerance of crop plants, 2012-2017.
10. ENHANCING DEVELOPMENT THROUGH COOPERATIVES (EDC). Budget: $600,000, Other Participants: University of Missouri-Columbia, USA, OCDC, CIAT, IFPRI, 2014-2016.
11. SUPPORT FOR FARMERS’ COOPERATIVES, European Commission, Contract Number: 30-CE-0395921/00-42. Budget: 1.5 million €, Other Participants: LEI-Wageningen, the Netherlands, Katholic University of Leuven, Belgium, Humboldt University, Germany, Justus Liebig University of Giessen, Germany, Pellervo Economic Research, Finland, Rotterdam Scholl of Management, the Netherlands, 2011-2012.
12. ISAFRUIT: “Increasing fruit consumption through a trans-disciplinary approach delivering high quality produce from environ­men­tally friendly, sustainable production methods.” Budget: 13.8 million €, Participants: 61 partners – 40 institutes and 21 small and medium-size Enterprises (SMEs); FP6 (EU), 2006-2010.
13. THE ECONOMICS AND ORGANIZATION OF THE GREEK BIODIESEL AND PELLET SUPPLY CHAINS, European Tobacco Fund, Budget: 1, 08 million €, 2006-2009.
14. SUPPORTING TOBACCO PRODUCERS TO SWITCH TO ALTERNATIVE OCCUPATIONS, EU Regulation 2182/2002, Budget: 700,000 €, European Tobacco Fund, 2003-2006.
15. INSTITUTION BUILDING IN THE DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE, Malta (MT02/IB/TL/AG/03), European Union, November
16. MASTER PLAN OF THE NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH FOUNDATION 2003-2007, National Agricultural Research Foundation, Budget: 90,000 €, 2002-2003.
17. AGRICULTURAL BARGAINING COOPERATIVES FOR THE 21^ST CENTURY: SOLVING THE FREE-RIDER PROBLEM, Budget: $50,000, USDA, 1998-2000.