Over the course of the past two decades peripheral European economies in the Balkans and in Eastern Europe have experienced significant structural changes and have adapted to the global economic environment. Agriculture and the processing, using and trading of agricultural products play an important role in their economies. This volume covers several issues facing the contemporary agricultural sector in these countries, such as the framework of the Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union, the identification of an opinion leader portrait in agriculture, the characteristics of using Information and Communication Technologies as tools in the partnerships and internal processes of enterprises throughout the whole agro-food supply chain, the increased need of small-scale artisanal food businesses to seek new markets abroad, the perceptions of Greek olive oil importers in the UK, the barriers that Greek yogurt entrepreneurs face during their export activities, the reasons for the differences in economic performance and the role of tangible and less tangible factors influencing development outcomes. It will be of interest to researchers studying economic development, agricultural economists, businesses active in the primary sector and students of applied economic analysis.

INTRODUCTION

Chapter 1 THE CURRENT SITUATION AND DEVELOPMENTS IN THE DIFFERENT MEMBER STATES ON RISK MANAGEMENT IN AGRICULTURE
Dr. Marietta Janowicz-Lomott, Warsaw School of Economics, Collegium of Management and Finance, Institute of Banking and Insurance
Dr. Krzysztof Łyskawa, Poznan University of Economics, Department of Insurance

Chapter 2 LOOKING FOR “THE ONE”: WHO IS THE “REAL” OPINION LEADER IN AN AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVE?
Ms. Paraskevi Tsimitri, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Ass. Prof. Anastasios Michailidis, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Ass. Prof. Maria Partalidou, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Dr. Matteo Belletti, The Polytechnic University of Marche
Prof. Efstratios Loizou, Technological Education Institute of Western Macedonia

Chapter 3 STUDYING THE ICT MANAGEMENT OF AGRI-FOOD SECTOR ON SUPPLY CHAIN LEVEL – THE FIRST STAGE: ANALYSIS OF AGRICULTURAL ICT USAGE
János Felföldi, University of Debrecen, Faculty of Economics and Business, Institute of Applied Informatics and Logistics
Dr. Szilvia Botos University of Debrecen, Faculty of Economics and Business, Institute of Applied Informatics and Logistics
Róbert Szilágyi, University of Debrecen, Faculty of Economics and Business, Institute of Applied Informatics and Logistics
Prof. László Várallyai, University of Debrecen, Faculty of Economics and Business, Institute of Applied Informatics and Logistics

Chapter 4 IDENTIFYING MARKET STRATEGIES FOR GREEK SPECIALTY PRODUCTS IN THE UNITED STATES
Liliana Almonte, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Tyler Leighton, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Sarah Rogers, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Pabitra Saikee, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Nicola Bulled, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Robert Hersh, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Chapter 5 GREEK OLIVE OIL IN THE UK: EVIDENCE ON THE PERCEPTION OF LOCAL IMPORTERS ON PRODUCT CHARACTERISTICS
Christos Soulios, Perrotis College, Thessaloniki
Athanasios Bizmpiroulas, Perrotis College, Thessaloniki
Dr. Konstantinos Rotsios, Perrotis College, Thessaloniki

Chapter 6 AN ANALYSIS OF EXPORT BARRIERS PERCEPTIONS BY GREEK YOGURT EXPORTERS
Zacharias Papanikolaou, PhD Candidate, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, School of Agriculture, Department of Agricultural Economics
Christos Karelakis, Assistant Professor. Democritus University of Thrace, School of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, Department Agricultural Development,
Konstadinos Mattas, Professor, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, School of Agriculture, Department of Agricultural Economics

Chapter 7 EXPLORING THE DIFFERENCES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF RURAL AREAS IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
Natasa Tandir, Internacionalni Burch Univerzitet
Zafer Konakli, Internacionalni Burch Univerzitet

Anastasios Karasavvoglou is Professor in economics, President of the annual International Conference "The Economies of Balkan and Eastern Europe Countries in the changed world". He has published many books and papers regarding immigration, regional development and labour market.

Persefoni Polychronidou holds a PhD in Mathematics, has scientific interests in data analysis, in discrete transforms and realization of algorithms for fast processing data. She has published several papers regarding empirical economic data.

Economic development, Regional economic, Agricultural Cooperative, Farmer, Networking, Risk management, mutual fund, European Common Agricultural Policy.