Food supply chains: coordination governance and other shaping forces
Author(s)
Date Issued
2017
Type
article
Volume
5
Issue
3
Start Page
1
End Page
23
ISSN
21937532
Journal
Abstract
The aim of this paper is twofold. First, it discusses how the functioning and
performance of food chains are affected by the way stakeholders are embedded in
the chains, by the coordination modes, and by the kind of governance. Second, by
depicting six relevant agro-food chains, attention is raised on the kind of the
stakeholders that participate in the chain and on the role of each with a special
focus on possible drawbacks of an effective functioning of the supply chains. The
chains outlined are (i) supply chains driven by a large retailer; (ii) supply chains
driven by a global processing company; (iii) supply chains driven by a cooperative;
(iv) supply chains for geographical indications; (v) short supply chains; and (vi) supply
chains driven by a specialized high quality retailer.
Special consideration is given to the positioning of farmers in each of the six chains
and to the outcomes they get. It is shown how: (i) going spot on the marketplace
may leave them with difficult market access and no bargaining power; (ii) being
embedded in supply chains framed in the context of a captive governance may
result in a squeeze of their profits as well as in unreliable market access; and (iii)
supply chains are populated by reciprocal and pooled relationships and ruled by a
more relational kind of governance, beside potentially bringing advantages in terms
of decision power and economic benefits, also raises difficulties and drawbacks due
to complexity of functioning, heterogeneity of stakeholders, and ambiguity of the
nature of relations among them.
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AFE 2017 Food supply chains_annacarbone.pdf
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Format
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Checksum (MD5)
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Conference(s)
AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD ECONOMICS