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With ongoing globalization, farmers in developing and transition countries are increasingly challenged by the complex organizational structure of international food supply chains. This study seeks to identify how the interplay of supply chain network relationships, which are determined by situational factors affecting farms and their business environment, influences farmers' performance. A theoretical framework is developed and empirically applied to data obtained from a standardized survey of 81 Chilean raspberry producers, 80 Chilean avocado producers and 80 Chilean table grape producers using partial least squares analysis. The results of the comparative analysis of the three producer groups reveal that supply chain network relationships in the Chilean raspberry, avocado and table grape sectors highly predict each other's and the farmers' performance. Thereby, the results do not differ greatly among the three supply chains. The results provide interesting implications, indicating that Chilean small and medium-sized farms but also large farmers can increase farm performance by connecting more closely with trading partners. Furthermore, the findings give governmental offices the opportunity to increase their support for farmers.

In the literature it is often hypothesised that contracts and vertical integration are of paramount importance for the future competitiveness of meat supply chains. The continued coexistence of two different types of pork production chains throughout the world - less integrated systems in, for instance, many Western European countries and stricter coordinated systems based on contracts and vertical integration in countries such as the U.S.A. and Denmark - is rarely discussed in the agribusines literature. Some authors expect a trend towards more intense vertical coordination and consider the loose relationships in some European markets as an obsolescent model. Based on an overview of theoretical approaches towards the organisation of meat supply chains, we confront the contract and integration hypothesis with current developments at the slaughterhouse level and in quality assurance systems as well as results from a recent survey among German pig producers concerning their attitudes towards contracts. A binary logit regression is carried out to test for the determinants of contracting decisions. Cluster analysis reveals four groups of farmers with very different attitudes, from inveterate antagonists to contract supporters. In conclusion, reflections on TCE indicate the long-term viability of slaughter pig markets with a low degree of vertical coordination, which may have efficiency advantages over more integrated meat supply chains. This argument is supported by the results of a large-scale survey among German pig producers, who strongly reject the notion of engaging in contracts with slaughterhouses. In this situation, trust management can be considered a suitable instrument for gaining some of the advantages usually attributed to contracts. Trust-building instruments should be integrated into a broader approach of supplier relationship management.

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