Collaboration and trust in two organic food chains

Abstract

Purpose -Organic food offers a good case to study the relationships of actors in the food chain, because of its added value based on production methods, the imbalance of power and the different value systems. The obvious problems identified call for solutions that include more efficient collaboration. This paper attempts to determine the presence of collaboration along the Finnish organic food chain, from the farmers to the multiple retailers. Collaboration is approached by focusing on communication and trust between the actors. Design/methodology/approach -A case study with two cases. Finding -Collaboration was found only in a few dyadic relationships, not at the chain level. Findings suggest that high frequency of communication is not an indication of collaboration, and is less important than the quality of communication in the creation of trust, the prerequisite for collaboration. Particularly the competence demonstrated as an exchange partner, seemed to hold the key for a trustful relationship. Neither the power imbalance nor the different value systems were insuperable obstacles for trustful and collaborative relationship. Practical implications -Results encourage small organic suppliers to develop their relationships with mainstream retailers by improving their overall competence as exchange partners. To create trust and collaboration, the actors need to consider the influence of their action not only on the adjacent actors, but on the relationships within the whole organic food chain. Originality/value -These findings contribute to existing knowledge concerning the nature of relationships along a food chain, and in particular, those of an organic food chain.

Communication, Commitment & Trust: Exploring the Triad

“…They also found that the communication quality instead of frequency had significant affect on interpersonal trust. Kottila and Ronni (2008) also found that the quality of information is more important than the frequency of information in creating trust. Huang et al (2008) investigated the role of the communication channels in trust formation between boundary spanning individuals from different organizations.…”

“…For instance, several studies hypothesized and concluded that it is communication that affects trust formation (Allert & Chatterjee, 1997;Massey & Kyriazis, 2007;Kottila & Ronni, 2008, Webster & Wong, 2008Thomas et al, 2009). In contrast, several other studies found that trust precedes effective communication and is a critical determinant of trust building (Mellinger.…”

Does contract farming improve smallholder income? The case of avocado farmers in Kenya

“…Similarly, to the extent that critical aspects of the contract, such as the pricing and grading mechanisms, were not fully explained to the producers, cases of breach of contract and side-selling were inevitable. Porter and Phillips-Howard (1997), Kirsten and Sartorious (2002) and Kottila and Rönni (2008) information asymmetry, which characterized the type of contracting considered in this study. The lack of effective enforcement mechanisms appeared to exacerbate the situation, because the group officials relied on the members to report on their colleagues who attempted to default on the contract.…”

Inter-organizational information exchange, supply chain compliance and performance

“…The importance of trust for chain collaboration is widely accepted (Harland, 1999), and it has been regarded as a prerequisite for collaboration (Morgan and Hunt, 1994;Alvarado and Kotzab, 2001;Kottila and Rönni, 2008). Omta et al (2001) stated that in network theory, forms of collaboration are not just based on economic motivations; power and trust are key concepts in this approach.…”