The Social Fabric of Cheese Agroindustry: Cooperation and Competition Aspects

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyze the relational social structure of the cheese factories based on an agribusiness territory of Mexico through social network analysis (SNA) in order to understand how different types of agroindustries coexist and endure. Participant observation and semi-structured interviews were carried out in 17 cheese agribusinesses located in the area of San José de Gracia, Michoacán (Mexico), in order to get insight into the family, inter-company, commercial and technical ties they have built. The SNA showed that in the community there is a meso-system where different cheese companies that produce either natural, imitation or both cheeses converge and coexist. These agroindustries make up a complex social structure composed of 1717 actors, comprising a dispersed network with low connectivity (density ˂0.5%) due to the commercial nature of the relationships (95.9%). Simultaneously, an underlying network with a higher density (1.73%) was also evident, enriched by kinship and friendship ties that create cooperation and trust among the parties through 136 reciprocal tangible and intangible exchanges. Despite the differences and asymmetries of cheese agribusinesses in this community, the social structure they form behaves like a ‘local neighborhood’ where everyone knows everyone, and everyone coexists, competes and shares with one another, allowing them to be sustainable in the marketplace. This study provides important lessons for institutions that promote competitiveness and local development, because it shows that in order to achieve sustainability of agroindustrial companies, it is important to recognize and promote long-term social structures based on trust, friendship and reciprocity.

Does Small-Scale Livestock Production Use a High Technological Level to Survive? Evidence from Dairy Production in Northeast-ern Michoacán, Mexico

“…This reflects the difficulty that producers have in marketing a larger volume of milk in the market, where, on average, two buyers are not enough to sell their daily production, cover their costs and remain in business. In contrast, the SSDPU in clusters 2, 3 and 4 require fewer than two channels to market their small volume of production, and although they may be subject to the price paid by the intermediary [ 7 ], they have greater security in marketing the total milk produced, reducing the risk of marketing only part of their production, since the purchase and sale of milk with the collectors or intermediaries is based on a relationship of trust and commitment [ 8 , 64 ].…”

Estrategias de comercialización de quesos artesanales por tipo de mercado, a partir de su revisión sistemática

“…A couple of facts were detected at all marketing levels. The first is related to the need to reduce the risks related to milk supply, through the increase in the number of suppliers (De Herde et al, 2019), in the hope of increasing production, and to achieve a greater margin of negotiation with suppliers and to be able to guarantee quality and lower price of raw material (Rendón-Rendón et al, 2019). The second refers to the development of capacities in both production and commercial processes.…”

“…At the regional and national levels, market segmentation has been described as an action. Some authors mention it as a factor that makes it possible to balance competition among companies (Rendón-Rendón et al, 2019), and others, as a tool to carry out niche market strategies (Adanacioglu & Albayram, 2012;Vargas-Bello-Pérez et al, 2014).…”

“…Un par de hechos en particular fueron detectados en todos los niveles de comercialización. El primero se relaciona con la necesidad de disminuir los riesgos relativos al suministro de leche, a través del aumento del número de proveedores (De Herde et al, 2019), con el interés de incrementar la producción, así como para lograr un mayor margen de negociación con los proveedores y poder garantizar calidad y menor precio de la materia prima (Rendón-Rendón et al, 2019). El segundo, se refiere al desarrollo de capacidades tanto en procesos productivos como comerciales.…”

“…En los ámbitos regional y nacional, la segmentación del mercado fue una acción descrita. Algunos autores la mencionan como factor que posibilita equilibrar la competencia entre las empresas (Rendón-Rendón et al, 2019), y otros más, como instrumento para efectuar estrategias de nicho de mercado (Adanacioglu & Albayram, 2012;Vargas-Bello-Pérez et al, 2014).…”