Food Community Networks as Leverage for Social Embeddedness

Abstract

Social embeddedness, defined as the interaction of economic activities and social behavior, is used in this study as a conceptual tool to describe the growing phenomenon of food community networks (FCNs). The aim in this paper was to map the system of relations which the FCNs develop both inside and outside the network and, from the number of relations, it was inferred the influence of each FCN upon the formation of new socially embedded economic realities. A particular form of FCN was taken under consideration: solidarity purchase groups (SPGs). Performed with the aid of social network analysis on a sample of SPGs in Sicily (a region in southern Italy), the study allowed us to identify a relational (internal) social embeddedness, in which groups of consumers and farmers are directly influenced by reciprocal interactions, giving rise to more or less numerous links of reciprocity and trust depending on the number of interactions. It was also identified a structural (external) social embeddedness, generated by the nature of relations that the SPGs undertake with the\ud various social actors. From the results of our analysis it emerges that SPGs lie at the\ud intersection of many social realities, influencing them and in turn being influenced by\ud such realities. We highlight the major role played by consumer and environmental associations in affecting the phenomenon of social embeddedness

Are “good guys” more likely to participate in local agriculture?

“…In our case, participating in an SPG involves a set of social actors able to mobilise (or have an effect on) individuals and households in forming new relations with farmers. Of particular interest is the ability of these groups to develop a strong sense of community, through ties of reciprocity, and construct relational structures able to generate confidence among various economic and social actors (Migliore, Schifani, Guccione, & Cembalo, 2013;Obach & Tobin, 2013). Although one cannot talk of a treatment as such, participation in SPGs, for the reasons stated above, has a non-neutral effect on the same participants, as if participation was an actual treatment exercised by the community on individuals forming the SPG.…”

Alternative Approaches to Food: Community Supported Agriculture in Urban China

“…Here, Granovetter [8] treats trust as an absolute necessity for economic relations to occur, which enables social relations to substitute formally arranged institutions to a certain extent. With a strong emphasis on social relations, the theory of social embeddedness contrasts with more utilitarian approaches that have merely focused on the economic rationality of actors [36].…”

Understanding the organization of sharing economy in agri-food systems: evidence from alternative food networks in Valencia

“…Furthermore, AFNs are traditionally networks meant as sets of informal relationships among multiple actors although, similarly to other forms of sharing economy initiatives, over time their organization also entailed formal mechanisms (e.g. contracts, bylaws, formalized tasks) (Pascucci 2010;Migliore et al 2014;Pascucci et al 2016). Many forms of AFNs, but not all, represent examples of sharing economy initiatives (Cohen and Muñoz 2016;Hartl et al 2016;Martin 2016;Schor et al 2016) since they entail coownership and/or co-access to resources, goods and services for joint production and/or consumption.…”