Plural Forms of Governance: Evidence from a Poultry Cooperative in Southern Brazil

Abstract

The existence of plural forms of governance in the same production chain poses challenges to theories on vertical boundaries of companies. The goal of this article is to analyse the plural forms of governance in an agro-industrial cooperative located in southern Brazil. This is a case study with a descriptive, qualitative approach for assessment of the governance structure in the six main links of the poultry production chain, namely: matrix, hatchery, feeding, poultry farmers, slaughterhouses and distributors. Data collection was performed through interviews with managers involved in the production chain. Plural and singular forms of governance can coexist, tending towards a vertical integration. In the distribution process, the plural form tends to remain stable as the different governance structures used to coordinate the same activity also serve different markets. In addition, the need to control and reduce the production costs is pointed out as the main reason for establishing a hierarchical structure for governance. This study sought to contribute to the theoretical analysis of plural and single forms of governance by demonstrating that both can coexist within a company.