Relationships along the organic supply chain

Abstract

Purpose Since the implementation of the National Organic Program in 2002, the US organic market has grown in both scale and scope, consequently placing pressure on the organic supply chain. The crucial role of matching consumer demand for final products with farm-level production falls to certified organic handlers, the intermediary firms that process, manufacture and distribute organic products. Locating certified organic commodities and products that meet their needs, in a timely manner, is costly and challenging. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach A mixed-methods study was designed to better understand organic sector supply chain relationships in the USA. Data were collected from certified organic handlers via survey and semi-structured interviews. Those interviewed were randomly selected from 153 survey respondents who expressed an interest in being interviewed. This paper presents an analysis of interviews with 26 certified organic handlers regarding the relationships with their suppliers. Findings Three key concepts characterize the relationships between handlers and their suppliers: closeness, support and commitment. Nearly all handler supplier relationships possess some degree of closeness, where the handler expresses interest in their supplier. The relationships follow a spectrum of intensity, where the least engaged handlers provide little support and commitment, and the most engaged handlers provide support and commitment through a long-term relationship or contract. Originality/value Research into the organic supply chain is challenging to undertake, given the proprietary nature of the relationships. As the organic market continues to grow, the relationships along the supply chain will need to evolve to allow firms to meet consumer demand.

Beyond “mainstream” and “alternative” in organic food supply chains

“…However, even though the market power of the actors downstream is generally strong, our examples illustrate opportunities to increase the farmers' bargaining power through horizontal and vertical collaboration and product differentiation, both in supermarket and specialised organic shop supply chains. The power models proposed by the traditional political economy literature have often ignored features that were found here and that are increasingly recognised as important to manage relationships in the agrifood chains, such as cooperative behaviour, agreements between retailers and suppliers and product differentiation (Bonanno et al, 2018;Bryła, 2017;Simeone et al, 2017;Baron and Dimitri, 2019). These features were also neglected by the supporters of the conventionalisation hypothesis.…”

Policy, regulation, and institutional approaches to digital innovation in the wine sector: a cross-country comparison

“…On average, each semi-structured interview lasted between forty-five minutes and one hour and each interview was recorded. During the interviews, the participants were asked common open-ended questions, customised across four semi-structured instruments to reflect participants’ roles and organisations, and formulated in light of the literature regarding Industry 4.0, innovation in the wine industry (Baron and Dimitri, 2019; Gilman et al. , 2021; Rosenlund et al.…”

“…On average, each semi-structured interview lasted between forty-five minutes and one hour and each interview was recorded. During the interviews, the participants were asked common open-ended questions, customised across four semistructured instruments to reflect participants' roles and organisations, and formulated in light of the literature regarding Industry 4.0, innovation in the wine industry (Baron and Dimitri, 2019;Gilman et al, 2021;Rosenlund et al, 2020). The common questions asked in the interviews covered the participant's knowledge and understanding of IoT, blockchain, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, whether policies and regulations acted as barriers or facilitators of adoption, and data access and management.…”