The Transaction Cost Theory :A Field Research on Small-Scale Animal Producer S

Abstract

This study aims to explain Turkish small-scale animal producer's commercial helplessness while exploring the attributes resulting in high transaction costs. It also investigates producer's need for an integrated meat-processing plant in the Anatolian city of Eskişehir in Turkey. A field research was conducted on randomly selected 857 small-scale animal producers in the region. A structural equation model is constructed so as to precisely test the attributional influences of producer's commercial helplessness on sales channel mistrust and need for an integrated meat-processing plant; as well as these of sales channel convenience and commercial helplessness on transaction cost. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were employed. The final measurement model was developed by secondorder confirmatory factor analysis. The findings have shown that commercial helplessness was positively influenced by need for plant and sales channel mistrust while it positively ad significantly affects transaction cost. In addition, sales channel convenience is found to have a significant effect on "transaction cost" in the negative direction. Collectively, these findings suggest that there is a need for establishing an integrated meat-processing plant in the region.