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Cited by 53Organic Food and AgricultureGlobal trade, sustainability, and social impactRural Development and Agriculture

Informal and formal mechanisms of coordination in hybrid food value chains

Open access
Bloom, J. Dara, Hinrichs, C. Clare·2011·Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development
DOI 10.5304/jafscd.2011.014.016
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Abstract

The challenges of meeting growing consumer demand for local food, especially from larger, institutional buyers, has sparked many to look beyond direct marketing to alternative models of produce aggregation and distribution. Value chains that incorporate conventional food system infrastructure are one such model for local food system development, but little research has studied their functioning and outcomes. Arrangements where conventional produce distributors handle local food can be viewed as "hybrid" food value chains, since they include both local and global resources, and combine conventional food system infrastructure with the more alternative goal of building local food systems. This qualitative study examines three hybrid food value chains that revolve around conventional, wholesale produce distributors located in rural, urban, and exurban regions of Pennsylvania. Theories of local and social embeddedness inform the analysis of how participants negotiate and coordinate their interactions through informal mechanisms, such as their social relationships, and formal mechanisms, such as contracts and labels. Case study findings reveal distinctions between the rural and exurban cases on the one hand, where participants combined both personal and market-based mechanisms to coordinate their relationships, and the urban case, where the sale of specialty products to a niche market both fostered and inhibited the use of more formal mechanisms of coordination. In all cases, commercial conventions tended to take precedence over social relationships, despite the role that personal trust may have played. These findings suggest that when value chains incorporate conventionally oriented businesses, they would benefit from more deliberate commitment to non-economic goals in order to establish successful mechanisms of interorganizational coordination.

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  • Direct-to-consumer approaches lack adequate infrastructure for collective aggregation necessary to produce volumes needed to meet the growing demand for local, sustainable and nutritious food.

    “These direct-to-consumer approaches lack adequate infrastructure for collective aggregation necessary to produce volumes needed to meet the growing demand for local, sustainable and nutritious food [34].”

    From Agroecological Transition: A Territorial Examination of the Simultaneity of Limited Farmer Livelihoods and Food Insecurity (2022) · cites this paper as [34]

    The Introduction (page not specified) says direct marketing approaches may lack the volume and infrastructure needed to meet growing demand for local, sustainable food. The citing sentence turns that possibility into a definite lack and adds “nutritious,” which the passage does not establish. The Conclusion (page not specified) discusses aggregation and distribution as functions of alternative models. (LLM, conf=0.87)

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Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. S1742170510000384 · DOI
  2. Jackson, P., Russell, P., & Ward, N. (2007). The appro- priation of "alternative" discourses by "main- stream" food retailers. In D. Maye, L. Holloway, & M. Kneafsey (Eds.), Alternative Food Geographies (pp. 309-330). Oxford, UK: Elsevier Ltd.

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Authors
Bloom, J. D., & Hinrichs, C. C.
Affiliations
Pennsylvania State University (US)
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development
Publisher
Lyson Center for Civic Agriculture and Food Systems
Published
2011-08-17
Pages
143-156
ISSN
  • 2152-0798 (ISSN-L)
  • 2152-0801
DOI
10.5304/jafscd.2011.014.016
OpenAlex
W2321832367
Cited by
53
References
40
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 1 · 2013: 2 · 2012: 1
FWCI
1.54
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • AgEcon Search (University of Minnesota, USA) (submittedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Organic Food and Agriculture
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Global trade, sustainability, and social impact
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law › Rural Development and Agriculture
Keywords
local food systems, inter-organizational coordination, social embeddedness, institutional buyers, contracts, personal trust, rural food systems, urban food systems, Pennsylvania

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