Adrienn Molnar

Performance perceptions among food supply chain members

– A good supply chain relationship quality (RQ) is a crucial precursor for any stable exchange relationship which ensures relationship continuity. Although empirical research suggests that strengthening RQ improves supply chain performance (SCP), most studies have focused on dyadic business relationships. To fully understand the relational behaviour of a firm embedded in a supply chain, we need to look beyond the dyad into triads. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how SCP is influenced by RQ in a triadic agribusiness supply chain. , – Evidence is drawn from a quantitative survey of 150 agribusiness firms in the maize supply chain in Uganda. Data were collected in triadic context from 50 direct supply chains each composing of a supplier, focal firm and customer. Multi-group structural equations modelling (SEM) was used to assess the differences in perception on the influence of RQ on SCP amongst the supply chain members. , – Results provides empirical support for the positive influence of RQ on SCP. SEM reveals differences in perception between the upstream and downstream and amongst the supply chains members. While focal firms considered conflict, coercive power, commitment and trust to be important; suppliers considered trust, dependency and non-coercive power; and customers considered trust, dependency and coercive power to be important RQ factors affecting SCP. , – For agribusiness managers to enhance business performance there is need to cultivate strong and mutual relationship with supply chain members. It is also important to know how to handle conflicts and use of power so as to realise the benefits of supply chain relationships. , – The paper is novel in that it assesses SCP in a triadic context in an agribusiness sector from a developing country context. The authors used novel approaches including analysis of a triad, and multiple groups SEM to assess perceptions of each supply chain member’s.

Borderless ideas – open innovation in the Hungarian food chain

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the innovation performance in the Hungarian food chain using the concept of open innovation. Design/methodology/approach – Empirical analysis is based on the data from a 2014 survey of more than 300 small- and medium-sized agricultural producers, food processors and food retailers. The authors analyse innovation performance taking into account not only the direct impacts of external knowledge inflows and absorptive capacity, but also the indirect effect of external knowledge inflows mediated by the existence of potentially complementary internal resources (absorptive capacity). The authors determine the impact of open innovation and a company’s absorptive capacity on innovation performance employing two stage approaches. First, the authors apply a semi-non parametric probit model. Second, the authors run cluster analysis to categorize companies based on their open innovation, absorptive capacity, firm and managerial characteristics. Findings – Results ...

Role of power in supply chain performance: evidence from agribusiness SMEs in Uganda

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of power on supply chain performance (SCP) in the context of small and medium sized agribusiness enterprises (SMEs). Contrary to most of previous studies, which collect and analyze data from one side of a relationship dyad using a focal firm approach, a matched triad approach was employed in data collection and analysis. Design/methodology/approach - Empirical data was collected from 150 agribusiness supply chain members from the maize supply chain in Uganda. Analysis was done using multi-group analysis and structural equations modeling. Findings - Results highlight the differences in the perception of power use and how it influences SCP. The differences in perception suggest the existence of power asymmetry amongst supply chain members. This work contributes to the ongoing debate concerning the use of triad as a unit of analysis as opposed to a firm or a dyad. Research limitations/implications - This study only focused on one commodity chain in one country, which can limit the broad application of the findings. Originality/value - The novelty of this work lies in fact that the authors assess perception of power amongst supply chain members in a triadic context, a perspective that has not been adequately tested in agribusiness supply chain management studies before.

The influence of value chain integration on performance: An empirical study of the malt barley value chain in Ethiopia

The study was funded by the Netherlands Organization for International Cooperation in Higher Education (Nuffic) through the NICHE-ETH-019 project, a consortium project of four Ethiopian universities in collaboration with partner universities in the Netherlands and Belgium, to support the commercialization of Ethiopian agriculture. Moreover, the second author acknowledges the financial support of the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund (OTKA, PD 116226), Supply chain and network performance and relationships in the agribusiness sector.

Situations analysis of the malt barley value chain integration and performance in Ethiopia

This study explores the malt barley value chain in Ethiopia with emphasis on value chain structure, integration, and performance and their respective interactions. Data were gathered from individual chain members through qualitative interviews and analyzed according to definitions of concepts in the literature and their arrangements within a conceptual framework. We identified several fragmentations that constrained value chain performance and weakened its integration. The major causes of fragmentation were a lack of value chain thinking, opportunistic traders, weak cooperative organizations, poor information sharing, and less support from the malt factory and breweries to upstream members of the chain. A conceptual framework was designed to guide future analysis, open managerial and policy dialogues, and initiate questions for future research to identify new ways of linking small-scale farmers to the large agro-processors in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Information sharing and its integrative role: An empirical study of the malt barley value chain in Ethiopia

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe the volume and quality of information and communication channel use at various stages of the malt barley value chain (MBVC) in Ethiopia and to investigate how metrics of these variables influence the extent of integration of the chain. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on survey data collected from 320 farmers and 100 traders and interview responses compiled from 76 respondents. Descriptive statistics and ordered logistic regression were used for data analysis. Findings The descriptive statistics show a lower volume and poor quality of information is being shared at farmer-trader interface and that value chain integration (VCI) is weak at all studied interfaces. Results of ordered logistic regression show that information volume and quality positively influence VCI, whereas a positive relationship between channel use and VCI was found only at farm level interfaces. Evidences found suggested that inconsistent information systems, lack of information sharing plans, low level of members’ awareness about the value of information, and lack of trust to share information were factors that inhibited information sharing in the MBVC. Originality/value The study offers pioneering evidence of the relative role of information volume and quality and channel use as factors that influence the extent of integration of the value chain.

Price transparency as a prerequisite for fair competition: the case of the European food prices monitoring tool

In this chapter we examine the European Food Prices Monitoring Tool as a case study to improve price transparency and, as a result, competitiveness in the European food system. We first analyze the relation between price transparency and fair competition from a theoretical point of view. We then investigate agricultural and food prices evolution in the EU over the last decade, with a specific focus on the price transmission along the food supply chain. We follow with an assessment of the rationale for the price monitoring tool and analyze its functioning as a case study. We conclude with a few comments on how this tool can contribute to fair competition through an increase in price transparency.