Narciso Arcas-Lario

The effects of authoritative mechanisms of coordination on market orientation in asymmetrical channel partnerships

Abstract An important outcome of a firms interorganisational relationships is the attainment of resources and capabilities required to attain a competitive advantage. Although market orientation has been considered one of those critical resources, there is little understanding regarding how it is created and nurtured in business relationships. In the context of asymmetrical channel partnerships dominated by a downstream leader, in this paper we present a model where the upstream followers market orientation is promoted as a consequence of the leaders use of authoritative mechanisms of coordination. Some hypotheses are presented and empirically tested in a sample of agricultural cooperatives that maintain channel partnerships with second-order marketing cooperatives. The results indicate that formalization, participation, input control, and behaviour control are coordination mechanisms that lead to improvements in market orientation. Implications for interorganisational theory and managerial activities are discussed at the end of the paper.

Outcome- and behaviour-control in distribution partnerships: the role of trust and dependence and their effects on performance

In dyadic channel partnerships, specific outcomes and behaviours are often emphasised to signal desirable objectives and actions that would lead to adequate levels of coordination. Much of the research regarding the outcome- and behaviour-based controls has adopted the perspective of the firm that manages the relationship (source). However, questions remain as to how, or even whether, the managed firm (target) benefits from these coordination efforts. Drawing on the most recent literature on channel governance, this research posits that both the targets trust in, and dependence on, the source moderate the effects of outcome- and behaviour-control on the targets performance. Formal hypotheses are tested on a sample of 157 agricultural cooperatives involved in channel partnership with larger, downstream second-order marketing cooperatives. The results indicate that the targets trust in the source enhances the positive effects of both types of controls. However, the targets dependence on the source decreases the positive effects of behaviour-based controls on the targets performance.

Unilateral control and the moderating effects of fairness on the target's performance in asymmetric channel partnerships

With the use of unilateral control, the leader in a channel dyad (source) leads the activities of its partner (target) to achieve its own goals. Although there are numerous studies that have found a positive effect of a companys unilateral control on its own performance, the effects on the targets performance remain unexplored, even though this is essential to explain the long‐term survival of the relationship. In this research, the concept of attributed performance, defined as the fraction of its own performance that the target attributes to the relationship maintained with the source, is addressed postulating a number of hypotheses about the direct effects of unilateral control and the moderating role of the sources fair behaviour. In a sample of companies involved in channel partnerships, strong evidence is found about the positive effects of unilateral control on attributed performance, and the moderating role of the sources distributive and procedural fairness.

Transaction Costs in Agricultural Marketing Cooperatives: Effects on Market Performance

Managing an agricultural marketing cooperative is largely a matter of managing relationships with its members. They are not just owners participating in decision making and the provision of funds; they are also suppliers of the product the cooperative is offering to the market. This study analyses how transaction costs in the relationship of the cooperative with its member-suppliers contribute to its success in the market. An analysis of data from 124 Spanish marketing cooperatives operating in the fresh fruit and vegetables sector confirms most of the studys research hypotheses. The authors find that a cooperatives market performance is improved when it invests in specific assets and has more safeguards, lower levels of behavioural and environmental uncertainty and higher levels of adaptation in the relationship with its member-suppliers.

Spatial effects on the productive structure of Spanish agri-food cooperatives

This article analyses the role of spatial effects on the productive growth of Spanish agri-food cooperatives. The study was based on a sample data from 172 Spanish cooperatives for the period 2010–2012. We applied the Malmquist productivity index method to compute the productivity growth and its components. We then developed a multi-equational productivity growth model with spatial effects. Our results show that the productivity growth in agri-food cooperatives depends on the geographical location of the company and its interaction with its neighbours. This analysis supports the importance of taking into account the spatial dimension when regional agri-food policies are designed, particularly, for cooperatives characterized by the inter-cooperation principle.