Social proximity in the coffee sector: comparative analysis of conventional and relational coffee value chains
Abstract
The coffee value chain is rather long: Typically, coffee is grown by smallholder farmers, traded through buyers to roasters and retailer until it reaches the consumers. Challenges along the chain include poverty among coffee producers, little flow of information between the chain actors as well as concentration of power among a little number of gate keepers, usually located in the Global North. Therefore, some actors co-established relational value chains aimed to increase communication and learning processes between value chain actors, based on direct contacts or internet platforms. Following Polanyi’s concept of social embeddedness, relational coffee value chains are trying to increase the social proximity of actors. The research aims to scrutinize strategies to create social proximity in geographically long coffee value chains and to understand their effects on challenges of the coffee market. The embeddedness concept should be operationalized by creating a scale to measure social proximity. The extent/quality of proximity for conventional and relational coffee value chains should be assessed. Three case studies of relational value chains and one control case of a conventional chain are selected for comparison. Using convention theory, the analysis of conventions present at each nod of the value chain should give insights into how economic actions are justified and if/how social proximity is related to the homogeneity of quality perceptions of the chain actors. The assumption is that in chains with a higher level of social proximity, actors share more homogenous quality perceptions which might improve organoleptic coffee quality and environmental/social production standards among producers. The case study will also look into possible challenges that could result from increased social proximity. This PhD study aims to contribute insights into the potential of socially proximate and relational coffee value chains to address challenges in the coffee sector.
coffee relational value chains social proximity coffee trade Embeddedness
Publikationen
Project staff
Hanna Edelmann
Dipl.-Ing. Dr. Hanna Edelmann
hanna.edelmann@boku.ac.at
Project Leader
01.12.2018 - 30.11.2021