Social Interaction and Price Transmission in Multi-Tier Food Supply Chains

Ano: 2016 | Volume: 9 | Número: 1

Autores: Maria Widyarini, Togar M Simatuoang, Per Engelseth

Palavras-chave: Social interaction, price transmission, pricing, information seeking, supply chain

Resumo Inglês:

This research focuses on social interaction associated with price transmission in a multitier
rice supply chain. A case study and qualitative methods are employed to examine a well-established
supply network in Karawang District in Indonesia. Farmers and traders used their existing network in
selling rice crops to traders and adopted a payment scheme for cash-and-carry transactions. Information
on the market situation was obtained through personal interviews and observations including text
messaging with farmer and trader informants. Evidence reveals that social relationships are vital in
transmitting price information among networked actors to maintain the flow of rice, mitigate risk, and
avoid losses due to poor quality of the rice product. Findings show that social interaction enables actors
in an end-to-end rice supply chain to deal with the assurance of supply rationing.