Towards a Supply-Chain Community? Insights from Governance Processes in the Food Industry

In the context of the proliferation of own-label subcontract relations across the food industry, there has been some speculation about the emergence of trust-based buyer—supplier relations. Instead of an old-established adversarial system, the food industry has allegedly witnessed the development of trust-based partnerships along the supply chain. These have been nurtured by sophisticated retailers apparently in order to secure reliable sources of supply. The author examines the nature, extent, and consequences of this transformation. She argues that, although there is a tendency for buyers to favour ‘known’ suppliers, the role and importance of ‘weak ties’ is subsumed beneath straightforward competitive processes. To the extent that a community of supply-chain partners has been created, its role in terms of filière dynamics is simply one of facilitating and lubricating buyer—supplier relations which retain an underlying rationale: competition between individual actors over the distribution of value added.