During the last decades there have been many empirical and theoretical attempts to approach the question of how to build and maintain stable, long-term relationships (Hennig- Thurau and Hansen, 2000; Andaleeb, 1996). In neoclassical analysis, one would typically argue that the decision to whom to...

Im Zuge der Reform der EU-Agrarpolitik werden seit dem Midterm-Review zunehmend weniger politische Instrumente zur Stützung des europäischen Milchmarkts eingesetzt. Dadurch und durch die wahrscheinlich im Zuge der WTO-Verhandlungen erfolgende Lockerung des EU-Außenschutzes werden...

Die Koordination arbeitsteiliger Prozesse in der Wertschopfungskette kann marktlich, vertraglich oder durch vertikale Integration vollzogen werden. Im Rahmen des Markt-Hierarchie-Paradigmas der Transaktionskostentheorie ist diese Entscheidung zwischen verschiedenen Formen der contractual...

The German meat market is facing considerable changes. Along with the boom of case-ready and discount stores, butchers and smaller retailers loose market shares, and private labels become widely accepted. The consumers' preferences are often neglected by these trends. This contribution discusses...

There are several hints that there is lack of trust in the relationships between farmers and processors in the meat industry. To generate instruments of trust management, a survey is conducted in the German pork chain measuring the level of trust perceived by farmers as well as the antecedents...

It is often hypothesized that contracts and vertical integration are paramount for the future competitiveness of meat supply chains. In this paper we review empirical evidence and theoretical reflections underlying this argumentation. We confront the contract and integration hypothesis with...