Governance structures in the Dutch fresh-produce industry

Authors

  • J. Bijman

Abstract

A governance structure is the set of public and private rules that govern the execution of a transaction. Governance structures affect the efficiency of transactions by solving two basic problems of exchange: coordination and safeguarding. Coordination refers to the alignment of the activities of two or more parties involved in the same transaction. Safeguarding refers to protecting against exchange hazards such as shirking and hold-up. This paper presents a model for studying governance structure choice. The model goes beyond traditional conceptualizations of governance structure by identifying the governance mechanisms that solve the safeguarding and coordination problems. The model is applied to changes in governance structures in the Dutch fresh-produce industry.

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Published

2006-03-01