More Than Just a Pig Story: Explaining the Evolution of Chain Coordination and Structures in the Hog Industry in Quebec
Abstract: Recent studies show that several governance structures can coexist to frame the same type of transaction. This situation is particularly true in the Agrifood sector where a wide variety of corporate structures and value chains coexist. The coexistence of several vertical coordination modes within the same production sector is intriguing since it calls into question the issue of the most performing coordination mode. What are the factors that explain the use of several vertical coordination modes within a same value chain? Are these factors mainly strategic, economic, technological, institutional or historical? The objective of this paper is to dig into these questions by providing a comprehensive historical analysis of the drivers behind the evolution of hog supply chains structures and coordination in Quebec over a 50 year-period. The paper develops an historical analysis based on in-depth interviews with experts that are or were active in the Quebec hog industry, combined with insights from organizational economics. Our analysis reveals that over the period 1960-2010, hog chain structures in Québec were mainly modelled by factors that changed over time, especially uncertainty and risks, the institutional and economic environment, and commercial considerations.
