Regional competitiveness of fresh vegetable production in Europe - A cluster and value chain perspective

Abstract

We focus our analysis on the coordination of relationships in horticulture business and its impact on competitiveness. Special attention is given to the question how tighter relations between retailers and their fresh vegetable suppliers interact with the organisation of the local production cluster. This paper cites results from two case studies in Germany/Palatinate and Italy/Emilia-Romagna/Veneto. In-depth interviews with central business participants (producers, cooperatives, traders, retail, breeding companies, research) allow to uncover multifaceted aspects about imbalance in retailer-supplier relationships, the influence of mentality and tradition on cooperative capability and the influence of external events on chain governance. The aim is to assemble a complex-variable causal model to find regularities of regional horticulture business and value chain coordination in different socio- cultural contexts. This causal model is expected to provide starting points for further research about the interplay of local production networks and value chain coordination.