Schermer, Markus (2015) Values Based Supply Chains for Mountain Products. The Example of BioAlpin in Tyrol/Austria. In: Proceedings of the Conference of the Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Society,, pp. 25-37.
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Summary in the original language of the document
Values based Supply chains for Mountain Products: the example of BioAlpin in Tyrol/Austria
Growth processes are often problematic for small-scale farms as they may disturb the delicate balance of basic internal resources, like labor, buildings, machinery, land and animals. Most of these resources cannot be increased in linear processes and the smaller the unit the more problematic the task of realignment of resources becomes. Small-scale farmers often feel growth as enforced by outside factors, e.g. a market partner. Growing enterprises in processing and trading need more supply and obviously are not eager to deal with more small suppliers, as this tends to mean higher transaction costs and varying qualities. However, we find examples where dedicated supply chain actors actively engage in preserving small scale structures and develop different patterns of growth.
This contribution uses the case study of the cooperative BioAlpin in Austria to examine how such regional networks may be successfully constructed. BioAlpin sells a full range of organic mountain products under their own brand mainly via a family based regional supermarket chain. The initiative exhibits a substantial growth over the last decade and has managed at the same time to support and preserve small-scale regional production structures. We use the concept of netchain analysis to explore the organizational structure and the mechanisms of horizontal and vertical coordination in this value based supply chain. The results of our analysis may shed light on the options and problems associated with a focus on network growth versus the growth of individual units.
EPrint Type: | Conference paper, poster, etc. |
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Type of presentation: | Paper |
Subjects: | Food systems > Community development Farming Systems > Social aspects Food systems > Markets and trade Food systems > Produce chain management |
Research affiliation: | European Union > CORE Organic > CORE Organic II > HealthyGrowth Austria > Univ. Innsbruck Austria > Univ. Innsbruck > Mountain Agriculture |
Deposited By: | Schermer, Dr Markus |
ID Code: | 30688 |
Deposited On: | 25 Oct 2016 12:04 |
Last Modified: | 25 Oct 2016 12:04 |
Document Language: | English |
Status: | Published |
Refereed: | Not peer-reviewed |
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