IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/accfor/v37y2013i4p300-314.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Opportunist dealing in the UK pig meat supply chain: Trader mentalities and alternatives

Author

Listed:
  • Bowman, Andrew
  • Froud, Julie
  • Johal, Sukhdev
  • Leaver, Adam
  • Williams, Karel

Abstract

The scandal surrounding the presence of horsemeat in UK supermarket meat products has focused public attention on the problems of complex, fragmented food supply chains. Through a study of the UK's pig meat supply chain, this paper proposes a new framing of the problem in terms of opportunistic dealing adopted by the supermarkets in vertically disintegrated supply chains, where all actors attempt to pass the risks and costs onto somebody else. This outcome is the result of cultural practices and competences in buyer-led supermarket organizations where strong supermarket chains have the power to capture processor and producer margins. One consequence is that mass-market meat production and processing is close to unviable, as evidenced here by the analysis of the VION Food Group. However, there are mainstream alternatives to the retail-led dysfunctional supply chain. This paper presents an alternative integrated supply chain model using the case of Morrisons, the UK's fourth largest supermarket chain. If fragmented supply chains are not inevitable, the important issue explored in the conclusion is how the inadequacies of government policy, which understands the problem of the sector but is stuck with a competition-based mindset, obstruct the creation of a more sustainable supply chain.

Suggested Citation

  • Bowman, Andrew & Froud, Julie & Johal, Sukhdev & Leaver, Adam & Williams, Karel, 2013. "Opportunist dealing in the UK pig meat supply chain: Trader mentalities and alternatives," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 300-314.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:accfor:v:37:y:2013:i:4:p:300-314
    DOI: 10.1016/j.accfor.2013.07.001
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0155998213000422
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.accfor.2013.07.001?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hanf, Jon Henrich, 2008. "Food retailers as drivers of supply chain integration: A review," Australasian Agribusiness Review, University of Melbourne, Department of Agriculture and Food Systems, vol. 16.
    2. Free, Clinton, 2008. "Walking the talk? Supply chain accounting and trust among UK supermarkets and suppliers," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 629-662, August.
    3. C Doel, 1999. "Towards a Supply-Chain Community? Insights from Governance Processes in the Food Industry," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 31(1), pages 69-85, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Sheraz Alam Malik & Martin K. Hingley, 2021. "Consumer demand information as a re-balancing tool for power asymmetry between food retailers and suppliers," Economia agro-alimentare, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 23(2), pages 1-20.
    2. Malik, Sheraz Alam & Hingley, Martin K., 2021. "Consumer demand information as a re-balancing tool for power asymmetry between food retailers and suppliers," Economia agro-alimentare / Food Economy, Italian Society of Agri-food Economics/Società Italiana di Economia Agro-Alimentare (SIEA), vol. 23(2), July.
    3. Jarkko Niemi & Richard Bennett & Beth Clark & Lynn Frewer & Philip Jones & Thomas Rimmler & Richard Tranter, 2020. "A value chain analysis of interventions to control production diseases in the intensive pig production sector," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(4), pages 1-25, April.
    4. Molly Scott Cato, 2014. "From resilient regions to bioregions: An exploration of green post-Keynesianism," Working Papers PKWP1407, Post Keynesian Economics Society (PKES).
    5. Jack, Lisa & Florez-Lopez, Raquel & Ramon-Jeronimo, Juan Manuel, 2018. "Accounting, performance measurement and fairness in UK fresh produce supply networks," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 17-30.
    6. Lehman, Glen & Haslam, Colin, 2013. "Accounting for the Apple Inc business model: Corporate value capture and dysfunctional economic and social consequences," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 245-248.
    7. Henrik Barth & Per-Ola Ulvenblad & Pia Ulvenblad, 2017. "Towards a Conceptual Framework of Sustainable Business Model Innovation in the Agri-Food Sector: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-15, September.
    8. Else, Tim & Choudhary, Sonal & Genovese, Andrea, 2022. "Uncovering sustainability storylines from dairy supply chain discourse," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 858-874.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Chenhall, Robert H. & Hall, Matthew & Smith, David, 2010. "Social capital and management control systems: A study of a non-government organization," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 35(8), pages 737-756, November.
    2. Lorino, Philippe & Mourey, Damien & Schmidt, Géraldine, 2017. "Goffman's theory of frames and situated meaning-making in performance reviews. The case of a category management approach in the French retail sector," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 32-49.
    3. Yves Gendron & Laura F. Spira, 2009. "What Went Wrong? The Downfall of Arthur Andersen and the Construction of Controllability Boundaries Surrounding Financial Auditing," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(4), pages 987-1027, December.
    4. ter Bogt, Henk & Tillema, Sandra, 2016. "Accounting for trust and control: Public sector partnerships in the arts," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 5-23.
    5. O'Connor, Neale G. & Schloetzer, Jason D. & Romero, Jorge & Wu, Anne, 2022. "How multi-sourcing can influence management control: Case study evidence from the electronic products supply chain," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(5).
    6. Jeacle, Ingrid & Carter, Chris, 2011. "In TripAdvisor we trust: Rankings, calculative regimes and abstract systems," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 293-309.
    7. Costin Lianu & Irina Gabriela Radulescu & Simona Corina Dobre Gudei & Cosmin Lianu & Veronica Mindrescu, 2022. "Cohesion Forces Determinants in Cluster Development: A Study Case for Romania," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-12, March.
    8. Peter Horton & Steve A. Banwart & Dan Brockington & Garrett W. Brown & Richard Bruce & Duncan Cameron & Michelle Holdsworth & S. C. Lenny Koh & Jurriaan Ton & Peter Jackson, 2017. "An agenda for integrated system-wide interdisciplinary agri-food research," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 9(2), pages 195-210, April.
    9. Järvenpää, Marko & Hoque, Zahirul & Mättö, Toni & Rautiainen, Antti, 2023. "Controllers’ role in managerial sensemaking and information trust building in a business intelligence environment," International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    10. Steve Burt & Leigh Sparks, 2001. "The Implications of Wal-Mart's Takeover of ASDA," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 33(8), pages 1463-1487, August.
    11. Liff, Roy & Wahlström, Gunnar, 2017. "Managerś assessment of thin and thick trust: The importance of benevolence in interbank relations," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 151-161.
    12. Hartmann, Frank & Slapnicar, Sergeja, 2009. "How formal performance evaluation affects trust between superior and subordinate managers," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 34(6-7), pages 722-737, August.
    13. Patsy Perry & Steve Wood & John Fernie, 2015. "Corporate Social Responsibility in Garment Sourcing Networks: Factory Management Perspectives on Ethical Trade in Sri Lanka," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 130(3), pages 737-752, September.
    14. Tsamenyi, Mathew & Qureshi, Ahmad Z. & Yazdifar, Hassan, 2013. "The contract, accounting and trust: A case study of an international joint venture (IJV) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 182-195.
    15. François-Régis Puyou & Eric Faÿ, 2015. "Cogs in the Wheel or Spanners in the Works? A Phenomenological Approach to the Difficulty and Meaning of Ethical Work for Financial Controllers," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 128(4), pages 863-876, June.
    16. Free, Clinton, 2008. "Walking the talk? Supply chain accounting and trust among UK supermarkets and suppliers," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 629-662, August.
    17. Chenhall, Robert H. & Hall, Matthew & Smith, David, 2013. "Performance measurement, modes of evaluation and the development of compromising accounts," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 51294, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    18. Kiri Le Heron & David Hayward, 2002. "The Moral Commodity: Production, Consumption, and Governance in the Australasian Breakfast Cereal Industry," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 34(12), pages 2231-2251, December.
    19. Mahama, Habib & Chua, Wai Fong, 2016. "A study of alliance dynamics, accounting and trust-as-practice," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 29-46.
    20. Neu, Dean & Everett, Jeff & Rahaman, Abu Shiraz & Martinez, Daniel, 2013. "Accounting and networks of corruption," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 38(6), pages 505-524.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:accfor:v:37:y:2013:i:4:p:300-314. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/accounting-forum .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.