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Financialization in agri-food supply chains: private equity and the transformation of the retail sector

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  • David Burch
  • Geoffrey Lawrence

Abstract

The analysis of the financialization of food and farming has tended to focus on issues such as the impact on the productive and input sectors of the food chain, including the role of asset management companies, private equity consortia and other financial institutions in acquiring and managing farmland. However, processes of financialization impact along the whole agri-food supply chain, including the retail and food service sectors. This paper analyses the take-over by a private equity company of Somerfield, one of the UK’s leading supermarket chains, and the impact the subsequent restructuring had on the management and organization of the retailer’s operations. In doing so, the paper not only extends the analysis of the effects of financialization on the food system, but also raises questions about the extent to which the supermarkets are the dominant actors in the establishment and management of agri-food supply chains. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013

Suggested Citation

  • David Burch & Geoffrey Lawrence, 2013. "Financialization in agri-food supply chains: private equity and the transformation of the retail sector," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 30(2), pages 247-258, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:30:y:2013:i:2:p:247-258
    DOI: 10.1007/s10460-012-9413-7
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Siqi Huang & Nik Hadiyan Nik Azman, 2023. "Enhancing Food Security through Digital Inclusive Finance: Evidence from Agricultural Enterprises in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-20, February.
    2. Matthew Henry & Russell Prince, 2018. "Agriculturalizing finance? Data assemblages and derivatives markets in small-town New Zealand," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 50(5), pages 989-1007, August.
    3. Annette Aurélie Desmarais & Darrin Qualman & André Magnan & Nettie Wiebe, 2017. "Investor ownership or social investment? Changing farmland ownership in Saskatchewan, Canada," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 34(1), pages 149-166, March.
    4. Aya H. Kimura, 2021. "Pickles and agrobiodiversity: a foodway and traditional vegetable varieties in Japan," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 38(4), pages 1079-1096, December.
    5. Jennifer Clapp & S. Ryan Isakson, 2018. "Risky Returns: The Implications of Financialization in the Food System," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 49(2), pages 437-460, March.
    6. Bodo E. Steiner, 2017. "A phenomenon-driven approach to the study of value creation and organizational design issues in agri-business value chains," Economia agro-alimentare, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 19(1), pages 89-118.
    7. Sarah Ruth Sippel & Nicolette Larder & Geoffrey Lawrence, 2017. "Grounding the financialization of farmland: perspectives on financial actors as new land owners in rural Australia," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 34(2), pages 251-265, June.
    8. Tröster, Bernhard & Staritz, Cornelia & Grumiller, Jan & Maile, Felix, 2019. "Commodity dependence, global commodity chains, price volatility and financialisation: Price-setting and stabilisation in the cocoa sectors in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana," Working Papers 62, Austrian Foundation for Development Research (ÖFSE).
    9. Pham, Hanh Song Thi & Petersen, Bent, 2021. "The bargaining power, value capture, and export performance of Vietnamese manufacturers in global value chains," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(6).
    10. Douglas H. Constance, 2023. "The doctors of agrifood studies," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 40(1), pages 31-43, March.
    11. Antoine Ducastel & Ward Anseeuw, 2017. "Agriculture as an asset class: reshaping the South African farming sector," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 34(1), pages 199-209, March.
    12. Mikkola, Minna, 2015. "Business Concept as a Relational Message: Supermarket vs Independent Grocery as Competitors for Sustainability," International Journal on Food System Dynamics, International Center for Management, Communication, and Research, vol. 6(4), pages 1-11, November.

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