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Opportunistic Behaviour and Trust: Experimental Results from Broccoli Farmers in Ecuador

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  • Cristina Romero Granja
  • Meike Wollni

Abstract

Linking smallholder farmers to high‐value markets through contract farming has become an important strategy to increase farm incomes in developing countries. However, various forms of opportunistic behaviour have been reported, threatening the sustainability of inclusive supply chains. When formal institutions are weak, informal codes of conduct like trust can be important complements to facilitate market transactions. We explore the effect of opportunistic behaviour on farmers’ trust, using a field‐framed trust experiment with prior signaling with small‐scale farmers in Ecuador. These farmers are linked to different types of markets, including high‐value export chains, and have been exposed to varying levels of opportunistic behaviour in the past. Our unique dataset allows us to control for self‐selection of game participants. We find that a positive signal triggers a positive response increasing trust, while a negative signal has no effect – possibly reflecting very low overall trust levels. In settings where market linkages have failed previously, ex‐ante credible positive signals could help to build trust and encourage small farmers’ participation in sustainable value chains.

Suggested Citation

  • Cristina Romero Granja & Meike Wollni, 2019. "Opportunistic Behaviour and Trust: Experimental Results from Broccoli Farmers in Ecuador," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 70(1), pages 62-80, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:jageco:v:70:y:2019:i:1:p:62-80
    DOI: 10.1111/1477-9552.12271
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    Cited by:

    1. Xue Peng & Fulin Wang & Jiquan Wang & Chang Qian, 2022. "Research on Food Safety Control Based on Evolutionary Game Method from the Perspective of the Food Supply Chain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-21, July.
    2. Yao, Becatien H. & Shanoyan, Aleksan & Schwab, Benjamin & Amanor-Boadu, Vincent, 2022. "Mobile money, transaction costs, and market participation: evidence from Côte d’Ivoire and Tanzania," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    3. Oreoluwa Ola & Luisa Menapace, 2020. "Revisiting constraints to smallholder participation in high‐value markets: A best‐worst scaling approach," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 51(4), pages 595-608, July.
    4. Ola, Oreoluwa & Menapace, Luisa, 2020. "Smallholders' perceptions and preferences for market attributes promoting sustained participation in modern agricultural value chains," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    5. J. Nicolas Hernandez-Aguilera & Max Mauerman & Alexandra Herrera & Kathryn Vasilaky & Walter Baethgen & Ana Maria Loboguerrero & Rahel Diro & Yohana Tesfamariam Tekeste & Daniel Osgood, 2020. "Games and Fieldwork in Agriculture: A Systematic Review of the 21st Century in Economics and Social Science," Games, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-22, October.
    6. Solfanelli, Francesco & Ozturk, Emel & Pugliese, Patrizia & Zanoli, Raffaele, 2021. "Potential outcomes and impacts of organic group certification in Italy: An evaluative case study," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).

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