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Vertical Integration and Relational Contracts: Evidence from the Costa Rica Coffee Chain

Author

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  • Macchiavello, Rocco

    (London School of Economics)

  • Miquel-Florensa, Josepa

    (Toulouse School of Economics)

Abstract

This paper compares integrated firms, long-term relationships and markets, and how they adapt to shocks in the Costa Rican coffee chain. The industry is characterised by significant uncertainty. Supply failures responses to unanticipated increases in reference prices reveal that integration and relationships reduce opportunism. Trade volumes responses to weather-induced increases in supply reveal that relationships provide demand assurance, although less than integration does. This benefit of integration is offset by costs when trading outside of the integrated chain. The evidence supports models in which firms boundaries alter temptations to renege on relational contracts and, consequently, the allocation of resources.

Suggested Citation

  • Macchiavello, Rocco & Miquel-Florensa, Josepa, 2017. "Vertical Integration and Relational Contracts: Evidence from the Costa Rica Coffee Chain," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 321, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
  • Handle: RePEc:cge:wacage:321
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    Cited by:

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    2. Ricard Gil & Giorgio Zanarone, 2018. "On the determinants and consequences of informal contracting," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(4), pages 726-741, October.
    3. David Atkin & Amit K. Khandelwal, 2020. "How Distortions Alter the Impacts of International Trade in Developing Countries," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 12(1), pages 213-238, August.
    4. Adolfo Quesada-Román & Lilliam Quirós-Arias & Juan Carlos Zamora-Pereira, 2022. "Interactions between Geomorphology and Production Chain of High-Quality Coffee in Costa Rica," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-15, April.
    5. Huashu Wang & Zhenyi Li & H. Holly Wang, 2022. "Does Backward Integration Improve Food Safety of the Tea Industry in China in the Post-COVID-19 Era?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-15, February.
    6. Laura Alfaro & Nicholas Bloom & Paola Conconi & Harald Fadinger & Patrick Legros & Andrew F. Newman & Raffaella Sadun & John Van Reenen, 2017. "Come Together: Firm Boundaries and Delegation," Harvard Business School Working Papers 18-051, Harvard Business School, revised May 2019.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Vertical Integration; Relational Contracts; Adaptation; Demand Uncertainty; Supply Chain. JEL Classification: D23; L14; L22; O12; Q13;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D23 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Organizational Behavior; Transaction Costs; Property Rights
    • L14 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Transactional Relationships; Contracts and Reputation
    • L22 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Organization and Market Structure
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • Q13 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agricultural Markets and Marketing; Cooperatives; Agribusiness

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