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The rise of buyer-driven sustainability governance: Emerging trends in the global coffee sector

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  • Janina Grabs

    (Universität Münster, Institut für Politikwissenschaften)

Abstract

The coffee industry connects millions of smallholder farmers with global markets and has historically been a frontrunner in sustainability efforts. Yet, the governance of this value chain and its sustainability depends on the distribution of power between market actors. This paper applies a Global Value Chain approach (Gereffi, 1999) to characterize the current distribution of power and opportunities in the coffee sector, and examines how this characterization has influenced the sector’s non-state market-driven (NSMD) sustainability governance structure (Bernstein and Cashore, 2007). The study finds that in a strongly buyer-driven chain, the reinterpretation of sustainability as supply chain management has led to the emergence of more company-owned standards and direct-impact projects as alternatives to third-party certification schemes, as well as their coordination in pre-competitive sectoral platforms. The simultaneous rise of producing-country definitions of sustainability points to a continued fragmentation of sustainability governance and a loss of authority of traditional NSMD channels.

Suggested Citation

  • Janina Grabs, 2017. "The rise of buyer-driven sustainability governance: Emerging trends in the global coffee sector," ZenTra Working Papers in Transnational Studies 73 / 2017, ZenTra - Center for Transnational Studies.
    • Handle: RePEc:zen:wpaper:73
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    File URL: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3015166
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    Cited by:

    1. Iteke van Hille & Frank G.A. de Bakker & Julie E. Ferguson & Peter Groenewegen, 2020. "Cross-Sector Partnerships for Sustainability: How Mission-Driven Conveners Drive Change in National Coffee Platforms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-23, April.
    2. Janina Grabs, 2020. "Assessing the institutionalization of private sustainability governance in a changing coffee sector," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 14(2), pages 362-387, April.
    3. Richey, Lisa Ann & Ponte, Stefano, 2021. "Brand Aid and coffee value chain development interventions: Is Starbucks working aid out of business?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    4. Dietz, Thomas & Auffenberg, Jennie & Estrella Chong, Andrea & Grabs, Janina & Kilian, Bernard, 2018. "The Voluntary Coffee Standard Index (VOCSI). Developing a Composite Index to Assess and Compare the Strength of Mainstream Voluntary Sustainability Standards in the Global Coffee Industry," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 72-87.
    5. Hidalgo, Francisco & Quiñones-Ruiz, Xiomara F. & Birkenberg, Athena & Daum, Thomas & Bosch, Christine & Hirsch, Patrick & Birner, Regina, 2023. "Digitalization, sustainability, and coffee. Opportunities and challenges for agricultural development," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 208(C).
    6. Atanu Ghoshray & Sushil Mohan, 2021. "Coffee price dynamics: an analysis of the retail-international price margin [Commodity dependence and development: suggestions to tackle the commodities problem]," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 48(4), pages 983-1006.
    7. Estrella, Andrea & Navichoc, David & Kilian, Bernard & Dietz, Thomas, 2022. "Impact pathways of voluntary sustainability standards on smallholder coffee producers in Honduras: Price premiums, farm productivity, production costs, access to credit," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 27(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Sustainability governance; non-state market-driven governance; Global Value Chain; coffee; Corporate Social Responsibility; sustainability;
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