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Assessment of traditional food supply chain performance using triadic approach: the role of relationships quality

Željka Mesic (Department of Marketing in Agriculture, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia)
Adrienn Molnár (Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium and Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Economics, Research Centre for Economics and Regional Studies, Budapest, Hungary)
Marija Cerjak (Department of Marketing in Agriculture, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia)

Supply Chain Management

ISSN: 1359-8546

Article publication date: 16 October 2018

Issue publication date: 17 October 2018

1449

Abstract

Purpose

The objectives of this paper were twofold: to explore if there are differences in the perceptions about supply chain performance (SCP) and relationship quality (RQ) among traditional food supply chain members, and to examine the influence of individual relationship variables and aggregated relationship quality on SCP in the traditional food sector.

Design/methodology/approach

The survey was conducted in a triadic context with 189 supply chain members (62 suppliers, 65 focal companies and 62 customers) of 65 traditional food supply chains (cheese, olive oil, meat products, brandies and liqueurs, wine and honey) in Croatia. The influence of individual relationship variables and aggregated RQ on perceived SCP was tested using regression analysis.

Findings

It was found that there were no significant differences in the perception of overall SCP and RQ among supply chain members. It was identified that aggregated RQ and all individual relationship variables (trust, commitment, economic satisfaction, non-coercive and coercive power, reputation and conflict) have a significant influence on perceived SCP of the traditional food supply chains.

Practical implication

This study provides a systematic approach to investigate the SCP and supply chain RQ in the traditional food sector. The findings suggest that managers should not neglect any aspect of supply chain relationship to keep high SCP and to be competitive on the market.

Originality/value

This multiple supply chain study makes an original empirical contribution to the supply chain and network management literature by using a triadic approach to investigate RQ and SCP. The influence of individual RQ constructs and aggregated RQ on traditional food SCP examined in this study has not been explored thus far. This study also makes an original empirical contribution by investigating RQ and SCP in the traditional food sector, which has received little attention recently.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments, which helped in improving the paper. The authors would also like to thank all the participants of this research (the traditional food producers, retailers and HoReCa members) for their effort and time. Special thanks from Dr Željka Mesić goes to Višnja Knjaz, Dipl. Ing., for all her valuable help (in memoriam).

Citation

Mesic, Ž., Molnár, A. and Cerjak, M. (2018), "Assessment of traditional food supply chain performance using triadic approach: the role of relationships quality", Supply Chain Management, Vol. 23 No. 5, pp. 396-411. https://doi.org/10.1108/SCM-10-2017-0336

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited

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