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Abstract
Excerpt from the report Summary: The succession of stages through which a commodity passes on its way through the production and marketing process is familiar. Vertical coordination includes all the ways in which these stages are directed and fitted together. Coordination of stages is both internal and external to the firm. Internal coordination is managed through administrative action within the firm. External coordination is accomplished through the action of prices, markets, and other forces that govern relationships between firms. As defined in this report, vertical integration is another name for internal coordination of stages. It does not include contract production which with open production constitute external coordination.