@article{Vuylsteke:44263,
      recid = {44263},
      author = {Vuylsteke, Anne and Van Huylenbroeck, Guido},
      title = {Coordination of collective action in the agro-food sector},
      address = {2008},
      number = {725-2016-49627},
      pages = {9},
      year = {2008},
      abstract = {Collaboration between stakeholders in the agro-food sector  is nowadays a common phenomenon. Despite the huge diversity  observed, this paper argues that collective action always  results in the establishment of a collective organization  (whether formally organized or not), which is characterized  by the presence of a coordination centre. This organism  represents all partners united in the collective and  performs tasks by order of the individual members and the  group. From a theoretical point of view, all collective  organizations qualify as hybrid organizations, which can be  studied through the lens of Transaction Costs  Economics.
Hybrids governance structures are a large set of  arrangements that are situated between markets and  hierarchies. When organizing transactions, hybrids do not  purely rely on the price mechanism or authority, but rather  on an interplay of four coordination mechanisms. These  coordination mechanisms are the central element of this  paper and we hypothesize that their degree of formalization  is positively correlated with the complexity of the tasks  faced by the coordination centre.
To test this hypothesis,  a survey was designed and information was gathered on some  general and organizational characteristics of 65 collective  initiatives in the Flemish agro-food sector. Information on  the coordination mechanism could thereby be directly  gathered, but the complexity of the tasks was approximated  by the collective organization’s objectives, the  characteristics of the specifications in force and the  entry rules for members. The analysis proves that there is  indeed a positive relationship between the degree of  formalization of the coordination mechanisms on the hand  and the complexity of coordination centre’s tasks.  Information devices occurs in combination with informal  cooperation in small groups, contracts are adopted by  groups of 5 to 14 members to realize medium complex  objectives and formal coordination (extern regulation and  new governance bodies) is finally linked to quality  differentiation, which requires considerable efforts in the  definition and enforcement of product and/or process  specifications.},
      url = {http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/44263},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.22004/ag.econ.44263},
}