Social gains for artisanal agroindustrial

producers induced by cooperation and

collaboration in agri-food supply chain
Renato Rocha dos Santos and Patricia Guarnieri

Abstract Renato Rocha dos Santos

Purpose – This study aims to analyze which collective actions (cooperation, coordination and is based at the Department
collaboration), present in the supply chain of artisanal products, generate positive effects in terms of of Agribusiness, University
social gains. of Brası́lia, Brasilia, Brazil.
Design/methodology/approach – The authors conduct multiple case studies in the supply chain of Patricia Guarnieri is based
seven artisanal agroindustries in the Distrito Federal, Brazil. The data were collected through interviews, at the Department of
documental analysis and direct observation. The data were analyzed using the content analysis Business Administration,
technique proposed by Bardin (1977). With priori and a posteriori analytical categories, it was possible to Faculty of Economics,
conduct: a detailed analysis of the current situation of artisanal agroindustries regarding collective
Business Administration
actions from the perspective of supplier/supplier and supplier/client and a detailed analysis for the
and Accounting, University
possible effects of collective actions that impact the supply chain and the indicators of social
sustainability of artisanal agroindustries. of Brası́lia, Brasilia, Brazil.

Findings – The results indicate that cooperation and collaboration have contributed positively in the
transactions of the products of the artisanal agroindustries, reflecting in social gains for the producing
families. In this context, some collective actions can be highlighted as follows: the collective commercial
spaces, the demonstration spaces of the artisan products in the clients’ environment, the prospecting of
improvements from the final consumers, the face-to-face meetings with the suppliers, the product
dissemination by the customer, the joint marketing actions and the rationalization of transportation
logistics.
Research limitations/implications – The study used a qualitative approach and findings and
discussion are inherently interpretative and cannot be generalized.
Practical implications – This study can contribute to researchers and practitioners interested in
collective actions contributing to the incrementation of social responsibility in agri-food supply chains.
Social implications – Understanding how the collective actions support the inclusion of smallholding
and artisanal producers in agri-food supply chains can help policymakers and managers to implement
initiatives related to social responsibility, which can be measured using social indicators. This creates a
social benefit through rural growth and economic development, generation of income and social
productive inclusion of the artisanal producers in larger agri-food supply chains.
Originality/value – For the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper approaching collective
actions as the main source of incrementation of social benefits, which can measure the incrementation of
social responsibility in agri-food supply chains.
Keywords Social responsibility, Agri-food supply chains, Social sustainability, Social indicators,
Collective actions, Artisanal agroindustry
Paper type Case study

1. Introduction
The promotion of agroindustrialization of small-scale agricultural production and livestock
Received 26 September 2019
production has become a strategy of concentrated markets. It constitutes an action of Revised 24 June 2020
development of family agriculture, consolidating itself as a constant action in the agendas of Accepted 12 July 2020

DOI 10.1108/SRJ-09-2019-0323 © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1747-1117 j SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY JOURNAL j
 public policies (Prezotto, 2002; Wesz Junior, 2010). According to the IBGE Agricultural
Census (2017), Brazil occupies a prominent position when assessing the role of smallholder
producers in national agribusiness.
Additionally, the country has approximately 4 million establishments of smallholder
producers (77% of the total), called in Brazil as family farmers or family agriculture, making
a total of 10 million people employed in the most diverse production chains. However, when
analyzing the value of the production generated, family agriculture still contributes only 23%
of the total amount of Brazilian production. This fact reveals a significant gap to be filled for
the expansion of the transaction of agri-food products from smallholder producers in the
numerous chains of supplies established in consumer markets.
In the Distrito Federal, Brazil, the Law No. 4,096 of February 11, 2008, has allowed small
artisanal producers of agri-food supply chains to enter in the agroindustrial activity in a
formal way. This law also extended the regularization of traditional products that were
previously traded informally with low purchase access by consumers in general. Thus,
analyzing supply chains in which smallholder producers in the Distrito Federal participate
becomes a favorable field of analysis, as this unit of the federation has characteristics that
are conducive to the close relationship between rural producers, as suppliers and
immediate consumer/customer buyers. This condition was fostered at the origin of the
occupation of the territory, when rural nuclei were created around the federal capital with
the objective of providing agricultural supply with self-sustaining agribusiness and
generating rural community development for small farmers with the guarantee of a
diversified consumer market, thus attempting to generate a balanced rural and urban
development among the populations (SILVEIRA, 1999).
With the agroindustrialization of small production, social benefits are expected from
producing families, as it promotes the insertion into formal markets of access and
establishment of relationships with buyers in agri-food supply chains. These kind of
relations before the law were not well-developed by the small family production. Souza et al.
(2011) state that, in Brazil, the demand from the market for artisanal products is promising
given the growing awareness of the society that requires correct socio-environmental
practices and products from companies. Thus, it is important to fostering the development
of artisanal agroindustrial producers and encouraging them to enter formal
commercialization channels.
The collective and collaborative actions constitute a viable path for improvements in less
favored members composing a supply chain (Carter and Rogers, 2008; Lamprinopoulou
et al., 2006). In this context, collective actions can promote integration beyond the internal
aspects of the organization, but it encompasses the various members involved in a supply
chain (Lamprinopoulou et al., 2006). So, concerns related to partners and suppliers and
their respective social issues should be considered, to preserve their living conditions and
make them partners for social development, increasing the social responsibility in supply
chains (Pagell and Wu, 2009). In addition, sustainable practices that favor collective actions
can be recognized as pathways to raise the social sustainability of suppliers newly inserted
in formal markets (Awaysheh and Klassen, 2010; Carter and Jennings, 2002).
Considering these issues, seeking sustainable practices that promote the development of
small suppliers through partnerships with other producers, suppliers or buyers can
contribute to the development of the entire agri-food supply chain (Silva and Lourenzani,
2011). Besides that, it can generate benefits for the desired market accessibility,
performance improvement, benefit sharing and raising social standards of the supply chain
(Barratt, 2004). Some papers deal with environmental and economic aspects (Bai and
Sarkis, 2010; Dou et al., 2014; Kannan et al., 2014; Kumar et al., 2014), however few studies
have considered the social aspects in the supply chain (Longoni and Cagliano, 2016;
Meixell and Luoma, 2015; Guarnieri and Trojan, 2018).

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The few studies dealing with the topic impact the knowledge related to sustainable
practices, which organizations can foster to expand the social benefits of their most fragile
suppliers. These practices go beyond simply purchasing products and pricing policies
(Awaysheh and Klassen, 2010). In this sense, unraveling practices among members of a
supply chain can impact on social issues of more fragile members of that link, especially
small suppliers. Thus, it will bring light to solutions aimed at companies and organizations to
promote practices and policies aimed at expanding social benefits, with greater clarity and
dissociation from eminently environmental and economic issues. Lamprinopoulou et al.
(2006) identified six conditions that underpin successful collective actions of small firm
networks in agri-food supply chains in Greece. Thus, to the best of our knowledge, no paper
until this moment, deals with social issues in collective actions in agri-food supply chains.
In this context, this paper aims to analyze, which collective actions (cooperation,
collaboration and coordination), present in the agri-food supply chain of artisanal products,
generate positive effects in terms of social gains. These social gains are compared by the
sustainability indicators proposed by Labuschagne et al. (2005) and other authors. The
purpose is also to deepen relevant and current social issues of artisanal agroindustrial,
which in general, is small production performed by family agriculture and, to relate them to
the sustainable practices that contribute to this. To this end, we conduct multiple case
studies in the supply chain of artisanal products in the Distrito Federal, Brazil. The data were
collected through interviews, documental analysis and direct observation in seven artisanal
agroindustries from Distrito Federal, Brazil.
The results indicate that collective actions, such as cooperation and collaboration, are
improving the agri-food supply chain transactions and increasing the social sustainability of
artisanal agroindustrial producers, generating mainly related to work, the capacity of an
expansion and innovations. However, more advanced arrangements such as collaboration
still need to be expanded in the agri-food supply chain of artisanal products in Distrito
Federal, Brazil, which can improve social and productive gains for artisanal producers. In
addition, this article contributes to expand studies related to social sustainability in
contribution to research gaps pointed out by Delai and Takahashi (2013) and Chand et al.
(2015), which state that few studies related to sustainability, in their social dimension, are
developed in this line of action, which makes this topic scarce in the literature.
This paper was organized in six sections, being:

1. Introduction.
2. Theoretical background.

3. Methods.
4. Results.

5. Final remarks.
6. References.

2. Theoretical background
2.1 Social sustainability
Considering the lack of studies dealing specifically with the social dimension of
sustainability, it is important to clarify some related aspects in this section. The economic
issues and later, the actions aimed at the environmental dimension have received for a long
time the attention of corporate sustainability in organizations, whereas the social side is
often overlooked with low visibility (Holliday et al., 2002). This fact occurs in part because
the social dimension of sustainability have an inherent subjectivity, which makes it hard to
define exactly. Thus, ethical and socially responsible behavior still requires elucidations and

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 be inserted in discussions related to sustainability. In addition, the companies should not be
limited to the behavior of an organization only, but consider the entire supply chain and in
the markets in which it participates (Elkington, 2001).
To guide the measurement of social issues present in a supply chain, it is expected that
social indicators will be created as ways of measuring the generation of wealth along with
well-being social and individual dimensions that are more adequate than the conventional
measures now applied (Elkington, 2001). To synthesize social sustainability, Labuschagne
et al. (2005) proposed a measurement of this dimension based on four pillars of studies
produced: sustainability indicators produced at the Wuppertal Institute in 1988
(Spangenberg and Bonniot, 1998); United Nations Commission on Sustainable
Development (DiSano, 2002); sustainability reports (GRI, 2002); and sustainability metrics
of the institute of chemical engineers (Icheme, 2002). Based on the pillars that led to the
study of Labuschagne et al. (2005), a structure of categorizations of social indicators that
were applicable throughout a supply chain were generated, which were subdivided into
four categorization macrospheres:

1. internal human resources;

2. external population;
3. stakeholder participation; and

4. macrosocial performance, as is demonstrated in Figure 1.

As can be observed in Figure 1, the internal human resources correspond to the management
of employees internally allocated in the organizations, among a sustainable supply chain,
focusing on workers, among others present in the labor relations. In the external population
dimension, the focus is on the impacts of the operations of a given organization or of a supply
chain in communities that, in some way, can be affected or influenced by a given economic
activity. The stakeholder participation dimension is measured by the willingness of the
organization to provide information and transparency to the supply chain and, negotiating power
regarding decision-making power and capacity to influence organizations. Finally, macro-social
performance is linked to aspects in which the organization can influence populations outside the
supply chain at the regional or national level (Labuschagne et al., 2005).
Therefore, the artisanal production brings together qualities that foster the incorporation of
sustainable practices when in relations with its clients, as they can aggregate social values
in this way of producing (Mior, 2008).

2.2 Collective actions aiming social sustainability: cooperation, coordination and

collaboration
The induction of sustainable practices focused on the social dimension has been faced with
new scenarios based in directives that guide increasingly responsible and ethical
businesses. The relationships present in the transactions of entities of supply chains
contribute to actions aimed at the social sustainability of the business. These relationships
can favor the adoption and maintenance of collective actions with potentialization of
investments aimed at the transactions, increase of confidence and increase of joint actions
(Silva and Lourenzani, 2011).
Olson (2001) began the discussions about the formal collective action. In this sense,
according to this author, collective action means the efforts of individuals with a view to
seeking common goals and results. These kind of actions acts directly in strengthening
organizations through values such as solidarity, reciprocity and trust, which underlies the
common well-being in relationships (Ramı́rez and Berdegué, 2003; Wilding, 2003).
In the context of agribusiness, Wenningkamp and Schmidt (2012), when analyzing the
literature related to collective actions in Brazil, found that these type of actions can be

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 Figure 1 Social sustainability indicators

presented under different theoretical approaches, such as cooperatives/cooperation,

partnership, collaborative strategy, collective competence, associativism, solidary
economy, collective action, alliances, local productive arrangements/clusters/and networks.
In a systemic model, in the fruit and vegetable sector, the collective actions can be found in
relationships based on collaboration and cooperation in vertical and horizontal transactions
(Silva and Lourenzani, 2011). Guarnieri (2014) states that relationships between members in
a supply chain, in general, can take place in three distinct arrangements, namely,
cooperation, coordination and collaboration.
Cooperation can be understood as a joint action for common purposes or objectives,
without the integration of processes for the proposed purpose. Can be seen as a joint
action for common purposes or objectives when the agents present realize that they are
unable to achieve the proposed objectives individually, whether in the economic or
social spheres or also when they have relevant objectives for sustainability
(MOHARANA et al., 2012).

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 Coordination is characterized as a more evolutionary degree of cooperation, which is
presented as a more harmonious adjustment between members in a supply chain, involving
an interactive and coordinated decision-making, with one member of greater power
influencing the others. However, coordination excludes the implementation of actions
through joint efforts and processes, which refers in this case to collaboration (Moharana
et al., 2012; Guarnieri, 2014).
Collaborative processes, on other hand, occur in long-term partnerships and when
stakeholders are in a reliable environment to share their assets such as materials, work,
infrastructure, facilities and equipment and support their resources such as technology,
business processes, policy/legislation and finance (Dania et al., 2016). Occurs commonly in
the supply chain between suppliers and customers, among stakeholders of other agri-food
chains.
Supply chain collaboration has become a strategic concern for companies, mainly the
targets are related to the achievement of the balance among economic, social and
environmental sustainability dimensions (Chen et al., 2017). In this context, trust is an
implicit condition for collaboration (Wilding, 2003). Several organizations have recognized
the importance for managers and professionals in developing and maintaining trust
relationships (McAllister, 1995). Collaboration in supply chains occurs when two or more
supply chain members work together sharing information, making joint decisions and
sharing benefits to create a competitive advantage for entire supply chain (Simatupang and
Sridharan, 2002). In addition, the information sharing to connect suppliers and buyers is
only feasible when there is trust (Vieira et al., 2009; Park et al., 2010).
In addition, it is important to highlight, based in Mentzer et al. (2011, p. 18) that inter-
functional coordination in supply chains includes the analysis of the roles of trust,
commitment, risk and dependence on the viability of internal functional sharing and
coordination.

2.3 Agri-food supply chains

An agri-food supply chain has specificities and behaviors that differ from other chains,
where prices are not infrequently formed by supply and demand of products on the market,
increasing the level of uncertainty, especially to suppliers of raw materials (Batt, 2003).
In this scenario, aspects and indicators related to sustainability are still incipient and in
continuous improvements in the agri-food business environment, as in most of the
production and processing there are aspects that are notably sensitive to the economic
environment, the environment and social issues (Validi et al., 2014). Maloni and Brown
(2006) state that the agri-food chains are complex because they involve sensitive elements
external to the business, and also require the application of intensive labor in all phases of
the supply chain.
In this way, various civil society organizations and government agencies have mobilized to
sort out issues that include agri-food chains for the transition to sustainability such as
improving the working environment, fair trade, adequate animal treatment, adequate
environmental practices and production (Terry, 1983; Carlton, 1999; Ordonez, 2000).
Especially in the agri-food supply chains, the competitive advantages are increased with
the promotion of partnerships of citizenship and social responsibility, mainly when involving
small suppliers (Verdolin and Alves, 2011). Thus, the small supplier or producer, as a
member of agri-food supply chain, must be the target of collaborative and collective actions
to achieve beneficial effects in the supply chain. Thus, the organization with the greatest
power acts in the suppliers’ development of those with less power (Lambert et al., 1998;
Lambert et al., 1996).

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3. Methods
The research design can be defined in relation to its purposes and its means (Hair et al.,
2015). Regarding the purposes, this research can be categorized as descriptive.
Regarding the means used to attain the objective proposed, which is to analyze, which
collective actions, present in the supply chain of artisanal products, generate positive
effects in terms of social gains, this research is categorized as a case study. The case
study provides an approximation of the research phenomenon to better understand and
deepen the research (Yin, 2009). Besides that, the case study favors a complex analysis of
research phenomena, potentiated if there is a multiplicity of research units, as it increases
more robust evidence (Yin, 2009).
To conduct this research, the case study was designed by first identifying, with official
public institutions, the registered agro-industrial establishments. Then, from the list of
registered establishments, producers were contacted by phone and in person and selected
those who agreed to participate in the study and those who kept the agro-industrial units in
operation and with the sale of agri-food products. With the universe of participants defined,
interviews were applied to producers, buyers and partners in the artisanal agro-industrial
units. The procedure meets the protocol proposed by Yin (2009), in which it establishes that
the case study must have a study protocol and with the planning before its application.
In the case of this paper, the research units refer to the agri-food artisanal agroindustries of
the Distrito Federal, Brazil. The choice related to the locus of the study is justified when we
consider that Brazil occupies a prominent position when assessing the role of smallholder
producers in national agribusiness and has approximately 4 million establishments of
smallholder producers (77% of the total), called in Brazil as “family farmers” or “family
agriculture,” being one of the main Brazilian employers (IBGE Census, 2017). On the other
hand, Distrito Federal has characteristics that are conducive to the close relationship
between rural producers, as suppliers and immediate consumer/customer buyers. This
condition was fostered at the origin of the occupation of the territory, when rural nuclei were
created around the federal capital with the objective of providing agricultural supply with
self-sustaining (Silveira, 1999).
Thus, we found 32 artisanal agroindustries, first we analyzed the status of registration in the
Inspection Board of Products of Animal and Plant Origin (Dipova) from Distrito Federal of
these companies. We verified that 14 of these companies had their registration canceled or
suspended, 18 had active registration, 4 had their activities paralyzed, remaining 14
artisanal agroindustries. As criteria for the selection of the artisanal agroindustries
composing this research, we consider representativeness and acessibility, considering the
availability to participate in interviews, provide documentation and allow visits in the
company to observe their processes. Thus, 3 from the 14 companies disagree to participate
of the research and was eliminated, remaining only 11 companies. Applying the concept of
theoretical saturation from Morse et al. (2002, p. 12), which states that “saturating data
ensures replication in categories; replication verifies and ensures comprehension and
completeness,” we interview, perform direct observation and analyzed data from 7 artisanal
industries of the remaining 11. When we reach the seventh company we perceive the
replication and completeness of the information provided. Table 1 shows the artisanal
agroindustries researched.
At the same time, aiming to analyze the relationships among the members of the agri-food
supply chain to observe how the collective actions generate social gains the actions in the
supply chain relationships (from the supplier/customer perspective), we selected the
clients/buyers of the artisanal agroindustries, which are chosen by means of the technique
Snowball Sampling. According to Noy (2008, p. 330), “a sampling procedure may
be defined as snowball sampling when the researcher accesses informants through the
contact information that is provided by other informants.” To this end, we interview the

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 Table 1 Artisanal agroindustries researched
No. Product from artisanal agroindustry Categorization

1 Sausages and smoked sausages Animal origin

2 Sweets and liquors Vegetable origin
3 Tofu Vegetable origin
4 Candies bar Vegetable origin
5 Dehydrated vegetables Vegetable origin
6 Artisanal bread Vegetable origin
7 Palm heart Vegetable origin

managers/owners from artisanal agroindustries, asking them about their main clients. So we
identify five clients, two retail establishments and three restaurants. Therefore, we could
triangulate the information provided by the participants of the study. Yin (2009)
recommends that triangulation creates a chain of evidence, and emphasizes that in case
studies this is an essential strategy. Despite we have seven supply chains related to
artisanal agroindustry, the Producers F and G participating in the study did not present
proposals related to social purposes, in view of the failure to establish relationships with
formal customers and non-cooperation with other producers through collective
organizations. So, for this reason, the final amount of producers was described of five.
Based on a broad research, through a literature review to evaluate collective actions and
their effects on social issues, we elaborated semi-structured interview script. The basis of
the analytical categories consider the theoretical background on collective actions
proposed by Olson (2001), Ramı́rez and Berdegué (2003), Silva and Lourenzani (2011),
Wenningkamp and Schmidt (2012) and Guarnieri (2014) and, for social sustainability the
indicators proposed by Labuschagne et al. (2005). This definition a priori is recommended
to the researcher when it demonstrates pre-defined interests.
In the case of social indicators, Labuschagne et al. (2005) suggest a comprehensive
framework of variables that compose the evaluation and can be applied to verify
sustainability. The indicators from Labuschagne et al. (2005) differentiate from other
because it considers the external stakeholders to the organization and the issues related to
macro-social performance. Thus, it is feasible to evaluate the operations of the artisanal
agroindustry as the focal company and as suppliers, in the relationships with its clients in
terms of sustainability.
So, the reliability of the study is assured from the conduction of procedures proposed by
Yin (2001) related to the elaboration of a case study protocol, triangulation of the
instruments to collect data and triangulation of the opinions of the people interviewed.
Besides that, a previous systematic review of literature allows us to identify the main social
indicators to base our data research instrument, which was also validated by experts. Once
the data collection was concluded, the research instruments foreseen at each collection
stage are described and the procedures performed to obtain the results of the content
analysis according to the protocol of Bardin (1977) are described.
We chose, in this research, the analysis of the results in categories based on the thematic
categorical analysis technique of Bardin (1977). Because of the data collected, new
categories were constructed, with a view to a better perception of the local reality through
semi-structured interviews and also adjustments in those previously defined (a priori) by the
literature review. In this sense, the excerpts obtained by the semi-structured interviews were
organized and categorization then became a priori and a posteriori to reach the results.
Table 2 presents the comparisons of a priori categorizations used to formulate the interview
script based on the theoretical framework containing the authors researched, and the

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 Table 2 Thematic a priori and a posteriori categories to analyze collective actions
Collectives
A priori categories A priori and a posteriori analytic categories Authors

Cooperation Horizontal cooperation supplier/supplier; vertical cooperation Olson (2001), Ramı́rez and Berdegué (2003), Silva
supplier/client and Lourenzani (2011), Wenningkamp and Schmidt
Coordination Vertical cooperation supplier/client (2012), Guarnieri (2014)
Collaboration Vertical collaboration supplier/client

thematic a priori and a posteriori categories for analysis of the results related to collective
actions.
Thus, the a priori and a posteriori analytical categories presented in Table 2 served as a
basis for:
䊏 a detailed analysis of the current situation of artisanal agroindustries regarding
collective actions from the perspective of supplier/supplier and supplier/client; and
䊏 a detailed analysis for the possible effects of collective actions that impact the supply
chain and the indicators of social sustainability of artisanal agroindustries.
Considering the content analysis performed, the following section presents the results of
this research.

4. Results
The results based in the categorization performed is presented in Table 3.
According to the results collected and exposed in Table 3, it is possible to verify the
collective arrangements, besides their effects in the agrifood supply chain and in the
social indicators related to the sustainability of the artisanal producers, considered as
small suppliers in the supply chain. It is important to highlight that only collective
actions as cooperation and collaboration were identified. The coordination that
presupposes interactive and coordinated arrangements in the supply chain, by a
member of greater power (focal company), influencing the others were not verified.
Olson (2001) and Vieira et al. (2009) state that such actions must first unite individuals’
efforts toward common outcomes and objectives, based on information sharing
actions. Possibly this result is given by the characteristic of artisanal production of
serving several small marketing channels, with few loyalty and integration to a great
marketing channel.
The cooperative actions were the most prominent collective actions in the agrifood
supply chain of artisanal products, both horizontally and vertically. The horizontal
cooperation among producers such as information sharing to expand marketing
channels, experiences exchanges on productive and managerial issues, collective
organizations constituted and representative of artisanal agroindustrial producers; and
collective marketing spaces, have generated relevant effects in the agrifood supply
chain of artisanal products in Distrito Federal. This is what Producer n˚ 5 states about
the cooperation between artisanal agroindustrial producers, “we in the artisanal
agroindustry are always talking to exchange experiences and inform opportunities for
marketing and promoting products.” Consequently, expanding social benefits to
families involved in agroindustrial production. In addition, companies at different
stages of the supply chain use a combination of vertical and horizontal coordination to
implement common voluntary standards in terms of food safety in agri-food supply
chains (Hammoudi et al., 2009).

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 Table 3 Synthesis of main results obtained through interviews with suppliers and clients
Social benefits for families in
Collective actions Arrangement Level Effects in supply chain agroindustries

Sharing information to expand
marketing channels
Exchange of experiences in
productive and managerial
issues
Collective organizations
constituted and representative
of artisanal agroindustrial
producers
Collective marketing spaces
Regular face-to-face meetings
between the supplier and his
clients
Product reviews by the client/
buyer
Prospecting for improvements
from final consumers
Dissemination of the artisanal
agroindustrial product and its
benefits by clients/buyers
Integrated management of
information in supply chain
Demonstration spaces for
artisanal products in the client/
buyers’ environment
(emporiums and display of
shelves)
Joint marketing actions
Rationalization and logistical
support of products
Cooperation Horizontal Extension of the range of Expansion of work and income
artisanal products stability for producing families;
traded provision of information to production
families
Cooperation Horizontal Innovations generation Developing capacity for innovations
in individuals
Cooperation Horizontal Lowest transaction cost Expansion of work and income
stability for producing families;
greater bargaining power of the
artisanal producer in the position of
supplier
Cooperation Horizontal Allocation of production Expansion of work and income
surplus stability for producing families;
greater bargaining power of the
artisanal producer in the position of
supplier
Cooperation Vertical Adjustments in shared Less stressful working hours and
information conciliation with social and leisure
activities; provision of information to
production families
Cooperation Vertical Improvement and Capacity development of innovations
development of new in individuals; greater bargaining
products toward the final power of the artisanal producer in the
consumer position of supplier
Cooperation Vertical Integration of the supply Capacity development of innovations
chain toward the final in individuals; greater bargaining
consumer power of the artisanal producer in the
position of supplier
Cooperation Vertical Expansion of customers Expansion of labor and income
stability for producing families and
diffusion of artisanal production for
responsible consumption
Collaboration Vertical Improved production Less stressful working hours and
planning and conciliation with social and leisure
purchasing activities; provision of information to
production families
Collaboration Vertical Transparency of the Expansion of labor and income
supply chain toward the stability for producing families
final consumer
Collaboration Vertical Integration of the supply Greater bargaining power of the
chain toward the final artisanal producer in the position of
consumer supplier
Collaboration Vertical Lowest transaction cost Less stressful working hours and
conciliation with social and leisure
activities

The obvious social benefits of the horizontal cooperation were the increase of the stability of
work and income for the producing families; the greater bargaining power of the artisanal
producer in the position of the supplier; the development of the capacity of innovations in
the individuals; and the provision of information to producer families. Dania et al. (2016)
suggest that only vertical partnerships are not sufficient for the development of small/short
supply chains. In this context, the horizontal arrangements are important to the inclusion of
this public.

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On the other hand, vertical cooperation have also allowed relevant social benefits to artisanal
producer families, demonstrating the relevant power of this practice in the development of the
supplier and generation of benefits to all actors in the agri-food supply chain.
The collective actions in the perspective of supplier/client were: the periodic face-to-face
meetings between the supplier and his client; evaluations of the artisanal product by the
buyer; prospecting for improvements from final consumers; and dissemination of
the artisanal agroindustrial product and its benefits to the general and final consumer by the
buyer client. According to the statement of Producer n˚ 4, the meetings with the client are
periodic and favor the relationship of trust and adjustments that may arise in the production:
“every week we talk to arrange deliveries and talk about the quality of the product, this is
good because it ends that we create trust in each other.” The evident social benefits
pointed out in interviews were: less stressful workdays with conciliation of social and leisure
activities; provision of information to artisanal production families; capacity building and
innovation; greater bargaining power of the artisanal producer in the position of supplier;
expansion of work and income stability for producing families; and dissemination of
artisanal production for responsible consumption.
Figure 2 shows the performance of each agri-food supply chain, considering the
representative propositions related to sustainable practices. Figure 2 also shows
the evaluation of artisanal production families related to the practices derived from the
relationships with its clients.
Figure 2 shows the sustainable practices adopted by each of seven producers participating
in the study.
As it is possible to perceive in Figure 2, although the study research the sustainable
practices based on seven producers, just five of them participated in supply chains, due to
two of (F and G) did not have any relationship with customers or final consumers. The
Figure 3 complements the information showing the sustainable practices in the supply chain
and in each producer.
Figure 2 demonstrates the overall performance of sustainable practices in supply chains
researched, in which the incidence of each representative proposition (left) and the
performance of the incidence of sustainable practices in each individual artisanal producer.

Figure 2 Sustainable practices in the supply chains of seven producers considered for the
study

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 Figure 3 Sustainable practices in the supply chains (left) and sustainable practices in each
artisanal production Family (right)

Collaboration in the supplier/client perspective, called vertical collaboration, have

been evident in the supply chain of artisanal products, as such collective actions have
been shown to be essential for the social sustainability of producing families. However,
collaborative arrangements were limited in the researched sample, requiring further
development of these collective actions to generate gains throughout the supply
chain.
The collaborative arrangements in the supplier/client perspective of artisanal products
identified in the sample were: integrated information management in the supply chain;
demonstration spaces for artisanal products in the customers’ environment (emporiums and
display of shelves); joint marketing actions; and rationalization and logistical support of
products. The Producer n˚ 1 pointed out the importance of demonstration spaces in the
sales’ environment:
[. . .] there is a place where my product is exposed, so when the customer tries my product, he
wants to know where it comes from, and when paying, he ends up taking more home, and that
helps sales.

On the other hand, collaborative arrangements as a more evolutionary degree of collective

action have demonstrated advances in the social sustainability of small artisanal producers,
especially when in the condition of supplier and more integrated involvement of the client.
The social benefits evidenced in the supply chain of artisanal products through the vertical
collaboration pointed out were: less stressful working hours and conciliation with social and
leisure activities; provision of information to production families; expansion of work and
income stability for producing families; and greater bargaining power of the artisanal
producer in the position of the supplier. The statement of the Producer n˚ 2 corroborates the
importance of artisanal activity, as it is possible to combine working hours with social
activities: “we work hard, but the advantage of own production is the fact that we are able to
organize our workday with other activities outside work without becoming exhaustive.” It is

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important to emphasize that collective actions, which conducts to collaborative practices
are enabled through trust in supply chain (Wilding, 2003). In this context, we interview small
producers of artisanal agroindustries in Distrito Federal, Brazil and found some sustainable
practices based in trust, which affects social indicators.
In Table 4, it is possible to observe the sustainable practices based in trust, which can
generate direct impacts on the social conditions of artisanal producers. These results
corroborates the findings from Chen et al. (2017), which states that the achievement of
economic, social and environmental sustainability targets is enabled by trust. As identified
in this research, face-to-face meetings reinforce affective trust and favor more agile and
successful transactions among members of the agrifood supply chain. Besides, it favors
more stable relationships and consequently generate greater stability of work and income
for producing families in artisanal agroindustries in Distrito Federal, Brazil. The results
corroborates the findings from Nichele and Waquil (2011), in which the marketing
relationships of family farming are based more on personal relationships and trust than on
formal instruments of purchase and sale transactions.
Compliance with agreements and ethical behavior among supply chain members promotes
a reduction in transaction costs as tight control mechanisms and contractual standards are
avoided in a more trusting environment. These practices will culminate in the establishment
of trust between the members and, as an indicator of the social sustainability of artisanal
producers, there will be an increase in the decision-making power of the artisanal producer
in negotiations with clients, precisely because of the greater proximity in relationships.
According to the Producer n˚ 3, the consolidation of the customers’ trust means that he/she
has continuous purchases: “with customers already used to buying our product because
they like it and trust it, we have production work every day if we want to, whatever we do
sells.” Finally, reputation preservation may influence other consumers to purchase artisanal
products, generating an increase in the range of buyers of these artisanal products and,
consequently, increasing the stability of work and income of families dedicated to artisanal
agroindustrial production in the Distrito Federal, Brazil. As stated by Simatupang and
Sridharan (2002) when two or more companies work together through sharing information,
making joint decisions and sharing benefits, they can generate competitive advantage for
the entire supply chain.
Table 5 synthetizes the main results related to social indicators found in interviews with
producers and clients from agri-food supply chain of artisanal products of Distrito Federal,
Brazil.
Based in results from Table 5, we can point out that the internal social aspects in the
agroindustrial activities are adequate because of stability of work and income, the efforts

Table 4 Sustainable practices based in trust

Social benefits for producer families in
Sustainable practices Effects in supply chain artisanal agroindustries Social indicator

Face-to-face meetings to
strengthen affective trust
Compliance with agreements
Ethical behavior between the
partners
Preservation of reputation by
partners
Agile transactions Extension of work and income stability Stability of work and
for producing families favorable income
Lower transaction Greater bargaining power of the Good decision
cost artisan producer in the position of influence with the client
supplier
Lower transaction Greater bargaining power of the Good decision
cost artisan producer in the position of influence with the client
supplier
Expansion of Extension of work and income stability Stability of work and
customers for producing families favorable income

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 Table 5 Synthesis of main results in line with literature
Main empiric results In line with the findings from

Artisanal agroindustrialization promotes the inclusion of women in
decision-making and productive spaces in the countryside
Artisanal agroindustrialization has provided stability of work and
income to the families involved
Artisanal agroindustrialization facilitates adequate and healthy
working hours for families, with balance for social and leisure
activities
Measures of health protection and accident prevention are
adopted with agroindustrialization of production
Artisanal agroindustrialization fosters the development of
individual capacities and generates innovations
The human, community and productive aspects of the rural
communities of the Distrito Federal, Brazil provide conditions for
the development of artisanal agroindustrialization
Productive capital is hampered by unsatisfactory access roads to
rural communities
There is poor provision of information to the artisanal producer as
a supplier
There is low bargaining power of artisanal producers when in the
condition of suppliers
The power of influence of artisanal producers, in general, is
aggravated by the low representation of artisanal products in the
buying establishments
Artisanal agroindustrial production generates macroimpacts for
safe food and socially responsible consumption
Artisanal agroindustrialization has the potential to establish
favorable relationships in agrifood supply chains
Labuschagne et al. (2005a, 2005b); Nichele and Waquil (2011),
Yakovleva et al. (2012)
Labuschagne et al. (2005a, 2005b); Blandon et al. (2009)
Labuschagne et al. (2005a, 2005b)
Labuschagne et al. (2005a, 2005b); Kennedy et al. (2004)
Labuschagne et al. (2005a, 2005b)
Labuschagne et al. (2005a, 2005b)
Labuschagne et al. (2005a, 2005b)
Labuschagne et al. (2005a, 2005b); Lambert, Emmelhainz and
Gardner (1996); Carter and Jennings (2000)
Labuschagne et al. (2005a, 2005b); Lambert, Emmelhainz and
Gardner (1996); Carter and Jennings (2000)
Labuschagne et al. (2005a, 2005b); Lambert, Emmelhainz and
Gardner (1996); Carter and Jennings (2000)
Labuschagne et al. (2005a, 2005b); Prezotto (2002).
Labuschagne et al. (2005a, 2005b); Cooper et al. (1997); Carter
and Rogers (2008); Carter and Jennings (2000); Elkington (2001),
Mentzer et al. (2001)

undertaken and the protective aspects of damages to health and, the prevention of
accidents. Thus, the results indicate a convergence with the findings by Blandon et al.
(2009), which states that the agroindustrialization of the primary production of family
agriculture is feasible to support labor and income of rural families. Regarding the allocation
of the efforts made at work and the achievement of guarantees for the preservation of health
and safety at work, the findings meet the new approaches and needs of rural work,
according to Kennedy et al. (2004) and Guarnieri and Trojan (2018), pointing out that the
diversity of activities implemented and the type of labor force used requires new
dimensions to be considered, as the social ones, considering the insertion of the small
producers in agri-food supply chains.
With regard to social issues that measure the bargaining power and the provision of
information in transactions with buying/clients establishments, the artisanal
agroindustrialization has shown low social performance, as few instruments of negotiation
with buyers were detected, mainly due to the low provision of information that favor
production planning with adequate horizon. This is corroborated by Carter and Jennings
(2000), when they state that responsible behavior of organizations of greater power with
their suppliers influence the performance of the entire supply chain, especially small
suppliers.
Finally, the artisanal agroindustrialization presents potential in agri-food supply chains, as it
carries relevant social elements and behavior that favors a greater expansion of
arrangements such as cooperation, collaboration and information sharing, which are cited
by Mentzer et al. (2001) and Vieira et al. (2009) as principles of the concept of supply chain
management.

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5. Final remarks
The artisanal agroindustrialization of artisanal products in Distrito Federal, Brazil has
allowed improvements in social issues through the establishment of cooperative and
collaborative relationships with buyers and suppliers, in a vertical cooperation. As well in in
horizontal cooperation among artisanal producers. The most prominent motivator factor for
the increasing cooperation was the legalization of artisanal production and marketing. The
legalization process generate social benefits labor-related, besides innovation capacity,
increased bargaining power, information access and better planning of agroindustrial
activity.
However, this paper points out that collective actions have developed more strongly in
cooperation, which is an initial stage of integration of the entities of a supply chain. When
the collaboration was verified, the results show that it is still at a state of infancy and a field
to be developed in the relationships between buyers and small suppliers. This Analysis is
due to non-observation of a developed chain of information, contemplating information
technology solutions and the planning of long-term acquisitions. In addition, we found that
artisanal producers have a resistance to take part in greater supply chains, they prefer
negotiate with small clients.
We can detach, among the most social benefits highlighted by artisanal producers, the
stability of work and income, protecting families from market oscillations in
commercialization transactions, which is generally a matter of small/short agri-food supply
chains. These benefits are generated through collective actions, recognized as cooperative
and collaborative ones, in the relationships between suppliers/producers and its clients. It
should be emphasized that the stability of work and income of the artisanal producing
families entails other relevant social benefits such as the reconciliation of social and leisure
activities with productive activity, another social issue considered as essential to the welfare
of families.
Other social factors amplified from the cooperative and collaborative arrangements have
generated greater bargaining power of the artisan producer in the position of supplier,
development of capacity of innovations in the individuals and generation of provision of
information to the producing families, which corroborates the findings from McAllister (1995)
and Lambert et al. (1996). These elements are considered as essential for the development
of the supplt chain as a whole, including gains for clients/buyers.
In addition, we denote that the agroindustrial production of the Distrito Federal, Brazil has
created an environment conducive to favoring collective actions such as cooperation and
collaboration. These collective actions drive competitive advantages in the agri-food supply
chain, mainly in the case of small/short ones and raises sustainable issues for artisanal
producing families.
Regarding the sustainability, it was highlighted especially those gains related with social
dimension, a relevant foundation for the continuity of the producer in the rural environment.
Regarding the environmental issues of artisanal agroindustrial production, it should be
pointed out that this dimension was not analyzed in this research, however, according to
law from Distrito Federal, Brazil for artisanal agroindustry, it is considered a low-income
enterprise impact and exemption from environmental licensing, which presupposes
favorable elements also for the environmental sustainability of this activity. On the other
hand, the economic dimension of the artisanal producing families, is related to the fair
remuneration in labor relations. The artisanal producers show a more strongly relevance in
social than economic aspects. The activities are not related to the profits, they value the
aspects related to satisfaction and social gains instead economic ones, according to the
results of this research.
The main limitations of this research are related to the categorization proposed for content
analysis, which was performed manually and did not make use of any software. Despite it was

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 based in the protocol of Bardin (1977) it is subjected to subjectivity inherently in a qualitative
method. The sample of this research was limited to seven artisanal agroindustrial units, as it is
a case study, the results cannot be generalized. In addition, the research was focused on the
benefits of collective actions for social sustainability, not considering all the dimensions of
sustainability proposed by Elkington (2001) such as environmental and economic.
As suggestions for future studies, we point out the analysis of collective actions for
environmental and economic sustainability in agri-food supply chains involving small
agroindustrial producers. The use of a quantitative approach on the adoption of social
improvements and collective actions in agri-food supply chains are also important,
considering small/short or traditional supply chains.
The theoretical implications of this study are related to the consideration of social
sustainability in studies involving collective actions in the agribusiness sector and
other sectors, mainly those dealing with smallholder producers. Furthermore, it has
practical implications for policymakers, governors and managers in supply chains,
which can incorporate the social dimension in its policies and practices. The
smallholders’ producers are responsible for the generation of income, mainly to the
families working together but also are responsible for the creation of jobs and
the collection of taxes that can be reinvested in the local communities, to strengthen
the economy. This kind of study is applicable in the reality of Brazil and other
developing countries, mainly in South America and Africa, in which the economy is
aimed at smallholder producers.

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About the authors

Renato Rocha dos Santos Master in Agribusiness, University of Brasilia, Brazil (UnB),
Infrastructure analyst at Special Secretariat for Family Agriculture and Agrarian
Development in Brazilian Government.
Patricia Guarnieri: Doctor in Production Engineering, Federal University of Pernambuco
(UFPE), Brazil. Assistant professor and researcher at University of Brasilia (UnB), Brazil.
Faculty of Economy, Business Administration and Accounting. Department of Business
Administration. Patricia Guarnieri is the corresponding author and can be contacted at:
patriciaguarnieris@gmail.com

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