Research on "Farmer-Supermarket Linkage"-based Supply Chain Partnership based on Governance Mechanism

Abstract

Farmer-supermarket linkage"-based alliance produces significant differences in actual operations, which has close relation to the micro-level governance mechanism in the partnership between supermarkets and farmers. This paper constructs the relationship model governing transaction characteristics, governance mechanism and alliance performance. Based on the survey data of 322 supermarkets in Jiangxi Province, structural equation model is used to conduct theoretical and empirical research on the governance mechanism in "farmer-supermarket linkage"-based supply chain partnership. The study found that: some variables in transaction characteristics exert a significant impact on the choice of governance mechanism. Both contract governance and relationship governance create a significant positive impact on alliance performance. The mediator effect model shows that some transaction characteristics (including supermarket asset specificity and transaction frequency) in the "farmer-supermarket linkage"-based supply chain can significantly affect alliance performance via the mediator effect of governance mechanism, and relationship governance produces greater mediator effect than contract governance. Control variables such as industry experience, participation in intermediary organizations, and government role play an important role in facilitating improvement of formal contracts and cultivation of relationship elements.