An Empirical Study of the Experience of Ecuadorian Smallholder Rose Producers within the Global Value Chain
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School of Business |
Master's thesis
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Authors
Date
2018
Department
Major/Subject
Mcode
Degree programme
Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management
Language
en
Pages
72 + 12
Series
Abstract
The global value chain for high-value agricultural commodities such as flowers, despite consistent innovation and modern technology, remains opaque. Producers of these specialty crops are often many steps removed from the final buyer; and buyers rarely gain insight as to where, by whom, and how the products were produced. This thesis looks into one small piece of the floriculture supply chain – the production of Ecuadorian roses, from the perspective of small-scale growers. Over the past two decades, roses have secured an important position in the Ecuadorian export economy. Simultaneously, the international floriculture industry has undergone rapid change, with the geographic focus of production shifting from the Netherlands towards equatorial countries like Ecuador, Colombia, Kenya and Ethiopia. Consumption, however, remains centered in the ‘global north’; and these countries also determine the direction and nature of the complex value chains which process and transport roses around the world. This study begins with a review of the prolific literature on Global Value Chains (GVCs), scholarship which provides the framework to understand the organization, movement and power dynamics of global production and trade systems, including the floriculture industry. However, the GVC research does not adequately account for small-scale producers, which have a strong and growing presence in the Ecuadorian export rose sector. Reaching beyond the boundaries of GVC literature, this study uses Grounded Theory methodology to gain insight to the perspective and experience of smallholder Ecuadorian rose growers. By examining what it is like to be a smallholder rose grower in the GVC, and how they do it, this study reveals a few important themes about smallholders and the floriculture industry in general. The producers in this study rely heavily on trust and inter-firm alliances to launch and sustain their businesses, preferring informal arrangements and often retaining this preference even as their businesses mature. They also participate in a less tightly-controlled export market than existing literature predicts. From the producer-level view, this thesis reveals a richer picture of the floriculture value chain and aims to encourage further scholarship into the recognition and role of small-scale producers in GVCs.Description
Thesis advisor
Chliova, MyrtoKeywords
Global Value Chain (GVC), smallholder, floriculture, trust, informal