that power is a of the perceptions of power bases on the part of the one ‘…function subjected to the power or and suggests it maybe more correct to regard the influence’ perception of power itself as the source of power. Similarly the power held by processors may derive from perceptions of constraints on their own agency or farmers’ dependence upon an individual processor or group of processors (Emerson, 1962). We will now develop this idea in more detail. The Impact of Power on Agency and Trust As previously discussed, the dominant view is that in the academic literature around supply chain management is that (coercive) power and trust are inversely related - as coercive power is exercised, trust in the supply chain decreases (Doukidis et al., 2007). Our respondents highlighted mistrust across three different relations: between farmers and processors, between farmers and government (DAERA) and between farmers themselves. Many farmers expressed mistrust towards processors and similar results were observed at a national level with a study by Fischer et al. (2007). Their study found high levels of mistrust for processors among UK beef farmers, which increased as coercive control was exerted by processors. This adversarial relation took on an almost apocalyptic tone in some cases as one farmer made clear: do not trust them factories them call them things “Farmers [processors]…I've heard I couldn't what people think of has to be a bit more repeat. It’s unreal them…there honesty…and if it doesn’t come I don’t know…what’s going to happen…[I] just can't (P19) handle them. They can do things that nobody else could do.”
that power is a ‘…function of the perceptions of power bases on the part of the one subjected to the power or influence’ and suggests it maybe more correct to regard the perception of power itself as the source of power. Similarly the power held by processors may derive from farmers’ perceptions of constraints on their own agency or dependence upon an individual processor or group of processors (Emerson, 1962). We will now develop this idea in more detail. The Impact of Power on Agency and Trust As previously discussed, the dominant view is that in the academic literature around supply chain management is that (coercive) power and trust are inversely related - as coercive power is exercised, trust in the supply chain decreases (Doukidis et al., 2007). Our respondents highlighted mistrust across three different relations: between farmers and processors, between farmers and government (DAERA) and between farmers themselves. Many farmers expressed mistrust towards processors and similar results were observed at a national level with a study by Fischer et al. (2007). Their study found high levels of mistrust for processors among UK beef farmers, which increased as coercive control was exerted by processors. This adversarial relation took on an almost apocalyptic tone in some cases as one farmer made clear: “Farmers do not trust them factories [processors]…I've heard them call them things I couldn't repeat. It’s unreal what people think of them…there has to be a bit more honesty…and if it doesn’t come I don’t know…what’s going to happen…[I] just can't handle them. They can do things that nobody else could do.” (P19)
Pragmatic_engagement_in_a_low_trust_supply_chain_Beef_farmers_Al_edits.docx