Cocreating social innovations between an agro-food company and rice farmers in Taiwan: exploring the process mechanisms
ISSN: 0007-070X
Article publication date: 5 May 2020
Issue publication date: 15 October 2020
Abstract
Purpose
While literature discussed value cocreation, most still has its focus from customer perspective, this study fills up this gap by focusing on supplier perspective. Second, prior works discussed the outcomes of cocreation; however, the process mechanisms are still under-explored, this study thus aims to explore these process mechanisms that drive value co-creation in the agro-food industry.
Design/methodology/approach
Case study is used as the method; specifically, six in-depth interviews on an agro-food company and its suppliers (i.e. farmers) are conducted, and data are analyzed using the grounded theory approach.
Findings
(1). Agro-food company and its rice suppliers invest different resource types and resource density, and the agro-food company is a main actor, i.e. resource investor and integrator; (2). While motivations of the agro-food company and farmers are different, they are mutually fit in the sustainability value; (3). Both parties share similar process mechanisms, i.e. co-production, senses of identification and trust, mutual interaction and information sharing and (4). Both parties thus have similar consequences, i.e. sustainability, codevelopment.
Originality/value
This study (1) proposes an innovative model of what and how values are cocreated, particularly in the agro-food industry; (2). uses three theories, i.e. input–process–output (I–P–O) model (McGrath and Kelly, 1986), service-dominant logic (SD-L) (Vargo and Lusch, 2004), cocreation design framework (Frow et al., 2015), to understand this phenomenon and thus demonstrates and enriches these three theories, particularly applied in the agro-food contexts; (3).offfers practical suggestions to agro-food firms and social enterprises, particularly those having food safety and environment issues.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The author wishes to acknowledge financial supports from the Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan (MOST 106-2410-H-224-034; MOST 106-2410-H-309-015; MOST 106-2410-H-451-003) for this research. He also wishes to thank the Editor of British Food Journal and the anonymous reviewers for their valuable insights in improving the quality of this manuscript, as well as the case company and interviewees for their support.
Citation
Huang, C.-C. (2020), "Cocreating social innovations between an agro-food company and rice farmers in Taiwan: exploring the process mechanisms", British Food Journal, Vol. 122 No. 12, pp. 3837-3851. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-10-2019-0759
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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