Supply Chain Transparency of Certified and Conventional Businesses : A case of Coffee Industry in Colombia

Abstract: Companies including their stakeholders, investors and nongovernmental organizations have an increasing interest regarding the information about the impact of their products in terms of who, how and where the products were produced (Kashmanian, 2017). A qualitative field study including interviews and observations was conducted in order to carry out the comparison of Supply Chain Transparency (SCT) between certified and conventional businesses. In fact, it argued that these two type of businesses differ greatly from each other when it comes to the safety and quality of the product (Manning & Baines, 2004), price premiums (Lakhal et al., 2008; Jena et al., 2012), increased environmental (Ibanez & Blackman, 2016; Burivalova et al., 2016) as well as social benefits (Milder et al., 2015; Stranieri, Cavaliere & Banterle, 2017). The comparison of certified and conventional businesses was carried out as a case study in the coffee industry in Colombia, where it is common to have both these type of businesses. Empirical data of three certified businesses was compared to five conventional ones, which is supported by additional interviews. This field study belongs to Minor Field Studies and is supported by a scholarship from Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). Conceptual framework was created for this thesis and it provides new theoretical insights by presenting SCT variables used for conducting a comparison between certified and conventional businesses. The findings of the study suggest that SCT does not exist in the supply chains in the coffee industry in Colombia and by utilizing the conceptual model for analysing the empirical data, this thesis contributes to the academic literature by creating a generally applicable conceptual model of SCT variables, and shows the interrelation between traceability and visibility in supply chains.