Food safety management through the lens of hybrids: the case of fresh fruit and vegetable shippers

Abstract : Managing the pesticide safety risk to provide end markets with safe fruit and vegetables raises complex issues due to the diversity and high level of public and private safety requirements and the high cost of control over the product and the production process. This most often leads to the development of diversified and more integrated relationships between growers and their buyers. Our paper is a case study of the hybrid forms underlying such relationships. It first develops the analytical framework by drawing on Transaction Cost, Organization and Property Right Theories with a special focus on the model by Menard (2013) positing the hybrid forms along the two dimensions of decision rights and strategic resources. It then presents some quantitative and qualitative findings obtained from data collected through face-to-face interviews of managers of fresh produce shipping firms in France and Chile.