Successful factors of the relationship between farmers and the corn seed industry

Abstract:

This study analyzes the interaction and quality management practices that characterize the relationship between farmers responsible for corn seed production (suppliers) and the seed industry (buyers). The influence of the following relational factors was analyzed: trust, communication, adaptability, dependency relationship, level of satisfaction in developing a successful partnership, represented by commitment and long-term orientation, and consequently the influence of the partnership to adopt quality management practices from the farmers' perspective. A qualitative and quantitative descriptive and applied research was performed. Data were collected from 69 seed suppliers through the application of questionnaires. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed to analyze the proposed theoretical model. The hypotheses were tested by trail analysis. The results indicate that a successful partnership is highly influenced by satisfaction and information exchange (communication), and that the partnership contributes to adopt quality management practices.

Keywords:
quality management; buyer-supplier relationship; corn seeds