Full Text Available

Note: Clicking the button above will open the full text document at the original institutional repository in a new window.

Inclusive businesses in South African agriculture : Conceptualisation of complex structures and assessment of inclusiveness

Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2018.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Other Authors: Anseeuw, Ward, 1974-
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: University of Pretoria 2019
Subjects:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1867613662792908800
access_status_str Open Access
author2 Anseeuw, Ward, 1974-
author_browse Anseeuw, Ward, 1974-
author_facet Anseeuw, Ward, 1974-
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv © 2019 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.
description Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2018.
format Thesis
id oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/70549
institution University of Pretoria (South Africa)
language English
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:39:43.129Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
publishDate 2019
publishDateRange 2019
publishDateSort 2019
publisher University of Pretoria
publisherStr University of Pretoria
record_format dspace
source_str UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
spelling oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/70549 Inclusive businesses in South African agriculture : Conceptualisation of complex structures and assessment of inclusiveness Anseeuw, Ward, 1974- WYTSKE.CHAMBERLAIN@GMAIL.COM Chamberlain-van der Werf, Wytske Oeke UCTD Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2018. Inclusive Businesses (IBs) are considered to be an essential tool for reducing rural poverty and stimulating overall development. These businesses are described as sustainable and equitable commercial operations that link low-income communities and smallholder farmers with agribusinesses in order to facilitate the former’s market integration. Being innovative partnerships between these actors, they provide a structure to share in the value creation and allocation within the IB. Participation in an IB allows the beneficiaries to gain from aspects such as market access, skills development, jobs, and monetary income. Although often promoted based on anecdotal evidence, IBs are little analysed and understood from a conceptual perspective, nor are they scrutinised when implemented in the field. This study aims to address these facets. As such, the focus is two-fold: to provide a conceptualisation of the institutional set-ups of IBs, and to posit a methodology to assess the inclusiveness of these IBs when implemented. Combining the organisational structure with the inclusiveness obtained allows for an understanding if and how these business partnerships can contribute to the intended rural transformation in developing countries. Findings are based on extensive fieldwork and assessments of 14 IBs in primary agriculture in South Africa. This study proposes a new, flexible typology for the institutional set-ups of IBs to accommodate the complex structures observed in the field. These hybrid arrangements are presented as unique combinations of five standard instruments that act as building blocks: collective organisation, equity, lease/management contracts, mentorships, and supply contracts. These combinations allow to overcome the shortcomings of each instrument. A holistic framework, based on elements of Resource Dependence Theory, Transaction Costs Economics and Agency Theory, explains why and how actors interlink these instruments into complex organisational structures. Results show that multiple-instrument IBs do achieve improved access of low-income communities and smallholder farmers to commercial value chains. But, IBs struggle to overcome the power asymmetry between the actors, allowing the commercial partner to control the structure and management of the IB in order to reduce its uncertainty pertaining to this enterprise. IBs thus bring the risk of increased corporate control over resources owned by smallholders and poor communities. The inclusion of the beneficiaries in the value creation and allocation processes of the IB is assessed based on four dimensions: ownership, voice, risk and rewards. The study firstly shows that a distinction is required between the level of inclusiveness that is envisaged in theory, and which depends on the instruments implemented, and the level achieved in the actual implementation of the IB which – as the results show - often lags behind the intended inclusion. Secondly, it finds that whereas IBs as business projects can achieve positive results, this does not necessarily reach the individual beneficiaries. The assessed IBs are dynamic in their set-up, however, and allow for adaptations to overcome these issues. The State, which plays an important role through establishing a stimulating policy framework and financial contributions, together with third party engagement, can counter the potential corporatisation under IBs – emphasising that IBs alone cannot constitute the expected panacea for agricultural transformation and rural development. Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development PhD Unrestricted 2019-07-08T09:46:50Z 2019-07-08T09:46:50Z 2019/04/17 2018 Thesis Chamberlain-van der Werf, WO 2018, Inclusive businesses in South African agriculture : Conceptualisation of complex structures and assessment of inclusiveness, PhD Thesis, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd <http://hdl.handle.net/2263/70549> A2019 http://hdl.handle.net/2263/70549 en © 2019 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria
spellingShingle UCTD
Inclusive businesses in South African agriculture : Conceptualisation of complex structures and assessment of inclusiveness
title Inclusive businesses in South African agriculture : Conceptualisation of complex structures and assessment of inclusiveness
title_full Inclusive businesses in South African agriculture : Conceptualisation of complex structures and assessment of inclusiveness
title_fullStr Inclusive businesses in South African agriculture : Conceptualisation of complex structures and assessment of inclusiveness
title_full_unstemmed Inclusive businesses in South African agriculture : Conceptualisation of complex structures and assessment of inclusiveness
title_short Inclusive businesses in South African agriculture : Conceptualisation of complex structures and assessment of inclusiveness
title_sort inclusive businesses in south african agriculture conceptualisation of complex structures and assessment of inclusiveness
topic UCTD
url http://hdl.handle.net/2263/70549