Collective Actions in Networks: The Case of Beef in Brazil

摘要

The competitiveness of the Brazilian beef production is strongly dependent on the design of coordination tools among the different agents. Coordination within two dimensions, vertical and horizontal, is necessary in order to differentiate the product and introduce specific quality aspects, such as traceability and food safety standards. This paper endeavours to report the case of production agents from the State of Mato Grosso do Sul in Brazil and their efforts to build a new network with PENSA's -Agribusiness Programme of the University of Sao Paulo. In the first part, basic data is provided on the Brazilian beef production. The second part presents the objectives and methodology. The third part discusses theoretical aspects related to networks and collective actions. In part four, the key obstacles for the implementation of the network are presented, followed by the results in part five and the conclusions.