The role of access to information in trading relationship and plans for future activities

Abstract

The goal of this study is to investigate the role of market information on the quality of the relationship between farmers and their buyers, and also plans for future activities in a farm. Although there is research which sheds light on the role of communication and shared information between the trading partners, yet there is a need to provide sound evidence that brings more clarity to the role of market information in different aspects of trading relationships. Primary data are collected and analysed with the aim to test the above linkages. 403 complete questionnaires have been collected in different agribusiness areas in Albania. To test the mentioned relationships, partial least squares method of structured equation modelling (PSL-SEM) was used. Reliability, discriminant and path analyses were done. The results show that market information positively affects the relationship quality (satisfaction, commitment and trust), while plans for future activities are influenced by farmer’s commitment, trust, and age, and also incomes from agricultural activities. This work contributes to the existing literature, in particular in the agribusiness field, by offering extra evidence from a developing country context.