ABSTRACT
Mozzarella di Bufala Campana is a doubtlessly quality-oriented, sustainable agri-food product. This section makes the use of the theoretical background provided in previous chapters to show (1) why the production is managed and organized in a consortium, seen as an efficient transaction costs (TC) minimizing governance structure and (2) how economic efficiency of the organization, food quality, and environmental sustainability can self-enforce and cause no trade-off in the case of the Mozzarella di Bufala Campana. Those questions are addressed with the theoretical framework of TCE.
The main findings show that the degree of complexity/frequency, brand name, and site asset specificity that affects the level of TC is mostly linked to the “unicity” of the product and the requirement to keep the quality standards. Most importantly, however, complexity is increased by the adoption of a code of ethical conduct that aims at minimizing the impacts of opportunistic behavior. This affects the existence and dimension of TC and the complexity of organization. In this perspective, the Consortium represents the most efficient, hybrid structure for coordinating activities and regulating transactions costs (in the case at issue mostly generated by complexity). By regulating the quality, the Consortium also preserves sustainability with an emphasis on social sustainability.
