An Investigation of the Environmental Turbulence Factors and their Sources in the Collaboration - Post-harvest Food Loss Relationship

Recent studies suggested that collaboration among upstream agricultural supply chain (ASC) partners will impact and possibly reduce postharvest food loss (PHFL) levels; a possible direct relationship between collaboration and PHFL was indicated. There have been many changes in the ASC’s environment related to globalization, changing consumer attitudes and concerns, changing markets, increased competition, new technologies, commodity price fluctuations, food safety and quality standards and regulations, Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform in EU. The aforementioned changes cause turbulence in ASC’s environment and possibly impact both collaboration level among upstream partners and PHFL levels. The Greek ASC environment is characterized as being highly turbulent due to the changes in EU’s ASC environment. Contingency theory (CT) is utilized to conceptualize the different environmental turbulence factors in the Greek ASC. This research aims to identify the relevant environmental turbulence factors in the Greek ASC that might moderate the collaboration-PHFL relationship in the Greek ASC.