Competitive and cooperative incentives in dyadic relationships: a case study in the organic grape chain

Abstract Incentive systems aim to motivate and direct the behavior of participants in inter-organizational relationships. Cooperative incentives are based on sharing of benefits and gains generated in relationship, while the competitive ones refer to rewarding suppliers based on their performance relative to other suppliers. Based on the Relational View lens, the study aimed to analyze how competitive and cooperative incentives from the purchasing company influence the economic results of its suppliers. A qualitative research was carried out through a case study, whose unit of analysis was the dyadic relationship in an organic products supply chain. The results showed that the purchasing company uses competitive incentives when it seeks to encourage suppliers to adopt behaviors in order to avoid punishment, especially in relation to productive activities. Cooperative incentives also promote information exchange, knowledge transfer and trust-based relationships. As a theoretical contribution, in the organic production context, it was identified that beyond the influence of competitive and cooperative incentives over the relations between buyer and suppliers there are external factors such as international certification standards and regulations, which exerts a strong influence on the studied relation.