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Purpose: In contexts of transition economies generally characterized by weak formal institutions, a rich literature remarks the important role of informal institutions in fostering entrepreneurial ecosystems. Nevertheless, in the agricultural context, little is known yet about how and why institutions shape farmer entrepreneurship. To better understand how informal institutions shape farmer entrepreneurship, this paper investigates how farmers' trust towards their buyers influence their entrepreneurial orientation (EO) in the rural context of a transition economy. Design/methodology/approach: A structured survey was conducted in June–July 2017 with Albanian dairy farmers. In total, 238 milk producers were interviewed. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) is employed to develop measures for the latent variables of the study (e.g. farmers' trust, EO), and an instrumental variable (IV) approach is employed to estimate the effect of farmers' trust towards the buyer on their EO, by using farmers' reciprocity as a suitable IV. Findings: Empirical findings reveal that innovativeness, risk-taking and proactivity represent effective dimensions of farmers' EO also in the rural context of a transition economy. Furthermore, farmers' trust towards their buyers shapes their EO, and, at the same time, younger and wealthier farmers are more likely to have higher levels of EO. Research limitations/implications: The results show that there is an association between farmers' wealth and their EO. This relationship can go both ways. However, cross-sectional studies are not appropriate to investigate feedback loops. Originality/value: This study addresses a knowledge gap in the institution–entrepreneurship literature in transition economies, by making two contributions. First, it tests the measurement model for farmers' EO, an established psychological antecedent of farmers' entrepreneurial activity. Second, it tests the hypothesis that farmers' trust towards their buyers may influence their EO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study explores the role of the key dimensions of farmers' entrepreneurial orientation – namely proactiveness, risk-taking, innovativeness and intentions – as drivers of product, process and market innovation in the context of one coffee MSP in Uganda. Design/methodology/approach: Empirical data from 152 coffee farmers were analyzed via confirmatory factor analysis and partial least square multi-variate statistics. Findings: Findings highlight, first, that farmers' proactiveness significantly drives their product innovation and, to a lesser extent, process innovation. This effect holds when considering key control variables, such as access to key resources and associated actors. Second, more surprisingly, farmers' innovativeness hampers market innovation. Third, entrepreneurial intentions per se did not play a significant role in farmers' innovation. Fourth, the adapted measurement of risk-taking from the Western literature did not suit well the Ugandan coffee farming context. Research limitations/implications: These results lead to methodological implications for the measurement of farmers' risk-taking, innovative and proactive attitudes, as well as market innovation in rural Africa. Furthermore, they expand the role farmers' entrepreneurial orientation on product, process and market innovation in a rural African context. Originality/value: Multi-stakeholder platforms (MSPs) are often claimed to play an important role in stimulating farmers' innovation and enhancing rural development. Nevertheless, little is known yet on if why some farmers participating in MSPs may innovate more than others. This paper addresses this gap by shedding light on the role of farmers' entrepreneurial orientation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Despite the increasing interest on multi-stakeholder platforms (MSPs) as novel organizational forms addressing grand challenges surrounding agri-food systems, the literature on how MSPs influence farmers' innovation remains scattered across sub-disciplines and geographies and, overall, of limited help for informing managerial and policy action and reflection. Design/methodology/approach: To address this gap, this systematic literature review (SRL) provides an overview on what MSPs are and how they influence farmers' innovation in emerging economies. Findings: The selected sample included n = 44 publications in 2004–2018, focussing for 70% on Africa, with minor shares in Latin America and Asia, and with a strong theoretical and methodological segmentation across five sub-disciplines (agribusiness management, agricultural economics, agricultural innovation systems, agricultural research for development and public policy and governance). Overall, this SRL leads to three findings. First, a key distinctive organizational feature of MSPs relative to other novel organizational forms in emerging economies entails the presence of a virtual and/or physical interface spanning across multiple heterogeneous stakeholders. Second, in relation to their impact pathways towards farmers' innovation, MSPs tend to achieve different intermediary outcomes and levels of innovation depending on their organizational goals and activities. Research limitations/implications: These findings also reveal four key limitations of the extant MSP literature – namely, disciplinary silos thinking, linear thinking, limited focus on the role of informal institutions and little emphasis on power dynamics – which could inform managers and policy makers on how MSPs could influence farmers; innovation. Originality/value: This study offers a SLR with the goal of providing practitioners and academics with first, a holistic view of the available research on the impact of MSPs on farmers innovation, and second, propose an impact pathway framework to understand how and under which circumstances MSPs support farmers' innovation given their functioning, structure and the governance mechanisms of MSPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This editorial article introduces and analyzes a variety of new organizational forms that rapidly emerged in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe in the latest two decades. Among the others, these include: business model partnerships, business platforms, incubators and hubs, public–private partnerships, agribusiness companies' foundations and spin-offs, short supply chains, community-supported agriculture and other community self-organizing experiences. Building upon the recent literature and the five selected papers in this special issue, the authors discuss what is novel in these organizations and why, when and how they emerge and evolve over time. Design/methodology/approach: The authors identify three elements that, when considered together, explain and predict the emergence and evolution of these new organizational forms: institutions, strategies and learning processes. Findings: The authors demonstrate that societal actors seeking to (re)design these new organizational forms need to consider these three elements to combine the pursuit of their interests of their own constituencies with the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Originality/value: Taking stock from the literature, the authors invite future research on new organizational forms to take explicitly the pursuit of the SDGs into consideration; to build upon a process ontology; and to deeply reflect on our positionality of scientists studying and sometimes engaging in these organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]