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Governance mechanisms along the agri-food supply chains are increasingly important in a scenario of ecological transition. Under the conceptual and analytical lens of the Neo Institutional Economics, we explored farmers’ preferences towards a variety of clauses usually adopted in production contracts. To this purpose, a discrete choice experiment among 190 durum wheat producers in Italy was conducted. Results from a latent class model showed that that producers were mainly interested in fixed prices formula and to join shared rules of production but revealed little or no interest for compelling sustainable cultivation techniques and the provision of technical assistance. However, these preferences are heterogenous across farmers and vary depending on their level of education and previous use of contractual arrangements, with relevant implications for contract design and management.

As many research studies confirm, the importance of collective reputation is increasing, especially in the agro-food chain. Currently, the reputation of firms and brands is the main key driver for companies׳ competitiveness and success in modern markets. This paper empirically investigates the determinants of reputation of PDO wines in Central Italy. In particular, it uses the qualitative assessment expressed by the National Association of Sommeliers and proposes a synthetic indicator of reputation. By using different statistical sources, we also evaluate the impact of some variables on the reputation levels of individual PDO areas. We looked at the structural characteristics of the designation (number of producers, age of the designation, etc.), the minimum quality standards, and the characteristics of the economic vitality of the territories. The study aims to contribute to the debate on the role of the quality proposed by firms and reputation built over time.