products and production that is characterised by dependence on natural conditions, seasonality and a lag between
production and harvest, all of which make output unpredictable. A food chain evolves within particular social,
institutional and natural settings, and individual firms within the chain are exposed to risks facing other firms
(Hallikas et al., 2004). These risks may be behavioural (e.g. opportunism) or environmental (e.g. disease, natural
disasters, economic shocks and changes in policy or technology) (Trkman & McCormack, 2009). According to
Williamson (1996), higher levels of chain coordination help to manage behavioural risk, but coordination becomes
more difficult as the level of environmental risk increases.