Certificação Fairtrade: estudo sobre as inovações de mercado na cafeicultura brasileira

Abstract

Certification systems aim to meet various criteria involving economic, social, environmental, organoleptic quality, food safety, and/or origin aspects. Among them, Fairtrade certification aims to promote social and environmental sustainability in product supply chains. In this vein, investigating this certification system and its implementation in coffee cooperatives in Brazil can be considered a study modality that seeks to analyze the dynamics involved in the transformation from a conventional coffee market to a sustainability-oriented market. To analyze market dynamics, literature provides different concepts and perspectives, among which market innovation is considered synonymous with the process of market transformation and reconfiguration. Thus, the following research question arises: How can the actions promoted by Fairtrade certification, which took place in three coffee cooperatives located in the southern region of Minas Gerais, result in a process of market innovation? To answer this question, the general objective is to understand the process of market innovation, based on Fairtrade certification, in the context of three coffee cooperatives in the southern region of Minas Gerais. To achieve the general objective, four specific objectives were proposed: (i) historically recover elements that reflect the configurations of each cooperative before the moment of certification; (ii) highlight the heterogeneous arrangements and infrastructures that were shaped for this market after certification; (iii) present how the initiatives promoted by certification in cooperatives performed in their respective organizational and market contexts; and (iv) identify the reconfigurations carried out through the market innovation process in the context of cooperatives and their members. For this, a qualitative research was carried out, involving a multi-case study, and using in-depth interviews and document analysis. Additionally, content analysis technique was employed for data interpretation. The results indicate a transformation towards sustainability, with changes in cooperative structures driven by hybrid arrangements. Technical assistance oriented towards sustainability promoted the development of producers, generating positive economic impacts. The pursuit of coffee quality resulted in partnerships and initiatives that elevated quality and reconfigured internal dynamics of cooperatives. Agencies promoted by Fairtrade facilitated access to organic production and new markets, directing attention to consumer demands. In this case, the price premium subsidized the transition to organic production and facilitated exploration of opportunities in the international market. Moreover, certification shifted the focus from large cooperatives to a genuine commitment to the needs of producers, highlighting the importance of access to information. It also, in collaboration with cooperatives and producer networks, reconfigured market agents, promoting sustainable innovations. The results of this thesis contribute theoretically by expanding the investigative horizon of Constructivist Market Studies. On the managerial level, it contributes by providing the opportunity for results to be translated into new management practices for cooperatives that are in development or need restructuring of their processes.