Abstract
Fair trade aims at humanising the capitalist economy by serving the community, instead of simply striving for financial profit. The current fair trade sector is an excellent example of an innovation where networks based on ethical principles can help to effectively serve this market. Our analysis is based on 48 interviews amongst fair trade innovators in France and illustrates the advent of a new type of entrepreneur, one that is grounded in the social and solidarity economy (SSE). Based on a service-dominant logic, these innovators aim to construct a ‘new world’ centred on trade relationships by integrating the role of multiple-player networks into the creation of value in the market.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abela, A. V. and P. E. Murphy: 2008, ‘Marketing with Integrity: Ethics and the Service-Dominant Logic for Marketing’, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 36, 39-53.
Akrich, M., M. Callon and B. Latour: 2002, ‘The Key Success in Innovation, Part I: The Art of Interessement’, International Journal of Innovation Management 6(2), 187-206.
Alter, N.: 2000, L’innovation Ordinaire (Presses Universitaires de France - Puf, Sociologies).
Arnould, E. J.: 1989, ‘Toward a Broadened Theory of Preference Formation and The Diffusion of Innovations: Cases From Zinder Province, Niger Republic’, Journal of Consumer Research 16(2), 239-263.
Arnould, E. J., D. Ball and A. Plastina: 2009, ‘Does Fair Trade Deliver on Its Core Value Proposition? Effects on Income, Educational Attainment, and Health in Three Countries’, Journal of Public Policy & Marketing 28 (2), 186-201.
Bécheur, A. and N. Toulouse: 2008, Le Commerce Equitable : Entre Utopie et Marché, (Vuibert, Paris).
Becker, H.: 1985, Outsiders. Etudes de Sociologie de la Déviance, Métailié, Paris (première édition 1963).
Béji-Bécheur, A., V. Diaz Pedregal and N. Özçağlar-Toulouse: 2008, ‘Fair Trade - Just How ‘Fair’ are the Exchanges ?’, Journal of Macromarketing 28(1), 44-52.
Borgotti, S. P. and J. L. Molina: 2003, ‘Ethical and Strategic Issues in Organzational Social Network Analysis’, Journal of Applied Behavioral Science 39(3), 337-349.
Bornstein, D.: 2005, Comment Changer Le Monde : Les Entrepreneurs Sociaux et le Pouvoir Des Idées Nouvelles, (La Découverte, Paris).
Callon, M. and J. Law: 1989, ‘On the Construction of Sociotechnical Networks: Content and Context Revisited’, Knowledge and Society 8, 57-83.
Davies, I. A.: 2009, ‘Alliances and Networks: Creating Success in the UK Fair Trade Market’, Journal of Business Ethics 86, 109-126.
Davies, I. A. and A. Crane: 2003, ‘Ethical Decision Making in Fair Trade Companies’, Journal of Business Ethics 45, 79-92.
Demoustier, D. and D. Rousselière: 2005, ‘Social Economy as Social Science and Practice: Historical Perspectives on France’, in J. Clary, W. Dolfsma and D. Figart (eds.), Ethics and the Market: Insights from Social Economics (Routledge, New York and London), Advances in Social Economics, pp. 112–125.
FINE: 2001, ‘Fair Trade Definition and Principles as Agreed by FINE’, www.eFairTradeaFairTrade.org/pdf/Fair-TDAP.pdf.
Freeman, C.: 1991, ‘Innovation, Change of Techno-Economic Paradigm and Biological Analogies in Economics’, Revue Économique 2, 211-231.
Freeman, R. E., J. S. Harrison, and A. C. Wicks: 2007, Managing for Stakeholders: Survival, Reputation, and Success, (New Haven: Yale University Press).
Gendron, C., V. Bisaillon and A.I. Otero Rance: 2009, ‘The Institutionalization of Fair Trade: More than Just a Degraded Form of Social Action’, Journal of Business Ethics 86, 63-79.
Giovannucci, D. and F. J. Koekoek: 2003, The State of Sustainable Coffee: A Study of Twelve Major Markets (International Coffee Organization, London; International Institute of Sustainable Development, Winnipeg; United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, Geneva).
Glaser, B. G. and A. Strauss: 1967, The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research, (New York, Aldine de Gruyter).
Granovetter, M.: 1985, ‘Economic Action and Social Structure: The Problem of Embeddeness’, American Journal of Sociology 91, 481-510.
Granovetter, M.: 2005, ‘The Impact of Social Structure on Economic Outcomes’, Journal of Economic Perspectives 19(1), 33-50.
Gray, B. and D.J. Wood (1991) Collaborative Alliances: Moving from Practice to Theory. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science 27(1):3-22.
Gundlach, G. T. and P. E. Murphy: 1993, ‘Ethical and Legal Foundations of Relational Marketing Exchanges’, Journal of Marketing 57(4), 35-46.
Habermas, J.: 1990, Moral Consciousness and Communicative Action, (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press).
Hira, A. and J. Ferrie: 2006, ‘Fair Trade: Three Key Challenges for Reaching The Mainstream’, Journal of Business Ethics 63, 107-118.
Jones, C., W.S. Hesterly and S.P. Borgatti: 1997, ‘A General Theory of Network Governance: Exchange Conditions and Social Mechanisms’, Academy of Management Review 22(4), 911-945.
Krier, J.-M.: 2005, ‘Fair Trade in Europe 2005: Facts and Figures on Fair Trade in 25 European Countries’, Fair Trade Advocacy Office, 86, http://www.fairtradeadvocacy.org/ftineurope2005.html.
Laczniak, G. R.: 2006, ‘Some Societal and Ethical Dimensions of the Service-Dominant Logic Perspective of Marketing’, in R. F. Lusch and S.L. Vargo (eds.), The Service-Dominant Logic of Marketing (Armonk, New York).
Laville, J. L.: 2005, Sociologie des Services. Entre Marché et Solidarité (Ramonville Saint-Agne).
Layton, R.: 2008, ‘Search for a Dominant Logic: A Macromarketing Perspective’, Journal of Macromarketing 28(3), 215-227.
Lévesque, B.: 2005, ‘Innovations et Transformations Sociales dans le Développement économique et le Développement Social: Approches Théoriques et Politiques Publiques’, Cahiers du CRISES – Collection études théoriques – no ET0507.
Lusch, R.F. and S.L. Vargo.: 2006a, ‘Service-ominant Logic: Reactions, Reflections and Refinements’, Marketing Theory 6(3), 281-288.
Lusch, R. F. and S.L. Vargo, eds.: 2006b, Toward a Service Dominant Logic of Marketing: Dialog, Debate and Directions, (M. E. Sharpe, Armonk, NY).
Monzon, J.L. and R. Chaves: 2008, ‘The european social economy: concept and dimensions of the third sector’, Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics 79(3/4), 549-577.
Moore, G.: 2004, ‘The Fair Trade Movement: Parameters, Issues and Future Research’, Journal of Business Ethics 53, 73-86.
Novethic: 2008, ‘La Grande Distribution s’empare du Commerce Equitable’, http://www.novethic.fr/novethic/entreprise/pratiques_commerciales/produits/la_grande_distribution_s_empare_commerce_equitable/118610.jsp.
Özçağlar-Toulouse, N., E. Shiu and D. Shaw: 2006, ‘In Search of Fair Trade: Ethical Consumer Decision-Making in France’, International Journal of Consumer Studies 30(5), 502–514.
Peñaloza, L. and A.Venkatesh: 2006, ‘Further Evolving The New Dominant Logic of Marketing: From Services to The Social Construction of Markets’, Marketing Theory 6(3), 299-316.
PFCE: 2008, ‘Etude des Flux Économiques du Commerce Equitable en France 2007’, http://www.commercequitable.org/fileadmin/Images/publications/Etude_Commerce_equitable_2008.pdf.
Phillips, R.: 2003, Stakeholder Theory and Organizational Ethics, (San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.).
Phillips, R.: 2009, ‘Ethics and Network Organizations’, Presidential Address, Society for Business and Ethics, August, Chicago, IL.
Phillips, R. and C.B. Caldwell: 2005, ‘Value Chain Responsibility: A Farewell to Arm’s Length’, Business and Society Review 110 (4), 345-370.
Reed, D. and J. J. McMurtry: 2009, ‘Introduction’, Journal of Business Ethics 86, 1-2.
Rogers, E.: 1983, The Diffusion of Innovations, (Free Press, New York).
Schumpeter, J. A.: 1911/transl. 1934, The Theory of Economic Development: An Inquiry into Profits, Capital, Credit, Interest and the Business Cycle (Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA).
Uzzi, B.: 1997, ‘Social Structure and Competition in Interfirm Networks: The Paradox of Embeddedness’, Administrative Science Quarterly 42(1), 35-67.
Vargo, S.L. and R. F. Lusch: 2004, ‘Evolving to a New Dominant Logic for Marketing’, Journal of Marketing 68(1), 1-17.
Von Hippel, E. (1988) The Sources of Innovation. Oxford University Press, Cambridge, UK.
Wempe, J.: 2005 ‘Ethical Entrepreneurship and Fair Trade’, Journal of Business Ethics 60, 211-220.
Witkowski, T.H. (2005) Fair Trade Marketing: An Alternative System for Globalization and Development. Journal of Marketing Theory & Practice 13 (2), 22-33.
Wood, D. and B. Gray: 1991, ‘Toward a Comprehensive Theory of Collaboration’, Journal of Applied Behavioral Science 27(2), 139-162.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Özçağlar-Toulouse, N., Béji-Bécheur, A. & Murphy, P.E. Fair Trade in France: From Individual Innovators to Contemporary Networks. J Bus Ethics 90 (Suppl 4), 589–606 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-010-0594-y
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-010-0594-y