Who wants to wark hard and remain poor? Envisioning a sustainable business future,
Working hard and remaining poor is the reality of most smallholder farmers around the world, and unequal power dynamics among supply chain actors are the rules of the game. Results show, perhaps counter-intuitively, that the situation for those in power is also unsustainable, often fraught with instabilities and supply chain risks. This paper presents the results of a qualitative study and examines how companies could ease their grip on the reins of privilege, with the underlying objective of ensuring farmers’ financial well-being. This study combines the institutional logic perspective with sensemaking to demonstrate how companies make sense of institutional logics perceived as conflicting. As a result, a conceptual model shows the way towards a sustainable business future.