Local Embeddedness and Collaborative Arrangements: Influence of Global Competition on Taiwanese Rice Industry

本論文研究台灣加入世貿組織後，稻農面對與日俱增的全球競爭環境下，如何選擇與碾米廠的最適合作往來模式，並且從理論與實證上討論影響此一策略性選擇的決定因素以及其績效意涵。除了傳統文獻討論所提的交易成本理論的經濟因素，本論文從田野質化研究中發現，以在地鑲嵌等以地理區域為源起而形成的在地社會關係，在稻米產業裡對選擇合作模式具有影響力。我們首先說明在地鑲嵌的來源與內含，接著提出一個以綜合經濟環境因素與在地鑲嵌因素的研究模型，來解釋稻農為何與如何選擇合作模式。我們提出研究假說並以420個來自全台灣主要稻米生產地區的稻農樣本來驗證。實證結果發現，在地鑲嵌因素與交易成本因素對合作模式的選擇上均具有相當的重要性，而根據本論文所提出的理論模型所做的合作模式選擇會帶來更佳的合作績效。本論文從理論上與實務上說明了在全球化壓力下，在地鑲嵌的影響力依然與日俱增。This dissertation studies how the rice farmers choose the collaborative modes with the rice processors in Taiwan to cope with the increasing global competition in the post-WTO regime, and examines the determinants and performance implications associated with such a strategic choice. In addition to the transaction cost determinants documented in literature, local embeddedness has been identified in this dissertation as another series of environmental factors influencing the choice of collaborative modes in the rice industry. We first investigate the sources and contents of local embeddedness and then propose a research framework combining both the economic environmental factors and local embeddedness factors to explain why and how the choice of mode is made. Refutable hypotheses are further developed and tested on 420 samples of rice farmers from major rice-producing regions in Taiwan. Empirical findings generally validate the importance of local embeddedness as major determinants which can be incorporated with transaction cost variables into a more comprehensive model to explain the rationale of mode choice, and the mode choice based upon such a comprehensive model will lead to a better performance than otherwise