Revealing the Governance Dynamics of the Coffee Chain in Colombia: A State-of-the-Art Review
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
The paper considers governance as central to deal with problems of power imbalances in the Colombian coffee chain. A first argument that is not clear is: how can only the authors consider the national chains/actors and the chain/actors in the global chain? How do the authors consider the differences in the formal and informal institutional environments that involve this chain? Is the problem just a price volatility problem? How do the authors consider differences between the commodity and the specialty coffee chain?
Since the authors do not make this organization, the results are all mixed up and do not offset these chain differences (even if they are interconnected), compromising governance understanding.
Moreover, regarding the method, it is not clear how the authors propose that a systematic review can contribute to the empirical problem of governance.
Furthermore, what is the authors' perspective on governance?
Page 7 and 8 repetition of the idea:
“Several studies examine, for instance, the effects of the certifications on the coffee producers' income, focusing at the same time on the asymmetries along the supply chain as well as on the role that government and institutions can play in supporting the small and medium producers and mitigating the power inequalities between small and big actors”.
Furthermore, it is unclear how the authors arrive at this conclusion. I suggest that in the first part the authors stick to bibliometric indicators, and in the second part inferences from the in-depth reading of the articles. If authors want to do keyword analysis, I recommend that they use appropriate methodology, such as keyword co-occurrence analysis, for example, with software like Iramuteq, Cortext or even Atlas.ti.
About the temporal space: since we are in the middle of 2023, I recommend that the authors keep the analysis until 2022. If they choose to keep 2023, they can measure the results.
In addition, I recommend that authors also search a national database; since there is a local scientific community in which the publications are not indexed in the two databases considered, but which are of important relevance, considering the coffee sector in Colombia.
Specialty Coffee Association of America is currently unified and is called the Specialty Coffee Association
Author Response
The paper considers governance as central to deal with problems of power imbalances in the Colombian coffee chain. A first argument that is not clear is: how can only the authors consider the national chains/actors and the chain/actors in the global chain? How do the authors consider the differences in the formal and informal institutional environments that involve this chain? Is the problem just a price volatility problem? How do the authors consider differences between the commodity and the specialty coffee chain?
Since the authors do not make this organization, the results are all mixed up and do not offset these chain differences (even if they are interconnected), compromising governance understanding. Moreover, regarding the method, it is not clear how the authors propose that a systematic review can contribute to the empirical problem of governance. Furthermore, what is the authors' perspective on governance?
Answer: thanks for the comments as they allowed to better focus the research study carried out. Thus, the authors amended the text to address the reviewer’s comments aiming to clarify the points raised. In particular, the authors believe that focusing on the national chains or actors within a global supply chain involves narrowing the research scope to study the specific dynamics, interactions, and implications of those actors operating within a particular country. By focusing specifically on the national chain actors within a global supply chain, the research can provide valuable insights into how local dynamics and interactions interact with the overall functioning of the larger global network. This focused analysis can be particularly useful for policymakers, industry stakeholders, and researchers interested in understanding the intricacies of a specific country's role within the broader global supply chain.
In addition, a systematic review on the empirical problem of food chain governance can serve as a valuable tool for aggregating, synthesizing, and analyzing existing research to offer insights into the complexities, challenges, and opportunities of governing food supply chains.
Finally, food chain governance refers to the set of rules, regulations, relationships, and practices that govern the production, processing, distribution, and consumption of food from its initial production to its final consumption. It encompasses various actors, including farmers, producers, processors, distributors, retailers, consumers, and regulatory bodies. The concept of food chain governance recognizes that the food system is complex and involves interactions between multiple stakeholders across different stages
Page 7 and 8 repetition of the idea:
“Several studies examine, for instance, the effects of the certifications on the coffee producers' income, focusing at the same time on the asymmetries along the supply chain as well as on the role that government and institutions can play in supporting the small and medium producers and mitigating the power inequalities between small and big actors”.
Answer: Thanks for pointing it out. The text was amended.
Furthermore, it is unclear how the authors arrive at this conclusion. I suggest that in the first part the authors stick to bibliometric indicators, and in the second part inferences from the in-depth reading of the articles. If authors want to do keyword analysis, I recommend that they use appropriate methodology, such as keyword co-occurrence analysis, for example, with software like Iramuteq, Cortext or even Atlas.ti.
Answer: Thanks for the comment. As suggested the manuscript was streamlined with clearer coverage of the research steps between the first part and the second part.
About the temporal space: since we are in the middle of 2023, I recommend that the authors keep the analysis until 2022. If they choose to keep 2023, they can measure the results.
Answer: The review aims at providing the latest research results on the review topic. In consideration of all the reviewers’ comments it may be appropriate to keep as many research studies as possible, ensuring adequate attention to the time dimension. If there is any specific reasoning, the authors are willing to reconsider the point.
In addition, I recommend that authors also search a national database; since there is a local scientific community in which the publications are not indexed in the two databases considered, but which are of important relevance, considering the coffee sector in Colombia
Answer: Thanks for the comment. When conducting a systematic literature review, it is important to consider using the key internationally acknowledged databases to ensure that you capture scientifically sound relevant studies. Thus it is common to use two databases that collect peer-reviewed indexed articles and that adequately cover economics studies. in addition, given the reviewer’s comment the authors added some articles in Introduction and Discussion to further widen the basis of the study and to provide a better study understanding.
Specialty Coffee Association of America is currently unified and is called the Specialty Coffee Association
Answer: The point was amended, thanks for pointing it out.
Reviewer 2 Report
This article provides a comprehensive and up to date state-of-the-art review and analysis of research studies on governance dynamics within the coffee chain in Colombia. The paper is well-written with up to date literature and argumentation, connecting diverse topics needed to a throughout understanding that also promotes transdisciplinary. Just some few recommendations/questions to make it sharper:
There was not a breakdown of the International Coffee Agreement, but the quota and price regulation of the agreement at that time (1989) was dismantled, to be precise. Please accordingly reframe along the manuscript. https://www.ico.org/ica2007.asp
It is worth showing the institucionalidad cafeteria and its system to grasp the role of associativity initiated by the Grupos de Amistad, followed then by the Cooperatives (within the Federation system), but also associations in many cases directly or indirectly enhanced by the Federation, and recently “independent” associations with less “Federation say”. This type of governance is key to understand why some associations feel detached from the Federation though belonging to the institucionalidad cafetera. In many cases, these engage on non-conventional coffee production and value chains (i.e. organic certifications, specialty market, relationship coffee models, etc.), in which the quality understanding, international exposure, knowledge surpass the role of certifications. See Edelmann et al. 2020, Quiñones-Ruiz 2021, Quiñones-Ruiz 2020, Quiñones-Ruiz et al. 2020.
Terminology. According to the European GI system, the terms are: Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) and Protected Designation of Origin (PDO). Denominación de Origen (DO) in the Andean framework.
Hidalgo et al. 2022 provide a good reference for the understanding of blockchain in the coffee sector.
Good quality of English
Author Response
This article provides a comprehensive and up to date state-of-the-art review and analysis of research studies on governance dynamics within the coffee chain in Colombia. The paper is well-written with up to date literature and argumentation, connecting diverse topics needed to a throughout understanding that also promotes transdisciplinary. Just some few recommendations/questions to make it sharper:
Answer: Thanks for the comment
There was not a breakdown of the International Coffee Agreement, but the quota and price regulation of the agreement at that time (1989) was dismantled, to be precise. Please accordingly reframe along the manuscript. https://www.ico.org/ica2007.asp
Answer: The text was amended to fill the information provided, as suggested.
It is worth showing the institucionalidad cafeteria and its system to grasp the role of associativity initiated by the Grupos de Amistad, followed then by the Cooperatives (within the Federation system), but also associations in many cases directly or indirectly enhanced by the Federation, and recently “independent” associations with less “Federation say”. This type of governance is key to understand why some associations feel detached from the Federation though belonging to the institucionalidad cafetera. In many cases, these engage on non-conventional coffee production and value chains (i.e. organic certifications, specialty market, relationship coffee models, etc.), in which the quality understanding, international exposure, knowledge surpass the role of certifications. See Edelmann et al. 2020, Quiñones-Ruiz 2021, Quiñones-Ruiz 2020, Quiñones-Ruiz et al. 2020.
Answer: thanks for the valuable comment. The Section 5.1 text was enriched with reference to the above comments.
Terminology. According to the European GI system, the terms are: Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) and Protected Designation of Origin (PDO). Denominación de Origen (DO) in the Andean framework.
Answer: Thanks for pointing out this element. The text was amended as suggested.
Hidalgo et al. 2022 provide a good reference for the understanding of blockchain in the coffee sector.
Answer: Thanks for the suggested reference. The text was integrated with elements developed within the mentioned paper.
Reviewer 3 Report
The article is a very interesting case study. The most important problems concerning the coffee supply chain in Colombia are presented. The bibliographic analysis conducted is sufficient to present the conclusions of the analysis. It is worth adding to the study some tables with comparative analysis of some issues and views of the authors. This will make it possible to draw more detailed conclusions. The role of blockchain technology is not fully specified, it is worth citing a few more authors or suggesting a few conclusions of your own. The overall concept of the article is very successful and worth publishing.
Author Response
The article is a very interesting case study. The most important problems concerning the coffee supply chain in Colombia are presented. The bibliographic analysis conducted is sufficient to present the conclusions of the analysis. It is worth adding to the study some tables with comparative analysis of some issues and views of the authors. This will make it possible to draw more detailed conclusions.
Answer: Thanks for the suggestion. The researchers developed an Annex to support the comparative analysis of the issues including each reviewed study contribution of the key issues.
The role of blockchain technology is not fully specified, it is worth citing a few more authors or suggesting a few conclusions of your own. The overall concept of the article is very successful and worth publishing.
Answer: The text was integrated with references to support discussion elements related blockchain technologies
Reviewer 4 Report
The article summarize valuable studies on the dynamics and evolution of the Colombian coffee chain, covering all stages of the chain and providing a thorough understanding of the industry's potential, strengths, limitations, and challenges in Colombia.This strikes me as somewhat innovative, but not typical.
In 4.result, the description of how to subdivide the five main areas as an important part of the paper is not clear enough. Considering whether there are influence factors of two different fields in the subcategories, it is worth studying. It is suggested to add more details to the introduction of 4.result.
The review of the five main areas mentioned in 4.result identified the common problems and interrelationships in 5. Discussion.Is the author considering visualizing them?It is recommended to make a chart to illustrate the problems more clearly.
Try to leave blank lines between the table and the body to make it less crowded (such as Table 4).It is best to ensure that the table (such as Table 2) does not cross pages through a reasonable layout.
It is recommended to accept after necessary changes.
The article summarize valuable studies on the dynamics and evolution of the Colombian coffee chain, covering all stages of the chain and providing a thorough understanding of the industry's potential, strengths, limitations, and challenges in Colombia.This strikes me as somewhat innovative, but not typical.
In 4.result, the description of how to subdivide the five main areas as an important part of the paper is not clear enough. Considering whether there are influence factors of two different fields in the subcategories, it is worth studying. It is suggested to add more details to the introduction of 4.result.
The review of the five main areas mentioned in 4.result identified the common problems and interrelationships in 5. Discussion.Is the author considering visualizing them?It is recommended to make a chart to illustrate the problems more clearly.
Try to leave blank lines between the table and the body to make it less crowded (such as Table 4).It is best to ensure that the table (such as Table 2) does not cross pages through a reasonable layout.
It is recommended to accept after necessary changes.
Author Response
The article summarize valuable studies on the dynamics and evolution of the Colombian coffee chain, covering all stages of the chain and providing a thorough understanding of the industry's potential, strengths, limitations, and challenges in Colombia.This strikes me as somewhat innovative, but not typical.
Answer: Thanks for the comment
In 4.result, the description of how to subdivide the five main areas as an important part of the paper is not clear enough. Considering whether there are influence factors of two different fields in the subcategories, it is worth studying. It is suggested to add more details to the introduction of 4.result.
The review of the five main areas mentioned in 4.result identified the common problems and interrelationships in 5. Discussion. Is the author considering visualizing them? It is recommended to make a chart to illustrate the problems more clearly.
Answer: In response to the valuable reviewer’s comment, the authors integrated the methodological explanation of the process leading to the identification of the key topics in Section 2. In addition, the authors added a chart to Section 5 in order to allow a better understanding of the interrelations of the issues.
Try to leave blank lines between the table and the body to make it less crowded (such as Table 4).It is best to ensure that the table (such as Table 2) does not cross pages through a reasonable layout.
Answer: thanks for pointing it out, the text was amended as suggested.
Round 2
Reviewer 4 Report
The author has solved the problems raised.
