Influence of structural and relational social capital on the vegetable supply chain performance among smallholder vegetable farmers in Northern Tanzania

In the context of increasingly fragmented and informal agricultural markets, social capital has emerged as a vital resource for enhancing the coordination, efficiency and resilience of the vegetable supply chain. However, little is known about how organizations leverage the relational based resources to drive value creation. Drawing from relational exchange theory, the study aims to establish the influence of structural and relational social capital on the vegetable supply chain performance, utilizing the perceptions of 215 smallholder vegetable farmers in Northern Tanzania. The social capital variables such as trust, social networks and social organizations, were measured to establish their effect on farmers exchange satisfaction, a proxy for supply chain performance. This effect was moderated by the perceived farmers’ certainty on the market environment. Structure equation modelling was adopted for analysis. Findings show a positive and significant (p < 0.01) relationship between the farmers’ social organizations and trust on group members and traders on their exchange satisfaction. Consequently, there is a positive and significant relationship between farmers perceived exchange certainty of the market environment and their satisfaction (p < 0.01). These results imply that farmers need to utilize the social relationships not only within their organizations but extending to create stronger social ties with their trading partners for improved financial and non-financial performance of the vegetable supply chain.