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African Journal of Agricultural Marketing ISSN 2375-1061 Vol. 8 (8), pp. 001-010, August, 2020. Available online at 
www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals 

 

Author(s) retain the copyright of this article. 
 

 

Full Length Research Paper 

 

Convention economics and coordination mechanisms 

in collective actions: The Uruguay certified beef case 
 

Guilherme Cunha Malafaia1*, Julio Otavio Jardim Barcellos2, Eugênio Ávila Pedrozo2 and 
Maria Emilia Camargo1

  
1
University of Caxias do Sul - UCS, Francisco Getúlio Vargas Street, 1130 - CEP 95070-560 - 

Caxias do Sul - RS - Brazil. 
2
Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul - UFRGS, Washington Luis Street, 855 - CEP: 90010-460 –  

Porto Alegre - RS - Brazil. 
 

Accepted 12 March, 2020 
 

Consumers’ interest for food quality and safety increases every day. The sanitary crises that have 
occurred in the beef cattle market have led to the need to guarantee traceability and the development of 
specialty brands (origin denominations, natural and organic meats, racial stamps, among others), in 
which trust in the process is the basic tool for competence. Therefore, this study aims to identify the 
forms of coordination configured by the agents of a beef cattle production chain in Uruguay that seeks 
to develop an assured quality plan to differentiate the meat produced with the objective of generating 
competitive advantages in the beef cattle market. Operationalization of the research was carried out 
through a case study with the application of in-depth interviews with the members of the chain. The 
results point out that the activities developed within a production chain can be characterized by several 
forms of coordination in their different stages and even in a same segment, at the same time quality 
conventions would allow us to explain the combination of these forms of coordination in an integrated 
form of governance. 

 
Key words: Convention economics, coordination mechanisms, collective actions, beef cattle. 

 
 
INTRODUCTION 

 
The sanitary crises that have occurred in the beef cattle 
market have caused consumers to react in different ways. 
The most immediate reaction was to reduce the 
consumption of beef. The other reaction, which took 
longer to occur but had more lasting effects, was to 
demand higher safety and quality of the meats, as well as 
more information. These demands have lead to the need 
to guarantee traceability and the development of specialty 
brands (origin denominations, natural and organic meats, 
race seals, among others), wherein the trust in the 
process is the basic tool for competence.  

In this direction, the increment of the demand for food  
 
 
 
*Corresponding author. E-mail: gcmalafa@ucs.br. Tel: 55-

5432182100. 

 
 
 
 

 
safety and rigid regulatory control has forced the 
production chains to develop safe solutions for the global 
food system. Therefore, food safety administration 
systems are essential due to the fact that they are 
designated to control the potential risks of food safety 
associated with the product and also to guarantee the 
demands of safety legislations, retail standards and/or 
assured safety procedures.  

Another dimension regarding quality guarantee is more 
focused on the competitivity of the product than properly 
the health of the food source or the consumer. However, 
the health aspect is also considered, being treated within 
another dimension, the generation of competitive 
advantages. With the increase of the internationalization 
of production and consumption of food, concerns with 
food safety have provided the appearance of competitive 
advantages through trustworthy food safety systems 

file:///C:\Users\user\Documents\REPUBLICATION\AGRICULTURAL%20SCIENCES\AppData\Local\Temp\www.internationalscholarsjournals.org


 
 
 

 

(Spriggs and Isaac, 2001). The efficient food safety 
systems depend of the forms of coordination created for 
the agents.  

Therefore, this study aims to Identify the forms of 
coordination configured by the agents of the Uruguay 
beef cattle production chain, which seeks to develop an 
assured quality plan to differentiate their meat aiming to 
generate competitive advantages in the beef cattle 
market. More specifically, what is sought is the 
intensification of the discussions concerning social quality 
conventions established by the group of agents of a same 
production chain seeking to improve their competitive 
situation.  

The option for the theoretical approach used in this 
study is based on the premises that studies developed 
concerning the competitive environment of the beef cattle 
production (Euclides, 2004; Zilbersztajn et al., 2003; 
Rocha et al., 2001; Neves et al., 2000) have 
predominantly used Transaction Cost Economics as 
theoretical model. This approach however does not offer 
sufficient elements to understand the problematic of 
coordination due to the fact that it has not eliminated or 
changed the hypothesis of methodological individualism. 
Among the widely heterodox research tendencies, 
Convention Economics seems to be the one that best 
understands the problems of organizational economics 
due to its sociological approach (Thévenot, 2001).  

The article is divided in four parts. At first, we discuss 
Convention Economics. Later, the method used in the 
research is presented. Then, using an empirical research, 
we analyze how the agents have configured a social 
construction of the quality of bovine meat. At last, we 
concluded about the initiative’s main challenges. 
 

 

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 

 

Convention economics 

 

What notion of coordination is necessary to study the 
dynamics of organizations? Common sense brings the 
idea of a collective and stable order. Several types of 
restrictions exist for the maintenance of order: rules, 
hierarchical prescriptions, rational and bureaucratic 
methods, social structures, common cultures, etc. 
However, for Convention Economics the logic of 
coordination is more open to uncertainties, critical 
tensions and creative arrangements than with ideas of a 
reproductive and stable order. In this perspective, it 
becomes necessary to understand the several forms of 
coordination, pointing out their dynamics (Thevénot, 
2001).  

According to Thevénot, the universe of human actions 
is fundamentally complex and it is possible to make 

reference to several conceptions of a same product at all 
times. Coordination is based on categorical characteri-

zations of human beings in terms of identity, interest 

  
  

 
 

 

groups, habits, etc. In this sense, the results of the 
confrontation of these different social groups are 
complexity and conflict, which result in a variety of forms 
of coordination. Thus, the plurality of forms of 
coordination occurs through a set of references of a 
collective cognitive process that constitutes coordination 
mechanisms (Thevénot, 1989).  

Evaluation principles, called “order of values”, 
constitute different forms of coordination. This occurs 
because of qualification processes of people and things 
(Marescotti, 2000). Boltanski and Thevénot (1991) 
acknowledge the existence of a plurality of forms of 
evaluation that agents use to justify their positions. This 
plurality demonstrates that efficient coordination devices 
are composite and offer possibilities of commitment 
between different “orders of value” (Thevénot, 2001). 
Identifying different “orders of value” means to justify a 
particular course of actions or evaluate decisions. For 
Eymard-Duvernay (1995), justification is defined in 
situations when in order to mobilize others, an agent has 
to create justifiable arguments that refer to common 
principles. These common principles can be of several 
different orders, understood as conventions. Therefore, 
the specificity of products/services derives from the 
realization of the variety of coordination conventions 
between actors. Under this perspective, the nature of 
products (quality) is defined not only by the market and 
technologies, but also through conventions.  

Conventions economics, as previously explained, 
identify the existence of six types of justifications that 
serve to coordinate actions (Boltanski and Thevénot, 
1991): inspired, domestic, industrial, civic, market and 
opinion. Each of these forms of coordination, also called 
“order of the worlds”, refer to different principles of 
evaluation in order to determine actions (Table 1).  

For the conventionalist authors, market coordination is 
based exclusively on market and price relations. The 
agents are capable of evaluating the quality of the 
products exchanged in the moment of market 
transactions. They do not need added support to justify 
their actions besides price. The predominant order is 
coherence, the convention is mercantile and the objects 
to be qualified by the agents are products and services.  

Concerning industrial coordination, coordination and 
exchanges are based on the respect of certain pre-
established standards, in which quality exists if the 
characteristics of the products or services obey a set of 
defined rules and standards. In other words, agents judge 
quality by the definition and implementation of technical 
norms. In this case, there is predominance of the order of 
efficiency, based on control and certification by 
recognized entities. The convention is industrial. 
Domestic coordination is based on a personal and close 
relationship between agents, related to personal trust 
previously established in other transactions. The 
connections established are stable and longstanding. In 
other words, the agents know each other and negotiate 



 
 
 

 
Table 1. Order of the worlds and their guiding principles.  
 

 Order of Forms of Information Qualified objects Elementary Human Time Space 
 the worlds evaluation format  relation qualification   

 Market Price Monetary Products/services Exchange Interested Present, Global 
       short term  

 Industrial Productivity Measurable Investments, Functional link Professional, Long term, Cartesian space 
   (statistics) techniques,  expert planned  

    methods   future  

 Domestic Reputation Oral, exemplar Property, specific Trust Trustworthy Habitual Polar: anchored 
    assets    on proximity 

 Opinion Fame Semiotic Media, brands Recognition Famous Tendency Visibility and 
        communication 

 Civic Collective Formal Regulations, Solidarity Representative Stable Homogeneous 
  interest  rights     

 Inspired Innovation, Emotional Emotions (artistic, Passion Creative Rupture Presence 
  creativity  religious)     
 
Source: adapted from Eymard-Duvernay et al. (2005, p. 9). 
 
 

the qualities of the products among themselves. The 
convention is domestic, the order is trust and the objects 
to be qualified are specific assets. Opinion coordination, 
on the contrary of domestic coordination but similar to 
market coordination, is not based on a direct experience, 
on the repetition of transactions or on memory. The 
quality of a product is judged exclusively by the opinion of 
others and by the reputation of the operators. Agents take 
under consideration the reputation of more well known 
companies and products. The convention is of opinion 
and the order is the brand’s fame. The objects to be 
qualified are brands and medias. Concerning civic 
coordination, the coordination and justification of the 
actions are based on the agents’ adherence to a nucleus 
of collective principles, where agents renounce their own 
individuality and do not consider their own personal 
interests, aiming for the common good. In other words, 
agents deliberate about quality using civic interests as 
reference, such as the environment or the protection of a 
sector or region. In this form of coordination, the 
convention is civic, the order is collective and the objects 
to be qualified are rights. Inspired coordination occurs 
when the agents adhere to the emergence of innovative 
ideas to coordinate their actions and judge quality. The 
convention is inspiration and the order is innovation. The 
qualified objects in this form of coordination are emotions.  

According to Wilkinson (1997), each of these worlds is 
organized around different types of qualification and is 
subject to equally different forms of justification. There is 
no hierarchy between the worlds, the interests are not 
permanent and are not connected to interest groups. The 
individuals move within and outside each world, where 
actions are qualified, justified and put to testing. 

 

 

The existence of “bridge” qualifications, based on 
principles internally recognized in each world, opens way 
to a mutual justification of different worlds. The focus on 
justifiable forms of economic action gives priority to 
negotiations of deals between economic agents.  

However, convention theory can also be used for the 
resolution of conflicts. As it can be noticed, each of these 
forms of coordination refers to different principles to 
determine the nature of the products (quality). The 
specificity of the product therefore derives from the 
realization of the conventions of coordination between 
actors. According to Thevénot (2001), the plurality of 
forms of coordination demonstrates that the efficient 
coordination mechanisms are composite and offer 
possibilities of commitment between different orders. 
Therefore, the possibility of an organization having 
coordination standards that correspond to the six worlds 
previously cited becomes visible. However, efficiency 
obtained through this complementarity is constantly 
threatened by tensions between the different worlds. 
 

 

Convention economics and the agro-alimentary 

sector 
 
Conventions economic (EC) has found a fertile field of 
operation coordination within the agro-alimentary sector. 
The crisis of the perfect competition model as an efficient 
coordination mechanism between agents has caused the 
application of convention theory in the agro-alimentary 
sector to gain strength for firm analysis and the analysis 
of coordination mechanisms between actors (Marescotti, 
2000). For Allaire (1995), conventions theory has 



 
 
 

 

adapted rapidly to the social demands of the agro-
alimentary sector (production diversity, plurality of quality, 
heterogeneity of forms of work and valorization of the 
territory as an alternative model).  

Convention studies in the agro-alimentary sector have 
been gaining space in the literature mainly due to the 
influence of the studies of the French National Institute of 
Agricultural Research (INRA). According to Wilkinson 
(1997) , the works of INRA, especially those developed 
by Allaire and Boyer (1995) and Nicolas and Valceschini 
(1995), have contributed for the investigation of the 
importance of convention theory for the agro-alimentary 
sector.  

According to Wilkinson’s (1997) approach, INRA’s work 
calls attention to aspects such as the importance of the 
notion of quality (in which markets can only function 
based on a previous definition of the quality of products 
negotiated, thus needing a qualification process of 
resources and organizations involved in their production); 
centrality and diversity of forms of coordination (in which 
it is possible to explain different forms of coordination 
inside the same competitive environment); and the focus 
in new standards of institutionalization (in which norms 
and deals, based on criteria of quality, can provide the 
local mapping of more global standards of an emerging 
institutionalization of the sector).  

Therefore, the agro-alimentary research developed by 
INRA has particular relevance because it reinforces some 
crucial aspects of convention theory such as: the forms of 
coordination that involve specific qualification and 
justification processes (products with Appellation of 
Controlled Origin - ACO); the plurality of the forms of 
coordination (in the case of products with brands as well 
as products with ACO); and the need to correlate 
efficiency and variability (critic to the universalization of 
an economic form of coordination, in the case, the market 
(Wilkinson, 1997).  

Despite the fact that Convention Economics focuses on 
the plurality of forms of coordination corresponding to six 
worlds of justified collective action, the theory reveals to 
be more relevant in the domestic worlds, as demon-
strated by INRA’s researches. The subjacent point 
suggests a narrow relation between the domestic world 
and quality economics (Wilkinson, 1999). This has 
become a strong point of reflection, predominated in the 
researches that involve conventions theory.  

Under this perspective, several studies in the agro-
alimentary sector have used convention economics as 
theoretical approach. Among several authors, one can 
mention Kirwan (2006), Noury et al. (2005), Freidberg 
(2003), Barham (2003), Raynolds (2003), Renard (2003), 
Marouseau (2002), Coutinho (1995), Sylvander and 
Biencourt (2000), Marescotti (2000), Lassaut and 
Sylvander (1997). These studies seek to establish a 
focus on the diversity of organizations, the plurality of  
forms of coordination and the diversity of quality references. 

The discussion concerning cooperation and the process of 

negotiation of specific product attributes, mainly in local 

  
  

 
 

 

agro-alimentary systems, is the guideline for these 

studies. 
 

 
MATERIALS AND METHODS 
 
The present research is characterized as qualitative, given that it 
enables a better comprehension of the phenomenon analyzed 
(Malhotra, 2001), mainly due to the innovating aspect of the 
thematic approached, in which the matter of quality conventions is 
still relatively little explored in academy, specifically in what refers to 
the realization of empiric works.  

The research can also be characterized as exploratory. 
According to Tripodi et al. (1997), exploratory studies aim to 
“provide a reference guide that can facilitate the process of 
deduction of pertinent questions in the investigation of a 
phenomenon”. Through this exploration, it is possible for the 
researcher to formulate concepts and hypothesis to be further 
explored in posterior studies.  

Among the types of qualitative research, one can emphasize the 
case study, which is characterized as a type of research with an 
object that is a unit to be deeply analyzed. The present research 
uses case study, a justifiable procedure given the research’s 
exploratory character. According to Yin (1994), the option for case 
study as a research strategy can be justified when the study 
focuses on the ambit of decisions, or in other words, the study 
attempts to clarify the reason why decisions were made, how they 
were implemented and which results were found.  

The case studied was the Uruguay Certified Natural Beef 
Program - PCNCU, a national program of meat production with high 
aggregated value, legitimated by a brand - Country, and that is 
located within the area (33 00 S, 56 00 W) that comprises the 
Pampa (Figure 1).  

Data collection was carried out through in-depth interviews with 
the members of PCNCU, aiming to identify the forms of 
coordination practiced by agents to produce meat with attributes of 
quality. We sought to assure that these interviewees could also 
report clearly and objectively all activities since the creation of the 
productive arrangement.  

From the elements of analysis established, a script of topics was 
elaborated, without obeying a formal structure (Lakatos and 
Marconi, 2001). Although it serves as a guide for the interview, this 
collection method enables the necessary liberty to develop each 
situation in the adequate direction, obtaining the necessary 
information for the solution of the problem initially proposed. 04 
interviews were carried out with agents of the Program, as follows: 
01 producer, 01 commercial director of a slaughterhouse industry, 
01 representative of the certifier and 01 representative of the 
Uruguayan national meat institute (I. N. A. C). The interviews were 

carried out in Montevideo, Uruguay in July 20
th

, 2007 during the 
international seminar technological, Social and environmental 
€challenges of the bovine meat chain for countries of the amplified 
mercosul. The average time of each interview was of 60 min. 

Concerning the choice of the number of interviewees of this 
research, Minayo (2001) affirms that the criterion of sample 
representative in a qualitative research is not numeric, as is the 
case for quantitative research. This number must not be very big 
but should be sufficiently small so as to allow the researcher to be 
capable of understanding the study object well. Good sampling, 
therefore, what comprises the totality of the problem investigated in 
its multiple definitions. Thus, the interviewees selected in this 
research can be considered representative due to the fact that they 
present the same general characteristics of the population from 
which they were extracted, besides having been indicated by 
specialists as strategic for obtaining the necessary information for 
the comprehension of the totality of the cases studied, given that 
they have participated in the elaboration of the projects from the 



  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
Figure 1. Demarcated area where the Program’s beef cattle production is located. Source: INIA (2007). 

 
 

 
beginning.  

After the interviews were transcribed, the results were described 

and analyzed in their content, considering the elements previously 

defined for investigation. 

 

Uruguay certified natural beef program case study 
 
Brief contextualization of the certified natural beef program 
 
Growing demands of international beef cattle markets concerning 
food safety, animal well -being and environmental sustainability has 
forced Uruguay to try to face the challenge of satisfying this 
demand through competitive advantages provided by its territorial 
strategic resources. For such reason the national meat institute 
(INAC) created the PCNCU in 2001. One of the interviewees 
reports that “the Program was created to increase consumers’ 
confidence on Uruguayan products, differentiating them and 
aggregating value”. The Certified Natural Beef Program is a 
program of quality guarantee of bovine and ovine meats, in which 
international certification organisms audit the conformation of a 
protocol that covers both the productive and industrial phases. The 
main areas covered by the protocol and that are considered in the 

 
 
 

 
certification process are: food safety, traceability, animal well-being 
and environmental sustainability. “Due to the natural character of 
Uruguayan bovine and ovine meats, a “country brand” was 
developed to identify the product”. The Program is integrated 
voluntarily by producers and slaughterhouses that wish to add value 
to the products they sell. The Program currently has 244 members, 
certified within an area of 550.000 ha and with 480.000 beef cattle 
herd.  

Independent certifiers are responsible for auditing and certifying 
the Program’s producers and slaughterhouses. This certification 
process includes field production to packing and classification of 
beef cuts. A “country brand” denominated Uruguay Natural Meat, 
intellectual property of INAC, is used and subject to approval of the 
certification organisms (Figure 2). INAC grants the use of the “brand  
- country” without costs if the demands specified in the protocol are 
correctly satisfied. In August, 2004, PCNCU was officially 
recognized by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) 
for satisfying the demands of the Process Verified program. 

PCNCU reached the USDA requirements concerning product 
quality, animal management and origin verification. Therefore, 
PCNCU has become the first international program certified by the 
USDA process verified program (Figure 3). 

This certification allows Uruguay to sell bovine meat to the United 



   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
Figure 2. Logo “country brand”. Source: INAC (2007).  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
Figure 3. PCNCU and USDA Process Verified Program logos. Source: INAC (2007). 

 
 

 
States with the USDA process verified seal and to make a detailed 
description of the product’s characteristics, as for example: free of 
hormones and antibiotics, free of animal protein, traceability, etc. 
“This has been a really important stage in the differentiation of our 
meat in comparison to other countries that sell meat to the United 
States”. Although the volume exported to the USA with this 
certification is still low – around 600 tons per year - the recognition 
is considered an important marketing tool for Uruguayan meat.  

Soon Uruguay will be able to count with the homologation of the 
certified natural beef program through the EurepGAP norms 
imposed by Europe’s largest supermarket networks, given that it 
began to work on obtaining the European Union (EU) facultative 
certification, which will allow the exportation of cuts directly to the 
public with the information required by the consumer. The 
EurepGAP standard is primarily designed to maintain consumer 
confidence in food quality and food safety. Other important goals 
are to minimize detrimental environmental impacts of farming 
operations, optimize the use of inputs and to ensure a responsible 
approach to worker health and safety. One interviewee said that 
“the European market is different than the American market 
because the American consumer truly believes in its authorities and 
the European consumer believes in private certifiers”. EU has a 
system that requires a long process of certification to enable the 
possibility of putting all the information required by consumers on 

 
 
 

 
the product’s label. “If one wishes to put on the label that the meat 

is of a certain race, it can’t be done without satisfying this process 

to demonstrate what is being put on the label”. 

 

Collective action organization: the INAC case 
 
The Uruguayan national meat institute (INAC) is an organization 
created to assist the Executive Power. It is directed by a council 
composed of representatives of private sector of the industry and 
rural producers. INAC’s mission is to promote activities and 
formulate strategies that add value to the beef chain, increasing the 
efficiency and competitivity of production systems, industrialization, 
commercialization, storage and transportations. For such reason, it 
identifies high priority matters of research and development in the 
fields of technical services for the agro-industrial chain and the 
external and domestic markets. It is also in charge of promoting 
Uruguayan beef in the world and controlling the commercial quality 
of the products being exported. It maintains a permanent presence 
in international fairs and commercial exhibitions as a way to 
potentialize the products’ sales. It has a commission that 
permanently studies potential markets and also promotes the use of 
the “natural beef - Uruguay” brand. INAC organizes and diffuses 
information concerning demands and commercial opportunities for 



 
 
 

 
companies of the production chain.  

INAC coordinates the Certified Natural Beef Program (PCNCU) 
at a national level. The Program rigorously follows a protocol of 
production and industrialization validated by independent 
certification organisms in order to maintain a high-quality product 
with sanitary guarantees and traceability from the origin, assuring a 
greater trust on products. PCNCU, under the coordination of INAC, 
certifies the whole beef production process, from the field to 
packing and labeling. The Program currently has 244 members, 
certifies within an area of 550.000 HA and with 480.000 cattle beef 
herd. Regarding rural producers, 92.8% of them are formed in 
networks (Carne Hereford del Uruguay; Consorcio de Productores 
de Carne del Litoral; Pulsa Al Este; FUCREA - Carne Crea; 
Vaquería del Este; Litoral Natural; Forrajes Naturales; Grupo 
Frigorífico Tacuarembó; Procarne) and the other part is composed 
of individual certified producers.  

Regarding the predominant type of operation, approximately half 
the producers are dedicated to fattening and little less than the 
other half perform the complete cycle, while a small number are 
dedicated only to breeding. Investors are distributed mainly in the 
departments of Colonia and Soriano and those that develop the 
complete cycles are distributed in the departments of Tacuarembo 
and Florida. The certifying entities that work on the Program and 
are subcontracted by Certicarnes are the following: LSQA (Latu + 
Qualityaustria), SGS e Control Union Perú, SAC. There are eight 
certified industries: Frigorífico Canelones S.A.; Frigorífico La 
Caballada - Cledinor S.A.; Matadero Solís - Ersinal S.A.; 
Establecimientos Colonia S.A.; Frigorífico Tacuarembó; Frigorífico 
San Jacinto - Nirea S.A.; Frigorífico Matadero Pando - Ontilcor 
S.A.; PULSA S.A. In 2005, PCNCU negotiated the exportation of 
613 tons. During 2006, it exported 610.55 tons of certified natural 
beef. In 2007, 136 tons have already been exported and the main 
destiny has been the US market  

INAC does not interfere in the negotiations between agents. One 
representative of INAC affirms that “we leave them free; the market 
structure is what coordinates the program. The slaughterhouses 
and producers are free to plan their actions”. Concerning the 
inclusion of new members, another interviewee affirms that 
“entering the program is voluntary. The only thing necessary is to 
comply with the protocol and there are no royalties for the natural 
beef seal. However, if the demands of the protocol are not met, the 
seal is removed”. Concerning the distribution of exportation quotas 
for slaughterhouses, as for example the Hilton quota, INAC defines 
the division based on a criterion of the value exported by the 
slaughterhouse, being agreed among everyone. The process is 
transparent. 

 

PCNCU quality conventions 
 
Convention economics identifies the existence of six types of 
justification that serve to coordinate actions (Boltanski; Thevénot, 
1991) : inspiration, domestic, industrial, civic, market and opinion. 
Each of these forms of coordination, also called “order of worlds” 
refers to different evaluation principles to determine actions.  

Based on in-depth interviews with members of PCNCU, several 
forms of coordination practiced by agents were identified. The forms 
of coordination found were: civic, industrial, opinion, domestic, 
inspiration and market. Reports on how the conventions are 
materialized within the case study will be presented next. 

 

Civic coordination 
 
The growing demands of international cattle beef markets 
concerning attributes such as food safety, animal well- being and 

environmental sustainability have forced Uruguay to face the 
challenge of satisfying these demands through competitive 

 
 
 
 

 
advantages provided by their Strategic Territorial Resources. This 
type of justification refers to the civic convention, in which the 
identity of a product is given in face of its impact on society or the 
environment. A collective agreement for well-being can be seen in 
this case (Boltanski and Thevénot, 1991). This was crucial to 
determine PCNCU’s production system. As one of the interviewees 
affirms, “the relation between food safety and the mad cow issue in 
the international market was essential for us to determine how we 
would develop our production system. Interdisciplinary studies with 
several organs, led by INAC, were carried out in order to determine 
the feeding and breeding system”. Another interviewee comple-
ments: “we opted to sell trust, creating the conditions for us to 
obtain a differentiated product that added value to the beef chain, 
consequently offering the safety guarantees that international 
consumers are demanding. At first the norms of the program were 
created and later a pilot plan to test them was implemented”.  

Therefore, the following animal production system was 
implemented: a) In relation to animal management, the animals 
should be bred without a roof during their permanence in the 
system, be it in breeding, growing or fattening stages; the animals 
should be managed according to correct standards, taking their 
well-being under consideration; obligatory free pastures during the 
whole time. One of the interviewees says: “bovine and ovine lots 
are in tune with the aspects that assure animal well-being in a 
friendly relation with the environment, guarding both flora and fauna 
biodiversity, aspects that characterize a sustainable production 
system”. b) Environmental and sanitary management will prevent 
the occurrence of environmental contamination and dissemination 
of infectious infirmities; chemical products used should have a 
registration number; there must be an isolation area for sick 
animals; producers shall present the medicine purchase receipts; 
there must be a plan and registration of sanitary management. c) 
Regarding alimentary management, the animals should be fed with 
natural pasture without the use of food with animal origin or growth 
hormones. Animals should receive a diet of at least 60% of dry 
material originated from pastures. 

Management during pasture gives animals the access to a wide 
range of species of pasture that assure a natural and adequate 
nutrition. One of the interviewees reports that “our meat is 
originated from animals fed exclusively with vegetable proteins, with 
absence of products or sub-products of animal origin. This is a 
determining factor for the inexistence of BSE (Bovine Spongiform 
Encephalopathy) in Uruguay. The beef production process is 
carried out without the use of hormones, steroids and growth 
promoters. These nutrition systems based on natural pastures 
determine a product with highly recommendable content of fat and 
cholesterol for a nutritious and healthy diet”. d) Facilities, animal 
management and transportation should follow the recommenda-
tions for animal well-being and beef quality that aim to determine 
the causes of stress and to avoid injuries. Facilities, wire fences and 
pens should be adequate to offer safety and commodity for animal 
management.  

The civic convention based on aspects related to food safety was 
one of the forms of coordination used in some cases found in the 
literature concerning quality conventions of bovine neat. As an 
example, one could cite “Prodotti com Amore - Chianina beef”, 
“Consorzio 5Z” e “Arezzo Qualitá“(Marescotti, 2000). In both cases, 
concerns regarding safe methods of animal nutrition, seeking to 
minimize the possibilities of contamination are highly emphasized 
as differentials of these programs. 

 

Industrial coordination 
 
In this type of coordination, activities are based on the respect to 

certain pre-determined standards in which quality exists if the 
product’s or service’s characteristics obey a set of defined 

standards and rules. In other words, the agents judge quality by 



 
 
 

 
defined and implemented technical rules. In this case there is 
predominance of the order of efficiency, based on control and 
certification by entities with recognized aptitude (Boltanski and 
Thevénot, 1991).  

Mechanisms used by PCNCU to certify the trust sold to the 
market are basically traceability, HACCP, USDA certification 
processes and also, soon, EurepGAP. “The difficulty of the 
commercialization channels in guaranteeing beef quality in what 
regards safety and production ethics is a concerning variable for the 
market. For this reason, it was necessary to implement a 
certification plan for the whole production chain. The PCNCU 
certifies the whole process, from rural properties to packing and 
labeling of the beef cuts”, one of the interviewees reports. 
Traceability is done in group, being that after 2009 it will be carried 
out individually. Animal identification occurs individually with the use 
of earrings. The animals must be born, bred and slaughtered in 
Uruguay. The system must demonstrate the permanence of the 
animals for at least 90 days inside certified establishments. The 
service for animal identification and registration (SIRA) is the 
organism responsible for the operational plan of the traceability 
system. Traceability occurs from the cattle ranch to animal 
slaughtering and packing in the slaughterhouse. The animals 
slaughtered within the program must be separated from the rest of 
the slaughters, and their cuts must be controlled throughout the 
whole process. The use of hazard analysis and critical control 
points (HACCP), good production practices (GMP) and the sanitary 
standards for operational procedures program (SSOP) occurs 
mainly in the slaughterhouse industry.  

The “USDA Process Verified” certification uses the International 
Organization for Standardization standards - ISO 9000 to verify if 
the quality management systems are compatible with the audit 
practices. The USDA Process Verified attests the seller’s ability to 
guarantee the quality of products and/or services offered. According 
to one of the interviewees, “from the approval of the PCNCU by the 
USDA verified process it was necessary to comply with specific 
requisites to use the Uruguay certified natural beef – USDA 
Process verified logo”. USDA solely authorizes CERTICARNES to 
certify products within the program. As one of the interviewee 
explains, “CERTICARNES subcontracts the certifying entities 
qualified by PCNCU to carry out verification tasks, being that the 
decision to certify is responsibility of CERTICARNES”. Other 
interviewee complements that “the presence of internationally 
recognized certifying companies grants the destination country the 
guarantee of trust that the final consumer is demanding, due to the 
verification by certifiers concerning the firm accomplishment of the 
Certification Protocol”. As mentioned before, PCNCU is litigating the 
EurepGAP certification for 2007, which contemplates good 
agricultural practices (GAP) and considers environmental, social 
and sanitary aspects, besides traceability. It can be noticed that 
PCNCU has strong characteristics of industrial coordination. This 
convention was also identified in several cases found in the 
bibliography, as for example, the Uruguay organic beef program, 
the Argentina natural beef program, the certified angus beef 
program, Hereford beef, among others. In these cases, a lot of 
attention is given to aspects of process certification, thus, attesting 
the quality of the products for consumers. 

 

Opinion coordination 
 
When the quality of a product is judged exclusively by the opinion of 
others and the reputation of operators, we have a domestic 
convention. Agents take under consideration the reputation of 
companies and more well-known products. The objects to be 
qualified are the brand and communications (Boltanski and 
Thevénot, 1991). PCNCU involves the existence of a country brand, 
with its content associated to the certainty it generated in the final 
consumer of the reliability of a product obtained according to a 

  
  

 
 

 
rigorously certified process. As of the interviewees affirms, 
“Uruguay possesses a high global reputation in the production of 
quality bovine meat. Our products are synonymous of quality. The 
idea to create the country brand was to use this comparative 
advantage that Uruguay has in the market, which is the ability to 
offer the world a nutritious, healthy and safe product, with all the 
hygienic -sanitary guarantees available. Besides, international 
markets are more and more demanding in regard to food safety, 
animal well-being and environmental sustainability. In this context, 
Uruguay offers trust”. The country brand is present in each of the 
labels of the several beef cuts, along with the company seal of 
certification with international recognition regarding the certification 
process. 

In summary, as a result of the changes that have occurred in the 
most important bovine meat world markets, Uruguay has developed 
a brand, properly certified and traced from the origin, thus heeding 
the demands of these exigent markets. As it can be seen, the 
country brand is a type of opinion coordination, for it sustains the 
reputation and recognition the country has in the world bovine meat 
market. This type of coordination was found in other cases, as for 
example, New Zealand beef and lamb and Argentina Natural Beef 
(Fox et al., 2005). 

 

Inspired coordination 
 
PCNCU, within the logic of selling trust, has developed an important 
technological innovation that aims to contribute with the 
transparency of the relations between agents of the beef chain 
(from the point of view of the producer, the industry and the fiscal 
point of view) with traceability and company management. This 
innovation is called Cajas negras (black boxes). The C. negras are 
electronic tools that serve to contribute to assist in the control of 
bovine slaughters. Its main characteristics are: neutrality, 
transparency, homogeneity, accountability, novelty. As one of the 
interviewees affirms, “this innovation received this name due to the 
characteristics of inviolability of the information it possesses the C. 
negras capture information of animal weight in each stage of the 
slaughter process”. The system works the following way: in each 
slaughterhouse there is a computer network that gathers data of 
weight in digital scales placed in each of the seven (7) stages of the 
slaughter process. The weight is then registered in a safe server 
and re- sent to INAC for supervision, storage and publication. Each 
plant is connected to INAC through a secret password, from where 
the slaughter data is sent and stored in a central site. INAC then 
publishes the information for the producers to consult. For the 
correct functioning of the system, the system itself (hardware and 
software) is necessary, a regulatory mark and the obligation of use. 
One of the interviewees affirms that “the system works while there 
is a regulatory mark that forces its use in every qualified 
slaughterhouse in the country and it guides its functioning through 
the establishment of protocols and norms to be followed”.  

Regarding the benefits of this technological innovation, one of the 
interviewees commented that “the time of availability of information 
was immediately improved, as well as the density of information 
and the direct access of producers and cosignatories. At medium 
term it will enable the basic infrastructure for traceability and will 
generate a databank for multiple potential utilities”. As it can be 
noticed, the C. negras are important innovations inside the bovine 
meat chain, for they allow better information management, thus 
guaranteeing transparency in transactions between PCNCU agents. 
This innovation can bring benefits for the Local Agrifood Systems, 
providing organizational learning, increasing knowledge, generating 
other technological innovations and aggregating non-codeable 
values. Therefore, the presence of an inspired coordination can be 
inferred in the PCNCU. According to previously discussed matters, 
inspired coordination occurs when the agents adhere to the 
emergence of innovative ideas to coordinate their 



 
 
 

 
actions and judge quality. The convention is inspirational and the 

order is innovation (Eymard-Duvernay et al., 2005). 

 

Market coordination 
 
Conventions theory suggests that price is the main management 
form of a chain if there is no uncertainty concerning the quality of 
what is being transacted. If this is the situation, price differences will 
be equated with quality. Conventions economy calls this 
characteristic market coordination (Boltanski and Thevénot, 1991).  

The relations established between the agents of the case studied 
are characterized by market relations, without contractual relations 
or exclusivity in transactions. “Certified producers are free to 
negotiate the best price with any of the slaughterhouses certified by 
PCNCU. The slaughterhouses can commercialize beef with the 
certification seal or without the seal, but only certified slaughter-
houses can use the seal. Economic sanctions are applied for who 
does not obey the demands of the protocol”, one interviewee says. 
Another interviewee complements that “each member company of 
PCNCU is free to plan its business; the market structure 
coordinates the program, slaughterhouses and producers are free”. 

However, it is worth reminding that in the current situation, 
market relations are guaranteed by certification, or in other words, if 
the rules of the game are not obeyed, the certifier auditory will 
detect it and therefore, there will be economic sanctions. In a 
transaction in which the consumer knows the quality of what is 
being purchased, as can be considered the current case, market 
transactions become an appropriate form of coordination. 
Marescotti (2000) affirms that market coordination normally prevails 
when the buyer is local, habitual and well-informed. In other words, 
when he/she has great knowledge of the product and the conditions 
in which it is produced. The PCNCU Protocol specifications provide 
an easy way of obtaining information from the industry. The industry  
- market relation is also predominated by a market coordination, in 
which uncertainty concerning quality does not exist, given that the 
production possesses USDA certification and the USA are the main 
consumer market. 

 

Domestic coordination 
 
Domestic coordination is based on deals that exalt the importance 
of location, tradition and personal bonds in the construction of 
quality (Boltanski and Thevénot, 1991). In this sense, it is possible 
to consider the presence of a domestic coordination in the PCNCU. 
Such affirmative is sustained by the attributes used for its 
configuration, which are: botanic characterization of the fields, 
preservation of the natural environment and tradition in the 
production of bovine and ovine meat, which represent one of the 
country’s most important economic activities for centuries. Trust, 
which is thoroughly emphasized in the PCNCU, also has a 
domestic aspect, due to the fact that it seeks to establish the 
creation of personal bonds with the external consumer, providing 
him/her an association with the history of the country. This becomes 
evident when one of the interviewees affirms that “due to the natural 
characteristic of Uruguayan bovine and ovine meat, a “country 
brand” was developed for the identification of the product”. Under 
this perspective, Eymard-Duvernay (1995) sustains that 
coordination among individuals in the final market, within this logic, 
remits to the product’s origin and the attempt to better establish a 
geographical-cultural relation with the consumer, mainly with non-
local consumers.  

It can also be noticed that despite the Program having only three  
(3) years of age, the relations established among agents has 
occurred for a long time. The fact that around 90% of the producers 
of PCNCU are organized in networks makes this feeling of 
collective action clear. The interviewees were unanimous when 

 
 
 
 

 
affirming the existence of a relation of trust between them 

(producers - slaughterhouses - certifiers - INAC) and that the 

PCNCU certification mechanisms serve to reinforce this trust. 
 

 

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION 

 

As it can be noticed, each of these forms of coordination 
refers to different principles to determine the nature of the 
products (quality). The product’s specificity derives 
therefore from the realization of the variety of forms of 
coordination of territorial strategic assets. According to 
Thevénot (2001), the plurality of forms of coordination 
demonstrates that efficient coordination mechanisms are 
composite and offer possibilities of commitment between 
different orders. In this sense, the possibility of a 
production chain possessing coordination standards 
correspondent to all the worlds cited previously becomes 
visible, generating an interconnection between the 
territorial strategic assets involved in each coordination 
mechanism. This provides efficiency obtained through 
complementarity.  

PCNCU agents have chosen to establish a set of 
quality conventions, in which the commitment of the civic-
industrial forms of coordination is emphasized, given that 
it deals with a specific product with natural attributes and 
at the same time has a rigid protocol of activities to be 
followed by the links involved. According to Sylvander 
and Biencourt (2000), the evolution of the agro-alimentary 
system and its regulations, especially regarding health 
and hygiene, tend to increasingly impose rigid control 
standards in the productive processes. At the same time 
a natural product arouses the interest of consumers due 
to its connection with the peculiar characteristics of a 
certain region, it also needs to follow standards and 
norms that attest its quality and origin. In the present 
case, the image imposed to the product refers to the 
guarantee of characteristics of beef quality (animals fed 
with pasture, without animal protein, animals free of 
hormones and antibiotics, practices of animal well-being) 
and simultaneously guarantees the characteristics of the 
productive process to consumers (with special attention 
given to certifications and traceability). Marescotti (2000) 
affirms that the combination of the civic-industrial forms of 
coordination strongly expresses the growth of importance 
of issue such as health and hygiene in the productive 
processes of bovine meat. This occurs due to recent 
sanitary scandals that have occurred in the sector. This 
combination of coordination was also found in some 
cases in the beef cattle literature, as for example Arezzo 
Qualità and Prodotti con Amore (Sylvander et al., 2006; 
Marescotti, 2000). 
 

Another combination of forms of coordination found 
was opinion-domestic, given that a country brand was 
created to legitimize strategic territorial assets such as 
tradition, culture and trust, allowing the transformation of 
comparative advantages into competitive advantages. 



 
 
 

 

This combination was important because it allowed the 
establishment of a connection between consumers and 
the production region, creating a relation of proximity and 
trust. This form of coordination was also found in the 
literature in the case New Zealand beef and lamb (Fox et 
al., 2005). 

It can also be noticed that this form of coordination 
used by PCNCU establishes a strong interrelation with 
the civic -industrial coordination, given that it remits its 
strategic territorial assets to a rigid control of the pro-
ductive processes, codifying the production systems as 
well as establishing a connection between the territorial 
assets and the production region through a country 
brand. As mentioned before by Ponte and Gibbon (2005), 
these four combinations are the most adequate for typical 
products of a region, given that it focuses on the 
construction of a relation of proximity between product, 
region and non-local consumer. 

The last combination of forms of coordination found 
was inspired-market, due to the fact that the relations 
between agents occur via price, but within an 
environment of transparency. This transparent environ-
ment is provided by the efficiency of information 
management, which provides better knowledge of the 
information concerning quality, performance and price of 
the cattle and meat that is being negotiated within the 
system. Conventions theory suggests that price is the 
main management form of a system if there are no 
uncertainties regarding the quality of what is being 
transacted. 

At last, the case analyzed in this study demonstrates 
that there are several compositions of forms of coordi-
nation present in the PCNCU. The possibility of finding 
composite forms of coordination is entirely coherent with 
the Conventions theory, because as Boltanski and 
Thevénot (1991) and Marescotti (2000) affirm, the 
coexistence of different models of quality agreements is 
normal for local products and for other agro-alimentary 
products with specific quality. 
 

 
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