Interweaving bonds: examining trust, commitment and social sustainability in the agri-food supply chain in Kenya

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to examine trust, commitment and social sustainability (SS) in agri-food supply chains (AFSCs) in an underexplored context, an emerging country. This adds to the literature on the benefits of trust and commitment in AFSCs. Design/methodology/approach – Within four...

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Main Authors: Edwin Obonyo, S. Wagura Ndiritu, Marco Formentini
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Emerald Publishing 2025-06-01
Series:Management Matters
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/MANM-05-2024-0029/full/pdf
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author Edwin Obonyo
S. Wagura Ndiritu
Marco Formentini
author_facet Edwin Obonyo
S. Wagura Ndiritu
Marco Formentini
author_sort Edwin Obonyo
collection DOAJ
description Purpose – The aim of this paper is to examine trust, commitment and social sustainability (SS) in agri-food supply chains (AFSCs) in an underexplored context, an emerging country. This adds to the literature on the benefits of trust and commitment in AFSCs. Design/methodology/approach – Within four counties in Kenya — Nairobi, Machakos, Kiambu and Kajiado — 85 abattoirs and 164 traders were surveyed as part of data collection. Hypotheses were proposed, and partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to test them. Findings – The findings indicate that trust (benevolent and credibility trust) as well as commitment (affective and continuance commitment) have a positive direct relationship with SS. Practical implications – The study underlines how important trust and commitment are in improving the social well-being of AFSC actors. They enhance collaboration which empowers them to improve social welfare of the supply chain. Originality/value – The study is one of the first to examine the effect of trust and commitment on SS within AFSC, a novel contribution to SS literature. It differentiates between types of trust (benevolent and credibility trust) and commitment (affective and continuance commitment), giving a clearer understanding of how each of the variables impact SS. The findings offer new insights into the relationship between trust and commitment in improving social sustainable practices in AFSCs.
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institution Kabale University
issn 2752-8359
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publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher Emerald Publishing
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series Management Matters
spelling doaj-art-64eba72d51ce45a49a7b2a2ff00d3f6f2025-08-20T03:25:08ZengEmerald PublishingManagement Matters2752-83592025-06-01221193410.1108/MANM-05-2024-0029Interweaving bonds: examining trust, commitment and social sustainability in the agri-food supply chain in KenyaEdwin Obonyo0S. Wagura Ndiritu1Marco Formentini2Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Strathmore University, Nairobi, KenyaStrathmore University Business School, Strathmore University, Nairobi, KenyaDepartment of Information Engineering and Computer Science – DISI, University of Trento, Trento, ItalyPurpose – The aim of this paper is to examine trust, commitment and social sustainability (SS) in agri-food supply chains (AFSCs) in an underexplored context, an emerging country. This adds to the literature on the benefits of trust and commitment in AFSCs. Design/methodology/approach – Within four counties in Kenya — Nairobi, Machakos, Kiambu and Kajiado — 85 abattoirs and 164 traders were surveyed as part of data collection. Hypotheses were proposed, and partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to test them. Findings – The findings indicate that trust (benevolent and credibility trust) as well as commitment (affective and continuance commitment) have a positive direct relationship with SS. Practical implications – The study underlines how important trust and commitment are in improving the social well-being of AFSC actors. They enhance collaboration which empowers them to improve social welfare of the supply chain. Originality/value – The study is one of the first to examine the effect of trust and commitment on SS within AFSC, a novel contribution to SS literature. It differentiates between types of trust (benevolent and credibility trust) and commitment (affective and continuance commitment), giving a clearer understanding of how each of the variables impact SS. The findings offer new insights into the relationship between trust and commitment in improving social sustainable practices in AFSCs.https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/MANM-05-2024-0029/full/pdfTrustCommitmentSocial sustainabilityAgri-foodAfrica
spellingShingle Edwin Obonyo
S. Wagura Ndiritu
Marco Formentini
Interweaving bonds: examining trust, commitment and social sustainability in the agri-food supply chain in Kenya
Management Matters
Trust
Commitment
Social sustainability
Agri-food
Africa
title Interweaving bonds: examining trust, commitment and social sustainability in the agri-food supply chain in Kenya
title_full Interweaving bonds: examining trust, commitment and social sustainability in the agri-food supply chain in Kenya
title_fullStr Interweaving bonds: examining trust, commitment and social sustainability in the agri-food supply chain in Kenya
title_full_unstemmed Interweaving bonds: examining trust, commitment and social sustainability in the agri-food supply chain in Kenya
title_short Interweaving bonds: examining trust, commitment and social sustainability in the agri-food supply chain in Kenya
title_sort interweaving bonds examining trust commitment and social sustainability in the agri food supply chain in kenya
topic Trust
Commitment
Social sustainability
Agri-food
Africa
url https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/MANM-05-2024-0029/full/pdf
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AT swagurandiritu interweavingbondsexaminingtrustcommitmentandsocialsustainabilityintheagrifoodsupplychaininkenya
AT marcoformentini interweavingbondsexaminingtrustcommitmentandsocialsustainabilityintheagrifoodsupplychaininkenya