- Apply for Authority
- P-ISSN2765-6934
- E-ISSN2765-7027
- KCI
ISSN : 2765-6934
Strategic Alliance within the Sugar Industry of Pakistan: A Resource Dependence Perspective
Abdul Rehman KHAN (GIFT Gujranwala)
- Downloaded
- Viewed
Abstract
Purpose: This paper uses the resource-dependency theory to present the case of the Pakistan sugar industry to highlight how the industry uses a strategic alliance to gain a powerful bargaining position over its critical dependencies. The case of the Pakistan sugar industry is well-known and it is common knowledge that the alliance or the cartel within it is responsible for frequent price hikes and sugar supply shortages in the country. Research design, data and methodology: We use a case study, qualitative document analysis design to trace how the alliance overcomes its various dependencies, and in doing so, how does it harm various stakeholder interests. Results: This paper finds that the sugar industry alliance maintains its bargaining power by manipulating sugar supply through horizontal alliances, political affiliations, underselling and under-reporting sugar stocks, purchasing sugarcane from the black market, and by gaining billions of rupees in export subsidies by hoarding stock and using its political connections. Conclusion: The paper concludes by providing a summary of the measures which the government has taken to curb this anticompetitive conduct; the most important of which is the removal of protectionist measures for sugar trade and allowing market forces to control the demand and supply of sugar in the local market.
- keywords
- Pakistan sugar market, Resource Dependencies, Strategic Alliance, Anticompetitive Conduct
Reference
Ahsan, H., Iftikhar, Z., & Kemal, M. A. (2011). The determinants of food prices: A case study of Pakistan. PIDE Working Papers, 76(1), 45-76.
Ali, I., & Malik, A. (2009). The political economy of industrial development in Pakistan: a long-term perspective. The Lahore Journal of Economics, 14, 29.
Ansari, I. (2021, March 25). FIA nabs gang involved in sugar hoarding, The Express Tribune.
Association, P. S. M. (2020). Annual Report
Buschman, J. (2017). Leadership and the Political: The Environment of the Information Management Organization. The Emerald Handbook of Modern Information Management, 23(6), 53-76.
Casciaro, T., & Piskorski, M. J. (2005). Power imbalance, mutual dependence, and constraint absorption: A closer look at resource dependence theory. Administrative science quarterly, 50(2), 167-199.
Combs, J. G., Ketchen, J., David J, Crook, T. R., & Roth, P. L. (2011). Assessing cumulative evidence within ‘macro’ research: Why meta‐analysis should be preferred over vote counting. Journal of Management Studies, 48(1), 178-197.
Committee, T. I. (2020). Report of the Inquiry Committee constituted by the Prime Minister of Pakistan.
Connor, J. M. (2014). Price-fixing overcharges. Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, 19(2), 34-46.
Coupet, J., & McWilliams, A. (2017). Integrating organizational economics and resource dependence theory to explain the persistence of quasi markets. Administrative Sciences, 7(3), 29.
Dieleman, M., & Widjaja, H. (2019). How powerful political ties appropriate resources and how weaker organizations protect themselves: A case study from Indonesia. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 36(1), 61-86.
Drees, J. M., & Heugens, P. P. (2013). Synthesizing and extending resource dependence theory: A meta-analysis. Journal of Management, 39(6), 1666-1698.
Fink, R. C., Edelman, L. F., Hatten, K. J., & James, W. L. (2006). Transaction cost economics, resource dependence theory, and customer–supplier relationships. Industrial and Corporate Change, 15(3), 497-529.
Frynas, J. G., & Yamahaki, C. (2016). Corporate social responsibility: Review and roadmap of theoretical perspectives. Business Ethics: A European Review, 25(3), 258-285.
Gray, B., & Wood, D. J. (1991). Collaborative alliances: Moving from practice to theory. The Journal of applied behavioral science, 27(1), 3-22.
Hashmi, M. A., Brahmana, R. K., & Lau, E. (2018). Political connections, family firms and earnings quality. Management Research Review.
Hatch, M. J. (2018). Organization theory: Modern, symbolic, and postmodern perspectives. London: Oxford University Press.
Henisz, W. J., & Zelner, B. A. (2003). The strategic organization of political risks and opportunities. Strategic Organization, 1(4), 451-460.
Hillman, A. J., Withers, M. C., & Collins, B. J. (2009). Resource dependence theory: A review. Journal of management, 35(6), 1404-1427.
Hussain, M. F., Anwar, S., & Hussain, Z. (2006). Economics of sugarcane production in Pakistan: A price risk analysis. International Research Journal of Finance and Economics, 4(4).
Iqbal, M. A., & Iqbal, A. (2014). Sugarcane production, economics and industry in Pakistan. American-Eurasian Journal of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences, 14(12), 1470-1477.
Javid, H. (2012). Class, power, and patronage: the landed elite and politics in Pakistani Punjab. The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).
Khan, R. E. A., & Gill, A. R. (2010). Determinants of inflation: A case of Pakistan (1970-2007). Journal of Economics, 1(1), 45-51.
Khlif, H., Ahmed, K., & Souissi, M. (2017). Ownership structure and voluntary disclosure: A synthesis of empirical studies. Australian Journal of Management, 42(3), 376-403.
Khushk, A. M., Lashari, M., & Memon, A. (2008). Political economy of sugar industry in Pakistan. Pakistan Agricultural Research Council-Technology Transfer Institute, Tandojam, Sindh, 85-86.
Krishna, R. (1963). Farm supply response in India-Pakistan: A case study of the Punjab region. The Economic Journal, 477-487.
Lee, J., Rethemeyer, R. K., & Park, H. H. (2018). How does policy funding context matter to networks? Resource dependence, advocacy mobilization, and network structures. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 28(3), 388-405.
Lowrey, W. (2017). The emergence and development of news factcheckingsites: Institutional logics and population ecology. Journalism Studies, 18(3), 376-394.
Meyer, K. E., Estrin, S., Bhaumik, S. K., & Peng, M. W. (2009). Institutions, resources, and entry strategies in emerging economies. Strategic management journal, 30(1), 61-80.
Naz, S., & Jahangir, G. Z. (2008). Pakistan Sugar Industry. Pakistan Sugar Journal, 12(1), 14-25.
Paracha, S. (2020, 13 July). Sugar reforms committee to submit findings within one month. The Express Tribune.
Pollock, T. G., Chen, G., Jackson, E. M., & Hambrick, D. C. (2010). How much prestige is enough? Assessing the value of multiple types of high-status affiliates for young firms. Journal of Business Venturing, 25(1), 6-23.
Raheman, A., Qayyum, A., Afza, T., & Iqbal, M. M. (2009). Efficiency dynamics of sugar industry of Pakistan [with comments]. The Pakistan Development Review, 921-938.
Raza, M., Saeed, D., & Shahid, M. (2013). Impact of low-sugarcane- yield on sugar industry of Pakistan. Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 3(1), 431-450.
Raza, S. I. (2020, June 10). PM wants sugar scam inquiry taken to logical end, Dawn.
Ries, F. (2017). Population ecology: how the environment influences the evolution of organizations Palgrave Handbook of Inter-Organizational Relations in World Politics (pp. 157-168). Washington: Springer.
Roundy, P. T., & Bayer, M. A. (2019). To bridge or buffer? A resource dependence theory of nascent entrepreneurial ecosystems. Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies.
Santos, F. M., & Eisenhardt, K. M. (2005). Organizational boundaries and theories of organization. Organization science, 16(5), 491-508.
Siddiqui, M. A., & Shoaib, A. (2012). Energy Perspective of Sugar Industries in Pakistan: Determinants and Paradigm Shift. The Journal of Distribution Science, 10(2), 7-17.
Tabassum, M. (2018). Sugar mill recovery: a challenge of sugar crises in the country. Journal of Agricultrural Sciences, 23(3), 45-55.
Vermeulen, F., & Barkema, H. (2001). Learning through acquisitions. Academy of Management journal, 44(3), 457-476.
Zona, F., Gomez-Mejia, L. R., & Withers, M. C. (2018). Board interlocks and firm performance: Toward a combined agency–resource dependence perspective. Journal of Management, 44(2), 589-618.
- Downloaded
- Viewed
- 0KCI Citations
- 0WOS Citations