Critical analysis of factors impacting trust and opportunism in agri-food supply chains: the case of tomatoes in the Northern Tanzania

The purpose of this paper is to critically analyse factors impacting trust (and opportunism) in tomato supply chain in Arusha region of Tanzania. The study had two-fold objectives which lead to the proposition that willingness or existence of collaborative relationships in the supply chain, coupled with willingness/existence of sharing physical or information resources among the partners, influence trust and subsequently determine the extent of opportunism. The study adopted a multiple case research design involving several actors in the chain. The data were collected using a questionnaire. The study found that collaboration with inputs retailers, collaboration with tomato farmers, risk sharing with other partners and sharing of physical resources with other partners has the highest impact on trust. Thus, opportunism would increase if good business practices to foster trust as recommended are not adopted as stipulated in the listed factors and vice versa. Other factors such as culture and regional specific variables may have impact on trust and opportunism, thus constituting an area for further research.