Thesis (M.A.)--Ohio University, June, 2009. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references.

Aim - The aim of this thesis is to understand the challenges of the Ugandan coffee industry by having a business ecosystem perspective. By using a broader perspective like the BE, one can see relations and connections that may not have been visible before. Furthermore, when using a BE perspective more actors are included in the systemic work, and important platforms and tools are included in the work of moving the BE forward as one entity. Methodology - A qualitative study was conducted to examine and understand the Ugandan coffee industry from a business ecosystem perspective. 18 semi-structured interviews were performed with coffee farmers and coffee organizations in Uganda. The data was divided into five different themes; Knowledge Sharing in the Business Ecosystem, Platforms and Interactions in the Business Ecosystem, Roles in the Business Ecosystem, Challenges in the Business Ecosystem and Youth in the Business Ecosystem. Conclusions - The findings of the thesis are that some parts of the business ecosystem are missing or lacking. Effective platforms for knowledge sharing are an issue, due to lack of access to a technological platform, monetary resources and low level of education. It was difficult to place some of the actors in different roles that exist in the business ecosystem, because sometimes an actor could fit the description of multiple roles. The interactions and the knowledge sharing also need improvement. Research limitations - Due to the sheer size of any business ecosystem, it is a daunting task to map one out. To make it more manageable, a particular part of the business ecosystem was examined. This might have resulted in the exclusion of important actors. Many of the interviews required an interpreter which meant that some interpretations may have been lost in translation. Furthermore, all the interviews with coffee farmers were arranged by a third party. Which could affect the results. Research contribution – In this thesis a business ecosystem perspective was applied on the Ugandan coffee industry, which has never been done before. Furthermore, it discusses what an unhealthy or lacking business ecosystem is or looks like, since there is little or no previous literature discussing this.

As new food networks are emerging the question about their possibilities to contribute in changing the current unsustainable global food system arises. This case study explores a project of an alternative business model within the coffee sector and its possibility to shorten the food chain and at the same time re distribute margins among the involved actors, for a more democratic and sustainable food chain. We examined in what way the studied business model challenge and/or reproduce the current global food system, focusing on the coffee producer and the economic, social and ecologic sustainability. The study emphasizes several risk factors that are of importance to the outcome of the project. Our findings show that it is possible for alternative food networks to influence on a microlevel, but to change the system on a macro level requires a higher level of governance and cooperation between sectors. The study also points out the importance of control management and documentation as a key activity to make sure that the right actions are performed to stay true to the mission. / I takt med att nya livsmedelsnätverk utvecklas växer frågorna kring vilka möjligheter de har att bidra till förändring av dagens globala och till synes ohållbara livsmedelsystem. Denna fallstudie utforskar ett projekt tillhörande en alternativ affärsmodell inom kaffesektorn, dess möjligheter att korta ned livsmedelskedjan och samtidigt omfördela marginalerna mellan de ingående aktörerna, för att uppnå en mer hållbar och demokratisk kedja. Vi undersökte på vilka sätt projektet och den studerade affärsmodellen utmanar och/eller reproducerar det rådande livsmedelsystemet med fokus på kaffeproducentens ekonomiska, sociala och ekologiska hållbarhet. Studien lägger betoning på ett antal riskfaktorer som är av vikt för ett lyckat utfall av projektet. Våra resultat visar att det finns möjlighet för alternativa modeller att påverka systemet på mikronivå, men att större systemförändringar kräver en högre nivå av styrning och samarbete mellan nivåer och sektorer. Studien pekar också på vikten av dokumentation, kontroll och uppföljning som nyckelaktiviteter i projektet för att kunna säkerställa dess validitet.