Corporate Resilience Through Inclusive and Sustainable Cocoa Partnerships: Integrated Value Chain Governance in Sulawesi, Indonesia

Abstract

This study examines how corporate resilience is developed through inclusive and sustainable cocoa partnerships within integrated value chain governance in Sulawesi, Indonesia. Using an interpretive qualitative multiple-case study design, the research compares PT Mars Symbioscience Indonesia in Luwu Timur and PT Papandayan Cocoa Industries (Barry Callebaut) in Polewali Mandar. Data were collected from January to May 2025 through semi-structured interviews with 21 actors representing corporate, intermediary, farmer, financial, and local government stakeholders, and were triangulated with company documents, policy texts, and the relevant literature. The data were analyzed thematically using NVivo, supported by process tracing and cross-case comparison. The findings show that both firms combine certification, traceability, procurement arrangements, monitoring, and knowledge transfer, but organize these instruments through different partnership architectures. Mars follows a vertically integrated capability-building model involving 4250 farmers and 17 trained collectors, whereas Barry Callebaut relies on an intermediary- and standards-centered model through PT Bumi Surya Selaras, involving 3125 farmers in 126 farmer groups. These findings suggest that inclusive and sustainable cocoa partnerships function not only as supply-chain coordination mechanisms but also as institutional arrangements for governing smallholder-based production resources and long-term supply sustainability. Across cases, these partnerships were reported and interpreted as supporting supply stability, cocoa bean quality improvement, and risk mitigation. This suggests that corporate resilience in smallholder-based cocoa value chains is co-produced through the integration of governance mechanisms, farmer capacity building, intermediary coordination, and sustainable resource management.

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