The Roles of Exploration and Exploitation in the Export Market Integration of Beninese Producers at the Base of the Pyramid Souléϊmane Adéyèmi Adékambi Thesis committee Promotor Prof. Dr J.C.M. van Trijp Professor of Marketing and Consumer Behaviour Wageningen University Co-promotor Dr P.T.M. Ingenbleek Associate professor, Marketing and Consumer Behaviour Group Wageningen University Other members Prof. Dr B. Guye, Gaston Berger University, Saint Louis, Senegal Prof. Dr M. Maertens, KU Leuven, Belgium Prof. Dr J.H. Trienekens, Wageningen University Prof. Dr A.H.J.B. Helmsing, Institute of Social Studies, The Hague, The Netherlands This research was conducted under the auspices of the Wageningen School of Social Sciences (WASS) The Roles of Exploration and Exploitation in the Export Market Integration of Beninese Producers at the Base of the Pyramid Souléϊmane Adéyèmi Adékambi Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of doctor at Wageningen University by the authority of the Rector Magnificus Prof. Dr M.J. Kropff, in the presence of the Thesis Committee appointed by the Academic Board to be defended in public on Friday 27 February 2015 at 11 a.m. in the Aula. Souléϊmane Adéyèmi Adékambi The Roles of Exploration and Exploitation in the Export Market Integration of Beninese Producers at the Base of the Pyramid, 21 4 pages. PhD thesis, Wageningen University, Wageningen, NL (2015) With references, with summaries in English and Dutch ISBN: 978-94-6257-246-1 To Moussabihatou Raimy-Lokoun Fadilath Omontayo Acknowledgements This thesis marks the end of a long and fantastic five-year journey filled with challenges and enjoyment. The completion of this doctoral dissertation was possible with the support of many people and organizations. First and foremost, I am deeply thankful to my parents, for their love, support, and sacrices all the way through my education. Specifically, I dedicate this thesis to the memory of my father Sadikou O. Adékambi, whose role in my life was, and remains, immense. The completion of the present thesis marks the fulfillment of the dream you always nourished to me, since I completed my secondary education. That day you were looking forward to has come. Unfortunately, the fate decided otherwise. To my mother Moibatou A. Tokophozin, I am grateful and thankful for your love, affection, unknown sacrifices, help and support. I gratefully acknowledge the Netherlands Organization for International Cooperation in Higher Education and Research (NUFFIC) through its South-North cooperation program (NPT 262) for funding this PhD research. I would like to thank Prof. Hans van Trijp, Dr. Paul Ingenbleek, Dr. Aad van Tilburg, Dr. Pieter Windmeijer, Dr. Martin Gbeboutin and Prof. Hounhouigan Joseph for offering me this PhD position in marketing in the NPT projects. You believed in my ability to switch to marketing (as rural economics was my main area of interest at the moment of the selection), my capability, and competence to conduct a PhD thesis with Wageningen University. I want to thank my promoter Prof. Hans van Trijp, my co-promoter Dr. Paul Ingenbleek, and my local supervisor Prof. Bertrand Sogbossi. The thesis would not have come to a successful completion without your dedicated support, valuable guidance, scholarly inputs and consistent encouragement I received throughout this PhD research. Prof. van Trijp, thank you for your critical comments, stimulating discussions, enthusiasm, and encouragement. I always appreciate your “keen reviewing eyes” on every single document I send you. Your drawing approach to caricature any theoretical thinking during our discussions has stayed on my mind forever. Dr. Ingenbleek, thanks for your day-to-day valuable guidance, comments, criticisms, suggestions, and follow-ups, and your constant support, encouragement and trust in me during the 4.5 years I have spent as a PhD student. The thesis has greatly benefitted from your valuable insights and inspiring discussions. You patiently guided me from the start of the whole process to the end despite your busy schedule. I will always remember your sacred sentence “…If I were you…” Whenever I heard this sentence, I understood that what you are talking about deserves much more attention. I also really liked your “go-deeper” methodological comments when it came to push me to higher levels of thinking during some of our discussions. They became definitely part of my day-to-day thinking strategies. I really appreciate the way you followed to make me a better researcher. Prof. Bertrand Sogbossi, University of Abomey-Calavi (Benin), Faculty of Economics and Management, I am grateful to you for all the (administrative) support and advice you gave me during this process, and for the opportunity you gave me to be part of the lecturers to teach the introduction to marketing course for the first master year in 2012. My deepest appreciation also goes to Dr. Lans Ivo vander for his constructive comments and editing the chapters 3 of this thesis. I am particularly indebted to Dr. Patrice Ygué Adégbola, Head of the Program Analysis of Agricultural Policy (PAPA/INRAB), for first inspiring me to aim higher, and for constantly encouraging and supporting me before and throughout the completion of this thesis. I would like to thank the members of the defense committee Prof. Birahim Guye, Prof. Miet Maertens, Prof. Jacques Trienekens, and Prof. Bert Helmsing, for their careful reading of the thesis. It is an honor for me to have you in my PhD committee. Special thanks go to my paranymphs Roxanne van Giesen and Lotte van der Zanden for your support during my preparation for PhD defense. You did a great job. Thank you so much. Thanks to Kevine Kindji, Fernande Honfo, and Sylvain Dabade for the fruitful discussions we have had during this entire PhD study journey. A special thanks to Dr. Aad van Tilburg and his wife, Augustine, for the care, hospitality and encouragement you provided me with during all my stays in Holland. Dr. Aad van Tilburg, thanks also for all the guidance, comments and suggestions that you made to my PhD study. I owe great acknowledgement and thanks to the National Agricultural Research Institute of Benin (INRAB), especially to Prof. Guy Apollinaire Mensah, Director of the National Agricultural Research Centre (CRA- Agonkamey), for his administrative support, encouragement and advice throughout this thesis. I am also thankful to you, colleagues and friends of the Marketing and Consumer Behavior Group (MCB). The different PhD events (dinners, colloquia) we had together were great and unforgettable to me. Roxanne, Falylath, Alexander, and Mebrahtu, thanks for the great and unforgettable time we spent together. All these dinners we shared were always so wonderful. To Arnout Fischer, thanks for the “morning jock” you always initiated whenever you were the first to be in the corridor of MCB instead of me. To my office mates and friends at ‘Little Africa’, thank you very much. I really enjoyed your friendship and sharing office together. To Ellen and Liesbeth, thank you very much for all the administrative services you provided me with all the way through this journey. I am grateful to the supports and encouragements from my colleagues at PAPA/INRAB, especially Alphonse Singbo, Aminou Arouna, Epiphane Sodjinou, Guirguissou Maboudou Alidou, Léonard Hinnou, Dénis Olou, Zoul-Kifoul Midingoyi, and Hervé Sossou. I would also like to acknowledge the enumerators who helped me in data collection and the shrimp fishers and shea butter producers who spent their precious time to provide answers to the survey questionnaires. I am grateful to my countrymates Djalalou-Dine Arinloye, Nicodeme Fassinou, Menouwesso Hounhouigan, Ozias Hounkpatin, Nathalie Kpera, Gerard Zoundji, Charles Tamou, Folachodé Akogou, Falylath Babah Daouda, Edmond Totin, Euloge Togbe, Essègbèmon Akpo, Sauliou Mazu, Jonas Wanvoeke, Landry Fanou, Leo Lamboni, and Simon N’cho for the great time we spent together away from home. I do not forget also Rose Fagbemissi, Latifou Idrissou, Elie Dannon, Okry Florent, Romaric Vihotogbe, Yann Madode, and Augustin Kouevi for their constant encouragements. My special thanks go to Dorothy Wartena for the meal we always shared together in Wageningen. My gratitude also goes to my aunt and uncles Raϊman, Saliou, Abdou, and Mandjibou. Thank you so much for all your blessing and support. To my brothers and sisters, Moutinou, Siakou, Akim, Ganiou, Nourou-Dine, Kowiyou, Idrissou, Sidikatou, Ramata, Roukayath, Mandinath, Abibath, and Sayidath, thank you for all kind supports during this trip. Special thanks go to my cousins Rashidi and Akimou for your encouragements. I am very much indebted to you, Moussabihatou Raimy-Lokoun, for supporting me in every possible way to see the completion of this work. To my daughter Fadilath Omontayo, I am sorry for the times that I left you. I was always absent from home, especially at the moment you needed father love. Find in this work, an inspiration to achieve your own goal in life. Wageningen, February 2015. Souléϊmane A. Adékambi Table of contents 1 General introduction .................................................................................................................. 12 1.1. Problem statement .......................................................................................................... 14 1.2. General conceptual framework and scientific contributions .......................................... 16 1.3. Aim and research questions...........................................................................................