Social construction of qualification and certification mecanisms, between exchange marketing and reciprocity

Abstract

Any qualification process that guarantees the origin, uniqueness and quality of a product can help to reduce the effects of competition and speculation characteristic of market exchange. I assume the hypothesis that the qualification of the product introduces a dimension of reciprocity in a relationship of commodity exchange. Qualification procedures can help to establish a relationship of symmetrical reciprocity between producer and consumer. They can also contribute to create a sharing structure (of quality standards) within a group or a network of producers. However, the mechanisms of qualification/certification can also enter the exclusion of certain producers and / or consumers when it generates an increase in production costs. Therefore we need an articulation or interface allowing a dialogue between the exchange’ logic of commodity market relationships and the logic of reciprocity introduced within the dynamic qualification. The interface provided by the mechanisms of certification of qualification can obey his time, both the logic of market exchange, as the logic of reciprocity or to a hybrid or mixed dynamic. This work is based on a comparison of three certification systems of agro-ecology rural products in Brazil: External Auditor Certification, participatory certification and co-certification.