The Architecture of Consolidation: Nests of Corporate Control in the Agrochemical Network

Research on agricultural consolidation tends to equate corporate control with the dominance of a few large firms. We take an alternative approach that examines control through the explosive growth of legally distinct firms that fragment accountability. Using a new global dataset of 6982 entities linked to BASF, Bayer, Corteva, Dow, DuPont, FMC, COFCO, ChemChina and UPL, we use social network analysis to map the ownership and leadership networks behind agrochemical conglomerates. Employing community detection, we find that firms bind together in five highly clustered nests that are bridged by intermediaries like tax consultancies and directors. Firms, not only people, occupy leadership roles and a handful carries each nest's global reach. These structures expose the limits of market power measures like HHI and CR4 that are attenuated to parent firms and miss network level coordination. We offer nests as a relational way to see and potentially contest corporate control.