Summaries This article poses three questions: can value chain cooperation be constructed rather than simply reflected? How are the different modalities of governance, organization, coordination and power expressed in a specific concrete case study of a value chain? What general lessons can we learn from this about facilitating upgrading through cooperation in other value chains? The analysis that follows attempts to throw light on these questions through a discussion of the dynamics and contradictory power relations driving the construction of a furniture value chain in South Africa.