The Joint Impact of Supply Chain Integration and Quality Management on the Performance of Pork Processing Firms in China

It is widely acknowledged that competition is no longer between individual firms, but between supply chains. A number of studies have indicated that supply chain integration and quality management have become essential to obtain competitive advantage. The present study tests the relationships among supply chain integration, quality management practices and firm performance in 229 Chinese pork slaughterhouses and processors using structural equation modeling. The most important results are that quality management is positively linked with firm performance. As managers put it "Quality is the life of the enterprise". Pork processing managers that wish to improve their performance are therefore advised to invest in quality management. Equally interesting is the indirect link of supply chain integration through quality management with firm performance. To improve quality of their products and reduce uncertainty in hog supply chains, companies are advised to develop more integrated relationships with their suppliers. However, in contrast to earlier studies, the direct link of supply chain integration and firm performance was not significant. This result may indicate that the Chinese pork processing industry is still in an early stage of SC integration.Supply chain management, quality management practices, pork supply chains, firm performance, China, Agribusiness, Livestock Production/Industries,

Explaining Environmental Management System Development: A Stakeholder Approach

Managerial changes are necessary for companies in the Dutch food industry and agribusiness to lessen the environmental impact of their activities. To identify the opportunities or limits of environmental management systems (EMSs), it is important to first understand what influence stakeholders have on EMS development. In an empirical research we found that developmental levels of internally oriented EMSs, which primarily aim at internal administrative procedures, are explained mainly by the frequency of contacts with governmental authorities. For this kind of EMSs, non-commercial stakeholder groups have a major influence on the corporate environmental policy. Externally oriented EMSs, which focus on joint efforts in supply chains, are influenced by commercial groups in the business network (like suppliers, clients and competitors). The development of externally oriented EMSs requires adjustments in the composition of and interaction with the stakeholder environment by governmental agencies as well as managers in the agri-food sector. Opening up towards the stakeholder environment, by (among others) an adjustment of the information system, integrated (supply-chain wide) auditing and licensing, can enhance cost-efficiency, transparency and sustainability.Environmental management, Stakeholders, Environmental policy, Information system, Environmental Economics and Policy,

Key Success Factors of Innovation in Multinational Agrifood Prospector Companies

The Wageningen Innovation Assessment Tool (WIAT) assesses a company’s drivers and barriers to innovation and benchmarks the critical success and failure factors of its innovation projects with data of agrifood prospector companies around the world. The present paper discusses its application in 12 multinational agrifood prospector companies in the Netherlands and France. It is concluded that WIAT by uncovering the tacit knowledge of the innovation project team creates opportunities for substantial improvement of the innovation process, and that agrifood companies should specifically pay attention to market and product related up-front activities.innovation, assessment tool, agrifood prospector companies, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, International Relations/Trade,

The role of Guanxi networks in vegetable supply chains: Empirical evidence from Jiangsu Province, P.R. China

This study at tempt s to empirically investigate the effect of guanxi networks on buyer - seller relationships and on firm performance in vegetable industry in P.R. China. We interviewed 167 vegetable producers and 84 companies to test our conceptual relationship mo del. Results demons t rate that guanxi networks significantly improve buyer - seller relationships regarding interpersonal trust and transaction specific investment s. Buyer - seller relationships show significant impacts on chain performance. Results imply that the effects of guanxi networks differ for producers and companies in the chains. Study also revealed that transaction related at tributes (risk, channel requirements and transaction conditions) also influence buyer - seller relationships and chain performance jointly with guanxi networks. Paper ends with several managerial implications regarding the use of guanxi networks in business practices.Guanxi Network, Buyer - Seller Relationship, Performance, Vegetable, China, Agribusiness,

The Impact of Downstream Network Subgroups on Collaboration and Performance: A Survey of Buyer-Supplier Relationships in the Dutch Flower Sector

In this paper, we aim to identify those network subgroups that enhance the collaborative governance in a focal buyer-supplier relationship. We argue, that partners in a focal buyer-supplier relationship can be seen as embedded in a broader network of business relationships with network subgroups, (e.g. other buyers, buyers customers), which provide information that can support the collaborative governance, assessed by flexibility, joint planning and joint problem solving, by lowering the level of information asymmetry between the partners. Empirical evidence was gathered through a mailed questionnaire returned by 175 Dutch suppliers of potted plants and flowers. Our results show the importance of the information provided by the network subgroups to manage the focal buyer-supplier relationships and ultimately the impact on performance. Interestingly, although five network subgroups were mentioned in the questionnaire, suppliers only obtained reliable information for their focal relationship from the downstream subgroups of other buyers (i.e. merchant-distributors) and buyer's customers (i.e. supermarkets and flower shops). In order to avoid redundancy, managers in seeking information in their business network should not consider the network as a whole, but rather the downstream subgroups.Industrial Organization,

Alliance Performances in the Dutch Biotechnology Sector

 In the biotechnology sector small R&D intensive firms play a fundamental role to keep innovation rates high. With less bureaucratic burdens, low level of hierarchy and high internal flexibility they are able to move fast and to make most efficient use of unique competences. Still their shortage in resources, related to company size, makes them dependent on a strong network of alliances to get access to missing competences and materials. This paper aims at establishing the influence of alliance characteristics on the innovation performance of firms in the biotechnology sector. It presents a conceptual model to clarify the special role of collaboration intensity and how human resource exchange is related to innovation performance of biotechnology alliances

INNOVATION THROUGH (INTERNATIONAL) FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN DEVELOPMENT: A RESEARCH AGENDA

This paper presents a research agenda on innovation through (international) food supply chains and networks in developing countries. It derives major topics from a multi-perspective view on international food chains (economic, technology, social/legal and environment) and from different theoretical streams dealing with chains and networks (Supply Chain Management, Industrial Organization theory and Network Theory). Three agri-supply chain projects in developing countries (Thailand, South-Africa, Ghana) are analyzed to identify focus areas in supply chain development projects and important gaps. These projects were collaborative actions between companies and research institutes to initiate international supply chain development.Industrial Organization,

Exploring the integration of business and CSR perspectives in smallholder souring : Black soybean in Indonesia and tomato in India

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of smallholder supply chains on sustainable sourcing to answer the question how food and agribusiness multinationals can best include smallholders in their sourcing strategies and take social responsibility for large-scale sustainable and more equitable supply. A sustainable smallholder sourcing model with a list of critical success factors (CSFs) has been applied on two best-practise cases. In this model, business and corporate social responsibility perspectives are integrated. Design/methodology/approach: The primary data of the value chain analyses of the two smallholder supply chains of a food and agribusiness multinational have been applied. Both cases were of a join research program commissioned by the multinational and a non-governmental organization using the same methods and research tools. Similarities, differences and interference between the cases have been determined and assessed in order to confirm, fine tune or adjust the CSFs. Findings: Both cases could be conceptualized through the smallholder sourcing model. Most CSFs could be found in both cases, but differences were also found, which led to fine tuning of some CSFs: building of a partnership and effective producers organization, providing farm financing and the use of cross-functional teams in smallholder supplier development programs. It was also concluded that the smallholder sourcing model is applicable in different geographical areas. Research limitations/implications: The findings of this study are based on just two cases. More best-practise cases are recommended in order to confirm or to adjust the developed sourcing model and the CSFs. Originality/value: This paper/research fills the need in sustainable supply chain management literature to study supply chains that comply with the triple bottom line concept, rather than supply chains that are just more “green”.</p

How to improve the process of forming biobased R&D collaborations

publishedVersionPaid Open Acces

The importance of innovation adoption and generation in linking entrepreneurial orientation with product innovation and farm revenues

The growth of modern agrifood markets, especially in Indonesia, has stimulated entrepreneurially oriented farmers to seize business opportunities through innovation. This paper aims to investigate in a dynamic agrifood market if entrepreneurial orientation enhances innovation adoption and generation and if both of these actions enhance product innovation and, eventually, farm revenues of vegetable farmers in West Java, Indonesia. The findings demonstrate that entrepreneurial orientation enhances innovation adoption and generation, which in turn enhance product innovation. Finally, product innovation enhances farm revenues. The findings contribute to a better understanding of the role of innovation in facilitating entrepreneurially oriented farmers to perform better when facing a dynamic market. Entrepreneurial orientation enables farmers to innovate by taking risks to anticipate future demand, through either adoption of available innovations or generation of their own innovations, and both options result in new or improved products and eventually enhanced farm revenues