Network governance in New Zealand agribusiness value chain: A case study

Abstract

Value continues to be a critical driver for business activities and has been researched by academics for hundreds of years. More recently, this area has garnered increasing interest by researchers in an effort to explain the value creation and value capture efforts of firms. However, firms do not exist in isolation and are part of a wider value chain. Hence, the issue of end-to-end network governance is an important issue when considering value provision. However, governance has received scant attention from researchers. Utilising theoretical paradigms from business management and economics, this research focuses on the governance of value co-creation and collaborative activities that take place between organisations. An exploratory case study methodology was adopted, where five New Zealand agribusiness cases were explored. The results highlight four key drivers of value creation and capture; market orientation, channel leadership, value co-creation, and brand ownership. Resultant propositions are developed for future empirical analysis, and potential value creation pathways are introduced, whereby firms may choose to act in an opportunistic way, or engage in value co-creation and collaboration with value chain partners.