Impact of Inter-Organizational Relational Mechanism on Firm Performance: Some Exploratory Findings in Australian Agri-Food Industry Supply Chain

Abstract

Drawing on the issues of declining performance of Australian agri-food industry, this study applies the insight of organizational theories and institutional economics to explore how the structural and economic issues of organizing inter-firm relationship are influencing the performance and competitiveness of the industry. A qualitative field study was conducted on eight Australian agri-food companies to collect data. The findings demonstrate the requirement of more coordination and integration from the downstream industries to include upstream producers as one of the integral parts of supply chain, not been as price takers but by sharing the risk and benefit equally in the chain. The study result would be of extremely important information for producers, processors, and retailers, other stakeholders and government agencies and may enable them to do appropriate planning and benchmarking to improve performance of the Australian food industry.