Networking, Technology, and Governance: Lessons from New Zealand Horticulture

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Cooperative business networking and technological learning have been treated as discrete features of successful regional economies. It is argued that both may be understood as governance solutions within the respective global commodity chains. Empirical evidence is examined of five export-oriented horticultural industries in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand. Within these industries a number of instances of networking and technological learning are identified and are found to be operating in a variety of regulatory contexts. Evidence from field interviews and three case studies, in particular, reveals the governance relations in effect in these commodity chains and how these lead to solutions such as networking and technological learning. These examples are also employed to support a more refined understanding both of governance and of regulation.