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The contingency effects of agriculture industrialization on the relationship between collaboration practices and sustainable performance
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Cao, Peiqing (2018) The contingency effects of agriculture industrialization on the relationship between collaboration practices and sustainable performance. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.
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Official URL: http://webcat.warwick.ac.uk/record=b3368053~S1
Abstract
Given the fast growing development of China‘s agro-food industry in recent decades, a sustainable performance issue has been brought up in the research agenda. The aim of this research is to investigate how collaborative supply chain management practices might affect sustainable performance, especially in the business environment of a much advanced agriculture industrialization in China.
An extensive literature review has been carried out to lay down a sound theoretical foundation for the further research development needed to achieve the research objective. The exploration and synthesizing of the prior literature on the topic have also led to the identification of research gaps. More importantly, the literature review has led to the development of key research hypotheses, upon which a conceptual framework is developed to advance current understanding of the issues.
To test the hypotheses and the model, a predominantly empirically based abductive methodological approach has been adopted. By designing the specifically targeted survey questionnaires and carrying out field research work in China, sufficient first-hand data have been collected and processed. In particular, the hierarchical regression modelling techniques are used to test the moderating effect of the environmental factor—agriculture industrialization on the relationship between collaborative practices and sustainable performances. The tests and analysis results show that 16 out of 18 hypotheses are supported with significant statistical significance, and the overall conceptual model has thus been validated methodologically. Significant research findings have been drawn from the analysis results.
First, the relationship is contingent to exogenous factors, and hence it is not a static or fixed relation. Second, the factor of agricultural industrialization does exert moderating power over the relationship from collaborative practices to sustainable performance. Third, collaborative practices are generally positively associated with economic, social and environmental performance, except for demand-side collaboration, which is negatively associated with economic performance in the Chinese agriculture context. Fourth, farmer-supermarket docking as one of the unique collaborative practices in China‘s agro-food industry is more effective at improving sustainable performance under high degree of agriculture industrialization.
This research claims a theoretical contribution by advancing conceptual understanding about improving sustainable performance through collaborative practices by factoring in the exogenous level of agriculture industrialization in China. This research also provides empirically proven guidance for managers and practitioners to differentiate the effects of collaboration management practices under different levels of agriculture industrialization. A real-world case study has been introduced to support the arguments.
Item Type: | Thesis (PhD) | ||||
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Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor | ||||
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Agricultural industries -- China, Agriculture -- Economic aspects -- China, Industrialization -- China, Sustainable development -- China, Social responsibility of business, Produce trade -- China, Food industry and trade -- China, China -- Foreign economic relations | ||||
Official Date: | 2018 | ||||
Dates: |
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Institution: | University of Warwick | ||||
Theses Department: | Warwick Manufacturing Group | ||||
Thesis Type: | PhD | ||||
Publication Status: | Unpublished | ||||
Supervisor(s)/Advisor: | Lu, Dawei | ||||
Extent: | vii, 187 leaves : charts | ||||
Language: | eng |
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